Tsarist Russia - Essay Example

?AS Level History - Tsarist Russia, 1855 – 1917 Table of Contents Overview to Tsarist Russia 3 Embarking on Reforms by Alexander II 4 1.Reasons to Embark on these Reforms 5 1.2.Results of the Series of Reforms 6 2.Industrialisation of Russia by 1914 7 2.1.Effect of the Industrialisation Process 8 References 10 Bibliography 11 Overview to Tsarist Russia Tsar refers to the emperors possessing a supreme position among the Russian dynasty. It is by origin derived from a Latin word and indicates a male, while Tsarina refers to the female emperors. Russia with due course of time has changed drastically in terms of politics, economics, and even geography losing many of its border territories. But till date the country is connoted as the creator of Tsarist regime, which means the power of governing a country to be solely in the hands of the Tsars. Contextually, a few of the key attributes of the country (such as the huge size and the diversity issue which concluded on the insecurity factor of the economy, the gradual development of the country as a military state, and the poverty regions), laid the foundation of Tsarist Russia during 1855 with the inheritance of Alexander II. However, similar to any other event of history and reform the phase was set to dusk by Nicholas II during the end of 1917 (Bromley, J. “Russia, 1848-1917”). 1. Embarking on Reforms by Alexander II Alexander II played the most crucial role in the underpinning of Tsarist government through embarking several reforms which evidently concluded the philosophy of Serfdom in Russian economy. It was in 1855 when Alexander II happened to be the ‘Tsar of Russia’ after the death of Tsar Nicholas I. Consequently, Russia was then involved in the Crimean War which created an impact on the perception of Alexander II regarding the military outlook of the economy. With this changed perception, Alexander II established several reforms, such as the Emancipation Manifesto including 17 parliamentary acts aiming to free the serfs (i.e. the class of peasants fundamentally associated with agricultural labour) in Russia. The reform further rewarded the right to the serfs to purchase land from their landlords and therefore abolished the practise of personal serfdom in the economy. Noteworthy, the amount to be payable in turn of the land would be provided by the government in advance to the landlords and shall be recovered from the peasants in regular intervals. This indeed created an intense pressure on the serfs which was evidently on the contradictory aspect of the main objective of the reform to abolish serfdom (Spartacus, “Alexander II”). Furthermore, Alexander II introduced many such reforms which indirectly strengthened the power of the wealthy class, affecting the interests of the poor class of the economy. For instance, the establishment of Zemstvo in 1864 which would represent a council in each district, possessing the right to build up roads, provide medical services and educational services to the local people. However, the power to elect the members of the Zemstvo was restricted in the hands of the wealthy group of peoples demonstrating the inequality of rights existing within the economy. Apart from this the Tsar ruler also introduced reforms intended to the development of the municipal government, and universal military training. He also emphasised on the issue related to the expansion of industrialisation and the railways networks all around the country (Vernadsky, G., “A History of Russia”). 1.1. Reasons to Embark on these Reforms Alexander II gained his identification as the emperor of Russia in 1855, incidentally when the economy was facing the issue of Crimean War with turkey which was satisfied with a treaty of Paris. This result of the war evidently affected the perceptions of Alexander II influencing him to believe that the military state of Russia was on a downfall. Moreover, the comparison of the Russian economy with that of France and Britain proved that the economy is evidently at a slower pace, inadequate to compete with the two countries in terms of industrialisation. As was remarked by the advisors of Alexander II the consequences were brought by the nature of the economy which was fundamentally based on serfdom. Aiming to eradicate these consequences and accelerate the industrialisation of the economy, the emperor focused on the reforms to change the serfdom culture of the economy (Spartacus, “Alexander II”). To be concluded, the personal perception of Alexander II also played a vital role in influencing him to introduce fresh reforms. First, he himself belonged to the Tsar family, and next he had to grow up following a strict military training. Therefore, it is quite likely that the perceptions of Alexander II is certainly was developed in the favour of military state and the power enjoyed by the wealthy class of the economy. Hence, the experiences and the personal perception of Alexander II can be stated as the major reasons for the embarking of the series of reforms by him (Moss, W., “A History of Russia: Since 1855”). 1.2. Results of the Series of Reforms The series of reforms brought by Alexander II undoubtedly marked the revolution in the Russian history which changed the philosophy of the economy to a wider perspective. The reforms on the positive aspect accelerated the industrialisation of the economy, but on the contrary it provided rise to many issues which indicated towards the dissatisfaction of the majority of Russians. To be precise, the population categorised as Ex-serfs realised the fact that the nobility to the reforms resembling Emancipation Manifesto in a realistic behaviour begrudged the loss of land. On the other hand, the liberals were set to acquire a larger participation in the government while the revolutionaries were concentrated to change the form of Russian Government. Certainly, these varying aspects concluded on the failure of the reforms resulting in a major volatility in the political and social environment of the economy (Laver, J., “The modernisation of Russia, 1856-1985”). 