Alexander III and the Preservation of Autocracy
AS History Homework
Determined to preserve the Autocracy, in what ways did Alexander III in fact lay the foundations for its destruction?
Alexander III struggled to keep his large multi-ethnic empire together, as a major change within Russia was expected of him after his late father Alexander II begun some reforms. He needed to maintain the complete power over Russia in order to preserve autocracy, while facing pressure from some of his advisers to reform the empire to make it more democratic, allowing an elective parliament to share political power with the Tsar. However Alexander III had made it clear that he did not approve of his father’s political changes, and when became the Tsar in 1881, he tossed Russia on a return to conservatism.
This decision was not approved by many opposition groups which started to form in the undergrounds of St. Petersburg. Those who wanted changes ranged from moderates to extremists. Moderates included liberals who believed in peaceful reforms and wanted to allow freedom of the speech and press. Extremists took many forms, mainly with one goal – destroying the tsarist system. All of these were being formed as people wanted more rights and had the common desire to change the political system in order to form a fair government. To Alexander III it was clear that these groups should be repressed and terminated.
Another factor that helped lay the foundations for the destruction of the Tsar was the industrial development. The person most related to the rapid industrialisation of the world’s biggest country in the 19th century was the Finance Minister, Sergei Witte. His aim was to make the Russian economy strong enough to maintain its position as a Great Power and expand the country’s business class, which was central to the development of the British and other European economies in the 1890’s. However, Russia did not possess certain factors which were essential for the success of the ‘Witte system’. The majority of the peasants
Determined to preserve the Autocracy, in what ways did Alexander III in fact lay the foundations for its destruction?
Alexander III struggled to keep his large multi-ethnic empire together, as a major change within Russia was expected of him after his late father Alexander II begun some reforms. He needed to maintain the complete power over Russia in order to preserve autocracy, while facing pressure from some of his advisers to reform the empire to make it more democratic, allowing an elective parliament to share political power with the Tsar. However Alexander III had made it clear that he did not approve of his father’s political changes, and when became the Tsar in 1881, he tossed Russia on a return to conservatism.
This decision was not approved by many opposition groups which started to form in the undergrounds of St. Petersburg. Those who wanted changes ranged from moderates to extremists. Moderates included liberals who believed in peaceful reforms and wanted to allow freedom of the speech and press. Extremists took many forms, mainly with one goal – destroying the tsarist system. All of these were being formed as people wanted more rights and had the common desire to change the political system in order to form a fair government. To Alexander III it was clear that these groups should be repressed and terminated.
Another factor that helped lay the foundations for the destruction of the Tsar was the industrial development. The person most related to the rapid industrialisation of the world’s biggest country in the 19th century was the Finance Minister, Sergei Witte. His aim was to make the Russian economy strong enough to maintain its position as a Great Power and expand the country’s business class, which was central to the development of the British and other European economies in the 1890’s. However, Russia did not possess certain factors which were essential for the success of the ‘Witte system’. The majority of the peasants