HIST 236 Lecture 10: Lecture 10 - Alexander III and Counter Reforms
19 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Alexander III
Alexander III was never supposed to be Tsar (his older brother, who died,
was Alexander II's heir)
He married his older brother's fiance
○
-
He did not share his father's interest in liberal reforms
-
After his father's assassination, he set the country on a more conservative
course
Swears to get revenge for his father on the revolutionaries
○
-
He argued that the Russians loved their Tsar and supported autocracy
-
Alexander III cancels Alexander II's liberal reforms/decree
-
Konstantin Pobedonostev
Alexander III was heavily influenced by his tutor and advisor, the arch-
conservative Pobedonostsev
-
He occupied an important post in his cabinet, as the Ober Procurator of the
Most Holy Synod
-
He was a Slavophile and critical of democracy
-
He saw politics and religion as inseparable
-
Temporary Regulations and the Police State
In late 1881, Alexander III declared a state of reinforced security in the
capital and major cities, as well as the country's southwestern regions
-
This systematized emergency legislation already in place since the terrorist
attacks of the 1870s
-
The Russian state and police had great arbitrary powers (to detain, to hold
without charges, etc.)
-
This reversed the move toward greater civil rights through the 1864 court
reforms
-
Secret Police, Spies and Undercover Agents
In the wake of his father's murder, Alexander III reorganized the police and
security structures to create security departments (okhrana)
-
They rooted out revolutionary plotters and terrorists both in Russia and
abroad
-
The Okhrana created a vast network of spies and agents provocateurs (but
also double agents) who infiltrated underground organizations and
reported on revolutionaries' activities
-
Scaling Back the Great Reforms
The Zemstvos' scope and autonomy was curtailed
In 1889 the zemstvos - the person who had the highest level of power
had to be state elected
○
Allow the government to have veto around the people who are
elected and the laws that the zemstvos want to put into place
Makes it difficult for the zemstvo to do anything progressive
§
○
-
Censorship laws were tightened once again; pre-publication censorship was
brought back
Censorship was brought after instead of before something was
published
If you wrote something that wasn't acceptable, you would be
slapped with a huge fine
§
○
-
The press was restricted
If they violated 3 times, they would be shut down for 6 months and
had to go through pre-printing censorship
○
-
Universities' autonomy was curtailed and restrictions on admissions were
imposed
Were not longer able to appoint their own deans, etc.
○
Clamped down on admissions so not as many people were able to go
○
-
Russification
Russification starts to intensify
Harshly represses the Poles, strips them of their titles and they are no
longer to use the Polish language, shuts down universities
○
Ban Ukrainian literature (except for fiction and poetry)
In 1876 can only print things in Ukrainian if they are from the
ancient past
§
○
-
Repressive policies toward ethnic minorities that had started under
Alexander II were continued by Alexander II
-
He embarked upon a policy of more systematic Russification
-
Minority ethnic languages (Polish, Ukrainian, German, etc.) were repressed
in favour of Russian
Everyone should be taught Russian and it should be used in every day
life
○
He goes into the Slavic regions (Baltic area) that they have left alone
and forces them to speak Russian
○
Encourages ethnic Russians to go settle in these areas
○
-
Ethnic Russian settlers began to move out to Central Asia and into
borderland regions
-
Rising Anti-Semitism
The government became more openly anti-Semitic
-
A way of violence (pogroms) occurred after the assassination of Alexander
II
Pogrom -violence by mobs
○
Pogroms are happening in response to scapegoatting and in response
to the death of the Tsar
○
Local police only intervened at the last minute to stop the pogroms
○
-
The May 1882 Laws placed new restrictions on Jews' movement,
settlement, and economic activity
Ban the creation of Jewish settlements beyond the town
○
Forbidden from doing business on Sunday
○
Not allowed to buy property or have a mortgage
○
Government starts raids to find Jews living outside the cities and
moves them back to the pale - these were people who were legally
living there
○
There were new quotas put in place for Jewish students
Not allowed to exceed 10% inside the pale settlement
§
Not allowed to exceed 5% outside the pale settlement
§
In cities they were not allowed to exceed 3%
§
○
Doctors were not allowed to work for the state and made it difficult
for Jewish lawyers to be admitted to the bar
○
Reduce the size of the pale of settlement
○
-
Jews were further restricted from university admission, becoming lawyers,
etc.
