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An overview of the 19th century *The Vienna conference in 1814-1815 shapes Europe in a new way. The conference was held after the Napoleon wars in order to establish peace in Europe. *Main contenders were: Russia, France,UK, Austria,Prussia. *Main points decided during the conference: 1.Europe should be a peaceful area (preserve peace). 2.Restore the old order i.e the Bourbons were introduced in France. This led to the fact that Europe was following conservatist ideals. Why this ideology? This was the ideology that suited the leaders of Europe the best. It´s easier to control the people with conservatism than with any other ideology. Results of the Vienna conference: Peace for 40 years but many upheavels and riots. *The 19th century is known as the century of ideologies. Ie. Socialism, liberalism, conservatism played a big role during this century. Another -ism that shaped Europe is nationalism. *Although the 19th century can be seen as a peaceful century one mustn´t forget that some riots almost succeded in getting rid of the ruling class(i.e ”the crazy year” 1848) *The power balance (Vienna conference) ended during the late 19th century when both Italy and Germany was unified. *During the 1880´s Germany became number one in the world (industry).Otto von Bismarck and Wilhelm I are the main persons behind this. *Btw 1870-1914 Europe is starting a imperialistic time era.Most part of Africa becomes part of either GB or France. This continues all the way up the 1970´s when the last colony was set free. *During the last years of the century powerful nations are starting to build alliances with each other WWI. *In the Balkan peninsula new nations are forming independent states. This area is unstable and can also be seen as a reason for WWI. *”The sick man of Europe”=ottoman empire is falling apart. New countries erupts and others go under. *Russia ”want´s to protect it´s fellow slavs”(Serbia).Actually Russia want´s to take over parts of the falling ottoman empire.This action leads to the Crimean War(1853-56). GB and France beats Russia and also declares war on Finland.(Florence Nightingale becomes known from this war). Italian unification(1850-71) Main charachters: Camillo di Cavour, Giuseppe Garibaldi,Victor Emmanuel II, Giuseppe Mazzini. What were these persons role in the unification process? Main events:When ,who, what? Reasons to unification:Why did it happen? Consequences of the unification:What happened afterwards? *In 1852 Cavour becomes prime minister of Piedmont. Problems: Italy consisted of ten separate states.The revolutions of 1848-49 had all failed.Italy consisted of mainly peasants(90%). *Cavour´s plan was to set Piedmont at the head ofa movement that would exclude Austria from Italy. This, as Cavour himself knew, had to be done with skillful diplomacy. Why was the support from other countries so important to Cavour? Otherwise ”Italy”would be crushed. Therefore Cavour wanted to involve European negotiation and understanding in order to achieve success. In 1856 (Congress of Paris) Cavour realizes that Napoleon III was intrested in Italian nationalism and might be induced to support Piedmont. *In 1859 Cavour was to bring the war about in such a way as to make Austria appear as the aggressor.This was done by mobilizing troops on the border with Lombardy.After the battles of Solferino and Magenta had been won Nap.III suddenly pulls out. This leads to the resignation of Cavour. *Meanwhile revolutions took place in Parma, Modena and Tuscany(demanded a union with Piedmont) the royal rulers could only be restored by force and Austria had lost control of Northern and Central Italy. *Cavour gets the support of both GB and France(back in office in 1860 ,men in both countries government that are in favour of Italian unification). Even somekind of rivalry btw the above which gives Italy a benefit. *Mazzini becomes afraid of the success Cavour has. Therefore he wants to have some influence of the southern parts (together with Garribaldi). *Revolution in Sicily in 1860 that is a successful one. Garibaldi with his redshirts take over Sicily in two months. *After this incident both Cavour and Mazzini+Garibaldi took more and more land (Mazzini takes over Naples and The Piedmontese moves closer and closer to the Papal states). *The kingdom of Italy is proclaimed with Victor Emmanuel as it´s ruler in March 1861.(Cavour dies the same year) *Bad relations with the Papacy doesn´t make Italy totally unified until 1871(for instance the power question). German unification 1850-1871 *In the 1850´s the German problem was still unsolved. Germany had at this point indefensible frontiers and was surrounded by great powers. *Less than a third of the Austrian empire was within the German Confederation. Still the Austrians did have a lot of influence over this area. *Two factors that can be seen as reasons for the unification: -Prussia was in the position of a leading European power. -The Zollverein(customs union) made Prussia an important country both politically and economically. *Frederick William IV was a conservative ruler(not a very liberal constituion was granted ). In 1858 William(brother) became regent and in 1861he became king a.k.a William I.William I is much more liberal and wants to bring about changes. *Otto von Bismarck became the most important figure in the unification process. He was also known for attacking his opponents with offensive sarcasm in powerful speeches.In 1862 Bismarck becomes the head of the Prussian