1. Did Alexander III reform Russia?
Although your source sheets indicate that Alexander III reversed a lot of his father’s policies, not all of Alexander II’s reforms disappeared, and there was some positive change:
In May 1881, a law reduced the redemption fees payable, and cancelled the debts of ex-serfs in the 37 central provinces of the Empire.
In May 1885, poll tax was abolished.
The right to appeal to higher courts was introduced.

2. Did Alexander III reform Russia?
Look at your table. What do you think was the most reactionary policy introduced under Alexander III? What was the least reactionary (i.e. most progressive)?
Who do you think was the most reactionary – Alexander II (after the assassination attempt of 1866) or Alexander III?

3. Adapted from Alan Wood’s book The Romanov Empire (2007).
“Attempts were made to reimpose the leaden hand of central government in all those areas of the Empire’s affairs where a degree of local or institutional particularism [i.e. concern with the immediate local area] had been allowed to creep in... It would be wrong to say that the power of local authorities had been taken away, as they did not have much of that in the first place, but by these counter-reforms the government had re-established the class principle in the countryside.”
Adapted from Alan Wood’s book The Romanov Empire (2007).
What is Wood’s interpretation of the reasons for the counter-reforms brought in by Alexander III? Do you agree with this interpretation?

4. Exam practice...
“While Alexander II was the ‘great reformer’, Alexander III was the ‘great reactionary’.
Explain why you agree or disagree with this view. [25 marks]
AO1: “Demonstrate, organise and communicate knowledge and understanding to analyse and evaluate the key features related to the periods studied, making substantiated judgements and exploring concepts, as relevant, of cause, consequence, change, continuity, similarity, difference and significance.”

5. Explain why you agree or disagree with this view. [25 marks]
“While Alexander II was the ‘great reformer’, Alexander III was the ‘great reactionary’.
Explain why you agree or disagree with this view. [25 marks]
21-25: Good understanding of the demands of the question. Well-organised and effectively communicated answer. Range of clear and specific supporting evidence showing good understanding of key features/issues, along with some conceptual awareness. Analytical answer, with range of direct comment leading to substantiated judgement.
16-24: Understanding of the question, with a range of largely accurate information and an awareness of some of the key issues/features. Analytical comment in relation to the question, and the answer will display some balance. But: some generalisation and judgements will be limited/partially substantiated.
11-15: Some understanding of the question. Adequately-organised answer. Appropriate information, but answers may be limited in scope and contain inaccuracy. Some comment in relation to the question.
6-10: Descriptive or partial answer. Limited communication skills. Unsupported and/or generalist answer.

6. Who benefits from autocracy?

7. Who benefits from autocracy?
Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe from 1987-present.
Alexander III, Tsar of Russia
Monteczuma II, Aztec emperor
Who benefits from autocracy?
Ivan the Terrible, Tsar of Russia
Adolf Hitler ‘Führer’ of Germany from
Augustus, Roman emperor 27 BC-14 AD.

8. “A system of government by one person with absolute power.”
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ‘autocracy’ is:
“A system of government by one person with absolute power.”

9. When rulers like Hitler, Mugabe, Alexander III and others establish autocracy, what are they hoping to achieve? What kinds of benefits do they foresee in the consolidation of absolute, autocratic power?
Discuss this on your table: try to come up with a list of at least 4 things...

10. Who benefits from autocracy?
In this lesson, you will...
Compile a list of criteria, reflecting upon the reasons for the establishment of autocratic rule.
Judge the success of Alexander III’s rule against these criteria.
Determine the extent to which Alexander III’s style of rule benefitted his power and position in Russia.

11. Write your criteria in the first column of your grid, thinking specifically about Alexander III. You can use your own, or borrow from mine.
Look through your notes to complete the second column, referring to specific policies which Alexander III introduced.
Using my suggested readings and your own knowledge, rate the extent to which Alexander III achieved each of the aims you have identified.
Finally, use the sources and independent research to find historians’ quotes to back up your ideas.

12. Alexander III’s autocracy: Suggested reading and research...
For a quick summary of some of Alexander’s policies: or
For a summary of how Alexander III suppressed opposition:
For a chapter from an academic book about Alexander’s policy towards minorities/opposition, focusing on pogroms against Jews:
For a really good website with lots of details (and some historians’ quotes):
Visit YouTube, and search for videos about Alexander III’s policies and reforms. Make sure that the source is reliable!

13. What did Alexander III hope to achieve from autocracy? (Criteria)
What policies/reforms/measures did Alexander III introduce, in relation to these aims?
To what extent did Alexander III achieve this aim? Rate out of 10 (10=completely, 1=not at all). Explain your decision.
Bonus Box: Can you find any quotes from historians to back this up?

14. Suppress opposition, and keep revolutionaries at bay.
What did Alexander III hope to achieve from autocracy? (Criteria)
What policies/reforms/measures did Alexander III introduce, in relation to these aims?
To what extent did Alexander III achieve this aim? Rate out of 10 (10=completely, 1=not at all). Explain your decision.
Bonus Box: Can you find any quotes from historians to back this up?
Suppress opposition, and keep revolutionaries at bay.
Prevent intellectuals and other possible critics from voicing their opinions.
Compete on a world/European stage, in terms of economic modernisation.
Maintain (and possibly expand) his Empire.
Extend the life of the Romanov dynasty far beyond his own reign.

