...Alexander II faced several major problems during his reign, largely stemming from the negative implications of Russia’s system of serfdom that stifled economic and industrial growth, as well as Russia’s outdated and ineffective military that limited Russia’s presence in Europe and demonstrated her lacking industrial sector. Alexander was shown to be a keen reformer and managed to effectively tackle these problems, with his emancipation of the serfs, followed by his overseeing of successful economic and military reforms. Arguably the greatest problem that faced Russia in 1855 was the outdated and feudal – like system of serfdom which lagged far behind the social infrastructures of other major European nations. This system, in which over 23 million serfs were forced to work for their food and keep under private landowners, Nobles, and the state, was both economically inefficient (as Russia required a free labour force for industry and internal markets to grow) and attracted rising opposition to the Tsarist autocratic rule. For these reasons, Alexander decided to emancipate the serfs in an attempt to quell unrest and bring Russia “up to date”, famously stating: “It is better to abolish serfdom from above than to await the time when it will begin to abolish itself from below”. This shows that Alexander II saw the threat of grievances among the serfs with the ruling administration and wished to protect his own position from threatening opposition. This desire for self-preservation...
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...Although Alexander III enacted some social and economic reforms, most importantly those of industry, he did more to repress the people, strengthen autocracy, and remove the more liberal reforms of his father, so it would be fair to say that Alexander III was a reactionary. This was because fundamentally he was a believer in autocracy and nationality, and so only would only accept reforms that would strengthen these ideals, was necessary to keep up with other countries, or was neutral. So this hindered the social reform and progress, which was clearly wanted by some parts of the population, leading to him being defined as a reactionary. One way, in which it can be seen that Alexander II was a reactionary, was through his policy of Russification. This was a policy that was designed to unite the very diverse Russian empire into a uniform nation, in which everyone could define himself or herself as Russian and would therefore rally behind his ‘great Russian’ administration. This was however implemented forcefully. It involved harassing and repressing minorities such as Poles, Finns and Jews, forcing them to learn Russian by having all official paperwork printed in Russian and even expelling students who spoke their local language in school. This was reactionary behavior, because it stopped minorities creating their own national identities and trying to become politically independent, so here Alexander was clearly trying to hinder reform in order to try and maintain the size of his empire...
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...tearing packs of cards in half for the entertainment of his children, and about the occasion in 1888 when, after the imperial train was derailed by terrorists at Borki, he held up the wrecked carriage’s roof on his shoulders while his family escaped. (It seems that Alexander’s kidney disease dated back to this incident.) The first tsar to wear a full beard since the time of Peter the Great, whose Europeanising reforms changed fashions to such an extent that untrimmed facial hair had become a sign of a lack of western sophistication, Alexander suited the imperial Russian stereotype. He could be rude and blunt in conversation, and was terrifying when angry. He used foul language when frustrated and senior officials were intimidated by him, though they felt secure when working for him, partly because they were confident of his personal support and partly because Alexander’s physical and personal strength heightened the sense of autocratic might surrounding him. Alexander was the second son of Tsar Alexander II, and as such was not provided with the education necessary for an emperor. His tutor, Konstantin Pobedonostsev, neglected Alexander in his early years because he considered him unintelligent. Even when Alexander’s Alexander appointed Nikolai Bunge as Minister of Finance as Russia’s industry and economy wobbled towards modernisation. Under Reutern the Russian economy had developed surer foundations, but major cities were expanding quickly (Kiev...
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...‘The Main objective of the reforms of Alexander II (1856 – 1881) was to establish a liberal-democratic monarchy in tsarist Russia’. Do you agree? Give reason for your answer. The Main objectives of Tsar Alexander II were in a sense to support certain aspects of Liberal Democracy in Russia but his main objective was to ascertain Tsarist Autocracy. I will be discussing what his reforms were and the events leading up to them and their influence and whether it improved Russia. In Tsarist Russia, it was one of the largest land empires which covered one sixth of the surface of the world. It mainly stretched from Poland and the Baltic Sea (West) all the way to the Pacific Ocean (East). The Economy of the country was mostly a rural economy with agriculture as the main source for Economy. The large population had to be provided for and Russia also possessed other natural resources such as coal and iron ore. There were only a handful of main industrial developed towns (Moscow and Petersburg). The Society of Russia was ruled by the Tsar who held absolute power (Political) over Russia. Tsar Alexander II came to power in 1855. The Crimean War (1853 – 1856) is important to take note of as this influenced the Concert of Europe. This was a league of monarchs who banded together to ensure that political and diplomatic was stable by ensuring that there was not even a single power that dominated another in Europe. This was to ensure a balance of power. Russia did also play an important...