government. The Danish War 1864 *After 1850`s Austria had made efforts to increase her power in Germany. *In 1863 the Danish government proposed to incorporate the duchies(Schleswig and Holstein) with Denmark.This led to german critizism. THE DIPLOMATIC SITUATION Britain supported a strong Germany that could balance out the French, the traditional enemies. Russia and Prussia common interest in controlling Poles and Lithuanians, Austria and Russia had different ones, particularly after Crimean. Russia was too weak to stop Prussia after the Crimean, and was screwed re. AII’s reforms. French unwittingly helped Prussia also. Meanwhile Austria was always bound to come into conflict with Russia over issues relating to the Balkans WHY UNIFY GERMANY Inevitable, take opportunity of the diplomatic situation above, it could be on the middle classes terms, but they wanted a constitution also, which didn’t suit the Kaiser or Bismarck, who knew that the liberals would settle for unification. He felt that by unifying Germany he could get rid of the liberal threat to the system. ‘I prefer to make revolutions rather than be destroyed by them’. 1864 WAR V DENMARK King Christian 9th annexes SchleswigHostein in 1864. This took Bismarck by surprise. Germany, including Austria, calls for war and the Prussians have a swift victory. S-H remains German, Bismarck shows off his new army and he becomes more popular after defending the honour of the German people. Public opinion was firmly with him. At the convention of Gastein in 1865, it was agreed that S-H was to be jointly governed by Austria and Prussia. 1866 WAR V AUSTRIA Much more carefully planned. Bismarck had isolated Austria with a series of secret treaties. After the 1863 Polish revolt, the Russians were not going to come in on Austria’s side, in August 1865, Bismarck visited Biarritz and gets Napolean III’s agreement to stay neutral, in exchange for Luxembourg. He also expected a slow war that would weaken both nations, so didn’t want to intervene. Early 1866 signed treaty with Italy meaning that they would also attack at the start of the war. Hungarians unofficial blocked Austria. Quick victory, won at Battle of Konigsgratz (S. Moravia). Austria are beaten but not destroyed as Bismarck will want their support again soon. 1870 WAR V FRANCE Not planned at all. France and Prussia not getting along as Luxembourg was not handed over. 1870 Spanish approach Prussian prince to become new king, Bismarck says yes, ally against France, French realised what was happening and demanded the candidate be withdrawn. Ems telegram- supposedly an apology was edited by Bismarck, who made it more ‘strongly worded’. War breaks out in August. The three southern German states also fight for German honour- despite the Kulturkampf campaign against the Catholic Church. Made the decision about whether to involve them in Germany for him. Decisive Battle at Sedan. Also annexes Alsace Lorraine-public opinion and mountain borders. Bad move, as French want to get it back. Unification was achieved, therefore by ‘Blood and iron’. DRIEKAISERBUND 1873 Bismarck had to diffuse tension between A-H and Russia over the Balkans, and try to isolate the French, and block any link between them and Russia. This treaty seemed to fulfil all of those aims, leaving the French isolated, despite the fact that these complex alliances he formed seemed to not last long or really mean all that much. It also meant that he didn’t have to choose between A-H and Russia. FRENCH CRISIS 1875 French recovery was very speedy. Bismarck began to hint that a war against the French was planned, and hoped that this might make them retreat into diplomatic obscurity once again. Britain, Italy and Russia all demanded that he back down, and the appeals for support from the other major European nations by the French went some way to bringing them out of isolation. THE BALKANS 1875-78 Russian interest(Pan Slavism), encouraging Slav nationalism, in conflict with A-H policy, as an empire full of different nationalities where nationalism would cause serious problems. Tension came to a head in July 1875. Bosnia-Herzegovinian and Serbian slavs rebelled against their Turkish rulers, a turkish power collapse would have led to a power vacuum which A-H and Russia would obviously both have tried to fill. Russians supported the Slavs and defeated Turkey in Jan 1878. Bismarck had offered the Russians some support, but would not commit to either A-H or Russia if a war were to break out. POST BALKAN WAR TREATIES TREATY OF SAN STEPHANO(March 1878) Imposed by Russia on Turkey following the war. European Turkey reduced through enlargement of Bulgaria, Romania, Montenegro, Serbia. Bulgaria got sea access, this is crucial because at this stage Bulgaria had very close ties with Russia. The Austrians thought that this Treaty was too kind to Russia. CONGRESS OF BERLIN Reversed parts of the treaty. (June-July 1878). Probably a short term success, diffusing some tension. Russia lost a lot of what it had gained, strains were put on the Dreikaiserbund, and it signalled the beginning of the end of the ‘Bismarckian system’.Africa is being divided by the major countries. THE DUAL ALLIANCE 1879 A-H and Germany. Led to two nations fighting on same side in WW1. Like all of Bismarck’s Treaties, it was only a short contract, it is defensive and anti-Russian. France made a treaty with Russia, and Europe began to take sides. Britain remained in ‘splendid isolation’. May have tried to scare Russia into isolation or into improving