Czarist Russia Presentation created by Robert Martinez Primary
Czarist Russia Presentation created by Robert Martinez Primary Content Source: Prentice Hall World History Images as cited. olystad. reamedia. no www. allposters. com
By 1815, Russia was not only the largest, most populous nation in Europe but also a great world power. Since the 1600 s, explorers had pushed the Russian frontier eastward across Siberia to the Pacific. geographyiq. com
Peter the Great and Catherine the Great had added lands on the Baltic and Black seas, and czars in the 1800 s had expanded into Central Asia. Russia had thus acquired a huge multinational empire, part European and part Asian. www. chinaoilpaintinggallery. com
Other European nations looked on the Russian giant with a mixture of wonder and misgiving. It had immense natural resources. Russia’s vast size gave it global interests and influence. But Western Europeans disliked its autocratic government and feared its expansionist aims. upload. wikimedia. org
Despite efforts by Peter and Catherine to westernize Russia, it remained economically undeveloped. By the 1800 s, czars saw the need to modernize but resisted reforms that would undermine their absolute rule. While the czars wavered, Russia fell further behind Western Europe in economic and social developments. www. internetstones. com
A great obstacle to progress was the rigid social structure. Landowning nobles dominated society and rejected any change that would threaten their privileges. The middle class was too small to have much influence. The majority of Russians were serfs, laborers bound to the land to masters who controlled their fates. upload. wikimedia. org
img. auctiva. com Most serfs were peasants. Others might be servants, artisans, or soldiers forced into the czar’s army. As industry expanded, some masters sent serfs to work in factories but took much of their pay.
Many enlightened Russians knew that serfdom was inefficient. As long as most people had to serve the whim of their masters, Russia’s economy would remain backward. Landowning nobles had no reason to improve agriculture and took little interest in industry. imgc. allpostersimages. com
For centuries, czars had ruled with absolute power, imposing their will on their subjects. The changes brought about by the Enlightenment and the French Revolution had almost no effect on Russian autocracy. olystad. reamedia. no
When Alexander I inherited the throne in 1801, however, he seemed open to liberal ideas. The new czar eased censorship and promoted education. He even talked about freeing the serfs. it. stlawu. edu
By the time Napoleon invaded Russia in 1812, Alexander had drawn back from reform. Like earlier czars, he feared losing the support of nobles. At the Congress of Vienna, he joined the conservative powers in opposing liberal and nationalist impulses in Europe. napoleononline. ca
When Alexander I died in 1825, a group of army officers led an uprising known as the Decembrist Revolt. They had pick up liberal ideas while fighting Napoleon in Western Europe and now demanded a constitution. The new czar, Nicholas I, suppressed the Decembrists and cracked down on all dissent. southcarolina 1670. files. wordpress. com
Nicholas used police spies to hunt out critics. He banned books from Western Europe that might spread liberal ideas. Only approved textbooks were allowed in schools and universities. Many Russians with liberal or revolutionary ideas were judged to be insane and sent to mental hospitals. Up to 150, 000 others were exiled to Siberia. www. tristarmedia. com
imgc. allpostersimages. com Still, Nicholas realized that Russia needed to modernize. He issued a new law code and made some economic reforms. He even tried to limit the power of landowners over serfs. But he could see no way to change the system completely without angering Russian nobles and weakening the power of the czar.
