Alexander II (Part 2): A reformist or not? (1861-1881)
Reforms and reaction
Themes:
* military, legislative, educational and local government reforms of Alexander II
* the nature of Alexander II's rule and the extent of tsarist reaction in his later years
A. Subsequent reforms and their impact
TASK 1 (GROUP WORK):
Create groups four groups. Each group should choose one of the areas of reform and answer to the questions. Send the answers of your group to the group return binder.
1) Military reforms
2) Legal reforms
3) Cultural and educational reforms
4) Local government reforms
Questions:
a) Why was it necessary to carry out reform on this field?
> Consider, was there any kind of special reason to begin a reform just at that specific point of time (not before, not later).
b) Who were the supporters of the reform? Was there any opposition forces against the reform? What were the motives of both of them?
c) Explain the content of the reform.
d) What were the strenghts of the reform?
e) What were the limitations of the reform?
f) Assess the importance of the reform to the modernisation of the Russian society.
g) Consider, did the reform strengthen or weaken the tsarist autocracy.
TASK 2: Read about the treatment of ethnic minorities in Russian Empire on pages 58-60/66-69 and consider, how fair is it to say that Alexander II was more tolerant than his predecessors.
B. The later years of Alexander II: A reactionary turn
B1: The emergence of new intelligentsia and opposition movement
- the relaxation of the censorship allowed ideas to spread more freely
- more advanced education and greater autonomy of the universities
- a new legal profession with skills to critical debate was created by the legal reforms
- new local institutions (zemstvas in rural areas and dumas in cities) were forums for (political) debate
- the first revolutionary society 'Land and Liberty' was established in 1861 for to create an agrarian-socialist society of peasant communes
- along with socialist theories some members of the opposition (especially students) were influenced by the Nihilist movement (Source B on page 62)
B2: The tsarist reaction
- the turning point was an assassination attempt against the Tsar in April 1866
> Alexander replaced his liberal reforming ministers with conservatives >
a) educational counter-reforms by Dmitri Tolstoy (about them on page 64/74)
b) more police control and legal actions against the opposition
> an opponent of the Alexander's former reforms, Pyotr Shuvalev, was appointed as head of the Third Section (a secret police): the 'Shuvalev era' (1866-1874)
"For me 1873 passed like a dark cloud...Everything is done under the exclusive influence of Count Shuvalev who was terrified the emperor with his daily reports about frightful dangers to which allegedly the state and the sovereign himself are exposed...Under the pretext of protection of the emperor's person and the monarchy Shuvalev interferes everything and all matters are decided in accordance with his whisperings. He has surrounded the emperor with his people; all new appointments are made at his instructions...This is the milieu in which I am condemned to operate. Is it possible for one man to fight against a whole powerful gang? What a devastating and disgusting contrast with the atmosphere in which I entered the government 13 years ago! Then everything was striving forwards; now everything is pulling backwards. Then the emperor sympathised with progress, he was moving forward; now he has lost confidence in everything be created, in everything that surrounds him, even himself." An extract from diary entry by Nikolai Milyutin on 31 December 1873.
TASK 3:
3.1. What main pressures were experienced by Milyutin as a liberal reformist?
3.2. By interpreting Miliyutin's description of the Tsar's mentality in 1873, is it fair to blame Alexander II as a ambivalent person and inconsistent ruler who was dependent on opinions of people around him?
B3. The crisis of 1870's
TASK 4:
4.1. Read pages 65-67/76-78 and underline the developments - and their reasons - that produced the crisis of the 1870's.
4.2. Read page 68/79 and consider, was there a reformist countern-turn which failed because of the death of the Tsar in March 1881.
C. How should Alexander II be interpreted?
EXTRA:
- Nicholas I and Alexander II
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9W1ZvSK7lnw [19:25]
* military, legislative, educational and local government reforms of Alexander II
* the nature of Alexander II's rule and the extent of tsarist reaction in his later years
A. Subsequent reforms and their impact
TASK 1 (GROUP WORK):
Create groups four groups. Each group should choose one of the areas of reform and answer to the questions. Send the answers of your group to the group return binder.
1) Military reforms
2) Legal reforms
3) Cultural and educational reforms
4) Local government reforms
Questions:
a) Why was it necessary to carry out reform on this field?
> Consider, was there any kind of special reason to begin a reform just at that specific point of time (not before, not later).
b) Who were the supporters of the reform? Was there any opposition forces against the reform? What were the motives of both of them?
c) Explain the content of the reform.
d) What were the strenghts of the reform?
e) What were the limitations of the reform?
f) Assess the importance of the reform to the modernisation of the Russian society.
g) Consider, did the reform strengthen or weaken the tsarist autocracy.
TASK 2: Read about the treatment of ethnic minorities in Russian Empire on pages 58-60/66-69 and consider, how fair is it to say that Alexander II was more tolerant than his predecessors.
B. The later years of Alexander II: A reactionary turn
B1: The emergence of new intelligentsia and opposition movement
- the relaxation of the censorship allowed ideas to spread more freely
- more advanced education and greater autonomy of the universities
- a new legal profession with skills to critical debate was created by the legal reforms
- new local institutions (zemstvas in rural areas and dumas in cities) were forums for (political) debate
- the first revolutionary society 'Land and Liberty' was established in 1861 for to create an agrarian-socialist society of peasant communes
- along with socialist theories some members of the opposition (especially students) were influenced by the Nihilist movement (Source B on page 62)
B2: The tsarist reaction
- the turning point was an assassination attempt against the Tsar in April 1866
> Alexander replaced his liberal reforming ministers with conservatives >
a) educational counter-reforms by Dmitri Tolstoy (about them on page 64/74)
b) more police control and legal actions against the opposition
> an opponent of the Alexander's former reforms, Pyotr Shuvalev, was appointed as head of the Third Section (a secret police): the 'Shuvalev era' (1866-1874)
"For me 1873 passed like a dark cloud...Everything is done under the exclusive influence of Count Shuvalev who was terrified the emperor with his daily reports about frightful dangers to which allegedly the state and the sovereign himself are exposed...Under the pretext of protection of the emperor's person and the monarchy Shuvalev interferes everything and all matters are decided in accordance with his whisperings. He has surrounded the emperor with his people; all new appointments are made at his instructions...This is the milieu in which I am condemned to operate. Is it possible for one man to fight against a whole powerful gang? What a devastating and disgusting contrast with the atmosphere in which I entered the government 13 years ago! Then everything was striving forwards; now everything is pulling backwards. Then the emperor sympathised with progress, he was moving forward; now he has lost confidence in everything be created, in everything that surrounds him, even himself." An extract from diary entry by Nikolai Milyutin on 31 December 1873.
TASK 3:
3.1. What main pressures were experienced by Milyutin as a liberal reformist?
3.2. By interpreting Miliyutin's description of the Tsar's mentality in 1873, is it fair to blame Alexander II as a ambivalent person and inconsistent ruler who was dependent on opinions of people around him?
B3. The crisis of 1870's
TASK 4:
4.1. Read pages 65-67/76-78 and underline the developments - and their reasons - that produced the crisis of the 1870's.
4.2. Read page 68/79 and consider, was there a reformist countern-turn which failed because of the death of the Tsar in March 1881.
C. How should Alexander II be interpreted?
EXTRA:
- Nicholas I and Alexander II
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9W1ZvSK7lnw [19:25]
Group return binder
Sinulla ei ole tarvittavia oikeuksia lähettää mitään.