relations with Germany. In 1882 Italy also joined in. Was beginning to draw Germany into the Balkan issues. SECOND BALKAN CRISIS 1885-1886 Austria almost goes to war against Russia over Bulgaria, but Bismarck says that Germany will not support as it was not part of the Dual Alliance. Austria backs down, humiliation. REDUCTION OF TENSION IN THE BALKANS In 1887, Russia, A-H and Germany signed the Re-insurance treaty. In 1897, Austria and Russia agreed not to be aggressive in the Balkans, and Russia adopted a steady expansionist policy in Asia whilst Germany tried to take over parts of Africa. Meant that Germany no longer had to decide between the two, and could still arbitrate over European affairs, and that France could be kept out even longer. DETERIORATING RELATIONS WITH RUSSIA In 1890, Bismarck was sacked. When, in 1892, Russia approached Germany about signing the Re-insurance treaty, Germany refused. No-one was capable of operating the Bismarckian system of treaties. In 1894, Russia instead made a treaty with France, who begin to invest large sums of money in Russia. This brings France out of isolation. THE ROLE OF BRITAIN Had more in common with the Germans during the period 1894-1914 in a way. After the treaties was the only unattached country in Europe. In 1898 come into conflict with the French at Fashoda, then in 1902 form a Treaty with Japan which is an anti-Russian treaty. After the Russo-Japanese War, Britain and Russia can be on better terms. In 1904 signed the 1904 Entente Cordiale, which began to form links between France and Britain. Wi ll come into conflict with Germany who begin their Weltpolitik policy, with efforts to expand their empire in Africa. In 1906 launched the dreadnought which made the rest of the Fleet obsolete and began the Naval race with Britain. In 1909, Britain announced that it wanted to build 5 battle ships for each of Germany’s 3. Put immense strains on resources, particularly in 1912 when Germany launches a 3rd battle squadron. Haldane mission, British minister sent to Germany to try to freeze the arms race. Germany agree on the condition that Britain remain neutral in any future wars. Solved when British Mediterranean fleet moves to the North Sea, and the French channel fleet moved to the Mediterranean. Important in bringing Britain into the war on the French side. BUCHLAU AND THE BALKANS At Buchlau in 1908, Austrians say they want to annex Bosnia-Herzegovina which annoys the Serbians, and in return Russia say they want Med access through the Dardanelles. In 1909, A-H go ahead and annex B-H but Dardanelles issue has not been resolved. Russia feels double crossed. This time, against Bismarckian policy, Germany says it will give unequivocal support to Austria against Russia who back down, this time. COLONIAL DISPUTES Britain has Egypt and Sudan. France has Tunisia and wants Morocco, this would give them control over the Med. In the 1904 Entente cordiale agreement, they agree that Britain can have Egypt and France can have Morocco. In 1905, the Kaiser visited Morocco, an indication that he wanted to break up this relationship and block a French takeover. In 1906, the major European powers meet to discuss the future of Morocco. All of them supported the French, including Italy, Spain, Russia, Great Britain, the USA support the French. This whole issue starts the military conversations, which begin to commit Britain to joining the war on the side of France. In May 1911, the French occupied Fez, an indication that they were about to take it over completely, rather than having it as a protectorate. Germany saw another opportunity to have a go at the French. They sent a gunboat to Agadir, claiming that it was in the port to protect German interests. This resurrected the Naval dispute, and Britain issued a statement supporting the French on the 21st of June 1911. A formal protectorate was established in March 1912. There was a serious lack of Russian interest in the whole thing, partly because they had a screwed country and partly because this part of the world wasn’t really important to them. This worsened relations between Britain and Germany though, and perhaps even made war more inevitable. It was also another sign of a formal commitment between the British and the French. THE BALKANS 1912-1913 In 1912 a Balkan league had been formed, including the nations of Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro. They all fought a war against Turkey in 1912. By 1913, the Turkish empire was all but defeated, and the Balkan league was also beginning to split up as the nations began to fight amongst themselves over what they had won. Bulgaria lost out the most, with the Treaty of Bucharest in August 1913 taking away much of their territory, whilst Serbia was fast affirming itself as the dominant force in the Balkans, after Buchlau, they were now more of a Russian protectorate than an Austrian one. The French were also giving more support to the Russians over these Balkan issues, and Pointcare basically handed the Russians a blank cheque in October 1913. If Britain had made its position clearer would Germany have been less arrogant and aggressive? GERMAN REICHSTAG ELECTIONS In 1912, reflecting the industrial nature of Germany and the size of its working class, the SPD became the largest party in the Reichstag, and threatened to cut the powers of the conservative parliament. They wanted to reform the government, giving people a real constitution rather than rule by the Kaiser and the Chancellor. The Kaiser and the Chancellor decided