The policies of Alexander II and III of Russia

Part C: Evaluation of Sources

Source 1: Excerpt of ‘Manifesto Unshakeable Autocracy’ of Alexander III, April 29,1881

‘But in the midst of

Our great grief, the voice of God orders Us courageously to

undertake, in deference to Divine intention, the task of ruling, with

faith in the strength and truth of autocratic power. We

are summoned to reaffirm that Power and preserve it for the benefit

of the people from any encroachment.’

This excerpt has been taken from Alexander III’s ‘Manifesto of Unshakeable Autocracy’. The origin of this document is a political document, a manifesto, written by Alexander III, soon after his father’s assassination by terroists. The purpose of the document is to inform the people of Russia of his political stance. It is valuable because it is a primary source written by the autocrat himself that reveals his aims for the future and views on his duty as a Tsar. The limitations of this document are that it is has little perspective, the Tsar’s perspective. It does not show the other perspective, the perspective of people who do not share his grief.

Source 2: ‘Alexander II and the Modernization of Russia’ W. E. Mosse

This text was written in 1958 as a textbook on Alexander II and his policies. The purpose of this text is to educate and inform the reader about Alexander II and his modernisation policies. The text is valuable because it is written by a reputable scholar of in this area, he has written a number of books on Russian history. The text however is limited as it was written in 1958, this was before the Soviet Union collapsed and opened its archives to foreign historians, this means that he would not have had access to many authorative primary sources and documents, decreasing the depth of the information presented.

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Part D: Analysis

Alexander II and Alexander III appeared to b totally different types of rulers but in reality they shared many views and policies.

There can be little doubt that that the aims of Alexander II and Alexander III’s economic policies closely resemble each other, although their methods may appear very different. The emancipation of serfs by Alexander II appeared to be extremely liberal; however it allowed for industrialisation to begin. The sudden lack of employment drove many millions of former serfs into the cities seeking work, creating a vast working class who would become the backbone of Alexander II’s economic policy of industrialisation. The consequence of the ensuing utilisation of the vast urban peasantry was a gradual but steady increase in industrial growth.

The economic policy of Alexander III closely resembles his father’s, his goal is to industrialise Russia, however his methods are somewhat different.

Sergei Witte was appointed Finance Minister by Alexander III in 1893 and his policy was to become the driving force of industrialisation in Russia through into the twentieth century. The aim of the ‘Witte System’, as it became known, was to use railways to stimulate exploitation of Russia’s colossal natural resources reserves thereby encouraging foreign investment, and intensification of heavy industry. Focus on railway construction also encouraged foreign investment in heavy industry, in particular coal mining and locomotives manufacture.The intensification of heavy industry provided an economic basis for the expansion of light industry, in particular agriculture.  Overall, the ‘Witte System’ was very effective, at one point, industrial growth was eight percent, the largest of any nation at that time. In general, the economic policies of Alexander II and Alexander III were very similar; they shared the desire for industrialisation.

There are several major differences between the social policies of Alexander II and Alexander III, such as education, censorship and university regulation.

The emancipation of the serfs may have had economic benefits, however it also created major social problems. The chaotic effect that emancipation had on the legal system was a major. The radical changes made modelled the system on the English format, juries were introduced, as were Justices of the Peace, trails were opened to the public, in effect, creating a modern Russian legal system. (Apendices2)

Several major reforms were made to the education system by Alexander II. In rural areas, the local zemstov was tasked with primary education under the statute of 1864. The quality and number of primary schools increased, from 8000 in 1858 to 23, 000 in 1880. Secondary education also was reformed, the classist rules of his predecessors were removed, allowing anyone who could pass the entrance exam into the school, teaching methods were modernised. The educational policy of Alexander III however, is viewed by many historians as reactionary. The schools would return to the Classical system, the classist system of Nicolas I.

The autonomy of universities was also re-established By Alexander II. Philosophy and law lectures started again, Rector became elected figurer, overall a huge increase in the freedom of the intellectual class. Censorship was also relaxed, publishing was encouraged. Alexander III’s higher education polices were very similar to his secondary education policies, he sought to reverse the effects of his father’s reforms. He stripped universities of all autonomy. Student organisations shut down, the law and philosophy faculties were severely censored. As a result, students and teachers became angry about harsh, draconian measures. The evidence is overwhelming that the policies of Alexander II and Alexander III differed greatly on education and censorship.

The political policies of Alexander II and Alexander III may appear completely different, however for both their aim was to preserve autocracy. The establishment of the Zemstva and the Duma were major turning points in the history of Russia. The Zemstva were established in 1864, their aim to give all classes a voice in how their area was governed. The zemstovs performed many critical and important tasks in their area, road building, public health, part of primary education. The Duma was also established by Alexander II as a national parliament. The Duma was similar to a local zemstov, only on a national scale. The one difference however, was that only nobles could be elected or vote, cutting the serfs from national governance.

The political polices of Alexander III were the most counter-reformist of his reign.

