To what extent was the defeat of the Crimean war Alexander’s excuse for change.
To what extent was the defeat of the Crimean war Alexander’s excuse for change.
The defeat in the Crimean war was arguably the main reason why Alexander II made a series of reforms when he came into power. The devastating loss of the war proved the backwardness of Russia in relation to other powers and even though peasant unrest and the criticisms of serfdom were partially responsible for influencing Alexander II, the decision to make changes primarily came from the loss of the Crimean war.
The Crimean war was fought by Russia and an alliance of Britain, France, Prussia, Austria and the Ottoman Empire from 1853 to 1856. Due to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, each country was competing for influence in the Middle East, with Russia attempting to gain access to its seas. In the end Russia was vastly overpowered, leading Alexander II to speedily begin peace talks, the Treaty of Paris bringing an end to the bloodshed. The defeat of the war highlighted the fact that Russia had lost its dominance as a military power, having had its warships banned from the Black Sea. Why such a vast country with a strong military tradition lost was due to the traditional values of Russia, like the out-dated military manoeuvres, the out-dated bayonet against the newest rifles, the inability to support the war effort and the undersupplied armies due to a lack of transport. Russian troops weren’t equipped to fight against the advanced weapons of the French and British, when their ammunition ran out they were unable to restock since there was no form of transport other than ox drawn carts. Proof of Russian backwardness was exemplified here; Russia’s serfdom based economy was unable to support the cost of the war, influencing Alexander II greatly to change.
This links in with the Serfdom based economy that couldn’t support the cost of warfare because of the backwardness of its practices. With the vast rural population using the same farming techniques used hundreds of years before
The defeat in the Crimean war was arguably the main reason why Alexander II made a series of reforms when he came into power. The devastating loss of the war proved the backwardness of Russia in relation to other powers and even though peasant unrest and the criticisms of serfdom were partially responsible for influencing Alexander II, the decision to make changes primarily came from the loss of the Crimean war.
The Crimean war was fought by Russia and an alliance of Britain, France, Prussia, Austria and the Ottoman Empire from 1853 to 1856. Due to the decline of the Ottoman Empire, each country was competing for influence in the Middle East, with Russia attempting to gain access to its seas. In the end Russia was vastly overpowered, leading Alexander II to speedily begin peace talks, the Treaty of Paris bringing an end to the bloodshed. The defeat of the war highlighted the fact that Russia had lost its dominance as a military power, having had its warships banned from the Black Sea. Why such a vast country with a strong military tradition lost was due to the traditional values of Russia, like the out-dated military manoeuvres, the out-dated bayonet against the newest rifles, the inability to support the war effort and the undersupplied armies due to a lack of transport. Russian troops weren’t equipped to fight against the advanced weapons of the French and British, when their ammunition ran out they were unable to restock since there was no form of transport other than ox drawn carts. Proof of Russian backwardness was exemplified here; Russia’s serfdom based economy was unable to support the cost of the war, influencing Alexander II greatly to change.
This links in with the Serfdom based economy that couldn’t support the cost of warfare because of the backwardness of its practices. With the vast rural population using the same farming techniques used hundreds of years before