Alexander III re-implements Tsarist form, through the use of repression and terror. At the end of the Crimean War, Alexander II realised that Russia was no longer a great military power. His advisers argued that a backwards economy which is reliant on the serfs could not compete with modernized powers such as Britain and France. He also became increasingly unpopular at this time, meaning he needed to do something
(30 marks) June 2009 How far do you agree that the economy of Tsarist Russia was transformed in the years to 1914? (30 marks) OR To what extent were the weaknesses of their opponents responsible for the survival of the Bolshevik government in the years 1917–24? (30 marks) How far do you agree that the collectivisation of agriculture made an essential contribution to Stalin’s transformation of the Russian economy? (30 marks) OR To what extent did Stalin establish a personal dictatorship in the years 1929–39? (30 marks) January 2010 To what extent did Russia undergo economic and political reform in the years 1906-14?
A change in society occurred in June of 1918 with the introduction of War Communism. War Communism meant that all industry was nationalised, private sales were forbidden as personal profits became illegal, strict working rules were put in place, and a class based rationing system was introduced. War Communism brought about major changes to Russian society but in order to assess how successful it was in its changes, each aspect of its original goals must be looked at. As described by David Christian, one of the two pressures that lead to War communism was ‘the need to fight the civil war’. In this aspect the changes brought about by this policy were successful as it resulted in a Bolshevik victory in the war as it ‘...did the job of supplying towns and armies with just enough food and supplies to keep providing war material and to keep fighting.
Unlike Louis XIV he cared about his country and his people .Tsar Peter changed Russia by modernizing it. He built the great city of St. Petersburg (a modern and splendid city, but one created from a wasteland at an extremely heavy human cost) and adopted many European customs. Some may say he "Europeanized" the nation, causing sweeping changes across all levels of society and customs. Introduced potatoes, which became a staple of Russian diet Started Russia's first newspaper and edited the first issue himself Raised woman's status by having them attend social gatherings Ordered the nobles to give up their traditional clothes for Western fashions - They were also required to shave off their beards. Advanced education by opening a school of navigation and introducing schools for the arts and sciences Reorganized and reformed the Russian armed forces and created a modern navy modeled on European practices.
In 1924 Lenin dies leaving the role as leader of the communist open. Lenin did not want Stalin, but Trotsky to take over his position. But as Lenin’s strokes got worse, he lost the ability to participate in the CC (Central Committee). Lenin had information about Stalin that could have been very damaging if it was released in public. Stalin had many calculated methods to achieve the power of Russia.
Goverments that attempted to control thoughts and actions of their people. Throught history there have benn many governments that have attempted to control the thoughts anbd and actions of their people. Peter the great in Russia and Mao Zedong in China are just two leaderds who have treied to incluuence their people and had a major impact on society and the world. Peter the great: Peter the great lived during the period 1672-1725 and was the tsar of Russia from 1682 to 1725. He was a leading figure in bringing drastic changes in Russia from the old medieval life to that of a leading power in Eastern Europe.
How far does the reign of Alexander III deserve to be called reactionary? When Alexander III became Tsar in March 1884, Russia was in crises, following the assassination of Alexander II at the hands of The People’s Will. There was a huge amount of pressure on Alexander III, not only to govern the world’s largest country, but also to be a good leader in an autocratic empire and restore the approach in which the slavophiles were demanding for. Reactionaries believed that the reforms of Alexander II disestablished the country by encouraging demand for further reforms; Alexander III transformed this opinion brining back harsher rulings to regain power and to deserve the title of a reactionary. The generally chaotic nature of the Empire following Alexander II’s death was suggestive of the need for strong leadership to stabilise the country.
Was modernization and reform unable to occur in Tsarist Russia by 1881? Alexander II came to the throne in March 1855 at the age of 36 being well prepared and trained to take over from his father, Nicholas I. When Nicholas I died, he told Alexander II to 'hold on to everything!' Deeply influenced by defeat in the Crimean war and by liberal ministers, Alexander II undertook extensive reforms or Russian society and government. In particular, he released the serfs, which is generally seen as one of the most significant social reforms of the nineteenth century.
To what extent did Tsar Alexander II deserve the title “Tsar the Liberator”? Alexander II ascended to the throne of Russia in 1855 following the death of Nicholas I, He was immediately faced with conflict surrounding the Crimean war, previously Russia had gone into the Crimean war in 1953 in hope of clean victory, by 1956 they were humiliated by the war and as a result had to withdraw due to backwardness of their own military. Tsar Alexander needed to respond to this problem and introduce a considerable amount of reforms such as emancipation which will probably go down in history as one of his most important reforms’, Alexander also introduce the zemstva (local council) the municipal Duma (Local government very much like the Zemstva) and reformed the educational system in Russia. Yet he was assassinated 1881 by the displeased left-wing terrorist group “the people’s will”, furthermore his motives to his reforms are still in question as to which he was forced to make the changes or was he a liberator and wanted to liberate the Russian society to make it was economical and military more efficient? Alexander II most talked about reform came in 1861 when he managed to abolish serfdom which could be traced from its origin’s in the 11th century in medieval Russia, Previously Emancipation was talked about, Nicholas I Alexander’s predecessor acknowledged serfdom as a flaw in the Russian society and introduce minor reforms such as the Factory act which was to do with specifying the working condition for a urban worker he set up a welfare system which gave health and educational benefit to the peasants however these measures were not as great as the emancipation reforms of Alexander II by the time of his reign 38% of the Russia population was serf’s and serfdom had already created many revolt and unrest through the late 18th century to the mid 19th century (Decembrist
Lenin was aware that it was the Provisional Government’s unwillingness or inability to act on questions of land and peace that contributed to its unpopularity and allowed the Bolsheviks to take power so easily in October. Lenin’s response to this is represented within the quote by Russian historian Dmitri Olkogonov: “The Russian revolutionaries, including Lenin, rightly exposed the age-old evils of human existence, the exploitation, inequality, lack of freedom”. In response to his Decree on Peace, Lenin created the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that saw the Bolsheviks lose land but ultimately solve external issues with Germany and allowed Lenin to focus all of his efforts on Russia. By acting in ways that the people had demanded from the opposing