15. Read the extract from the Master’s thesis by Ala Creciun – ensure that you understand what Creciun is arguing.
Complete the tasks at the top of the page.
Can you use any quotations from Creciun’s article for your ‘Alexander III’s Autocracy’ table from yesterday’s lesson?

16. Now complete your table from yesterday’s lesson, deciding how successfully Alexander III achieved his autocratic aims.
Use the article you have just read – as well as the longer article by John Etty – to add historians’ quotes to your table.

17. Where can you find historiographical
quotes/viewpoints?
Google Scholar: you can type in your topic, and it will bring up articles and books. Sometimes you can access partial books from Google Books, too.
A simple Google search. Websites like ‘Spartacus Educational’ often include quotations from historians, as well as quotes from people who lived at the time.
Documentaries. People like Lucy Worsley are historians, and the things they say on documentaries can be used as historiographical quotations.
Your textbooks…

18. In one colour, highlight specific evidence of Alexander III establishing his autocratic rule early in his reign.
In another colour, highlight any indications the author of the article gives that Alexander’s autocracy was successful.
In a third, highlight any indications the author gives that Alexander’s autocracy was NOT successful.
Extract from a Master’s thesis: Ala Creciun, ‘A Return to Autocracy? The Bureaucratic Network at the Accession of Alexander III’ (Budapest, 2013).
‘Upon his accession in March 1881, Alexander III inherited a unified set of ministers. The first two months of political struggle and indecision were brought to an end with the publication of the Manifesto of Unshakeable Autocracy on 29 April 1881, which announced the consolidation of autocratic power.
The first weeks in power left Alexander with few high-ranking figures who shared his ideologies. Alexander resorted to making appointments from the ranks of family members, army comrades, tutors and friends… for example, Pobedonostsev (Alexander’s former tutor) and Vorontsov-Dashkov (a childhood friends of Alexander’s, appointed Minister of Court) were powerful patrons and personal agents of the tsar. They competed for influence over the autocrat, who, in turn, sought to personally control them.
This chapter will argue that while Alexander III’s conception of power translated into the immediate control of his subordinates, he failed to find a loyal and talented figure to coordinate among the competing agents and thus lost control over administrative processes…
Notable dismissals during the first months of Alexander III were a clear sign of scrapping the previous policy, which undermined not only the image of his predecessor, but of autocracy as a whole. Alexander appointed high-ranking officials on the basis of their personal behaviour and outlooks, like anti-Semitism, anti-Polish sentiment, and conceptions of autocracy that converged with his own. During the first year of his rule, these appointments virtually paralysed state administration.
The Manifesto of the 29th April 1881 briefly reiterated Alexander’s autocratic prerogatives, announcing his intention to “vigorously undertake the task of ruling with faith in the strength and righteousness of autocratic rule, which we seek to reaffirm and safeguard from encroachment for the well-being of the people.” Effectively, this was the end to his father’s plans for a representative organ.
Ritual, ceremony and their symbolism suggested the tone of the new rule, but to popularise these, press was an indispensable ally. In July 1881, just months after his accession, Alexander III set out to Moscow, as tsars have traditionally done in critical moments. Moscow stood as a synecdoche (i.e. representative) of the whole of Russia and its land. Moscow was emphasised as the place “where the state was formed”. Alexander found it easy to identify himself with the seventeenth-century tradition that rested on the pervasiveness of Orthodoxy, the ‘direct rule’ and a delegated principle of administration, but he used such modern communication technologies as mass daily press to orchestrate this.’

19. According to your table, how successfully did Alexander III achieve his aims?
Did the autocratic system benefit Alexander III – or do you think he should have adopted a different style of rule? (What might have been the consequences of establishing a more democratic style? Think back to Montefiore.)

20. Were there any alternatives?
Do you think the Russian Tsars ever considered conceding any of their power, or was the system of autocracy too entrenched?

22. Alexander III’s autocracy: Suggested reading and research...
For a quick summary of some of Alexander’s policies: or
For a summary of how Alexander III suppressed opposition:
For a chapter from an academic book about Alexander’s policy towards minorities/opposition, focusing on pogroms against Jews:
For a really good website with lots of details (and some historians’ quotes):
Visit YouTube, and search for videos about Alexander III’s policies and reforms. Make sure that the source is reliable!
Alexander III’s autocracy: Suggested reading and research...
For a quick summary of some of Alexander’s policies: or
For a summary of how Alexander III suppressed opposition:
For a chapter from an academic book about Alexander’s policy towards minorities/opposition, focusing on pogroms against Jews:
For a really good website with lots of details (and some historians’ quotes):
Visit YouTube, and search for videos about Alexander III’s policies and reforms. Make sure that the source is reliable!

23. Alexander III: Lucy Worsley’s Empire of the Tsars...
“Alexander III wasn’t exactly an intellectual giant, but he held his autocratic regime together, almost through force of will.”
What action did Alexander III take to try to stamp out revolutionary activity – and to avenge his father’s murder?
Why does Worsley suggest that Alexander’s policy towards revolutionaries wasn’t that successful?
Who was Aleksandr Ulyanov, and why is he an important figure in Russian history?
(start around 21.30, to 28.02)