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...should be loyal. g. loyal mainly to their nation h. That is, to the people with whom they share a culture and history—rather than to a king or empire. 5. nation-state: an independent i. geopolitical unit of people j. Having a common culture and identity. 6. the Balkans: the region of southeastern Europe k. Now occupied by Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, and Romania. l. The European part of Turkey, and the former republics of Yugoslavia. 7. Louis-Napoleon: the nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte m. Won the presidential election. n. Louis Napoleon Bonaparte took the title of Emperor Napoleon III. 8. Alexander II: Nicholas’s son o. decided to move Russia toward modernization and social change p. Alexander and his advisers believed that his reforms would q. Allow Russia to compete with Western Europe for world power. Questions:- 2. European governments used the army to suppress them by force. European governments used the army to suppress them by force. Disunity among the individuals as well as lack of support from the peasant class and the strength of the reactionary powers. Disunity among the individuals as well as lack of support from the peasant class and the strength of the...
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...Nicholas I from 1825-1855. After his death, he was succeeded by Alexander II that reigned from 1855-1881. Nicholas did not like serfdom, which was a member of the lowest feudal class, attached to the land owned by a lord and required to perform labor in return for certain legal or customary rights. He wanted to abolish it but did not because he feared the aristocracy and believed they might turn against him if he abolished serfdom. When Alexander II came to power, he completely abolished serfdom granting freedom to 12 million serfs and land to peasant communes. In 1864 most local government in the European part of Russia was organized into provincial and district zemstva. Zemstvo was a form of local government which were made up of representatives for each district that were responsible for local schools, public health, roads, prisons, and food supply. The district zemstvos elected executive committees and delegates to the provincial assemblies. Resources were scarce due to the defeat in the Crimean war. There were insufficient rail lines in the railway system and the production rate of weapons and machinery decreased by a lot. The standard of living in Russia was very bad. There were millions and millions of serfs and a lot were very poor. Almost 50% of Russia was made up of serfs until Alexander II issued the Emancipation reform of 1861. This made serfs free from their landlords. Surprisingly, this reform wasn’t too beneficial for the landlords or the serfs. They gained their...
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...political and economic reform during the period 1881-1914? (30 Marks) The years in Russia between 1881 and 1914 were a time of great instability and unrest. Political assassinations were common place and military defeat was normal. Furthermore, Russia was an economically backward country – its industry was based solely around agriculture which itself was outdated and not modern. Russia wanted to become a great power like Britain, to do this it would have to be able to deal with these problems and would be essential for the survival of the Tsarist system. In 1881 Russia was a very diverse country, there were many different cultures and languages spoken and 80% of the population were peasants. Alexander III unexpectedly came to the throne in 1881 on the assassination of Alexander II. Alexander III was under no illusion that he could suffer the same fate as his father. He introduced repression of opponents as the corner stone of his reign. Alexander had three main beliefs: Repression of opponents, undoing the reforms of his father and to restore Russia’s position internationally and also her national identity, which he believed had been diluted throughout the 19th century. These were labelled ‘Russification’ and they came into being immediately he was crowned tsar in 1881. The primary aspect of Russification was to rid Russia of western ideas that Alexander III believed had weakened the nation and reduced its national identity. So, there was some reform but it was soon removed...
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...ALEXANDER II AND III Tsar Alexander II and III while father and son had very different ambitions as Tsar and different view for the future of the empire. Alexander III succeeded to his father’s throne in 1894. His reign is looked upon by most historians as a time of repression that saw the undoing of many of the reforms carried out by his father. Certainly that was a time of great economic and social change but these had led, in the West of the nation, great pressure on political system. However Alexander was deeply suspicious of the direction in which his father had taken Russia and the internal reforms that he instituted were designed to correct what he saw as the too-liberal tendencies of his father's reign. In fact his first task was to review a proposal, approved by his father in 1881, called ‘constitution’, that would have appointed committees to discuss legislation and the administration of the country. Therefore Tsar Alexander II and III where at their very different since we can see that Alexander II made a lot of changes in areas like serfdom, civil rights, justice and law, education, popular representation, national rights and dissent. On the other hand, with reference to national rights, the two Tsars were at their most similar. In fact the both firmly believed that the Tsar autocratic structure must remain untouchable. However When Tsar Alexander the II came to the throne in 1855 the desire of reform was widespread. Tsar Alexander II gave to the people reforms that...
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...DIALOGIC TEACHING AND THE STUDY OF CLASSROOM TALK A DEVELOPMENTAL BIBLIOGRAPHY Robin Alexander Universities of Cambridge and York This bibliography puts in more or less chronological order Robin Alexander’s publications on spoken language in learning and teaching up to February 2015. It starts with observational and discourse studies undertaken in the north of England during the 1980s and early 1990s. Then follows the Culture and Pedagogy international study out of which Alexander’s approach to dialogic teaching developed. Towards Dialogic Teaching presents this approach in detail, and Essays on Pedagogy extends the dialogic principle into wider aspects of education, reasserting the importance of an international perspective. Next come evaluation reports from two of the UK local authorities with whose teachers Robin Alexander has worked. The bibliography also includes relevant articles and book chapters. It ends with the 2010 final report of the Cambridge...