that a war was needed to unite the people behind the present government and forget about the socialist demands. Internal conflicts would be suspended, or so went the theory. In 1912, the military top brass met in Potsdam to discuss this proposal. There was a feeling that Russia was catching up, and that by 1916 (as Von Moltke said) they may not be able to defeat them so easily. The Russians were also in the process of refitting their artillery squads. The general feeling is that mid 1914 would be the best time for war. Everyone gets caught up in the patriotism. THE JULY CRISIS 28th July-assasination of Franz Ferdinand The Austrian cabinet meets and is undecided. Some wanted to punish the Serbs, some thought this would destroy the empire, and that Russia would join in. 5th July-Hoyos mission. Hungarian minister goes to Potsdam and asks whether the Germans will support them. Kaiser says do it. There are three options: Balkan War- Russia backs down as in 1909 Russia supports Serbia- this is what the army was going for Britain and France get involved, at this stage the Kaiser wants to take on all of them. 23rd July-ultimatum handed over to the Serbs. The delay was due to the fact that Pointcare was in St Petersburg before, also had to get army ready for mobilisation. It had actually been prepared by July 8th. 25th June-Serbians accepts almost all of the terms. The military leadership was now in charge, and the war was no longer about Serbia 31st July- Russia mobilise, getting onto a war footing. Germany says stop mobilisation or we will declare war- hoping to look good, perhaps to stop Britain from entering the war. They seem to be not making the first move, but records of meetings show that the German command didn’t even want to wait for the Russians. It had to be a war on two fronts following the Franco-Russian entente of 1894. The Schieffen plan kicked on on August 4th, and Britain was fortunate in that it had an excuse to join the war-was committed, but the public didn’t know. After Belgian invasion, they were justified. Each of the nations are drawn in one by one. SUMMARY OF THE CAUSES OF WW1 Balkans: Tension between A-H and Russia. Buchlau v.important. Colonial Disputes: Britain supports French, both in conflict with Germany over North Africa Naval race: Tension between Germany and Britain Reichstag Elections: Germany needed to inspire nationalism to stop the socialists gaining too much support- they were waiting for the right time for a war. July Crisis: Draw all the countries into the war. German government manipulated the situation, Bismarckian treaties started problems. EVENTS and POLICIES ALEXANDER I: 1801-1825 AI was known for foreign policy, fights Napoleon for 14 years, victorious, Russia is a powerful and influential nation. NICHOLAS I: 1825-1855 Extremely reactionary, revolutions in 1821, 1830, 1848. Fights Crimean War and is losing when dies. ALEXANDER II: 1855-1881. Became Tsar aged 38. Military education, political experience, seemed to be well prepared for the job. Ideas moulded by the events of 1848-i.e. riots, liberalism, unrest. Made him more conservative, reactionary and traditional. He was more humane ad sensitive than his father. Similar to Gorbachev in some ways. Wants to reform everything except the autocratic system,so is basically doomed to failure. Mild reforms in first year raised expectations. Tried to be autocratic when autocratism is dying, gave out freedom in very small doses, very naïve, didn’t realise that repression only buys time and didn’t judge the national mood very well. PROBLEMS FACED IN 1855: Different cultural groups and nationalities spread over the country with communication difficulties. Poor relations with countries on Western borders. In arctic circle, so low agricultural productivity with land that is frozen throughout much of the year, as is the sea. Agricultural nation, not industrialising, low productivity, frequent land redistribution leading to no innovation (odd system whereby land is split between all of the inheritors evenly, meaning that from generation to generation the amount of land available drops dramatically), huge debt, expanding population with landless peasants. Crimean War, behind the western powers in terms of technology and military capablility. Ineffective and poorly trained army. Noble officers and peasant squaddies. 25 years conscription. Conservative and traditional peasants controlled by mir. Land split repeatedly through the nobility. Bureaucracy are extremely corrupt. Form 1/80th of the population (1 million of them in 1880). SERFS: Basically divided on geographical lines i. State, pay by rent. ii. Private, owned by landlord, works on his land, pays by labour. Permission required to get married. Can be exiled or forced to join the army by landlord. iii. 99% of land workers are serfs. System ended in 1861. Ignorant and illiterate, make up 80% of the population. Russia is an agricultural nation, depends on these groups. Little migration, traditional and conservative group. Loves and wants his own land. Religious but dislike church which teaches obedience. Land was often redistributed and was divided up into small strips so that each family had some good fields and some bad ones- this is also bad for production. MIR: Elder peasant group, ultra-conservative. Landlord deals through the mir. Obeyed and respected by the peasants. Used by the nobles to communicate with the village people. Looks after its interests but also controls it. More important than the individual. The mir made all