HIST 236 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Autocracy, Social Stratification, Multiple Choice
19 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Course requirements
Midterm: 20% (in class Feb 14)
Multiple choice, fill in the blank
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Reading discussion responses: (2x5%) due Jan 31 and March 14
Due on my courses
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48 hours to come up with an answer to question (500 - 600 words) on
mycourses
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Drawing upon readings
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Primary source analysis: 20% (due April 4)
Has PS written beside it on mycourses
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Take-home exam: 40% (due April 27)
4 days to write exam
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2 essays (1 on everything since the midterm, 1 on the whole course)
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Participation grade: 10%
6 conferences (week 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14)
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What is the Russian Empire?
17 million square km (Russia)
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Russia is not considered a legal entity until Peter the Great in 1721
Empire and imperial entity
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Tsar implies "empire"
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Goes into the South and the East
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Multi-ethnic empire, dominant ethnic group but not the majority
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Largely a feudal society in the 17th century
Social hierarchy with serfdom and elites (autocracy)
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Tsar is God's representative on earth (divine right)
Russian Orthodox church is turned into a state institution
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Russia is very backward so the Tsar/ina tries to modernize and westernize
St. Petersburg becomes the capital because it is closer to Europe and in order to
allow Russia to become a naval power
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Move up in ranks depending on what you could do for the Tsar
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Catherine the Great stops the enlightened reforms because of the Pugachev rebellion
and the French Revolution
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Paul I attacks French culture and tries to reform Russia
Implements policy that sovereign isn't allowed to choose their heir, it has to go
to the next male
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Alienates everyone in the nobility and is assassinated
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"The Saviour of Europe?" - Alexander I
Wants to reform serfdom, but the nobility likes serfdom because it is a source of their
power
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Makes it easier for nobility to let serfs become free people
Serfs are to become farmers
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Emancipation of serfs in Baltic areas
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Influenced by liberal speakers in Russian society (Mikhail Speransky - father of Russian
liberalism)
Russia is on the brink of war with France
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Russia retreats and Napoleon's army becomes exhausted
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Napoleon makes it to Moscow but they find that everything has been burned
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Russia is victorious and becomes a "world player"
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Saw himself and Russia as the "saviour of Europe" who had liberated it from
revolutionary ideology
Saved Europe from the revolution and enlightenment
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Doesn't want to emancipate the serfs anymore because he needed the nobility on his
side
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War with Napoleon created a lot of hatred towards the French
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Patriotic war brought out a sense of Russian patriotism
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Summary
Russia at the turn of the 19th century was still laregly a feudal society
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It had an ambivilant relationship to Europe, at times seeking to draw closer to
European modern values (increasing secularism, representative government, political
rights) and at times rejecting it
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Lecture 1 -Alexander I
Monday, January 8, 2018
11:23 AM
Document Summary
Reading discussion responses: (2x5%) due jan 31 and march 14. 48 hours to come up with an answer to question (500 - 600 words) on mycourses. 2 essays (1 on everything since the midterm, 1 on the whole course) 6 conferences (week 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14) Russia is not considered a legal entity until peter the great in 1721. Multi-ethnic empire, dominant ethnic group but not the majority. Largely a feudal society in the 17th century. Tsar is god"s representative on earth (divine right) Russian orthodox church is turned into a state institution. Russia is very backward so the tsar/ina tries to modernize and westernize. St. petersburg becomes the capital because it is closer to europe and in order to allow russia to become a naval power. Move up in ranks depending on what you could do for the tsar. Catherine the great stops the enlightened reforms because of the pugachev rebellion.
