1. Lesson 2: Tsarist Russia
The Tsars of the nineteenth century

2. A history of Tsars: Alexander II (Write out the correct paragraph)
Russia were humiliated at this war. He decided Russia’s problem was the structure of its society. He inherited a nation under seige. Alexander II realised that a nation that could not win a war fought on its own territory against an invading Army was a weak nation. Alexander II became Tsar in The other nations had done away with Feudalism, unlike Russia. Russia was under attack from the invading Armies of Britain and France in the Crimean War, which had started in 1854.

3. Alexander II became Tsar in 1855. He inherited a nation under seige
Alexander II became Tsar in He inherited a nation under seige. Russia was under attack from the invading Armies of Britain and France in the Crimean War, which had started in Russia were humiliated at this war. Alexander II realised that a nation that could not win a war fought on its own territory against an invading Army was a weak nation. He decided Russia’s problem was the structure of its society. The other nations had done away with Feudalism, unlike Russia.

4. Task 2 What was it about Feudalism that held Russia back?
Alexander ruled from I’ve already told you something that he did when in power. What was it?
Alexander wanted Russia to modernise. Why should he be careful?

5. Alexander II’s reforms
Emancipation of Serfs
Law: ‘Political’ Crimes tried in courts and before juries
Peasantry put under local governments, controlled by nobles (Zemstva)
More ‘carrot’ than ‘stick’.
THINK- PROBLEMS???

7. Alexander III takes over: What can we expect?

8. Alexander III Reversed the changes brought by the ‘Tsar liberator’.
More ‘stick’ than carrot.
Influenced by Pobedonostev

9. The pillars of Alexander III

10. Peasantry under control of Tsar
Department of Police set up to counter opposition
Political criminals now dealt with by the Minister of the Interior (imprisonment, exile)
Okhrana
Russification (tomorrow)
Army
Church
Censorship

11. Army Powerful and loyal army (at this point at least)
Officers came from nobility
Soldiers from conscripted villagers: Each village required to supply its quota of men

12. The Church Orthodox Church majority
‘God himself commands that this supreme authority be obeyed’
Russia kept to Byzantine Christianity (didn’t accept authority of Rome)- significance?
Resentment of other religions

13. Questions: Looking at the hand out, explain the ‘Buffer Zone’.
Fill out any sections of your hand out that you can.