of the decisions relating to the land. RUSSIAN CLERGY: Works with nobles . Catechism, urged obedience to Tsar. Church is viewed as an oppressive thing by the peasants(orthodox religion). A reactionary force, eastern form of christianity. EMANCIPATION OF THE SERFS: WHY: Catalyst of the Crimean War ‘War is the locomotive of history’-the war exposes Russian weaknesses in terms of military strength as well as with industry and agricultural production. Russia is behind the West and it is a backwards country. Economic reform before military reform. The system is inefficient and the people are conservative leading to low production. Emancipation could have come earlier, were it not for the attitude of the peasants, who were extremely fatalistic and conservative. They believed that the problems were on a local scale, and that it was not a national issue which needed to be dealt with centrally. THE CONDITION AND STRUCTURE OF THE RUSSIAN PEASANTRY was a crucial factor in the weakness of the country. It is an agricultural nation, and peasants make up 80% of the population, pay taxes and are locked in serf system. They are vital since they produce grain, the most valuable export. Serfdom is bad because productivity was not increasing with the population. This is a major issue since more than half the peasants are serfs. Poverty for the peasants and debt for nobility were the results of this ineffective system. Did not encourage innovation. Less stability, not enough land, frequent peasant revolts. Serfs cannot leave land without landlord’s permission. Dominated by the mir, who are extremely conservative, as are the peasants. AII saw the discontent in the countryside and realised that emancipation had to be from above not below HOW WAS EMANCIPATION ACHIEVED? Emancipation seemed progressive (this had long since been the view of the intellectuals), he had to use the defeat in the Crimean War to underline the need for change. He argued that if economic and social reform were to occur, serfdom must end. Put full weight of autocracy behind emancipation. The serfs soon began to believe that emancipation was about to occur, meaning that after a time there was ‘no turning back’. March 1856 made speech to nobility to try and get them onside. Most hoped that he would drop his plans, but were convinced by the ‘from above not below’ argument. Nov 1857 –plan of action.. 1861- Emancipation decree the ‘right of bondage’ was ‘forever abolished’. Serfs to receive land from nobility, nobility to receive compensation ‘Redemption payments’. Unwritten contract with Nobles, convinced them that he was on their side. Mir held land collectively. He used the fact that there was serious unrest in the countryside to convince the nobles that a revolution could come from below. Serfs free to move and trade. RESULTS OF EMANCIPATION: PEASANTS: Riots followed decree, in 1861 alone there were 499 cases of riots which required army intervention to be stopped. Peasants forced to pay over inflated redemption payments (20% in the first year then 49 annual payments with an interest charge), but felt that the land rightfully belonged to them. Wage labour turned out to be the most effective, particularly in fertile areas. 49 year Redemption payments were too high, mir was a break on innovation, industrial expansion not rapid enough to accommodate landless peasants, the land was apportioned unfairly, the process of land transfer was too lengthy, money was pumped into industry not modernisation. People paid too much for bad land, particularly in non black soil provinces LANDLORDS: not content. Landlord in Poland got a worse deal, due to the 1863 revolt, with redemption payments here being far lower. Began demise of nobility. In short, too much for the nobility, not enough for the radicals, whilst the serfs were angered at being forced to pay redemption payments. The nobility began to rapidly decline, as did its ability to act as a stabilising force in Russian society. Progress was made, but when compared to the other nations of Europe, Russia was still far behind. DID EMANCIPATION CHANGE ANYTHING? Emancipation basically changed the legal status of many peasants. It did not change the way they farmed the land. The system remained the same, with communal tender and strip farming- a system which had always worked ok because it was implemented on a local scale, and the country is not dependant on internal trade. But emancipation also didn’t face the peasant demands- they wanted the transfer of land without being forced to pay compensation. The fact that the population was increasing so rapidly meant that the impact of this lack of alteration to the system was greater. REASONS FOR POPULATION GROWTH The Zemstva had brought about some public health improvements in the provinces- there was also a run of good weather and hence better harvests. An unintended consequence of redemption payments was that it increased the population. Villages were taxed communally at this stage, and it was left to the mir to hand over the taxes. The tax burden could be decreased by forming more households and by allowing earlier marriagethis leads to a rapid population expansion. But the problem is that the system has not modernised enough to deal with the increasing demand. OTHER REFORMS BY AII MOTIVATION: To maintain stability, to modernise Russia and make it a world power once again. Underlying motivation was the need to modernise the army which had been crushed in the Crimea. This was the catalyst for reform. Also the need for internal