AS Level History - Tsarist Russia, 1855 - 1917 Essay

AS Level History - Tsarist Russia, 1855 - 1917 - Essay Example Contextually, a few of the key attributes of the country (such as the huge size and the diversity issue which concluded on the insecurity factor of the economy, the gradual development of the country as a military state, and the poverty regions), laid the foundation of Tsarist Russia during 1855 with the inheritance of Alexander II. However, similar to any other event of history and reform the phase was set to dusk by Nicholas II during the end of 1917 (Bromley, J. â€Å"Russia, 1848-1917†). 1. Embarking on Reforms by Alexander II Alexander II played the most crucial role in the underpinning of Tsarist government through embarking several reforms which evidently concluded the philosophy of Serfdom in Russian economy. It was in 1855 when Alexander II happened to be the ‘Tsar of Russia’ after the death of Tsar Nicholas I. Consequently, Russia was then involved in the Crimean War which created an impact on the perception of Alexander II regarding the military outlook of the economy. With this changed perception, Alexander II established several reforms, such as the Emancipation Manifesto including 17 parliamentary acts aiming to free the serfs (i.e. the class of peasants fundamentally associated with agricultural labour) in Russia. The reform further rewarded the right to the serfs to purchase land from their landlords and therefore abolished the practise of personal serfdom in the economy. Noteworthy, the amount to be payable in turn of the land would be provided by the government in advance to the landlords and shall be recovered from the peasants in regular intervals. This indeed created an intense pressure on the serfs which was evidently on the contradictory aspect of the main objective of the reform to abolish serfdom (Spartacus, â€Å"Alexander II†). Furthermore, Alexander II introduced many such reforms which indirectly strengthened the power of the wealthy class, affecting the interests of the poor class of the economy. For inst ance, the establishment of Zemstvo in 1864 which would represent a council in each district, possessing the right to build up roads, provide medical services and educational services to the local people. However, the power to elect the members of the Zemstvo was restricted in the hands of the wealthy group of peoples demonstrating the inequality of rights existing within the economy. Apart from this the Tsar ruler also introduced reforms intended to the development of the municipal government, and universal military training. He also emphasised on the issue related to the expansion of industrialisation and the railways networks all around the country (Vernadsky, G., â€Å"A History of Russia†). 1.1. Reasons to Embark on these Reforms Alexander II gained his identification as the emperor of Russia in 1855, incidentally when the economy was facing the issue of Crimean War with turkey which was satisfied with a treaty of Paris. This result of the war evidently affected the perce ptions of Alexander II influencing him to believe that the military state of Russia was on a downfall. Moreover, the comparison of the Russian economy with that of France and Britain proved that the economy is evidently at a slower pace, inadequate to compete