Before Nicholas I died, he told his son, “I am handing you command of the country in a poor state. ” wwwdelivery. superstock. com
Alexander II came to the throne in 1855 during the Crimean War. The war had broken out after Russia tried to seize Ottoman lands along the Danube. Britain and France stepped in to help the Turks, invading the Crimean peninsula that juts into the Black Sea. upload. wikimedia. org
A widespread popular reaction followed. Liberals demanded changes, and students demonstrated for reform. Pressed from all sides, Alexander II finally agreed to reforms. In 1861, he issued a royal decree that required emancipation of the serfs. cache 2. allpostersimages. com
Freedom brought problems. Former serfs had to buy the land they had worked for so long. Many were too poor to do so. Also, the lands allotted to peasants were often too small to farm efficiently or to support a family. As a result, peasants remained poor, and discontent festered. /imagecache 6. allposters. com
Still, emancipation was a turning point. Many peasants moved into the cities, taking jobs in factories and building Russian industries. Equally important, freeing the serfs boosted the drive for further reform. www. russianpaintings. net
Along with emancipation, Alexander set up a system of local government. Elected assemblies, called zemstvos, were made responsible for matters such as road repair, schools, and agriculture. At the local level, Russians gained some experience of selfgovernment. www. euro-webonline. com
The Crimean War ended in a Russian defeat, revealed the country’s backwardness. It had only a few miles of railroads, and the military bureaucracy was hopelessly inefficient. Many felt that dramatic changes were needed. everythingencyclopedia. files. wordpress. com
The czar also introduced legal reforms based on ideas such as trial by jury. He eased censorship and tried to reform the military. A soldier’s term of service was reduced from 25 years to 15, a brutal discipline was limited. Alexander also encouraged the growth of industry in Russia, which still relied almost entirely on agriculture. img 0107. popscreencdn. com
Alexander’s reforms failed to satisfy many Russians. Peasants had freedom but not land. Liberals wanted a constitution and an elected legislature. Radicals, who had adopted socialist ideas from the West, demanded even more revolutionary changes. The czar, meantime, moved away from reform and toward repression. russianreport. files. wordpress. com
In the 1870 s, some socialists carried the message of reform to the peasants. They went to live and work among the peasants, sometimes preaching rebellion. These educated young men and women had little success. The peasants scarcely understood them and sometimes turned them over to the police. thecostumersmanifesto. com
The failure of this “Go to the People” movement, combined with renewed government repression, sparked anger among radicals. Some turned to terrorism. A revolutionary group calling itself the People’s Will assassinated officials and plotted to kill the czar. Their first attempts failed. ghi-dc. org
On a cold March day in 1881, terrorists hurled two bombs at Alexander’s carriage. One struck down several guards. The second killed the leader known to some as the “czar emancipator. ” allrussias. com
Alexander III responded to his father’s assassination by reviving the harsh methods of Nicholas I. To wipe out liberals and revolutionaries, he increased the power of the secret police, restored strict censorship, and exiled critics to Siberia. . ” www. globalsecurity. org
The czar also launched a program of Russification aimed at suppressing the cultures of non-Russian peoples with the empire. Alexander insisted on one language, Russian, and one church, the Russian Orthodox Church. c 420561. r 61. cf 1. rackcdn. com
Poles, Ukrainians, Finns, Armenians, and many others suffered persecution. The Russification campaign also targeted Jews and Muslims in the empire. 2. bp. blogspot. com
Russia acquired a large Jewish population when it carved up Poland expanded into Ukraine. Under Alexander III, persecution of Russian Jews increased. The czar limited the number of Jews who were allowed to study in universities and practice professions, such as law and medicine. He revived old laws that forced Jews to live in certain restricted areas. mishpokhe. co. uk
Official persecution encouraged pogroms, or violent mob attacks on Jews. Gangs beat and killed Jews and looted and burned their homes and stores. The police did nothing to stop the violence. Faced with savage persecution, many Jews escaped from Russia. They became refugees, or people who flee their homeland to seek safety elsewhere. www. berdichev. org
Large numbers of Russian Jews went to the United States. Though they often faced prejudice and great hardship there, they were safe from pogroms and official persecution. Jewish immigrants sent joyful news back to Russia: “There is no czar in America!” www. seligman. org. il
Under Alexander III and his son, Nicholas II, Russia finally entered the industrial age. In the 1890 s, Count Serge Witte, finance minister to Nicholas, focused on economic development. Witte encouraged railroad building to connect iron and coal mines with factories and to transport goods across Russia. farm 8. staticflickr. com
Witte secured foreign capital to invest in transportation systems and industry. Loans from France helped build the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Begun in the 1890 s, it linked European Russia to the Pacific Ocean. cache 2. allpostersimages. com
Russian workers laid more than 5, 000 miles of track to build the Trans-Siberian Railroad, the longest railroad in the world at that time. Siberia’s harsh landscape and climate challenged workers. Iron, stone, hardwoods, and food had to be shipped thousands of miles to the crews. www. sciencephoto. com
In the chilling winters, many workers died from hypothermia. With no safety devices, some fell to their deaths onto frozen rivers. To lay tracks in some areas, workers had to dynamite permanently frozen soil. These explosions, often proved fatal, as did epidemics of bubonic plague, anthrax, and cholera. www. irkutsk. org
Industrialization created new social ills as peasants flocked to cities to work in factories. Instead of a better life, they found long hours and low pay in dangerous conditions. In the slums around the factories, poverty, disease, and discontent multiplied. russianpickle. files. wordpress. com
Radicals sought supporters among the new industrial workers. At factory gates, socialists handed out pamphlets that preached the revolutionary ideas of Karl Marx. www. njuskalo. hr
Among the revolutionaries of the 1890 s was young Vladimir Ulyanov, whose older brother had been executed for plotting to kill Alexander III. Like many revolutionaries, Ulyanov used an alias, Lenin. In 1917, Lenin would take power in a revolution that transformed Russia. www. pastpicture. com
russianculture. files. wordpress. com War broke out between Russia and Japan in 1904, Nicholas II called on his people to fight for “the Faith, the Czar, and the Fatherland. ” But despite their efforts, the Russians suffered one humiliating defeat after another.
