Russian and Austrian Tensions

1. Russian and Austrian Tensions Mr. White’s World History

2. Russia • The Romanov dynasty had ruled Russia for many hundreds of years into the 1800s • Some czars had worked hard to modernize Russia, while others were distrustful of outside, western ideas – latinstvo • This struggle would finally start to come to a climax in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

3. Western Ideas • The Russian officers who fought Napoleon in the Napoleonic Wars were exposed to the ideas and technology of western Europe • They formed secret societies with the goals of making Russia more modern by adopting these ideas • This eventually results in the Decembrist Revolt, an attempt to modernize Russia through a military revolt

4. Decembrist Revolt • The Decembrist Revolt took place when Alexander I died, and his son Nicholas I took the throne • The revolt was defeated, but had two results: • Leaders of the revolt were seen as martyrs to a cause, and inspiration to others • The czars also constantly ruled with the threat of an uprising

5. Defeat and Resolve • Russia’s defeat by France and the Ottoman Empire in the Crimean War showed to many Russians how technologically backwards Russia was • Czar Alexander II believed that Russia needed to industrialize to become a major power and compete with other nations

6. The Serfs • Russia still relied on peasant labor for its agriculture • Serfs were peasants who were tied to the land that they worked – basically a more restrictive form of feudalism • For Russia to industrialize, it needed available labor • To get this labor, Alexander II freed the serfs in 1861

7. The Plight of the Serfs • The serfs obtained legal freedom, and were given land, but had to pay back the landholders for the land they were given • This kept many of them tied to the land still • Some peasants gave up farming and moved to the cities to become unskilled urban workers

8. Some Modernization • Alexander did other things to modernize and liberalize Russia: • Limited the use of Russian secret police • Eased restrictions on the press • Modernized the judicial system • Shortened mandatory military service, from 25 years to 6 • Still, these reforms would not satisfy the people – encouraged them

9. Radical Movements • Radical reformers, many who were upper or middle class intellectuals, continued to criticize the czar and the government • Many advocated the ending of the currently political, economic, and or social structure, for a complete re-making of society in some other form • Some groups turned to violence, assassinations, etc., to get their point across • Alexander II tries to crush these radicals – was assassinated in 1881

10. Alexander III • Alexander III takes back many of his father’s reforms – if you can’t appease them, crush them • Restored censorship of the press • Extended powers of the secret police • Alexander also encouraged the Russification of the country • Used nationalism to impose a Russian identity on people • Repressed many non-Russian ethnic, language, and religious groups

11. Nicholas II • When Nicholas II took over in 1894, many problems continued, and he wasn’t strong willed enough to stop them • Peasants still unhappy • Middle-class reformers pushed for a constitutional monarchy • Most importantly, the Russian working class had increased in size dramatically, and were working and living in poor conditions

12. Revolutionary Groups • Several revolutionary groups had developed in Russia – most followed the teachings of Karl Marx • Mensheviks – Russia should develop into an industrialized nation and then a socialist revolution could occur • Bolsheviks – Professional revolutionaries could use force to bring about a revolution

13. Russian Tension • Russia’s poor showing in the Russo-Japanese war reinforced that Russia was not a modern nation • Many people began to oppose the czarist government • Bloody Sunday – a peaceful demonstration of about 200,000 workers resulted in Russian soldiers firing on the demonstrators

14. The Russian Situation • Soviets, or workers’ councils began to form to voice workers’ grievances • All revolutionary groups called for representative government and universal suffrage • General strikes resulted in Nicholas allowing the formation of a duma to give the people representation – he later dissolves it • These events will combine with Russia’s experience in World War I to bring revolution

15. Austria-Hungary • Klemens von Metternich, in Austria, had worked to keep liberal and nationalist forces from threatening Austria • In 1848, the revolutions that swept through France and other places in Europe came to Austria • After a revolution, the Austrian monarchy was able to re-establish itself and put down the liberal rebellion

16. The Dual Monarch • To keep the empire from being destabilized by Hungarian Magyars, Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph split Austria-Hungary into a dual monarchy • Both Austria and Hungary would operate basically independently, for internal matters • The Emperor of Austria would politically rule both monarchies

17. Nationalism • Nationalist tensions in the Balkans began to create divisive pressures in the Austro-Hungarian empire • The decline of the Ottoman empire in this area allowed many nationalist groups to speak out for independence • Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania – revolts, which the Ottomans suppressed

18. Bulgaria • Russia had controlled Bulgaria as an expansion of its empire • At the Congress of Berlin, the European powers stripped Russia of Bulgaria and divided the parts of it into independent nations, or holdings of other nations • These divisions created small nations and other divisive tensions within the larger empires, like the Ottomans and Austria-Hungary

19. Balkan League • The Balkan League was a political alliance of many of the now-free Balkan states • These nations helped many other Balkan independence movements separate from the Ottoman Empire • But as these wars went on, the Balkan nations began to have conflicts with each other, as well

20. End Results • Serbia, a Slavic nation, gained more power and would exert its influence on other independence movements • Russia supported these Slavic movements to gain power in the region • French, British, and German governments worked to maintain a balance of power in that region • With these increased tensions, writers called the Balkans the “powder keg of Europe”