Tsarist Russia revision
booklet
, The three Tsars
• Tsar is a title given to the autocratic leader of Russia. The tsars
were believed to have been assigned by God
• The Tsar had an imperial council of ministers which consisted of
35-60 nobles and a committee of ministers. The senate
supervised the two bodies.
• There were three tsars: Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas
II.
• Alexander II: ruled from 1855-1881: nicknamed ‘the great
reformer’. Son of Nicholas I. 1861 he emancipated the serfs.
Assassinated by People’s will in 1881
• Alexander III: ruled from 1881-1894: he was a strong and
orthodox leader. He was not supposed to be the tsar because
he had an elder brother however his brother passed away. He
watches his father die and began his reign with the public
hanging of his fathers assassins. Nicknamed ‘the counter
reformer’. Died of kidney failure from excessive drinking.
• Nicholas II: ruled from 1894-1917: he grew up in his fathers
shadow. Referred to as a ‘girlie’. He never wanted to be tsar.
Politics bored him. He was a weak ruler and he abdicated in
1917.
,Timeline
1885 Alexander II becomes Tsar
1861 Abolition of serfdom
1864 Zemstva formed
1874 Populists begin campaign to ‘go to the people
18877-8 Russo-Turkish war
1881 assassination of Alexander II
1887-92 Ivan Vyshnegradsky is minister of finance
1891-2 widespread famine
1892-1903 Sergei Witte minister of finance-rapid
industrialisation process
1894 Death of Alexander III accession of Nicholas II
1898 foundation of Russian social democratic workers party
1901-5 economic slump follows worldwide
1903 Split between Social Democrats
1904 War breaks out between Russia and Japan
, Timeline
1905 January: bloody Sunday
August: Portsmouth (USA) peace treaty with Japan
October: October Manifesto
1906-11 Agrarian reforms Stolypin
1912 Lena Goldfields massacre
1914 1st August Germany declares war on Russia
1915 Tsar assumes command of armed forces + suspends Duma
1916 February: fourth Duma reconvened
June-August: Brusilov offensive
December: Rasputin assassinated
1917 February: strikes and civil unrest
23rd February: international women's day march in Petrograd
turns into workers demonstration
27th February: troops refuse to fire on demonstrators and join
revolutionary movement; formation of Petrograd soviet
booklet
, The three Tsars
• Tsar is a title given to the autocratic leader of Russia. The tsars
were believed to have been assigned by God
• The Tsar had an imperial council of ministers which consisted of
35-60 nobles and a committee of ministers. The senate
supervised the two bodies.
• There were three tsars: Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas
II.
• Alexander II: ruled from 1855-1881: nicknamed ‘the great
reformer’. Son of Nicholas I. 1861 he emancipated the serfs.
Assassinated by People’s will in 1881
• Alexander III: ruled from 1881-1894: he was a strong and
orthodox leader. He was not supposed to be the tsar because
he had an elder brother however his brother passed away. He
watches his father die and began his reign with the public
hanging of his fathers assassins. Nicknamed ‘the counter
reformer’. Died of kidney failure from excessive drinking.
• Nicholas II: ruled from 1894-1917: he grew up in his fathers
shadow. Referred to as a ‘girlie’. He never wanted to be tsar.
Politics bored him. He was a weak ruler and he abdicated in
1917.
,Timeline
1885 Alexander II becomes Tsar
1861 Abolition of serfdom
1864 Zemstva formed
1874 Populists begin campaign to ‘go to the people
18877-8 Russo-Turkish war
1881 assassination of Alexander II
1887-92 Ivan Vyshnegradsky is minister of finance
1891-2 widespread famine
1892-1903 Sergei Witte minister of finance-rapid
industrialisation process
1894 Death of Alexander III accession of Nicholas II
1898 foundation of Russian social democratic workers party
1901-5 economic slump follows worldwide
1903 Split between Social Democrats
1904 War breaks out between Russia and Japan
, Timeline
1905 January: bloody Sunday
August: Portsmouth (USA) peace treaty with Japan
October: October Manifesto
1906-11 Agrarian reforms Stolypin
1912 Lena Goldfields massacre
1914 1st August Germany declares war on Russia
1915 Tsar assumes command of armed forces + suspends Duma
1916 February: fourth Duma reconvened
June-August: Brusilov offensive
December: Rasputin assassinated
1917 February: strikes and civil unrest
23rd February: international women's day march in Petrograd
turns into workers demonstration
27th February: troops refuse to fire on demonstrators and join
revolutionary movement; formation of Petrograd soviet
