He made several different reforms to give more power to the central government and the Tsar, he promoted military, and he improved the Russian economy. He also won a war against the Swedish, in which he then established a city he named after himself and the city was very open to trade routes to other countries through the Baltic Sea. Peter “The Great” is truly an “enlightened” monarch of the early 18th
In addition, World War II introduced change through industrialisation, which was key to Russia’s success in the war. These key reforming leaders and other factors of change saw Russia grow from a very deprived country in 1856 to an industrial superpower in 1964. Alexander II became known as ‘Alexander the Great Reformer’ and ‘the Tsar Liberator’ which suggests that his work and reforms changed the nature of Russian government and society to a large extent. The emancipation of the Serfs in 1861 initially appeared to have major benefits for the serfs. As Alexander II said: “We vowed in our hearts to fulfil the mission which is entrusted to Us and to surround with Our affection and Our Imperial solicitude all Our faithful subjects of every rank and condition”2.
The first social revolution came about during a period of great change not only in Russia but throughout Europe. These changes developed across a wide spectrum, such as from religion to politics, from economic development and from changes in the societies of Europe as a whole. A lot of the change occurred on the back of the industrial revolution and the competition between the various powers in Europe to be the best, the strongest and the most advanced, both socially and technologically. This essay will try to give and insight into the background of the socialist revolution; what were the main triggers or causes which eventually led to the conflict, what were the main challenges which the Russian empire faced at the time. This will be explored alongside the ways in which developments in revolutionary methods were to the fore throughout Europe during this period.
Peter brought a strong philosophy that it was a burden to rule, so he ruled with a burden to be the first servant of Russia, building her up. As Peter ascended to power, his first order of business was to go on a Grand Embassy of Europe. Throughout his experience, Peter never seemed particularly impressed with Europe’s governmental structures, but was quite impressed with western culture and technology. Upon returning to Russia, Peter, believing that what’s good for Russia is what Russia will do, began a series of reforms that are known as the Petrine Reforms. These Petrine Reforms are the beginning of this western movement throughout all of Russia.
The USSR thereafter fought alongside the Allies. Germany was defeated due largely in part to the reorganization of the Russian military’s tank and air divisions, an increase in intelligence and communication, bettered training regimens for officers and a swift increase in technological prowess. The reorganization of the military was made to resemble German panzer divisions and the German Luftwaffe (air force). The ability for Russia to bear the war’s demand on resources was buoyed due to the Russian workforce’s ability to quickly adapt to a command economy—this was ensured mainly by the pre-war economic planning which the USSR implemented. The political scene in the USSR also changed for the better during the war—while initially the military reported directly to the Kremlin, Stalin soon appointed an able-bodied leader to the military, Marshal Zhukov, and this allowed the military greater flexibility and, in turn, greater success in battle.
Why did Alexander II decide to embark on a series of reforms when he came to power in Russia? Following the death of Nicholas I in 1855, Alexander II came to power as the new Tsar who would introduce major reforms to the Russian state in an attempt to modernize the country so it could again compete with the western countries such as France and the United Kingdom whilst preserving the Autocratic structure that the Tsar and Aristocracy so heavily depended upon. There were many reasons Alexander felt Russia had to change from the issue of the serfs to the Crimean war but in this following essay we will look closer into the reasons for reform and which one was in my opinion the most significant. When Alexander II took over reign from his father Nicholas I, in 1855, Russia had just suffered an embarrassing defeat in the Crimean War in the October of 1954 and again in the November of 1954. Russia’s greatest naval base in Vebastapol had fallen to Russia’s western enemies and following the Treaty of Paris, a mission which was supposed to conquer the black sea area and take advantage of the weakness of the ottoman empire, resulted in Russia being pushed back and prevented from holding any Russian war ships in the Black Sea area during times of piece.
From the 1450 to 1750, Russia and Western Europe had both went through many various political and religious movements such as the Protestant reformation and the Catholic reformation. One other major movement was the Renaissance which had caused the many divisions of Europe by the sixteenth century. These movements greatly changed the daily lives of the people. Even though the two regions are located on different sides of the same continent, they had gone through similar phases in order to transform and develop their political economic systems. Both regions had believed the central rule authority was given by the ruler, not church.
‘The October Revolution was the most significant turning point in the development of Russian government.’ How far do you agree? If a ‘turning point’ can be taken to describe a significant irreversible shift in the course of history, then certainly the October Revolution in 1917 can be described as one. Yet whether it was the most substantial event in determining the course of Russian government in the years after is debateable. To assess whether this is truly the case, the Bolshevik uprising can be compared against other key turning points, such as Khrushchev’s ‘Destalinisation’ and Alexander II’s assassination, in terms of their effects on the ideology of government, whether or not it altered the structure of government in any way, if representation was reformed and if the tools of government changed whatsoever as a result. Arguably Russia’s transformation from an autocratic state to a communist one was the greatest modification in the whole period 1855 to 1964, however, despite differing ideals there was in fact a large amount of continuity between the idealistically different styles of governance.
How far do you agree that Sergei Witte’s policies were successful in modernising the Russian economy in 1892-1904? During Tsar Nicholas II’s reign, he decided he needed someone to improve the Russian economy, so he appointed a Financial Minister; Sergei Witte. Witte introduced a number of reforms that both improved and further damaged Russia’s economy, and believed that the only way Russia could modernise itself and catch up with the more industrialised West was through State Capitalism. Witte was very enthusiastic about the expansion on the Trans-Siberian railway, which, when completed, stretched across Russia from St. Petersburg in the West to Vladivostok in the Far East. Witte believed that the construction of this railway was crucial to the economic growth of Russia, because it would make it possible to take advantage of the economic potential of Siberia.
After she seized the throne from her husband Peter III, Catherine the Great sought a social reform, among her other policies. She believed in an enlightened monarch and instituted reforms to make Russia more westernized. She imported architects, artists, poets and great philosophers in her effort