Zusammenfassung der Ressource
1881-1906, The challenges to the Tsarist state
- The assassination of Alexander II in 1881 forced the tsarist
regime to become more conservative and anti-reformist.
Alexander II had been a reforming tsar, and his son, Alexander III,
thought this was the main reason for his murder.
- As soon as Alexander III came into power he executed five
members of the People's Will, and there was a nationwide
crackdown involving the arrests of 100,000 suspected
terrorists/terrorist sympathisers.
- In August 1881 this hard-lined approach was made a policy known as
the Safeguard System. It gave the tsar and his government
extraordinary powers.
- It had two levels;the lower Reinforced Safeguard and the Upper Extraordinary Safeguard
- Suspects could be imprisoned for three months without trial.
- Anything critical of the regime could be closed down or fined.
- Under the extraordinary safeguard the Zemstva or the Duma could e closed.
- The tsar also established 'land captains' who went
to local government to ensure they were obeying
orders. This was a clear return to an oppressive,
autocratic state.
- Tsar Alexander III turned Russia into a police state.
- Russification
- Russia was made of many different nationalities, with
Russians themselves making up 44% of the population.
Alexander III accelerated this in an attempt to unify the
nation
- In 1885 Russian was made the official language of the Empire.
- In Finland, Poland and the Baltic States there was
much resistence. In Poland 100,000 Russian
soldiers had to be permanently stationed there.