Russian Revolution - Land of the Tsars - Late 19th Century

Russia Reforms Its Society

Russia in the 1800s had yet to make its leap into the modern industrialized world. Under Russia’s feudal system, serfs were bound to the nobles whose land they worked. And nobles enjoyed almost unlimited power over them. By the 1820s, many Russians believed that serfdom must end. In their eyes, the system was morally wrong. It also prevented the empire from advancing economically. The czars, however, were reluctant to free the serfs. Freeing them would anger the landowners, whose support the czars needed.

Defeat Brings Change

Eventually, Russia’s lack of development became obvious to Russians and to the whole world. In 1853, Czar Nicholas I threatened to take over part of the Ottoman Empire in the Crimean War. However, Russia’s industries and transportation system failed to provide adequate supplies for the country’s troops. As a result, in 1856, Russia lost the war against the combined forces of France, Great Britain, Sardinia, and the Ottoman Empire. This was a humiliating defeat for the czar. After the war, Nicholas’s son, Alexander II, decided to move Russia toward modernization and social change. Through his reforms, Alexander and his advisers believed that Russia would compete with Western Europe for world power.

Reform and Reaction

The first and boldest of Alexander’s reforms was a decree freeing the serfs in 1861. The abolition of serfdom went only halfway. Peasant communities, rather than individual peasants, received about half the farmland in the country. Nobles kept the other half. The government paid the nobles for their land. Each peasant community had 49 years to pay the government for the land it had received. So, while the serfs were legally free, the debt still tied them to the land.

Political and social reforms ground to a halt when terrorists assassinated Alexander the II in 1881. His successor, Alexander III tightened czarist control on the country. Alexander III and his ministers, however, encouraged the industrial development to expand Russia’s power. A major force behind Russia’s drive toward industrial expansion was nationalism. Nationalism also stirred the other ethnic groups. During the 1800s such groups were uniting into nations and building industries to survive among other nation states.

The Differences Between Western Europe and Russia

Life for the Average Person in the Russian Empire

extreme poverty
most people are peasants and work the land of nobles
industrial revolution finally gets to Russia around 1900 and conditions are poor in cities
food shortages cause peasants to starve
Educated middle class is starting to sprout up
Czars discourage most reform and don't want to give people more rights

Russian Rulers (Tsars)

Tsars were Autocratic Rulers - which means that they ruled with abosolute power and answered to no one.
Relied on a secret police to get rid of enemies and to stay in power.
Did not understand the sufferring of their people- lived very nice lives in palaces when their people starved.

I know what you are saying. That we learned this the first time when it was the 'FRENCH REVOLUTION!, but remember Russia has always been a little backward and trying to catch up to the rest of Europe. Here is a little chart to make it a little more clear.

Why are they so far behind? There are two main reasons:

Russia was dominated by the Mongols, which cut them off from the rest of Europe
The Czars are absolute rulers who don't want change. Most of Europe gets rid of their absolute rulers, but Russia doesn't until 1917!