Tsar LifeImperial Russia

The Facts…

• Czar is the title given to the Russian leader• For over 300 years, one royal family ruled,

the Romanovs

So what was life like under the czars? How did people live? Did they have social classes? Who were the last four czars and what happened to them?

Nobility

• 1% of the population• Controlled much of the land and wealth in

Russia• Must have the right appearance to show

wealth and power. Big into fashion of the time!

• Czar and family live in luxury – he owned millions of acres of land, dozens of palaces, and one million serfs

• The average noble family owned about 1500 acres and had 200 serfs

Intellectuals

• Educated individuals who began to write and talk about ways to improve Russia

• Small class of thinkers and students called themselves: Intelligentsia

• Met regularly in cafes, parks, and taverns in major cities to discuss new ideas and how they might change Russia

Clergy• Followed Russian Orthodox church (all the

way back to 900s)• Dominant group in Russian society• Priest was the central figure in cities and

villages• Used sacred rituals and saints• Ranking of priests: archbishop, bishop,

village priests (less power for the village priest)

• Russian life revolved around the church rituals

Peasants

• 90% of the Russian people were peasant farmers

• Difficult life• Russian commoners were serfs• Serfs had no legal rights, not own land,

and not free to move • Serfdom ended in 1861 with Alexander II, but

peasants still paid high taxes, had limited access to land, and lived in poverty well into the 1900s

Nicolas I Romanov 1825-1855•Csar/tsar believed in ABSOLUTE POWER•Was against revolution and change so when his own military revolted, he crushed it•Against democracy and a constitution•It was illegal to speak up against him (no freedom of speech)•Aristocrats wanted rights like England•Csar used secret police to squash all rebellions•He assisted other monarchs from other countries to stop rebellions so they could remain in power•He attacks the Ottoman Empire who get backed by England and France causing the Crimean War…Russia loses because their military is not equipped like other countries with new weapons!•His push for military might ends up killing him

•http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXPP1j1yahg (stop at 8:22)

Alexander II 1855-1881• Wanted to modernize Russia• He abolishes (ends) serfdom in Russia at the end of

the 19th century• Relaxed censorship and had trial by jury • Willing to share power in the country• Built railway to the sea• The poor classes in Russia

admire him • BUT he is killed by radicals who want

change http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXPP1j1yahg

(start at 8:22 to end)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PFQ7Th_rAs

(beginning to 7:30)

Alexander III 1881-1894

• Son of Alexander II (so power isstill in the same family)• Hated that his father was killed by thepeople, so he did not allow the sharing ofpower • Has an advisor that is very distrustful of Westerners• He feared free speech and democracy• Tried to “Russianize” othershttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PFQ7Th_rAs (start at 7:31 – end

talks about Lenin)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-x4VcmHfxU (show first 27 seconds)

Nicholas II1894-1917

• Son of Alexander III and not

prepared to rule• Believed in absolute, divine

right to rule• Russian Industrial Revolution

• Trans-Siberian Railroad• Steel producers• Lost Russo-Japanese War• People are growing unhappy with the rule of

the czars – revolts begin and the end of 300 years of Romanov family rule will die with him!

http://nrgalloway24.hubpages.com/hub/The-Romanovs-A-Lifelong-Passion

http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vczI5NS5waG90b2J1Y2tldC5jb20vYWxidW1zL21tMTMzL0FsZXhhbmRlcjE4NjgvcnVzc2lhLz9hY3Rpb249dmlldyZjdXJyZW50PTA3NDc2Yi5qcGc=

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Moscow_Kremlin_Egg.jpg

http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vczI5NS5waG90b2J1Y2tldC5jb20vYWxidW1zL21tMTMzL0FsZXhhbmRlcjE4NjgvcnVzc2lhLz9hY3Rpb249dmlldyZjdXJyZW50PVN0YW5kYXJkLmpwZw==

Video Clips

• Alexis and Rasputin (start at 3min to 7:33)• Alexis and Rasputin (STOP at 6:40)• Unrest (1:35min to 10:41)• Rasputin’s Death (4:45 to 10:41)• Rasputin’s Death II (9:41)• Death of the Romanovs from Rasputin

(6:22)

Road to Revolution• There were many causes of the Russian Revolution:

– Russo-Japanese War– A weak leader– Poor working conditions– Problems with serfs– Bloody Sunday– The Duma– Rasputin– WWI– Vladimir Lenin and the Bolshevikshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-x4VcmHfxU

(Land of the Tsars 18 10 min.)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W1b6j8U46k&feature=related (Land of the Tsars 19 10 min.)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-qxWWRcN-4&feature=related (Land of the Tsars 20 6:43min.)