Alexander II vs Alexander III
Alexander II and Alexander III approached the Russian Empire in a very different way. Although they were both father and child, the two approaches were vastly different. However, the similarities between the two are their desire to do the right thing for their country. Alexander II was a liberal by nature. Alexander II’s famed reforms earned him the title of “The Tsar Liberalator” for his policies. Alexander III on the other hand was a conservative. He believed in absolute dictatorship and became known as a peacemaker’ because he didn’t participate in foreign wars. The death situations of the tsars are what underpin their differences: Alexander II was killed in an 8th assassination attempt against him while Alexander III died in bed from kidney disease at the tender age of 49. Although they had different views about how to control the Russian Empire and get power, both tsars contributed to its economic growth, which helped Russia become the country it is today.
Both tsars contributed to the industrialization and transformation of Russia’s Empire into what it is today. Alexander II and AlexanderIII had different approaches on the political front, but they were both successful in modernizing and expanding the Empire’s economy. After the defeat of the Crimean War, it was obvious that the Russian Empire needed economic growth. It was argued that serfdom was responsible for the country’s economic decline, as it prevented the establishment and free movement of labor. Even Nicholas I, Alexander’s father, referred directly to serfdom, calling it ‘the flagrant wrong’. Alexander II’s liberal view was directly correlated to Alexander II’s solution, which was the liberation from serfdom. Thus, the Emancipation Manifesto, implemented March 3, 1861. But the economic effects of the emancipation failed to materialize. The peasants remained tied to the Mir, their financial management, and were in constant debt from the redemption payments they were unable or unwilling to pay. Although the economy was still agrarian and the majority of soil was unsuitable for crops, the poor 1/3 of all soil was given to the peasants. Although industrialization was slow, the total workforce increased from 860 000 to 1.32 Million by 1887. Alexander II’s minister Mikhail Ruetern (1862-1878) began the construction of railways. Alexander III, the minister of finance, opened Russia’s vast lands to railways. The building of the railways would create many new jobs and increase the export potential of Russian resources. Alexander III continued the reforms of his father, focusing similarly on railway construction. Nikolai Bunge (1881-1886), Alexander III’s first minister of finance, established the Peasants Land Bank in 1883 to assist peasants with their affairs. It allowed them to buy land to farm at affordable prices and eliminate the unpaid redemptions. Alexander III’s reign saw increased exports of mineral, oil and textiles due to the construction railways. Under Ivan Vyshnegradkiy, the minister of finances (1887-1992), Russia’s industrial growth was greatly subsidized by foreign enterprises. But, Sergei Witte was the minister of finance who succeeded Vyshnegradski. He took the role of minister of finances after the 1991-92 famine. 350 000 people lost their crops. However, Russia’s economy still continues to be subsidized by foreign enterprises. The Russian ruble was saved from inflation by Count Witte, who established the new gold standards into which paper money is converted. He encouraged French investors and helped to build the Trans-Siberian railroad, which opened up Russia’s middle. This allowed for industrialization throughout the country. In 1900, Russia was experiencing an average of 8% economic growth per year. Both tsars believed that a strong economy was essential for Russia’s success.
Although both tsars modernized Russia by industrializing the country, their policies and political views were completely opposites. Alexander II, born during the Crimean War (1855), came to power. He tried to make the country more westernized and to restore its fame after the humiliation of losing the war. Richard Pipes states that such a comprehensive set of reforms is unprecedented in Russia since Peter The Great. Alexander II was close to making Russia an absolute autocracy. He drafted a constitution with the help of Loris-Melikov, the minister of Interior. The creation of zemstvos was another step in reducing absolute power. These were the organs for rural government and gradually gave more power to the masses. Alexander II made it possible to have freedom of the press. He was also more accommodating of ethnic minorities and less strict with regulation and censorship imposed upon Jews and Poles. Universities were granted autocracy by the government. All the liberal reforms following allowed the flow of enlightened ideas, such as equality, liberty and enlightenment, into society. People started to see that there were other ideologies and regimes than those they had been accustomed to and sought change. Ironically Alexander II, despite all his liberal intentions in 1881 was assassinated and his family died in the Winter Palace.
Alexander III realized the effects of his father’s reforms. With the help of Konstantin Pobedonostsev (the Procurator of Holy Synod), he implemented the principles: “orthodoxy.nationality.autocracy.” In order to express his intentions, Alexander III built the Church of Spilled Blood on the spot where his father was murdered. On April 29, 1881 he presented the accession statement, declaring his belief of conservatism. Alexander counter reforms were supported and supported by Russification. He removed the authority of zemstvos and increased the restrictions on ethnic minorities. Pobedonstsev refering to the constitution as “greatest harm” caused him to force Loris Melikov, Minister of Interior, from resigning. This was because the tsar wanted total power. Alexander III, unlike his father, who allowed Jews from the Pale of Settlement to leave, established May Law under Interior Ignatiev’s direction in 1892. It imposed thousands of regulations onto the Jewish community, as well as quotas on how many were allowed into certain cities.