reform and modernisation. Political reform was not included, although above all Alexander wanted to remain in control without changing his role. He was known as the Reforming Tsar, and he played an important role in pushing through these reforms, but he refused to alter his own role at all. LOCAL GOVERNMENT 1864: MOTIVATION: Felt that there was administrative inefficiency, but did not want to decentralise too much since this would have lessened his influence and rendered him less powerful. IMPLICATIONS: The decree establishing the Zemstva was published in January 1864. Locally elected councils with jurisdiction over public education, health, local economic development, services. Liberals wanted them to have real power, and they did, but only over certain things. They did not have power for example over taxes as AII thought that this would undermine his own power. 45% nobility, 40% peasants, 15% townspeople and clergy. 1870 saw a similar urban system set up. Set up by Valuiev. Two tier system, district and province. Could always be overruled by the centre of the party. They had no real powers and became a forum for complaining, did ease the governing of the provinces and performed well in the famine. This and the legal reform was not motivated by the military imperatives. Their success demonstrated that a central representative government may also have been effective. Another implication was that it raised literacy levels in the provinces. In a village, if one person can read then the village can read, so peasants quickly start to formulate new ideas. LEGAL REFORMS 1864: MOTIVATION: Before 1864, there were numerous different types of court with poorly trained and often illiterate officials. Evidence was presented in written form, with evidence from the nobility given far more credence than that of any other group. It was clear that a fair and just system was necessary, and that this could only be achieved through reform. IMPLICATIONS: Salaries set high to avoid bribery and corruption. Public trials by jury, appeal courts, oral evidence, JPs for 3 years, judges nominated by Tsar, independent bar, lots of lawyers trained. Still some imprisonment without trial, initial shortage of well trained lawyers. Backfired as it was fair to political prisoners and gave them a forum to get publicity (eg Vera Zasulish trial in 1878 after which regular courts were not relied on to deal with terrorist cases). The training of lawyers and judges led to the creation of a new very liberal and well educated class, many of whom would go on to demand political reform. They were a dangerous byproduct of the reforms. MILITARY REFORM 1862: MOTIVATION: Consumed 1/3rd of national income yet still got wasted in Crimean, shortcomings were exposed. Admin and command structure inflexible and punishments in the army were severe and barbaric. Conscription lasted 25 years, so it was basically a life sentence. IMPLICATIONS: Miliutin became Minster for war in 1861 and sought to humanise the military and improve its efficiency.. 1862 – regional commands set up. 1863, capital punishment ended, army schools set up in 1864. 1859 conscription period lessened to just 16 years. The Prussian success helped him to convince the sceptical nobles and conservative military leaders that a well-led modern army was necessary. Russia needed to protect itself and play a role in diplomatic affairs- not really a success as they got trashed in the Russo-Japanese war and in WW1, however some improvements had been made, as was demonstrated by the performance of the army in the RussoTurkish war of 1878. EDUCATIONAL REFORM: MOTIVATION: Difficult balance had to be struck, since AII aimed to educate the people without causing them to think and question his regime. Up until 1861, strict and repressive control had been maintained over education. Peasants would be more effective with education, and industrial and economic reform could be effected more quickly with a well trained workforce. IMPLICATIONS: Golvonin in 1861, primary education set up in villages, X4 primary schools 1961-1881. In 1862, schools were placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education rather than the chuch. Lead to more literacy, secondary education was open to all classes but most people could not afford to go, not controlled by church. 1863 University Regulations allowed freedom of expression and given autonomy in administrative matters. Outsiders were permitted to attend lectures, foreigners were allowed to obtain degrees, scholarly texts from abroad were brought in, and political literature was not subject to censorship. 1866 assassination attempt by university student at Kazan university, liberal education fosters radical ideas, Tolstoy comes in and is much more reactionary, introducing crappy subjects like classics. The central government also had more power to dictate the curriculum. Liberals saw this clampdown as unreservedly reactionary. As with the local government reforms, AII was trying to strike a difficult balance. In 1887, the universities statute took it all away. REDUCTION TO CENSORSHIP: In 1863, responsibility for censorship was passed to Valuev. 1865-press laws, progressive, things freed from censorship such as periodicals, government publications and publications in universities .New books published, more freedom of ideas and expression. In comparison to Britain, censorship was strict, but compared to what had gone before in Russia it was pretty liberal. ECONOMIC REFORM: Reutern in 1862, unified treasury, centralised administration, exports improved thanks to railway expansion, 1878-278 municipal banks, 727 loan and savings associations, 566 joint stock companies, 33 commercial banks, foreign jews trading and living throughout empire. Least important and actually pretty boring. 