The eligibility requirements for the Duma were restricted to such an extent that by 1892 only 0.7 percent people Moscow in St Petersburg were eligible to vote.  These nobles were steadfast supporters of autocracy and so the Duma became a puppet to the Tsar. Another counter-reform was the introduction of ‘Land Captains’. They were nobles elected by the government who had the power to overrule any decision made by a peasant court, remove peasant officials, fine or arrest peasants. As a result of the repressive power that the land captains wielded, some believed the serfdom was being restored.

On the whole the political policies of Alexander II and Alexander III were totally opposed; however their common goal was to preserve autocracy, one through reform, the other, repression.

in 1880. Secondary education also was reformed, the classist rules of his predecessors were removed, allowing anyone who could pass the entrance exam into the school, teaching methods were modernised. The educational policy of Alexander III however, is viewed by many historians as reactionary. The schools would return to the Classical system, the classist system of Nicolas I.

The autonomy of universities was also re-established By Alexander II. Philosophy and law lectures started again, Rector became elected figurer, overall a huge increase in the freedom of the intellectual class. Censorship was also relaxed, publishing was encouraged. Alexander III’s higher education polices were very similar to his secondary education policies, he sought to reverse the effects of his father’s reforms. He stripped universities of all autonomy. Student organisations shut down, the law and philosophy faculties were severely censored. As a result, students and teachers became angry about harsh, draconian measures. The evidence is overwhelming that the policies of Alexander II and Alexander III differed greatly on education and censorship.

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Part E: Conclusion

The policies of Alexander II and Alexander III of Russia were very different, especially socially; however there were some major similarities in the gaols of their policies, especially economically. They both aimed to strengthen the autocratic rule, each through totally opposed methods, one through apparently liberal reforms, the other through brutal suppression of newly acquired freedoms. Overall, this investigation has made it clear that the policies of Alexander II and Alexander III were very similar in their aims, although the method of execution of these aims varies these two Tsars.

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Part F: Bibliography

Cummins, P., “Russia 1800-1914: Problems, Issues, Sources, Skills” 1996 Hodder Education, Rydalmere  

Etty, John. "Alexander III, Tsar of Russia 1881-1889: John Etty Assesses the Historical Significance of One of the Lesser Known Tsars." History Review (2008): Questia. 28 Aug. 2009 <http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5026094772>.

Hedlund, Stefan. "Professor Gerschenkron Goes to Brussels. Russian Catch-Up Economics and the Common European Space." The European Journal of Comparative Economics 3.1 (2006):  Questia. 28 Aug. 2009 <http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5028548835>.

Kornilov, Alexander. Modern Russian History: Being an Authoritative and Detailed History of Russia from the Age of Catherine the Great to the Present. Vol. 2. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1917. Questia. 28 Aug. 2009 <http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=93513565>.

Mosse, W. E. Alexander II and the Modernization of Russia. London: English Universities Press, 1958. Questia. 28 Aug. 2009 <http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=30476280>.

Oram, Richard D., ed. The Reign of Alexander II, 1214-49. Boston: Brill, 2005. Questia. 28 Aug. 2009 <http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=109289080>.

Spulber, Nicolas. Russia's Economic Transitions: From Late Tsarism to the New

Millennium. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003. Questia. 28 Aug. 2009 <http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=110591967>.

Seton-Watson, H., 1952 The Decline of Imperial Russia, 1855-1914, London: Methuen, Questia, 28 Aug. 2009 <http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=6373262>.

Von Laue, Theodore H. Sergei Witte and the Industrialization of Russia. New York: Columbia University Press, 1963. Questia. 28 Aug. 2009 <http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=55552615>.

Watts, C., "Alexander II's Reforms CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES." History Review 1998: Issue . Questia. 29 Aug. 2009 <http://www.questiaschool.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001402927>.

Accessed 24/7/09

Accessed 31/07/09

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Appendices

Source 1

Kornilov, A., 1917,  Modern Russian History: Being an Authoritative and Detailed History of Russia from the Age of Catherine the Great to the Present, vol. 2 New York: Alfred A. Knopf, p131

‘Thus you can see that the a priori considerations about the effect of the peasant-reform on the growth of the population, on its distribution through the empire, on the growth of the cities and, in general, on the preparation of the capitalistic order, are not quite correct, and should be regarded with great caution. Upon a close study of the figures and relations, we see that the transformation of the economic status after the Reform has been accomplished more slowly and gradually than one might have expected.’

Source 2

Mosse, W. E., 1958, Alexander II and the Modernization of Russia, English Universities Press, London  p86

Alexander II Statement after his Judicial reforms:

"On ascending the throne of my ancestors, one of my first wishes publicly proclaimed in the manifesto of March 19, 1856, was: 'May justice and mercy reign in our courts!' Ever since that time, amidst other reforms called for by the needs of our national life, I have never ceased to reflect on the manner of achieving this object through a better organization of the judiciary."

Source 3

Mosse, W. E., 1958, Alexander II and the Modernization of Russia, English Universities Press, London  p86

Statement on the development and state of Russian universities between 1863 and 1880  

“""the most brilliant in the history of the Russian universities"

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