2. Industrialisation of Russia by 1914 Industrial revolution in Russia was emphasised evidently by Alexander II during 1855. The economy was however a latecomer to the industrial revolution in the global scenario, but gained a remarkable growth in two bursts, one during 1890 and the other in 1904 which was continued till 1914, before getting affected by the world war. Contextually, Russia during the certain time period, i.e. in 1850s can be evidently remarked as a backward economy in comparison to France, Britain and United States. It was during this period when the economy witnessed a substantial growth in its capital inflow. During 1890s the economy again gained a spurt on its industrialisation with an increased amount of foreign capital along with an enhanced interest of entrepreneurship among the local community. A few of the industries which evidently took pace in this period were the coal industry, the iron and steel industry, and the petroleum industry, which today has developed as the most important industry of Russia. The process of industrialisation in Russia was also influenced by the loads of loans provided to the foreign economies by the Russian Government. To be specific, the revenuer earned by the government in terms of interests on the loans from the abroad assisted the construction of railway networks all over the economy as mentioned in the series of reforms boarded by Alexander II (Kenwood, A. G. & Lougheed, A. L., “Technological Diffusion And Industrialisation Before 1914”). 2.1. Effect of the Industrialisation Process The revolutionary process of industrialisation in the Russian history was indeed a remarkable era confirming the future prospects of the economy. But on the contrary, the process also was confined by various aspects which affected the economy at large. For instance, the industries which developed in the economy were sheltered by high taxation rates. In addition, the economy during the phase of 1855 to 1914 was largely based on the agricultural sector and was evidently facing the obstacles raised by political and social instability (Miller, M., “Economic Development of Russia, 1905-1914”). Mostly influenced by the traditional framework, which was based on the agricultural sector, the manufacturing industries of the economy reached their accelerated phase earlier than any other industry. However, in a wider perspective the Russian economy witnessed a steep growth in its industrialisation during this certain period (i.e. 1855-1914) and therefore is termed to be the most significant stage of industrialisation. To be illustrated, the economy achieved the second position in terms of the size of railway networks in 1890s. Incidentally, the annual growth rate in the industrial sector was recorded to surpass 6% from 1906 to 1913 which was indeed a remarkable achievement for the economy. Therefore, it is quite likely that the industrial revolution shall have a great impact on the economic culture at large (Laver, J., “The Modernisation of Russia, 1856-1985”). On the contrary, in the economic perspective the effect of industrialisation was recorded to be minimal compared to the growth and the size of the revolution. While on the social aspects, as a result of industrialisation the sale of consumer products was recorded to increase with rapidity. The labours on the other hand were witnessed to live in the primitive circumstances despite the incredible growth in industries, which implies that the social impact of industrialisation was limited in the realistic phenomenon. There also were many other indications of labour disputes like strikes during the soviet rule, i.e. the period of 1912 to 1914. Moreover, a certain amount of direct and indirect complaints were also raised by every class of the economy, including the nobility class, the middle class, and the peasantry which were against the soviet regime. Conclusively, the industrial revolution in the Russian history can be remarked as the most significant phase to accelerate the modernisation of the economy, but the affects as examined were evidently limited to improve the social aspect of the economy (Laver, J., “The Modernisation of Russia, 1856-1985”). References Bromley, Jonathan. Russia, 1848-1917 Heinemann Educational Publishers, 2002. Kenwood, A. G. and Lougheed, A. L. Technological Diffusion And Industrialisation Before 1914 Taylor & Francis, 1982. Laver, John. The Modernisation of Russia, 1856-1985 Heinemann, 2002. Miller, Margaret. Economic Development of Russia, 1905-1914 Routledge, 1967. Moss, Walter. A History of Russia: Since 1855 Anthem Press, 2005. Spartacus. “Alexander II”. January 17, 2011. RUSalexander2, No Date. Vernadsky, George. A History of Russia Yale University Press, 1951. Bibliography Chaurasia, Radhey Shyam. History of Europe Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 2002. Dixon, Simon M. The Modernisation of Russia, 1676-1825 Cambridge University Press, 1999. Kort, Micheal. A Brief History of Russia Infobase Publishing, 2008. Lieven, D. C. B. The Cambridge History of Russia: Imperial Russia, 1689-1917 Cambridge University Press, 2006. MacKenzie, David. & Curran, Michael W. A History of Russia and the Soviet Union Dorsey Press, 1977. Moon, David. The Abolition of Serfdom in Russia, 1762-1907 Longman, 2001. Riasanovsky, Nicholas Valentine. A History of Russia Oxford University Press, 2000. Wirtschafter, Elise Kimerling. Russia's Age of Serfdom 1649-1861 Blackwell Pub., 2008. Read More