How Did Alexander II Gain Power In Russia

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Opposition to government policies had always posed a threat to the Tsar regime ever since Alexander II. It continued into Alexander III reign since he had inherited the Russian Empire in the moment when there was urging for changes. His legacy from his father was the inception of newly introduced liberal movements. Even though Alexander was reactionary, it was mainly because he did not want to follow his father’s footsteps who were assassinated by nihilist group “Peoples Will”, he couldn’t stop spread of so called “Westerners” and radicals. This proves that opposition was to be taken seriously as Alexander II had been assassinated as a result. It was crucial for Alexander III to preserve his power as an autocrat, which meant that there were …show more content…
The most significant groups were the intelligentsia and the populists. The Intelligentsia was lead by the educated, usually middle class elites, while the populists believed in the power of the people to bring about change in Russia. The key thinker behind this organisation was Mikhail Bakunin, a socialist intellectual who believed in the superiority of the peasant and suggested that land should be owned collectively. He believed that the state crushed individual freedom. Along with this Alexander Herzen, believed that Russia’s existing social and political system had to go. He wanted a system with the Mir at the centre of government. He laid out his ideas in a book called The Bell. The actions employed by these individuals were not a major threat to the Alexander II because he dealt with them accordingly. He shut down printing presses and used introduced censorship and had punishments in place such as prison and exile for Bakunin, Chernyschevsky and Herzen. Their threats were minimal so he didn’t need to go any …show more content…
They made attempts on assassinating the Tsar again. Opposition was obviously extremely important for them as it is shown through the actions they took to prevent those organisations from gaining anymore power, Alexander III especially felt that there was the rapid spread of radical and liberal movements and it created another problem for him in his view. So he took the control of the press, its freedom was restricted. Fourteen major newspapers were banned from 1882-9 for displaying liberal ideas. Okhrana the secret police that Tsar created to do the practical job in preserving the stability also censored all foreign material that Russia imported. They made sure that such political ideologies as democracy and parliamentary government did not reach citizens mind. These examples show how the Tsars took opposition extremely seriously and how it was highly significant to end opposition if they wanted to continue as
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