Russia 1855-1964
Precise Evidence to Support and Challenge Views in Interpretation Questions
Alexander II
View Evidence
Alexander II • Introduced Zemstva and Dumas in 1870 giving representation
was a liberal • Emancipated the serfs and established justice in 1861
and wanted • Relaxed censorship in 1865 and gave the right to withdraw publications
change • Viewed as the ‘tsar liberator’
• Conscription in the army was reduced from 25 years to 6 years
Alexander II • The army performed very poorly in the war with 530,000 casualties out of 890,000 men
introduced • Russia su ered two disastrous defeats
change due • The high cost of the army meant there was a need for modernisation
to the • Russia was backwards with lack of railways and communications and Alex II wanted to
Crimean War catch up with the West
• It put into question whether Russia was one of Europe’s great powers still
• The humiliation provoked peasant uprisings
Alexander II • He introduced the Zemstva to add more control and took away many reforms after his
introduced rst assassination attempt in 1866
change to • He still believed in his ‘God-given duties’
preserve his • “It is better to begin abolishing serfdom from above than to wait for it to begin to
regime abolish itself from below”
• People in places of high power were of high class and close to the Tsar so he didn’t
introduce much representation from other classes
• The government boards were kept weak so they couldn’t challenge his rule
Emancipation • It was essential if modern methods were to be developed in agriculture and industry
was a • It appeased peasants so revolts settled for a while
success • It helped Russia signi cantly modernise as it helped encourage the growth of railways,
banking and industry
• Freed and emancipated the serfs with no civil war
Emancipation • Most serfs couldn’t read or write so didn’t understand the Edict and had high
was a failure expectations
• Most didn’t have a sustainable income so couldn’t a ord to buy back their land
• The process took up to 49 years for the redemption payments to be fully paid
• Peasants were still bound to the Mir and there was no economic change as they were
tied to their land for 20 years
• There were still nearly 1900 peasant uprisings
• In April 1861, in Bezdna, a local leader murdered 70 and injured 100 uprising peasants
Zemstva • It was the rst time that peasants had any representation
were a • The Zemstva were e ective in reforming education and public health
success • It ended the administrative monopoly of o cialdom
• From 1870 onwards, their model was copied due to e ectiveness
Zemstva • Nobles still held a lot of power and provincial governors could reverse decisions
were a failure • It had no power over police
• Led to the demand for change and opposition from the People’s Will who eventually
assassinated Alexander II
• They were actually unrepresentative of the population as a whole
• Proportion of seats was 74%:10% of gentry to peasants in the provincial Zemstva
Social • The 1864 legal reforms introduced a jury for criminal cases and better pay for judges
reforms were • Editors had more freedom over their writings
a success • The new town of Yuzovo was successful as English schools were introduced and it
included public housing
• Primary and secondary education was extended
• Women were allowed to go to university
• Numbers of pupils at secondary schools doubled between 1855-65
Page 1 of 6 A Level History
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Precise Evidence to Support and Challenge Views in Interpretation Questions
Alexander II
View Evidence
Alexander II • Introduced Zemstva and Dumas in 1870 giving representation
was a liberal • Emancipated the serfs and established justice in 1861
and wanted • Relaxed censorship in 1865 and gave the right to withdraw publications
change • Viewed as the ‘tsar liberator’
• Conscription in the army was reduced from 25 years to 6 years
Alexander II • The army performed very poorly in the war with 530,000 casualties out of 890,000 men
introduced • Russia su ered two disastrous defeats
change due • The high cost of the army meant there was a need for modernisation
to the • Russia was backwards with lack of railways and communications and Alex II wanted to
Crimean War catch up with the West
• It put into question whether Russia was one of Europe’s great powers still
• The humiliation provoked peasant uprisings
Alexander II • He introduced the Zemstva to add more control and took away many reforms after his
introduced rst assassination attempt in 1866
change to • He still believed in his ‘God-given duties’
preserve his • “It is better to begin abolishing serfdom from above than to wait for it to begin to
regime abolish itself from below”
• People in places of high power were of high class and close to the Tsar so he didn’t
introduce much representation from other classes
• The government boards were kept weak so they couldn’t challenge his rule
Emancipation • It was essential if modern methods were to be developed in agriculture and industry
was a • It appeased peasants so revolts settled for a while
success • It helped Russia signi cantly modernise as it helped encourage the growth of railways,
banking and industry
• Freed and emancipated the serfs with no civil war
Emancipation • Most serfs couldn’t read or write so didn’t understand the Edict and had high
was a failure expectations
• Most didn’t have a sustainable income so couldn’t a ord to buy back their land
• The process took up to 49 years for the redemption payments to be fully paid
• Peasants were still bound to the Mir and there was no economic change as they were
tied to their land for 20 years
• There were still nearly 1900 peasant uprisings
• In April 1861, in Bezdna, a local leader murdered 70 and injured 100 uprising peasants
Zemstva • It was the rst time that peasants had any representation
were a • The Zemstva were e ective in reforming education and public health
success • It ended the administrative monopoly of o cialdom
• From 1870 onwards, their model was copied due to e ectiveness
Zemstva • Nobles still held a lot of power and provincial governors could reverse decisions
were a failure • It had no power over police
• Led to the demand for change and opposition from the People’s Will who eventually
assassinated Alexander II
• They were actually unrepresentative of the population as a whole
• Proportion of seats was 74%:10% of gentry to peasants in the provincial Zemstva
Social • The 1864 legal reforms introduced a jury for criminal cases and better pay for judges
reforms were • Editors had more freedom over their writings
a success • The new town of Yuzovo was successful as English schools were introduced and it
included public housing
• Primary and secondary education was extended
• Women were allowed to go to university
• Numbers of pupils at secondary schools doubled between 1855-65
Page 1 of 6 A Level History
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