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Imperial Russia 1801 - 1917

Imperial Russia 1801 - 1917. The Tsars. Alexander I 1801 – 25 Nikolai I 1825 – 55 Alexander II 1855 – 81 Alexander III 1881 – 94 Nikolai II 1894 - 1917. Alexander I: liberal rhetoric. Verified the Code of Nobility Abolished ( but soon reconstructed ) the secret police

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Imperial Russia 1801 - 1917

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  1. Imperial Russia 1801 - 1917

  2. The Tsars • Alexander I 1801 – 25 • Nikolai I 1825 – 55 • Alexander II 1855 – 81 • Alexander III 1881 – 94 • Nikolai II 1894 - 1917

  3. Alexander I: liberal rhetoric • Verified the CodeofNobility • Abolished (butsoonreconstructed) the secretpolice • Introduced the Permanent Council • Attemtto make administration moreefficientthrough the Ministries • Constitutional experiments in Finland and Poland • Reform ofeducation • Won international prestige after the defeatof Napoleon

  4. Nikolai I: Orthodoxy, Autarchy and nationality • Decembrist Revolt 1825 • Personal chancellery • Showed no interest in liberal reforms • Independenceof the nobilityremoved • The ThirdSection and censorship • A Russian Intelligentsia emerges • Conflictwith the Ottomans and the otherEuropeanGreat Powers leadsto the CrimeanWar 1853 - 56

  5. Alexander II: the reformer • Defeat in the CrimeanWar a desaster for the tsarist personal regime • National debtwashigh and steadilyincreasing • Unrest in severalcitiesworried • Peasant support wasdeclining • A growing intelligentsia woulddemand reforms

  6. Alexander´s Reforms • The Emancipation Edict 1861; Serfdomended • Legal reforms 1864: Independent courtsintroduced; all equalbefore the law • The Zemstvo reform 1864 • Army reform • Work on a constitutionstarted • Industrial developmentencouraged: focus on railways, oilfields, export ofwheat • RiseofRussian terrorism • Alexander assassinated by radicals in S:t Petersburg 1881

  7. Alexander III: the Reactionary • Directresponseto the murderof Alexander II was a decisiveturn back to a more repressive and autocraticrule. • The group ”People´s Will” broken up in a largepolice offensive, numbersofprisoners in Siberiaincreased. • The powerof the ordinarycourtswasdiminished, administrative officialswere given morepower and militarycourtsintroduced. • A system ofinformersdeveloped, the secretpoliceexpanded.

  8. Instruments oftsaristcontrol • Police apparatus • Introductionof Land Captains • Censorshiptightened • Autonomyof the universitiesended, steps taken toexcludepoor boys from gymnasiums • Indepenceof the courtsreduced • Morepower given to the Orthodox Church, less tolerance for other religions.

  9. Targets/VictimsofTsarist repression • National minorities – Russificationused • Jews – increaseddiscrimination and pogroms under Alexander III; ca 2 million jewsleftRussia • Illegal trade unions in the growingindustrial centers • Parts of the Intelligentsia

  10. Structural problems • Alexander II:s land reforms meantthatheavy taxation on the peasants, forcedthemtosell as much as possibleof the production. Desasterafterharvestfailure 1891. • Farmingmethodsremained primitive, peasantscouldhardlyafford new machines or weresuspiciousofthem. • The population growthputenormouspressure on the cultivable land. • Land area owned by nobilitydecreased, also the nobilitysuffered from highprotection tariffs, slowed the modernisation.

  11. Population Growth • 1860 74 100 000 • 1870 84 500 000 • 1890 110 800 000 • 1900 133 000 000 • 1910 160 000 000 • 1914 175 000 000

  12. Industrial Development • Alexander´s minister ofFinance, Sergei Witte, led Russiainto a rapid industrialisation. • Witte activelyspronsoredforeigninvestments and implementedprotection tariffs toencouragedomesticindustry. • Directstateinvestmentsencouraged, especiallyregardingrailways • TransibirianRailroadconstructed • Industrial output expanded at an annual rate of 8% in the 1890s.

  13. Railway construction 1880 22,865km 1890 30,596km 1904 59,616km 1914 77,246km

  14. Nikolai II: the weak tsar • Conservative, religious • Manipulated by the tsarina

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