Russian Reform and Revolution after Catherine 2 nd

TERMS:
Liberal-open to new behavior or opinions and willing to
discard traditional values.
Radical-advocating or based on thorough or complete
political or social reform; representing or supporting an
extreme section of a political party.
Conservative- a person who is averse to change and holds
to traditional values and attitudes, typically in relation to
politics.
Domestic vs. Foreign matters- dealing or concerned with
another country.
Autocratic- one who holds absolute power
Divine Rights theory- The divine right of kings, or divineright theory of kingship, is a political and religious
doctrine of royal and political legitimacy. It asserts that a
monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving the
right to rule directly from the will of God.
Russification- Russification (Russian:
rusifiktsiya) is a form of cultural assimilation process
during which non-Russian communities, voluntarily or not,
give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian
one.
Pan-Slavism- the principle or advocacy of the union of all
Slavs or all Slavic peoples in one political organization.
Emancipation Edict- 1861, the mechanism by which Czar
Alexander II freed all Russian serfs (one third of the total
population). All personal serfdom was abolished, and the
peasants were to receive land from the landlords and pay
them for it. The state advanced the money to the
landlords and recovered it from the peasants in 49 annual
sums known as redemption payments. Until redemption
began, the law provided for a period of "temporary
obligation," during which the peasants held the land but
paid for it in money or in labor. That initial stage dragged
on for nearly 20 years in some regions. In many areas the
peasants had to pay more than the land was worth, while
in other areas they were given small plots, and many
chose to accept "beggarly allotments"i.e., one fourth of
the prescribed amount of land without any monetary
obligations. The peasants' landholdings were controlled
by the mir, or village commune. The mir was responsible
for redemption payments and periodically redistributed
the land to meet the changing needs of the various
households. The provisions concerning land redistribution

produced the peasant discontent that eventually helped

the Russian Revolution to succeed, despite the later
reforms of P. A. Stolypin
Peoples Will- The People's Will or The People's Freedom)
was a Russian left-wing terrorist organization in the late
19th century, best known for the successful assassination
of Tsar Alexander II of Russia
Pogroms- an organized massacre of a particular ethnic
group, in particular that of Jews in Russia or eastern
Europe.
Nihilists- is a philosophical doctrine that suggests the
negation of one or more reputedly meaningful aspects of
life. The Greek philosopher and Sophist, Gorgias (ca. 485
BCE380 BCE), is perhaps the first to consider the
Nihilistic belief.
Social Democratic Labor party
Duma- czar issued a decree called the

QUESTIONS:
1. Summarize Ideas:
a. Explain how liberalism affected Russias
domestic policy
Russification and pogromes
b. Describe two features of Russias
foreign policy
Pan slavism and expansion of the empire
2. Organizing Ideas:
a. List the liberal reforms that Alexander
II acomplished for Russia
Believed the defeat in the Crimean war was because
Russia needed to industrialize
Emancipation of the Russian serfs
b. What did he do with regard to the serfs?
he freed the serfs
3. Analyzing Ideas:
a. Why did the Revolution of 1905 fail to
overthrow the monarchy?
Russia loss exposed a government that was corrupt and

inefficient.
b. How did Nicholas II respond to the
Revolution of 1905?
He faced a crisis and reluctantly decided to yield.