modern history

RUSSIA BEFORE NICHOLAS II

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Essay question on Alexander II (800-1000 words)
Assess the success of the social and political reforms introduced by Alexander II during his reign.
OR
“Alexander II committed a great fault, and brought about his own ruin, by raising so many hopes which later he did not satisfy”. (P. Kropotkin)

Written exercise
Look at each reform. Choose two and answer the following questions.
Which group benefited most from this reform?
Which lost power or prestige?
What ideas were behind the reforms and what ideas limited them?

Written exercise
Using the information in this lesson summarise, in point form Alexander II’s major reforms:
list the main difficulties experienced by the zemstva

historian Lionel Kochan said, “…the [the zemstva] developed into a genuinely liberal force, constantly at odds with the tsarist bureaucracy”. Explain in your own words why the zemstva became a centre for anti-tsarist opinion.

An English traveller, Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace, described the problem:
‘The very fact that few people had clear, precise ideas as to what was to be done …tended to increase the reform enthusiasm … The [Crimean] war had shown … the disastrous consequences of having merely primitive means of communication; … that a country which has not developed its natural resources very soon becomes exhausted if it has to make a great national effort; … that a system of education which tends to make men mere apathetic automata [robots] cannot produce even a good army; …that the best intentions of the Government [would be] be frustrated if the majority of officials are dishonest or incapable.
There was so much to be done it was no easy matter to decide what should be done first. Administrative, judicial, social, economic, and political reforms seemed all equally pressing. Gradually, however, it became evident that precedence must be given to the question of serfage. . .So long as serfage existed it was a mere mockery to talk about reorganising Russia according to the latest results of political and social science. How could a system of even handed justice be introduced when millions of the peasantry were subject to the arbitrary will of the landed proprietors? How could agricultural and industrial progress be made without free labour? … All this was generally felt by the educated classes …’
Sir Donald Mackenzie Wallace, Russia, published by Cassell, 1905

What does Mackenzie Wallace suggest are the main problems facing Russia at the end of the Crimean War? You should find at least 5 problems.

Identify each problem as either social, economic, political or administrative.

Explain what happened during the Crimean War?
What were Russia’s war aims?
What impact did the defeat have on Russia?
Why was the Crimean War significant?

Written response: What repressive policies did Nicholas I introduce after he became Tsar in 1825 and how did they affect life in Russia?

Questions: Listen to this Interview with Robert Massey “The fall of the Romanovs has made so much difference to our lives”

Listening task:

Why does Massey believe that the fall of the Romanovs was a significant historical event?
What are the five major things does he say the fear of Communism helped bring about?
Why did the Russian empire fall, according to Massey?
How does he describe the murder of the Romanov family?
What was the difference between how English King Charles I and the Romanovs were killed?
What disease did the Czar’s son, the Czarevitch have?
Where was the family taken to be killed?
Research Task: Investigate the geographical features of Russia in 1900, including location, size (covered one sixth of world’s land mass), ethnic makeup, using maps and statistics. Predict what skills a leader would need to rule this empire effectively? Compare with map of Russia today.

Social structure of Russia 1900

Make a pie chart to graphically represent the social makeup of Russian in 1800:
The nobles: 1.1%
The priests: 1.1%
The officials: 3.7%
The military: 5.0%
The merchants: 0.5%
Urban Workers: 3.7%
Serfs: 84.9%