  1796: Catherine the Great died  Alexander I becomes tsar  Very conservative ruler  Established the Holy Alliance with Prussia and Austria  Tight control to keep liberal ideas from spreading in Russia Conservatism in Russia

  Nicholas I (ruled from )  Also a conservative ruler  Decembrist Revolt (1825)  Revolt led by army officer who were demanding reform  Nicholas responds by brutally crushing the rebellion  Tight censorship, political opponents arrested, secret police expanded, etc. Conservatism in Russia

  Anti-western sentiment hindered Russia’s industry  Refusal to adopt new technologies  Continued to rely on serfs to do labor  Russian economic development was also hindered by the lack of a strong middle class and sub-par transportation systems Conservatism in Russia

  Russia had been pursuing policies of expansion for a couple hundred years  Conflict with Ottoman Empire over lands in the Black Sea region  Crimean War leads to a humiliating defeat for Russia Russian Expansion

  Following Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War, demands for reform began again.  Alexander II (ruled ) began to initiate reform  Emancipation of Serfs in 1861  Former serfs were given land (known as mir ) but no political rights. They were also still tied to the land until they were able to repay debt owed for the land they were given. Reforms of Alexander II

  Alexander II also created local government councils  Zemstvos in villages  Dumas in urban areas  Zemstvos and Dumas were in charge of local policies  Road building, education, etc.  Alexander II also increased recruitment into the army and implemented education policies for soldiers  He did NOT, however, attempt to expand political rights to the lower classes Reforms of Alexander II

  Lack of a strong middle class hindered Russia’s industrial development.  Russian government began to push for industrialization  Trans-Siberian Railroad helped to stimulate the Russian economy by improving transportation  By the 1880’s, factories were being constructed in major cities (Moscow, St. Petersburg)  Russia, however, remained a predominantly agricultural, rural society Industrialization in Russia

  Nationalism became a destabilizing force in Russia  Russia was multi-ethnic with numerous different nationalities and cultures living under one government  Intelligentsia (educated professionals) began to voice radical ideas on political reform Unrest...again

  Nihilists : called for reform  Rejected the materialism of the west  Saw the Russia people as a revolutionary force  Used literature to try and bring change  Often advocated violent revolution.  Anarchists: rejected the need for a state/government  Micheal Makunin famous anarchist Unrest…again

  Marxism became a popular ideology  Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov…aka Lenin was a major supporter of Marxist ideas  Author of What is to be Done?, a pamphlet that circulated among radical intelligentsia in the early- 1900’s  Lenin believed that Russia was a prime location for a revolution.  His followers became known as Bolsheviks Unrest…again

  1881: Alexander II was assassinated  Killed by a group of radicals known as “People’s Will”  Hoped that the death of the tsar would spark a popular revolution…did not happen  Alexander III assumed throne after his father’s murder  Ruled from  Responds to his father’s assassination with force Assassination of the Tsar

  Alexander III began to crack down on opposition  Professors and teachers were put under tight government control to prevent them from teaching liberal ideas  Many critics of the government fled into exile Alexander III’s Empire

  Alexander III implemented a policy known as Russification  Banned use of languages other than Russian in schools  Placed restrictions on non-Orthodox religions  Ex: Jews  These policies caused unrest to grow among the intelligentsia as well as various ethnic groups living in the Russian empire Russification

  : Russia went to war with Japan  See pages for additional information  Japan wins  Russia shocked by defeat  Again, the people demand reforms. Russo-Japanese War

  Popular uprising against the tsar  Refer to pages for more information  Thousands of people marched on the tsar’s Winter Palace demanding reform  Troops fired on the crowd  “Bloody Sunday”  News of the massacre spread, leading to anti- government demonstrations Revolution of 1905

  Nicholas II (ruled from ) agreed to a few reforms  New constitution as well as the election of a parliament (Duma)  Forgive redemption payments that former serfs were required to pay in return for communal lands (mir)  Relaxation of Russification policies  These reforms, however, did not satisfy the most radical of the intelligentsia  Revolutionary ideas continued to thrive….especially those of the Bolsheviks Revolution of 1905