Russia- Lesson 2
Long-term Causes of 1905 Crisis
The Tsars believed that they needed a change to stop the Country from changing to a country like china. China was forced to open up there borders. The Tsars didn’t like nobility they were usually very afraid of it.
In 1861 there was an Emancipation of the surfs ( Freedom of the slaves ). The serfs had a low life expectancy they were dying when they were about 25 years old. To improve the economy you had to free the serfs so they could work for themselves so they work harder to feed themselves and pay their tax. Rather than putting in minimal effort for a specific leader.
He couldn’t free these people completely however because it would cause too much trouble because there wasn’t enough fertile land to go around and the Nobility owned the land.
Alexander II brought in the redemption payment. This was compensation to the Nobility for loss of their land which they gave to peasants.
The feudal system was very inefficient. Pathways were put on fields so people could walk on them. Therefore nothing could be grown in some areas. By 1961 the Nobility started to charge the peasants to use the common land which they used for their animals and they also charged them to go into the woods where they collected firewood and wood to build huts. The village then took over from the Nobility and this restricted peasants even more. They weren’t allowed to leave the village or to get married without permission.
Alexander then tried to appease the middle class people using a strategy called Zemstova. He brought in a town council to do this. He also ends the censorship of the press because it was too liberal. He encourages university and he reduces the entry fee’s so more people were able to go to university to further their education. Middleclass people start using there. Expectations then began to rise. By 1963 Alexander said he was going to change no more because he believed he could start to loose his own power....