News of the military disasters unleashed pentup discontent created by years of oppression. Protesters poured into the streets. Workers went on strike with demands for shorter hours and better wages. Liberals called for a constitution and reforms to overhaul the inefficient, corrupt government. www. csmonitor. com
As the crisis deepened, a young Orthodox priest, Father George Gapon, organized a march for Sunday, January 22, 1905. Father Gapon felt certain that the “Little Father, ” as many Russians called the czar, would help his people if only he understood their sufferings. www. historytoday. com
The parade flowed through the icy streets of St. Petersburg toward the czar’s lavish Winter Palace. Chanting prayers and singing hymns, workers carried holy icons and pictures of the czar. They also brought a petition for justice and freedom, which was addressed to Nicholas. www. xtimeline. com
Fearing the marchers, the czar had fled the palace and called in soldiers. As the people approached, they saw troops lined up across the square. Suddenly, gunfire rang out. Men and women ran and fell. More shots left hundreds dead or wounded in the snow. 3. bp. blogspot. com
A woman stumbling away from the scene of the massacre moaned: “The czar has deserted us! They shot away the orthodox faith. ” Indeed, the slaughter marked a turning point for Russians. “Bloody Sunday” killed the people’s faith and trust in the czar. www. xtimeline. com
In the months that followed Bloody Sunday, discontent exploded across Russia. Strikes multiplied. In some cities, workers took over local government. In the countryside, peasants revolted and demanded land. Minority nationalities called for autonomy from Russia. Terrorists targets officials, and some assassins were cheered as heroes by discontented Russians.
At last, the clamor grew so great that Nicholas was forced to announce sweeping reforms. In the October Manifesto, he promised “freedom of person, conscience, speech, assembly, and union. ” He agreed to summon a Duma, or elected national legislature. No law, he declared, would go into effect without upload. wikimedia. org approval by the Duma.
The manifesto won over moderates, leaving socialists isolated. These divisions helped the czar, who had no intention of letting strikers, revolutionaries, and rebellious peasants challenge him. cdn. dipity. com
In 1906, the first Duma met, but the czar quickly dissolved it when leaders criticized the government. Nicholas then appointed a new prime minister, Peter Stolypin. Arrests, pogroms, and executions followed as the conservative Stolypin sought to restore order. russiapedia. rt. com
Stolypin soon realized that Russia needed reform, not just repression. To regain peasant support, he introduced moderate land reforms. He strengthened the zemstvos and improved education. russiapedia. rt. com
As prime minister, Stolypin used harsh measures to silence opposition. On his orders, trials of terrorists were held within 24 hours of arrest; executions were held immediately upon conviction. More than 1, 000 suspected terrorists were executed in less than a year. The noose used to hang them came to be known as “Stolypin’s necktie. ” vcerevolutions. wikispaces. com
These reforms were too limited to meet the broad needs of most Russians, and dissatisfaction still simmered. Stolypin was assassinated in 1911. Several more Dumas met during this period, but new voting laws made sure they were conservative. By 1914, Russia was still an autocracy, simmering with unrest. www. v-like-vintage. net
- Slides: 52