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...Within the context of the period 1801-1917, to what extent was the fall of Tsarism a consequence of significant social development in Russian society? Tsar Nicholas II’s abdication on 2nd March 1917 marked the end of Tsarism’s iron grip on Russia and the subsequent revolution was the clearest possible sign of political and social upheaval. Finally, its people had tired of their nation’s own backwardness and were looking for improvements to an archaic system which they had endured for hundreds of years. Seldom does a revolution succeed without violence being an integral part of its development, and the Russian revolution was no exception. However, there are economic and political factors that helped contribute to the outbreak of this civil disobedience, which must be considered. Underpinning these issues is the stark difference in the social dynamics of Russia between the early 19th century and the early 20th century. The social dichotomy that had presented itself was one that no other European power had experienced. Russia was the only European super-power to still employ serfdom by the time of its termination, for its roots had been deeply embedded in Russian culture. Historian Jonathon Bromley believes the longevity of serfdom was because it “served the economic interests of the nobility and the political interests of the Tsarist state.” This implies that the economic policy and political foundations of the country were predicated on its social structure; therefore social stability...
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...Czar Alexander III Known as Russia’s “peacekeeper”, Czar Alexander III reigned from 1881 to 1894 and is considered as one of Russia’s finest rulers. His ideals closely resembled that of his granduncle, Czar Alexander I instead of his father Czar Alexander II. At the end of his reign, Russia sufficiently kept out of harm's way and brought along of foreign relations with other countries. He helped improve the military and made sure that no major wars were fought. Czar Alexander III was born on March 10, 1845 to Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna in the Winter Palace in St.Petersburg, Russia. He was born as second son in his family and therefore was only given the training of a Grand Duke, and not that of a Czar. He often disagreed with his father's ideals for running a country and did not play a public role in the government until a few centuries. His elder brother, Nikolay, was the original heir to...
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...so aware of this he put in place many forms of repression These were labelled ‘Russification’ and they came into being immediately he was crowned tsar in 1881. The primary aspect of Russification was to rid Russia of western ideas that Alexander III believed had weakened the country and reduced its national identity. Alexander wanted to reclaim Russia’s ‘Russian-ness'. To achieve this he had to remove those people who had imported into Russia alien ideas that were covertly undermining his position and the national identity of Russia itself. Alexander saw no difference in what he wanted for himself and what he wanted for Russia. Russification was not new to Russia. There had been isolated examples of when this was done before. What made Alexander’s policy so different was the intensity of it after 1881 and the attempt to give it some form of academic intellectual backing. Russification was to be carried out by the civil service and then by the governors in the regions who would use the police to carry it out at grass-roots level. Those who opposed this were to be dealt with by the police. The most central theme to ‘Russification’ was the power of the...
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...had been building for centuries of the laity’s festering anger and doubt at the clergy’s unbridled depravity. The Church needed reform because the Church was corrupt, immoral and politically driven. The corruption of the Catholic Church was present on every level of the organization in every possible from. The corruption of the Church was very apparent in the sexual activities of the clergy and the rampant nepotism present in the Vatican. The Pope that truly exemplifies both of these common and widespread activities. This Pope had three children with Vanozza dei Cattanai and...
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...History – Alexander II #3 Revision Notes Opposition, Conclusion Lucas Fox 11OA The Opposition to Alexander II consisted on two divisions; the Moderates, and the Extremists. The Moderates included: * Alexander Herzen – who believed that socialism should be based on village commune, he believed that with patience the peasants could be educated. “to the people.” * Pisarev – who believed the peasants were not ready to rebel and needed a group of educated elite “vanguard” to lead them. He believed in nihilism and in no authority and for everything to be questioned… * Lavrov – who also believed that the peasants should be educated so that they can free themselves (eventually). * “Populists” (1874-1875) – 3000 students went to educate the peasants in their villages but it was a failure as they were arrested and sent to exile in Siberia instead… * Black Partition – led by Plekhanov, which consisted in a peaceful spread of socialism. * Land+Liberty (1875-1878) – secret group that went to live with the peasants to understand them better, and to influence them, at first there was success with labor unions in the 1870s, but it was eventually split due to built up tension – which led to a new extremist group to be created – The People’s Will. The People’s Will was a group of terrorists whose aims were to trigger a revolution. This was done through violence and assassinations of generals and politicians (their main aim being the Tsar). Before The People’s Will...
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...What were the most important causes and most important consequences of the emancipation of the Serfs? Serfdom, a system of virtual slavery tying the Russian peasants to their landlords, was abolished in 1861 under the imperial demand of Tsar Nicholas II. This change was put in place for many reasons, including military defeat in Crimea, the economy and political system, which all contributed to the backwardness of Russia as a nation, as they prohibited the introduction of other major reforms. In my view, the most important cause of emancipation was the state of the economy, because the nature of serfdom prevented the country from catching up with the west, and the most important consequence was that the military was able to dramatically improve. One major reason that serfdom was abolished was because of the poor economic situation and general backwardness of the nation. Due to the nature of serfdom the economy was prevented from evolving; the serfs weren’t paid, so there could be no market, there could be no interest, and enterprise was prevented. This left Russia far behind the west, and with a struggling and starving workforce; they starved since the increasing famines and noble taxations left them with no food reserves. To combat this, they wanted to modernise agriculture, industry and railways to increase Russia’s economic strength. However, with serfdom in place, this was impossible to implement because serfs didn’t have money to invest in increasing agricultural efficiency...
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