Alexander II: Managing the Challenge of Modernizing Russia
How successful did Alexander II manage the challenge of modernising Russia
Since the nineteenth century it has been evident that Russia and much of Eastern Europe has struggled to keep up with the modernising western powers; a problem which has become apparent to Alexander II. They were socially, economically and politically behind in many aspects; industrialising was a huge problem due to problems with serfdom as well as poor infrastructure and transport links which made industrialising uneven across the whole of Russia.
Economically, Russia was struggling with problems in agricultural production, expertise in jobs and basic infrastructure such as transport links. In hindsight, his economical reforms proved to be the most successful. Most successful of his reforms includes the introduction of Reutern. He was extremely successful as he was able to borrow less money from other countries giving more independency; He also allowed infrastructure to improve through the construction of railways across the landscape of Russia. This is extremely significant as it meant more raw materials could be travelled making Russia more economically stable and less reliable on other countries resources. Moreover, it encouraged more highly skilled and better qualified workers to move to Russia to design and created jobs for those to build the railway in turn leading to faster industrialising and economic prosperity. Other reforms included a treasury being reformed as well as the abolition of tax farming. Reformation of the government and treasury is important as it meant the government was more efficient with its budgeting and therefore saved money reducing their debt and consequently boosting the Russian economy. However not all of Alexander reforms were successful. Most controversial was the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 which has both benefits and drawbacks. It created a more mobile workforce allowing serfs to travel and become better qualified as well as pay taxes so
Since the nineteenth century it has been evident that Russia and much of Eastern Europe has struggled to keep up with the modernising western powers; a problem which has become apparent to Alexander II. They were socially, economically and politically behind in many aspects; industrialising was a huge problem due to problems with serfdom as well as poor infrastructure and transport links which made industrialising uneven across the whole of Russia.
Economically, Russia was struggling with problems in agricultural production, expertise in jobs and basic infrastructure such as transport links. In hindsight, his economical reforms proved to be the most successful. Most successful of his reforms includes the introduction of Reutern. He was extremely successful as he was able to borrow less money from other countries giving more independency; He also allowed infrastructure to improve through the construction of railways across the landscape of Russia. This is extremely significant as it meant more raw materials could be travelled making Russia more economically stable and less reliable on other countries resources. Moreover, it encouraged more highly skilled and better qualified workers to move to Russia to design and created jobs for those to build the railway in turn leading to faster industrialising and economic prosperity. Other reforms included a treasury being reformed as well as the abolition of tax farming. Reformation of the government and treasury is important as it meant the government was more efficient with its budgeting and therefore saved money reducing their debt and consequently boosting the Russian economy. However not all of Alexander reforms were successful. Most controversial was the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 which has both benefits and drawbacks. It created a more mobile workforce allowing serfs to travel and become better qualified as well as pay taxes so