Why did Alexander II introduce reform?

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Why did Alexander II introduce reform?Alexander II introduced reform for many reasons, the main being because of Russia’s overall industrial and economical backwardness. Alexander II wanted to improve the Russian empire as a whole, and reform was one of the ways in which he did this. The most important reason was due to power. Alexander felt that Russia was economically lagging behind compared to Western Europe, and so wanted to catch up. Russia’s trade was suffering due to its lack of
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advanced machinery, and so Alexander wanted to try and industrialise. This included introducing more railways and modern technology, so the rest of Europe wouldn’t seem as much of a threat and competition. Leading on from this, Russia’s humiliating defeat in the Crimean war showed Alexander the need to progress also in terms of military training and equipment. It was embarrassing that Russia, with a much larger force and population, had lost against the much smaller French and English troops. This made Alexander want to bring Russia forward and ensure the Serf Army, who were poorly paid and supplied, could compete ...

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