1862 budgets were published, 1863 system of excise duties replaced the old system. IN SHORT: These reforms did not go far enough. AII had to reform his own role if he was to successfully reform the country. Ironically, he was assassinated on his way to signing a bill that would begin constitutional reform. Generally speaking, tried to please everyone, and ended up backfiring everywhere and alienating various groups POLITICAL OPPOSITION TO ALEXANDER II: Often middle-class intelligentsia who had developed radical ideas due to their exposure to Western literature and political writings. POPULISM: Made up of young radicals, negative, focussed on the peasants, believing them to have the most potential, if educated. Go into the country in 1874-1875, 3000 of them dress up as peasants and try to enlighten the masses, 1600 are shot and the rest are arrested. Peasants don’t understand what is being suggested to them. Split into two factions- the milder land and liberty and the mental people’s will. Believe in terror as a means of overthrowing the system. NIHILISM: Accept nothing, question everything, criticise anything, middle class intelligentsia group, highly theoretical, very negative want everything to be changed but are not terrorists. ALEXANDER II’S FOREIGN POLICY: EUROPE: Governed by the internal state that Russia was in. Wanted to encourage Franco-Austrian rivalry, aimed for closer links with France, against tradition, French then supported the Poles in 1863, ending all cooperation between the two. Only ally was Prussia, Black Sea became neutral in 1871 following the great power conference in London. In 1873, recognising the threat that Germany was likely to pose, he joined the three emperor’s league. Held a conservative attitude which generally didn’t offend anyone too much and worked out alright. Ideological differences with these non-autocratic nations. Several treaties were made later on, 1894 with France, 1904 with Britain and France and 1907 with Britain. ASIA: Policy of sustained expansion. Conflict in Caucasus region, eventual victory in 1864, looked towards Persia and Afghanistan and gradually extended influence eastwards. Gained land in Japan and China, maintained relations with US though sale of Alaska $7 million in 1867. Was a means of getting raw materials, consolidating borders and looking well ‘ard. PAN-SLAVISM: Idealistic, saw Russia as leader and protector of the Slav peoples. Aimed to protect Baltic Christians under Turkish rule. In 1875, Bosnians rebel against Turkish rule, given financial support by Russia. Spread to Bulgaria, Serbia in 1876. Russia declared war on Turkey in 1877 but hoped that the Turks would back down. Treaty of San Stephano improved Russia’s position in Europe, Berlin- treaty was revised (took away sea access in Bulgaria). In this region, Austria is the main rival with another mixed nationality empire. Ottoman Empire is collapsing leaving a power vacuum which both nations were trying to fill. POLISH REVOLT OF 1863: Poland had become part of Russia during 1815, all Tsars are therefore also king of Poland. 1830 revolt, lose constitution and parliament, regime becomes more oppressive, they become much more pissed off, 1863 they revolt again, 1/3 of their land given away to peasants to punish the landlords during the emancipation, doesn’t make them much happier, Russification occurs, people start to seriously dislike AII. Result is that AII becomes more repressive. And then he gets killed, so that is that. ASSESS ALEXANDER II HIS AIMS: To maintain stability and create a strong Russia. Ultimate aim was to create a military and industrial power through reform but to remain autocratic. Wanted to emancipate the serfs to increase productivity and industrial growth and end serfdom, from above, not below. EXTERNAL CONSTRAINTS: Geographical/physical issues which faced all Russian leaders, the huge population, corrupt and massive bureaucracy, mir, nobles, landowners. All of these are very conservative and present a barrier to reform. Also has some conservative ministers. Has some nasty opposition within the country and has to deal with the Poles. HOW EFFECTIVE WERE THE REFORMS? Education- Primary schools much improved, universities lead to free thinking, so are only given limited freedom for a limited time. Local government- Zemstva have power on local scale and are symbolically important. . Emancipation- Serfs were emancipated, but alienates the nobles. Redemption payments remain an issue for absolutely ages. He gives people a taste of what they could have and then refused to give any more, thus creating more problems. He refused to reform his own position, and this was the main problem with the whole reform thing. ALEXANDER III: 1881-1894 Extremely reactionary following father’s assassination and assasination attempts, makes education expensive and elitist, bans foreign literature. Changed judicial system, no open trials, trial by jury, more state police. 