Section B Nature of Rule
Alexander II structure of government
Emancipation Edict 1861 forced changes to be made to the way localities were governed. Nobilities saw thier holdings reduced so no longer had a big political role on a local level. zemstva introduced to feedback regional issues to central government. elected membership of a mixture of land owners, urban dwellers and peasants. on a national level, hee chaired the council of ministers which consisted of officials nominated by him.
Alexander III structure of government
abandoned the council of ministers in 1882 and shared its duties to other organs of government. desire t implement more extreme autocracy. organs accountable to the tsar.
Nicholas II structure of government
offered concessions with the october manifesto whihc led to the introduction of the duma. it was notgiven authority to pass laws and 1906 fundamentl laws meant that the tsar could veto it
Lenin structure of government
constituentassembly was shut down when the bolsheviks came second to the srs. a new political structure was put in place with the sovnarkom at the centre. members were products of chain elections (similar to duma). system wa dominated by bolsheviks rusia became a single party state.
stalin structure of government
1936 constitution introduced with new representative organs. article 126 stalin remained in complete control. this continued under khrushchev
alexander II and alexander III censorship.
under alexander II russia experienced glasnost for the first time. 1865 there was a relaxation of censorship daily newspapers and foreign books werent censored before going to print. government could still withdraw publications of 'dangerous oreintation'. Alexande III prepublication censorship appeared. officials closed down certain newspapers, journals and institutions.
Nicholas II censorship
prepublication censorship disappeared 1894 over ten thousand books were pubished. Kopek (penny paper) appeared and within 2 years had a circulation of 25,000. could still close down publishers for 'subversive' materials
Provisional Government censorship
intoduction of the 8 principles which established free speech and press
lenin censorship
bolsheviks abolished fre pres altogether to 'surpress counter revolutionaries' by 1920s reporting was in complete control of the bolsheviks. 1921, agitprop was founded to idealise rusian life.
stalin censorship
taken to a new level. 1932 all literacy groups were closed down. anyone wanting to publish had to join the union of soviet writers.
Khrushchev censorship
eased, by 1959 there was 1350,000 libraries, 8000million books, 19 milion in Lenin library in moscow alone. newspaper readwrship was nearly 60 million by early 1960s.
Alexander II and Alexander III secret police
from 1880 Alex II used the Okhrana to target growth of political pressure groups Alexander II fully utilized it asa a tool for syping on, imprisoning, arrsting and exiling opposition.
Nicholass II secret police
activity of the okhrana took off when the sr and sd grew in degree of threat peaking in 1905 when memberswere used as agent provocateurs and executioners.
provisional government secret police
focus on wartime security. established the counter espionage bureau of the petrograd military district.designed to weed out those undermining the war effort includong the bolsheviks
lenin secret police
cheka shifted to focus on counter revolutionary behaviour. victimised people not only because of what they had done but also because of who they were more generally. known for executing the romanovs without trial. implemented the red terror. after the civil war cheka was disbanded and relaced with the ogpu.
stalin secret police
nkvd administered purges, show trials and gulags where 40 mil were sent. collected evidence against communists held in high esteem. by WW2 the police itself hadbeen purged of around 20,000 members.
khrushchev secret police
destalinisation largely led to gulagsdiappearing by 1960 there were only 11000 c9unter revolutionaries in captivity. MVD reorganised to deal with ordinary crime and acts of civil disorder. KGB set up to focus on internal and external security of USSR particularly during cold war period