-
There were repeated raids to find Jews living outside the pale
-
1/3 converted to Christianity, 1/3 emigrated, 1/3 died of hunger
-
Foreign Policy
Russia engaged in no major foreign conflicts or wars during the reign of
Alexander III, which won him the nickname of "the Peacemaker"
-
Russia was relatively politically isolated in Europe
They are looking for new allies
○
-
It brokered an agreement with Republican France in 1890
Scandalous alliance because France is the kind of country that Russia
does not want to become - they do not want democracy, etc.
○
They need the French money to industrialize
○
-
In 1881, they are done expanding in Central Asia
-
In 1885, they recognize that Afghanistan is Britain's area of influence
-
State-led Industrialization
Russian industrialization accelerated in the 1880s and 1890s
Borrowing money from France to construct the railway
○
-
Much of these efforts were led by Sergei Witte, who became the Minister
of Finance in 1891
-
Witte was drawn to German ideas about the strong state and economic
protectionism
-
Summing Up
Russia saw a conservative rollback under Alexander III who retreated from
liberal values and toward more traditional values
-
He used repression and expanded police power to root out underground
organizations and revolutionaries
-
This was a period of increased Russification and repression for Russia's
ethnic minorities
-
Lecture 10 - Alexander III and Counter Reforms
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
9:34 AM
Alexander III
Alexander III was never supposed to be Tsar (his older brother, who died,
was Alexander II's heir)
He married his older brother's fiance
○
-
He did not share his father's interest in liberal reforms
-
After his father's assassination, he set the country on a more conservative
course
Swears to get revenge for his father on the revolutionaries
○
-
He argued that the Russians loved their Tsar and supported autocracy
-
Alexander III cancels Alexander II's liberal reforms/decree
-
Konstantin Pobedonostev
Alexander III was heavily influenced by his tutor and advisor, the arch-
conservative Pobedonostsev
-
He occupied an important post in his cabinet, as the Ober Procurator of the
Most Holy Synod
-
He was a Slavophile and critical of democracy
-
He saw politics and religion as inseparable
-
Temporary Regulations and the Police State
In late 1881, Alexander III declared a state of reinforced security in the
capital and major cities, as well as the country's southwestern regions
-
This systematized emergency legislation already in place since the terrorist
attacks of the 1870s
-
The Russian state and police had great arbitrary powers (to detain, to hold
without charges, etc.)
-
This reversed the move toward greater civil rights through the 1864 court
reforms
-
Secret Police, Spies and Undercover Agents
In the wake of his father's murder, Alexander III reorganized the police and
security structures to create security departments (okhrana)
-
They rooted out revolutionary plotters and terrorists both in Russia and
abroad
-
The Okhrana created a vast network of spies and agents provocateurs (but
also double agents) who infiltrated underground organizations and
reported on revolutionaries' activities
-
Scaling Back the Great Reforms
The Zemstvos' scope and autonomy was curtailed
In 1889 the zemstvos - the person who had the highest level of power
had to be state elected
○
Allow the government to have veto around the people who are
elected and the laws that the zemstvos want to put into place
Makes it difficult for the zemstvo to do anything progressive
§
○
-
Censorship laws were tightened once again; pre-publication censorship was
brought back
Censorship was brought after instead of before something was
published
If you wrote something that wasn't acceptable, you would be
slapped with a huge fine
§
○
-
The press was restricted
If they violated 3 times, they would be shut down for 6 months and
had to go through pre-printing censorship
○
-
Universities' autonomy was curtailed and restrictions on admissions were
imposed
Were not longer able to appoint their own deans, etc.
