Russia in the 1800s: Reform and

Industrialization

Russia In the Early 1800s Before the

Reforms

The Romanov Dynasty (1613 – 1917)

Mikhail Romanov 1613-1645

Alexei Romanov 1645-1676

Peter I the Great 1682-1721

Catherine II (Catherine the Great) 1762-1796

Alexander I 1801-1825

Nicholas I 1825-1855

Alexander II 1855-1881

Alexander III 1881-1894

Nicholas II 1894-1917

The Holy Alliance

• Formed at the Congress of Vienna in 1815

• Conservative alliance of Russia, Prussia, and Austria

• United in the defense of religion and the established order (keeping things status quo)

• But, Russian intellectuals wanted to Westernize Russia (political freedom, educational, etc.)

Decembrist Uprising (1825)• Russia’s ruling elites (tsar, nobles) were conservatives and were against

liberal reforms

• They censored the intellectuals (college students, etc) in favor of liberal reforms

• Army officers who wanted to Westernize revolted (Decembrist Uprising)

• Revolt was stopped, and Tsar Nicholas I

• As result, Tsar repressed liberal reformers even more

• As a result of the repression, Russia avoided the revolutions that swept across Europe in 1848

Russian Expansion

• Maintained control over Poland (dated back to Partition of Poland, 1772)

• Defeated Ottomans and gained territory in Eastern Europe in 1830s

• Russia helped groups such as Greece and Serbia gain independence from Ottomans

Economic and Social Problems: The Peasant

Question

Russia Fails To Industrialize

• Western Europe experiencing Industrial Revolution, but not Russia

• Russia still had serfdom

• To keep pace with West, landlords demanded more labor from serfs

• Russia remained a largely peasant society with an agrarian economy

Crimean War (1854-1856)

• Russia fought Ottomans, claimed to be protecting rights of Christians in Ottoman owned lands

Crimean War (1854-1856)

• Britain and France helped the Ottomans, and Russia lost

• Loss showed how far Russia was behind the West industrially and technologically

• Russia realized it needed to reform, and over next 20 years, series of reforms took place (1860s and 1870s)

The Reform Era and Early Industrialization

Emancipation of the Serfs

• Russia ended serfdom in 1861

• Serfs were given land when freed

• Landlords (nobles) close allies to tsars

• The landlords had long controlled peasants for tsars

• Even though serfs freed, Russia made sure to preserve power of aristocratic class (nobles)

• Redemption Payments = Serfs got land, but had to pay for land (couldn’t leave village until paid for)

• Serfs angered over redemption payments, many rose up

Emancipation of the Serfs

End of Serfdom = Large Labor Source

• In order to industrialize, a country need to have a large labor source, Russia now had it

• However, industrialization still didn’t take place right away (still took more time)

Tsar Alexander II (1855-1881)

• Passed many reforms after loss in Crimean War (emancipating serfs just one of them)

• Zemstvoes = created these local councils that could build roads, schools, and provide medical service

• Only wealthy could elect members of the zemstvoes

Trans-Siberian Railway

• Russia started building huge rail system in 1870s

• Trans-Siberian Railroad = connected European Russia (west) with the Pacific (east)

• Iron, coal, and grain industries grew as result of railroads

• Siberia became more developed, and Russia’s presence in Asia expanded

Russia Finally Has Industrial Revolution

• Railroads played big role

• Western business were encouraged to build factories in Russia

• By 1900 half of Russian industry was foreign owned

• Russia became leaders in steel, petroleum, and textile output

Industrialization Still Way Behind West

• Lots of big factories in Russia

• But didn’t have best technology in those factories

• Agricultural technology was way behind the times

Mostly, Reforms Failed

• Army tried to modernize, but military discipline and efficiently were poor

• Russia lacked strong middle class of artisans and professionals like the West had

• Intellectuals who wanted change felt there was not enough

Protest and Revolution in Russia

Social Problems

• Frequent famines led to peasant uprisings

• Peasants also revolted against redemption payments they still had to pay

• Intelligentsia = radical intellectuals that were very aggressive and demanded liberal reforms

• Many devoted their life to revolution

Social Problems

Social Problems

• Anarchists = people who want to end all forms of government

• Russian radicals turned to anarchism as a means to oppose the tsarist regime

• When anarchists failed to recruit many peasants to their cause, they turned to terrorism

Alexander II Ends Reforms• Alexander II stopped his reforms in late 1870s

• He felt they were creating problems (ex: more freedoms allowed for the rise of anarchist movement)

• Censorship increased and political agitators sent to prison camps in Siberia

• Alexander II assassinated in 1881 by anarchist bomb

• Successors further stopped any reforms and political freedoms

Minority Nationalities Targeted

• Government repression often aimed at minority nationalities living in the Russian empire (Poles, Ukrainians, and Jews)

• Pogroms = Mass executions that were ordered against Jews

Marxist Reaches Russia (1890s)• Marxism promoted idea of a proletariat

(working class) revolution

• Vladimir Ilyich Lenin = Marxist leader who led movements to overthrow the tsar

• Bolsheviks = Marxist political party in Russia

• Workers formed unions and went on strike (which was illegal in Russia)

Revolution Inevitable

• Peasants upset over power of landlords

• Urban working-class upset about lack of freedoms

• Intellectuals (intelligentsia) demanded liberal reforms

• Instead of compromise, tsar repressed freedoms even more

Military Successes = Problems?

• Beat the Ottomans in 1870s

• Helped create new Slavic states in Balkans (ex: Serbia) which Russians vowed to protect

• Increased influence in Middle East and central Asia

• But, Russia expanded too far, and the military was stretched too thin

Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)• Japan angry about Russia

expansion into east Asia (China, Korea) so fought Russia

• Japan won a shocking victory

• Resulted in the people of Russia revolted against the tsar

Russian Revolution of 1905

• In response to the massive protests after loss in Russo-Japanese War, Tsar Nicholas II agreed to pass liberal reforms

• Duma = A national parliament that was created to make Russia a parliamentary monarchy

• Kulaks = Peasants given more rights, and some, called kulaks, got wealthy enough to own land

Nicholas II Backtracks• Nicholas II comes from a long line of autocratic

tsars, and soon went back on these reforms

• He stripped the Duma of its power

• He once again began policy of political repression

• This led to even more Russians opposing the regime, and a bigger revolution would soon occur that would end the tsarist regime in Russia forever

The Rest of Eastern Europe

New Nations• Many countries were newly independent in Eastern Europe (had

broken from Ottoman Empire or Austria-Hungary)

• These new nations turned to Russia for help, guidance, and ideas

• Many copied Russia

• Most had autocratic kings (like tsars) that ruled with unlimited power

• Landlords had huge power

• Most began to industrialize, though even less than Russia did

Culture Thrives in Eastern Europe

• While there were many political and economic problems, cultural output thrived

• National dictionaries, folk tales, and music were created which enhanced senses of heritage

• Scientific advancements occurred (such as Gregor Mendel’s research on genetics)

Literature

Music

Chopin Liszt

Science

Gregor Mendel Ivan Pavlov