REPRESSION
ALEX II 1855 - 1881
Initially Alex II downgraded the Third Section but after the Populist violence the Third
Section was replaced by the Okhrana in 1860
In 1877 – the ‘Trial of 50’ a trail of key political opponents
1863 Polish rebellion was brutally repressed by Russian Army – exiled nobles,
enforced conversions to Russian Orthodoxy and made Russian the official language
But Emancipation statute in Poland allowed fairer distribution of land
Finland granted diet (parliament) in 1863 and own constitution in 1865
Blocked publication of Ukrainian books to crush their growing cultural identity
Relaxed some settlement laws for the Jews
Under ALL TSARS the religion was Orthodox Church as they were appointed by divine
appointment which gave them their legitimacy and Orthodox clerics preached total
loyalty and obedience but all other faiths faced restrictions
Alex II conferred special powers on ‘regional military dictators’ in 1879 – undid
powers granted to the zemstvas and established martial law
ALEX III 1881 - 1894
In 1881 – the Statute of State Security introduced martial law and brought the judicial
process under administrative control, withdrew university freedoms and tightened
censorship (was condoned by Pobedonostov)
1881 – state of Alex III Russification programme which he used the military to enforce,
they still have to learn Russian in Poland today
Introduced 1400 statutes against Jews during his reign and oversaw pogroms – ban on
Jewish resettlement, removed from electoral role and from being in the military or
medicine
The pogroms of the 1880s and 1890s were the worst terror in the Tsarist period (Lee)
Also gave him emergency powers to deal with opposition – had terrorists responsible
for his Father’s assassination executed and 10,000 arrested
Introduced Land Captains 1889 who had draconian rights to exile, imprison and give
the death penalty mainly to control peasants
Tightened censorship by clamping down on publications and newspapers
Alex III pursued administrative integration and imposed the Russian language over
indigenous culture
NICOLAS II 1894 - 1917
After 1900 the Okrana was used more to counter the growing threat from the Social
Democrats and Social Revolutionaries, in 1901 there were 3,900 internal exiles
Between 1905 and 1906 the government accounted for 14,000 deaths but over 1,000
government officials were killed by revolutionaries
Used the military to crush workers strikes e.g. Bloody Sunday and Lena Goldfields
Oversaw the integration of Finland into the empire, disbanded the Finnish army and
introduced Russian as official language – intense hostility led to Nicolas granting
Finland autonomy in 1905 but later revoked this
1
ALEX II 1855 - 1881
Initially Alex II downgraded the Third Section but after the Populist violence the Third
Section was replaced by the Okhrana in 1860
In 1877 – the ‘Trial of 50’ a trail of key political opponents
1863 Polish rebellion was brutally repressed by Russian Army – exiled nobles,
enforced conversions to Russian Orthodoxy and made Russian the official language
But Emancipation statute in Poland allowed fairer distribution of land
Finland granted diet (parliament) in 1863 and own constitution in 1865
Blocked publication of Ukrainian books to crush their growing cultural identity
Relaxed some settlement laws for the Jews
Under ALL TSARS the religion was Orthodox Church as they were appointed by divine
appointment which gave them their legitimacy and Orthodox clerics preached total
loyalty and obedience but all other faiths faced restrictions
Alex II conferred special powers on ‘regional military dictators’ in 1879 – undid
powers granted to the zemstvas and established martial law
ALEX III 1881 - 1894
In 1881 – the Statute of State Security introduced martial law and brought the judicial
process under administrative control, withdrew university freedoms and tightened
censorship (was condoned by Pobedonostov)
1881 – state of Alex III Russification programme which he used the military to enforce,
they still have to learn Russian in Poland today
Introduced 1400 statutes against Jews during his reign and oversaw pogroms – ban on
Jewish resettlement, removed from electoral role and from being in the military or
medicine
The pogroms of the 1880s and 1890s were the worst terror in the Tsarist period (Lee)
Also gave him emergency powers to deal with opposition – had terrorists responsible
for his Father’s assassination executed and 10,000 arrested
Introduced Land Captains 1889 who had draconian rights to exile, imprison and give
the death penalty mainly to control peasants
Tightened censorship by clamping down on publications and newspapers
Alex III pursued administrative integration and imposed the Russian language over
indigenous culture
NICOLAS II 1894 - 1917
After 1900 the Okrana was used more to counter the growing threat from the Social
Democrats and Social Revolutionaries, in 1901 there were 3,900 internal exiles
Between 1905 and 1906 the government accounted for 14,000 deaths but over 1,000
government officials were killed by revolutionaries
Used the military to crush workers strikes e.g. Bloody Sunday and Lena Goldfields
Oversaw the integration of Finland into the empire, disbanded the Finnish army and
introduced Russian as official language – intense hostility led to Nicolas granting
Finland autonomy in 1905 but later revoked this
1