1890 Russia was a police state, freedom of speech, freedom of ideas all suppressed. Lots of people got sent to Siberia, good practice for Stalin. Came to power in very bad circumstances. The Okhrana was given more power, and censorship was tightened up, universities were brought under much stricter control in 1887. Was helped by Pobedonovstev, chief minister between 1881 and 1905 who believed that democracy is the great lie of our time. He had a policy of Russification, which aimed to bring national minorities under stricter control, Russian became the only official language, and there was increased racism and victimisation. National identities in Baltic states were attacked. It was also a period of intense antiSemitism, and the mini purges on the Jews were known as the Pogroms. Sergei WITTE: 1893-1903 Finance minister. Finance minister who brings about the rapid industrialisation of Russia. Equated economic power with military power. Wanted to industrialise along Western lines. Recognised the importance of communications but had a serious railways obsession. WITTE’S ECONOMIC REFORMS: AIMS AND MOTIVATION: Modernisation of economy, industry and agriculture, leading to military modernisation, which would end economic slumber. Exploited by Western nations, unbeneficial trading relationship, selling goods and raw materials very cheaply. Needed economic independence. Need to exploit natural resource wealth, primitive methods, boost heavy industries and improve export potential. Needed an economy to compare with other Western European nations, whom they are around 150 years behind. They are being exploited by these Western powers, and Russia needed to become economically independent, not just politically independent. HOW IT WAS ACHIEVED: Infrastructure had to be improved first. The process was very uneven and severely limited. Through improvements to infrastructure, particularly transport with projects such as the TransSiberian railways. 1890-1900, coal production increased from 5.9 to 16.1 million tonnes per year, pig iron went from 0.89 to 2.66, oil went from 3.9 to 10.2 million. Also increased agricultural production, due to mechanisation, more grain production. 1891-1913 railway length in km grew from 31,219 to 70,156. Foreign experts were also brought in. With huge loans that had to be repaid. The emphasis was on heavy industry and exports, leading to huge trade deficit. System of state capitalism with the expansion of basic raw materials. Between 1880 and 1913, grain production increases from 34 million to 90 million tons. EFFECTS OF INDUSTRIALISATION: Less emphasis on agriculture, peasants left land. Urbanisation occurred at a very rapid rate, facilities in towns and cities not sufficient to deal with this, leading to overcrowding and disease due to poor hygiene, after 1900 as industrialisation slowed down, there was widespread unemployment. High tax and currency value, as well as government emphasis on heavy goods led to a shortage of consumer goods at high prices, workers had no union representation, at the mercy of their employers. Exports increased but there was still a huge debt problem and inflation within the country. Depression began at the beginning of the century. Some people called it a great spurt, but it was more of a dribble. It was mostly due to private enterprises being sustained by government policy, and industrialisation was viewed solely as a means of improving the economy. The huge loans led to very high taxes within Russia, and this was not very popular. There was a huge amount of direct investment into the railways. Normal people and workers did not really benefit from the industrial expansion. Led to depression and unemployment as the population increased at a faster rate than productivity. Industrialisation was far too rapid and brutal and the use of money was extremely uneven with consumer industries being completely neglected. Debt: 116 million in 1897 and 155 million by 1913, the biggest in the world. In 1902, troops were used to put down riots 365 times. A working class is also formed, and they are politicised for the first time. THE DEPRESSION: Started at the turn of the century and was a world-wide thing. Urbanisation had been too rapid, there were no facilities for the new workers leading to overcrowding. With the recession came widespread unemployment, and people no longer accepted the poor conditions. There is social unrest, and the authorities began to find it increasingly difficult to deal with the problems. The workers don’t gain from the slight recovery and still are not represented by trade unions. NICHOLAS II: 1894-1918 (Abdication 1917) Good husband, bad politician. Limited intelligence, couldn’t speak very good Russian, spoke good French, had no military experience, hated the Japanese after his grand tour, didn’t want to be leader of Russia, did his own paperwork and had no sense of the big picture. Taking over the Russian army was a seriously bad move, as it left Russia in the hands of Rasputin and the Tsarina, who were unpopular . THE RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR Occurred between 1904 and 1905. Japan a rapidly modernising power in the far east with imperial interests in Korea and China. This expansion threatened Russia’s interests in the area. NII underestimated the strength of this nation. Internally, Plehve suggested that a war might take people’s minds off of the crisis (the economic depression following the over-the-top, brutal industrialisation). The Russians were very poorly equipped for this war , had out of date techniques, and were trying to organise it from 6000 miles away. Infantry was soon defeated in Manchuria, whilst the fleet was beaten at Tsushima. The unrest triggered by the conflict meant that there were calls for reform. NII was not willing to meet these, leading to Bloody Sunday in 1905.