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Alexander II ascends to throne
Alexander II's reign begins with the defeat in the Crimean War. Russia's backwards economy and military was a significant change from its former military successes and empire. Alexander II realized the need for the country to change -
Emancipation of serfs
Abolishment of serfs came at great cost to te reformist Alexander II. The redemption payment, along with the poll tax on peasant only and the restructions of the mir left peasants unproductive and their lives barely changed. The gentry had 400mil desantry of land take away and many had to mortgage their property. -
University Statue
Allowed self-governing university bodies and reduced students fees to universities -
Zemstvas created
Part of Alexander II's reforms was to extend the government to local levels with a council that elected peasants and were not controlled by the Minister of Interior. The zemstvas has great success in enforcing the new legal code -
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Policy of Orthodoxy
Pobedonostev was appointed as Holy Synod; loyalty to Tsar before God; confessions were used against them; Russian Orthodox Church built at site of Alexander II's death; 250 churches built each year; peasants banned from leaving mir -
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Policy of Autocracy
Immediate crackdown/censorship on "revolutionary" groups and info; university fees were raised; need of approval to learn history; zemstva's power decreased (no peasant rep.)and power was given to MofI; Land Captains came and exploited the power of the peasants (1889) ; censorship in newspaper - must be submitted to gvt. (1892); Okhrana given permission to arrest without trial (1881) -
Alexander III ascends to throne
On his way to approve the new paper allowing constitutional monarchy, Alexander II was assassinated by the People's Will, a terrorists party. His death greatly affected his son's rule, who published the Manifesto of Unshakeable Autocracy soo after in April -
The People's Will is executed
Following his emerging policy of Autocracy, Alexander II sought to publicly hang Sophia and the People's Will to strengthen and make an example of opposers to the Tsar and Autocracy. -
1891 Famine
Heavy taxes on consumer goods, peasants had to sell more and more grain. Lack of grain reserves and poor weather led to famine, then cholera and typhus later on. 350000 died in two years and the government was criticized for its slow response and the peasants questioned the Tsar's divine rule. -
Sergei Witte appointed as Finance Minister
1). Currency reform - unified the Russian currency against gold to make Rouble which allowed easier trade and encouraged FDI, industrial revolution began but living standards were not greatly improved.
2). Trans-Siberian Railway improved trade and allowed the East to be connected to the West but was very expensive to maintain and was not fully completed in places -
Socialist Democrats Party Set Up
Formed for the workers whose living conditions were terrible following Sergei Witte's economic reforms and believed in Karl Marx's principles. -
Socialist Democrats Party Split Up
1). Mensheviks wanted to wait for the right conditions, everyone could join, made alliance with Kadets, Octoberists, Trade Unions
2). Bolsheviks wanted immediate revolutionary, a select committee will oversee the revolutionary, no allies and only trusted revutonaties -
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Policy of Nationalism
Encouraged pogroms against Jews and banned Jews from gvt. jobs (1881); Polish and Ukraine not taught and banned in publications and public - refused to concede led to no education