○
Clamped down on admissions so not as many people were able to go
○
-
Russification
Russification starts to intensify
Harshly represses the Poles, strips them of their titles and they are no
longer to use the Polish language, shuts down universities
○
Ban Ukrainian literature (except for fiction and poetry)
In 1876 can only print things in Ukrainian if they are from the
ancient past
§
○
-
Repressive policies toward ethnic minorities that had started under
Alexander II were continued by Alexander II
-
He embarked upon a policy of more systematic Russification
-
Minority ethnic languages (Polish, Ukrainian, German, etc.) were repressed
in favour of Russian
Everyone should be taught Russian and it should be used in every day
life
○
He goes into the Slavic regions (Baltic area) that they have left alone
and forces them to speak Russian
○
Encourages ethnic Russians to go settle in these areas
○
-
Ethnic Russian settlers began to move out to Central Asia and into
borderland regions
-
Rising Anti-Semitism
The government became more openly anti-Semitic
-
A way of violence (pogroms) occurred after the assassination of Alexander
II
Pogrom -violence by mobs
○
Pogroms are happening in response to scapegoatting and in response
to the death of the Tsar
○
Local police only intervened at the last minute to stop the pogroms
○
-
The May 1882 Laws placed new restrictions on Jews' movement,
settlement, and economic activity
Ban the creation of Jewish settlements beyond the town
○
Forbidden from doing business on Sunday
○
Not allowed to buy property or have a mortgage
○
Government starts raids to find Jews living outside the cities and
moves them back to the pale - these were people who were legally
living there
○
There were new quotas put in place for Jewish students
Not allowed to exceed 10% inside the pale settlement
§
Not allowed to exceed 5% outside the pale settlement
§
In cities they were not allowed to exceed 3%
§
○
Doctors were not allowed to work for the state and made it difficult
for Jewish lawyers to be admitted to the bar
○
Reduce the size of the pale of settlement
○
-
Jews were further restricted from university admission, becoming lawyers,
etc.
-
There were repeated raids to find Jews living outside the pale
-
1/3 converted to Christianity, 1/3 emigrated, 1/3 died of hunger
-
Foreign Policy
Russia engaged in no major foreign conflicts or wars during the reign of
Alexander III, which won him the nickname of "the Peacemaker"
-
Russia was relatively politically isolated in Europe
They are looking for new allies
○
-
It brokered an agreement with Republican France in 1890
Scandalous alliance because France is the kind of country that Russia
does not want to become - they do not want democracy, etc.
○
They need the French money to industrialize
○
-
In 1881, they are done expanding in Central Asia
-
In 1885, they recognize that Afghanistan is Britain's area of influence
-
State-led Industrialization
Russian industrialization accelerated in the 1880s and 1890s
Borrowing money from France to construct the railway
○
-
Much of these efforts were led by Sergei Witte, who became the Minister
of Finance in 1891
-
Witte was drawn to German ideas about the strong state and economic
protectionism
-
Summing Up
Russia saw a conservative rollback under Alexander III who retreated from
liberal values and toward more traditional values
-
He used repression and expanded police power to root out underground
organizations and revolutionaries
-
This was a period of increased Russification and repression for Russia's
ethnic minorities
-
Lecture 10 - Alexander III and Counter Reforms
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
9:34 AM
Document Summary
Lecture 10 - alexander iii and counter reforms. Alexander iii was never supposed to be tsar (his older brother, who died, was alexander ii"s heir) He did not share his father"s interest in liberal reforms. After his father"s assassination, he set the country on a more conservative course. Swears to get revenge for his father on the revolutionaries. He argued that the russians loved their tsar and supported autocracy. Alexander iii was heavily influenced by his tutor and advisor, the arch- conservative pobedonostsev. He occupied an important post in his cabinet, as the ober procurator of the. He was a slavophile and critical of democracy. In late 1881, alexander iii declared a state of reinforced security in the capital and major cities, as well as the country"s southwestern regions. This systematized emergency legislation already in place since the terrorist attacks of the 1870s. The russian state and police had great arbitrary powers (to detain, to hold without charges, etc. )
