Crimean War

Ä Disastrous defeats at Balaclava and Inkerman against major world powers.

Ä Fortress of Sebastopol had fallen to enemies, Russia's great naval base. Disrupted needed trade through Black Sea. Impediment to economic flourishing. Artery of most flourishing international trade.

Ä Shock and humiliation at revealed military and administrative inefficiency.

Ä Provoked peasant uprisings. Anticipated freedom to be granted.

Ä Technological gap between Russia and West exposed. Inadequate weaponry supply revealed lack of capital. 1 musket for every two soldiers. 4% of infantry owned a rifle. Arms outclassed by British and French.

Ä "Great power" status challenged. Successful empire before. Ineffectiveness of tsarist autocracy. In a region there was greatest hope of expansion. Romanov Dynasty had identified itself with military power. Model of west European nation-state.

Ä Army was to be modernised.

Ä Enlightened intellectuals questioned society's reliance on serf conscripts for army. Modernisation of army necessary - General Dimitrii Milyutin. New way of recruiting soldiers.

Ä Inadequate communication and transport systems. In wartime, supplies and troops could not be transported to front line due to lack of railway system. No railway south of Moscow. Conditions of recruits affected due to malnourishment. 2/3 of men died of starvation or sickness whilst being transported to front line. Could not maintain fighting in long campaign. Ineffective in relation to size of empire - many vulnerable points. Would expand economic potential.

Ä Willingness to prevent another defeat. Needed to improve in the case of a potential major European war. "Party of Progress," a group of liberal civil servants were in agreement.

Ä Economy was to be improved for military success as it entailed heavy expenditure and manufacture of instruments.

Ä Had damaged economy - generated inflation and state debt.

Alexander's own views

Ä Alexander II deemed it as his responsibility to restore Russia's power and prestige as a "great power."

Ä Limited reforms would render the economy more dynamic, satisfying Russians and proving the effectiveness of autocracy so as it would not be undermined.

Ä Taken control of government during father's absences abroad.

Ä Worked for over ten years in Council of State, serving on various committees. Saw problems first-hand.

Ä Visited Siberia, witnessed living conditions there.

Ä Realised serfdom was to be abolished if modernisation was to occur.

Ä Surrounded by "enlightened bureaucrats" who pressed for reform along western lines. Advisers dissatisfied with existing state of affairs.

Ä Wanted reform to come from "above."

Political considerations

Ä Nicolas I had maintained reactionary, authoritarian regime and could not prevent surfacing of new political and social thought, breeding disloyalty to government. Would only be crippled under threat. Becoming difficult to maintain high degree of vigilance.

Ä Peasant uprisings increased - protests against military conscription.

Ä Social stability threatened - 300 uprisings in upcoming years to Crimean War.

Ä Autocracy depended on nobles whom weren't being aided sufficiently. Falling incomes, dependent on serfs - no motivation for own work, business ventures.

Economic considerations

Ä Need to bridge industrial gap with the West - reassert great power status.

Ä Serfdom was a key impediment to industrialisation - prevented mobilisation to factories, limited capital accumulation, kept internal market demand low, hindered development of modern methods of agriculture, as there was little incentive for serfs to modernise methods due to profits being seized, farming remained inefficient, more productive in Siberia where there was paid work.

Ä Population had doubled - difficult to produce enough for peasants and surplus for landowners. Productivity levels remained the same - supply crisis for vast population.

Ä Bouts of famine as peasants had to hand over grain at harvest time.

Ä Landowning nobility fell into debt as they tried maintaining traditional lifestyles on reduced incomes.

Ä Grain less profitable due to competition of Western countries - more efficient production methods.

Ä Took mortgages on estates. By 1859, 66% of serfs had been mortgaged. Peasants unable to pay obrok and Poll Tax. By 1855, government had debt of 54 million roubles.

Moral and intellectual considerations

Ä Alexander Herzen and Ivan Turgenev, members of the intelligentsia, promoted modernisation of Russia in literature. Stressed immorality of serfdom - detrimental to moral fibre of upper classes.

Ä In 1862 Turgenev popularised the term "Nihilist" in Fathers and Sons. Addressed problems of contemporary Russian society.

Ä Turgenev's novel A Sportsman's Sketches published in 1852 helped influence educated Russian opinion in favour of the abolition of serfdom.

Ä Westerners believed upholding of tradition was deterring the nation's growth and modernisation in the wake of Western countries. "Civilise" society.

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