Stage 6
Preliminary
Lesson plan
Week 1
Week 2
Nicholas I
Nicholas system
Crimean War
Alexander II
Emancipation
of the serfs
Alexander II
other reforms
Week 3
Week 4
Week 5
Web Wiz
The Nicholas System
Absolute autocratic ruler
| First Secretariat Responsible for administration and all promotions to important positions in the Empire. |
| Second Section - Law Responsible for the codification of all of Russia's laws into a single document - headed by Speransky. |
| Third Section - Secret Police Responsible for the internal security, gathering information and intelligence about the Empire, the identificaiton and arrest of revolutionaries and the monitoring of all ideas in the Empire - headed by Benckendorff. |
| Fourth Section - Education Responsible for monitoring what schools and universities were allowed to teach. |
| Fifth Section - Serfs Responsible for investigating possible reforms for the ocnditions of the serfs - aim was to defuse discontent, not necessarily to improve the quality of life for the peasants. |
Officials appointed by the Tsar ran each section but they had the power only to advise him. The Tsar could either act on their advice or ignore it. Nicholas himself administered directly those areas he considered to be vital. In this way the Nicholas System enhanced autocracy making the Tsar more powerful than ever before.
The reforms of Nicholas I
On the other hand, Nicholas introduced a series of minor reforms. He restructured the currency, simplified the laws and passed a Factory Act specifying minimum working conditions for urban workers. In 1851 the first Russian public railway line between Moscow and St Petersburg was opened.
To address the threat of peasant revolt Nicholas I improved the conditions of the serfs to a limited extent. He forbade the sale of serfs by their masters to repay private debts, or sales that broke up families. He allowed a few serfs to buy their freedom.
He set up a limited peasant welfare system which included health and education for State serfs (those serfs owned by the Tsar). All of these reforms were designed to rectify problems in the system of serfdom not as a way of ending the institution.
Expanding the Empire
His conduct of foreign affairs exhibited the same autocratic and narrow outlook. During much of his reign he played the role of the 'policeman of Europe' and, through war, he expanded his empire. He:
- went to war against Persia in 1826 and acquired Kazakhstan and Turkistan
- went to war against Poland in 1830 and expanded the Empire into the Caucasus
- helped Austria to put down a revolution in Hungary in 1848-1849
- went to war against Turkey in 1853 to follow his policy of expansion in the Balkans. Britain and France intervened on the side of the Turks this led to a disastrous defeat for Russia in the Crimea War. (1853-1856)
Assessment
Nicholas I maintained and strengthened the autocratic system but there was growing peasant unrest and an increasingly critical intelligentsia during his reign. After1848, his repression became increasingly irrational. His failure to modernise and industrialise led to the failures of the economic and military system, exposed by Russia's defeat in the Crimea War, and paved the way for the reforms of his son Alexander II.
| Exercise 2.2: Written exercise | |
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What repressive policies did Nicholas I introduce after he became Tsar in 1825 and how did they affect life in Russia? |
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Email your answers to your teacher or print your answers and send them by post. |