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Alexander I
Alexander I was inherited to the throne in 1801. He was open to liberal ideas. He eased censorship. -
Decembrist Revolt
An uprising that was lead by a group of army officers after Alexander I died. They demanded a constitution and for other reforms. Nicholas I (the new Czar of Russia) suppressed the Decembrists. He banned books that were thought to spread liberal ideas. About 15000 people were exiled to Siberia. This event was called the Decembrist Revolt. -
Alexander II
Alexander II came to the throne in 1855, during the Crimean War. -
Emancipaction of Serfs
Liberals started to demand changes. Alexander II finally agreed to accept reforms. In 1861, he issued a royal decree that required emancipation. It was called the Emancipation Of the Serfs. The freedom brought a lot of problems. Many people were poor, and the farms that were given to the peasants were inefficient neither to farm on nor to support a family. 1860’s -
Zemstvos
Alexander II set up a local government with elected assemblies called the Zemstvos. These men were held responsible for things like road repairs, schools, and agriculture. This cam into effect in 1864. -
Russification
Czar Alexander III had launched a program of Russification that suppressed cultures of non-Russian people in the empire.He wanted to have only 1 language, Russian, and 1 church, the Russian Orthodox Church. Many nationalities suffered from the persecution, like Poles, Ukrainians, Finns, Armenians, etc. -
* Death of Alexander II *
Anger came upon radicals because Alexander II had failure of his “Go to the People” movement along with the combination of renewed government repression. The “People’s Will, a revolutionary group, had assassinated officials and plotted to kill the Czar. Their first attempts had been failures. One day in March 1881, terrorists had shot bombs Alexander II’s carriage. One of the bombs struck and took out several guards. As for the other bomb hit Alexander II and killed him. -
Alexander III
Alexander III came to the throne after his father, Alexander II's assasination. Alexander III’s response to his father’s death was to use harsh methods of Nicholas I. He increased the power for secret police, restored strict censorship, and exiled critics to Siberia in order to take out liberals and revolutionaries. He also made Russification. -
Pogroms
The persecutions of Alexander III had encouraged Pogroms. Pogroms are violent mob attacks on Jews. Gangs beat, killed, and burnt down their houses and stores. Police didn’t try to stop them. Faced with persecutions, many Jews ran away and escaped from Russia. Jews became refugees. -
War with Japan
War had broken out between Russia and Japan. Nicholas called on his people to fight for “the Faith, the Czar, and the Fatherland.” Russia had suffered 1 humiliating defeat after another. -
Bloody Sunday
It started out as a peaceful organized marched for Sunday. They marched on an icy day in St. Petersburg, chanting prayers, singing hymns, holding pictures of Czar Nicholas II and also addressed petitions for justice and freedom. The Czar fled the palace in fear. He sent soldiers there, then suddenly came gunshots that left hundreds dead and wounded in the snow. People cried that the Czar deserted them. This killed the peoples faith and trust in the Czar. This day was known as Bloody Sunday. -
The Revolution of 1905
By October 1905, general strikes had spread to all the large cities, and the workers' councils or soviets, often led by the Mensheviks, became revolutionary governments. The strikes' magnitude convinced Nicholas II, advised by Sergey Witte, to issue the October Manifesto, promising an elected legislature. The Romanov dynasty, the autocracy which put too much pressure on the 'citizens' who were actual pretty much slaves was the main cause of the Revolution of 1905. -
Duma
Nicholas II agreed to summon an elected legislature called Duma. This was all under The Revolution of 1905. -
October Manifesto
After Bloody Sunday, contents exploded across Russia. Strikes had multiplied. Workers had also taken over local government. Peasants revolted and demanded land in the countryside. Terrorists started to target officials. In the October Manifesto, Nicholas II promised the “freedom of person, conscience, speech, assembly and union”. -
Peter Stolypin
As a result of The Revolution of 1905, Nicholas II appointed new Prime Minister, Peter Stolypin. Along with Stolypin, arrests, pogroms, and persecutions followed as he tried to restore order. He introduced moderate land reforms to regain peasant support. He also strengthened Zemstvos and improved education. -
Death of Stolypin
When Stolypin was assassinated, several Dumas met during this period. New voting laws made sure that they were conservative. -
Nicholas II
With the help of Nicholas II and his father Alexander III, Russia had finally entered the industrial age. -
Trans - Siberian Railroad
Nicholas II and his finance minister, Count Serge Witte, had focused on economic development and built the Trans- Serbian Rail Road. This railroad linked European Russia to the Pacific Ocean. -
Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin)
. A revolutionary, Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin), used an alias. His alias was Lenin. Lenin took power during a revolution that transformed Russia.
