Section A Alexander II
Why was Alexander II traditionally seen as the tsar liberator?
mainly as a result of the emancipation edict 1861 and its consequences. once the emancipation occured, local governments also had to change. an elected mebership was voted in by a mixture of landowners, urban dwellers and peasants. electors were selcted mainly by property qualification.
how were the zemstva seen as effective in education?
the zemstva had a positive effect in the fields of education, public health and local economies. 1864, Alexander placed the responsibility for the administration and expansion on primary education with school boards which were in turn run by the zemstva.thius had an immediate impact on the number of school places avaliable, especially in more isolated places and the quantity and quality of provisions also improved. the origional zemstva was seen as so effective that from 1870 onwards, the model was copied and applied to towns and cities.
describe the censorship policies under Alexander II
russia experienced glasnost for the first time. in 1865 there was a relaxation of censorship. daily newspapers and foreign books were not censored before going to print.
when and why was a jury system introduced?
1864 a jury system was introduced for criminal cases, there was a heirarchy of courts to cater for diferent types of cases, better pay for judges and public atendance at court was allowed.
how can the tsar be seen to regret implementing democracy?
he was forced to implement a level of democracy at a local level but seemed to regret this immediately. liberal members of the zemstva started to question the 'adminstrative monopoly of officialdom' and were critical of a regime that seemed to be unrepsonsive to their demands.
who dominated the zemstva?
both the district anad provincial zemstva were dominted by the nobility. the extent to which democracy was introduced was thus questionable. the creation of the zemstva proved as a diversion from reformist nobility wanting changes to central government.
How did the zemstva's power diminish in 1870?
some of the zemstavs authority was taken away in 1870 by the education minister Dmitri Tolstoy. by 1877, the ministry had almost complete control of what the zemstva could do including appointment of teachers, length of schol day and the inspectorate.