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Intro: The Russian peasantry had long been oppressed under the title of serf. Being at the bottom of the social ladder, they had marginal rights and privileges under their oppressive landlords. However, as the rest of industrial Europe sped forward, Russia fell behind. From 1861 to 1866, the government began to emancipate these serfs, in hopes of creating an entrepreneurial class to industrialize and regain their former glory. Even so, the various classes perceived this momentous change for the peasants differently. The peasants thought the recent changes were not enough, and wanted more, while the upper class believed that the reforms were doing more damage than assistance, and each side proposed solutions that tried to compromise each opinion.
1st Paragraph: The peasants believed that the recent reforms in their favor were not enough, and wanted more. * Document 1 * Data shows how activities in Russia affected rebellions * During and after 1861 (when Alex II freed the serfs), the rebellions decrease * From 1891 (start of famines) to 1907 (which contained Russo-Japanese war and Bloody Sunday), rebellion drastically increases * Although serfs were emancipated and human bondage was abolished, the peasants wanted more and weren’t afraid to take action during hard times for Russia * Document 2 * Peasants communicating to Tsar Alex II * Blaming land owners for giving peasants the worst land, and standing by as the peasants starve * Beg the upper class to help, and they are fully capable to help (but are reluctant) * Desired change, stated what they needed (land from aristocracy, to help peasants from starvation) * Document 6 * Educated Socialist woman, Breshkovskaia, observes what peasants really want * Upper classes assumed that peasants would be content with land, food, and jobs but were wrong * Want a better quality of life forms good argument for potential revolutions * Document 11- POV * Peasants rally and take action but don’t want to give equal rights to Jews, for example * The demands they have are only to benefit them, which is a mistake – once they gain more power, the group they oppress will rise up and disturb the status quo * Will eventually backfire. Need to ally with other oppressed groups to become formidable and make lasting change
2nd Paragraph: The upper class disdained the new reforms, believing they were doing more damage than assistance. * Document 3 * Revolutionary socialist believed serfdom was better morally for the peasants that emancipation * When were united by serfdom, at least were empathetic to each other’s situations. Now that they have land and freedom, don’t really care about well being of their neighbor * Could be explained because peasants became a sort of counter revolutionary class once demands were met – afraid of doing anything to risk new concessions * Document 7 - POV * Upper class writer blames the peasants for their own misery * However, fails to realize that starvation/misery is partially fault of upper class: they could have stepped in and helped the lower class, but were very hesitant to do so * As an upperclassman, he is unable to really empathize with the lower class therefore making his conjectures weak and insubstantial * Document 8 * Serge Witte, upperclass Minister of Finance who wanted reforms that were beneficial to all aspects of Russian life * Instituted protective tariffs, new railroads, “west to catch up,” foreign investments * Argues for legal/education system for peasants, thinks current system (bureaucratic land owners, local police) make it impossible to aid the peasantry * Must get the peasants on your side by making concessions, to get any meaningful reform done
3rd Paragraph: The upper and lower classes each proposed various solutions to change the condition of the peasantry. * Document 2 * Believes land must be placed in hands of peasants for them to exist * Land isn’t doing anything in hands of aristocracy – it’s better to give it to those who will cultivate and reap profit from it, than just let it sit around * Document 8 – POV * Witte, minister of finance, advocates for more reforms for peasants (legal/edu rights, less involvement from bureaucratic upper class * Historically, Russian government usually only made reforms to benefit them and the aristocracy. Witte steps back from call of more power, and aspires for more rights to the peasants * Document 11 * Peasant petition shows plan of action - peasants finally rally and demand concession with more force and realistic solutions * However, plan calls for oppression of Jews, could be bad in the long run (just provides another undercurrent that will disrupt status quo) * Document 12 * Shows improvement in literacy rates, a demand that peasants made and seemed to have been met * Overall, the requested/demanded reforms were met to some extent and started to provide a better quality of life for the lower class

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