This is the fourth prompt for the IB blog. For this particular posting you will need to address the question regarding pre-Revolutionary Russia. This should still be an introductory paragraph focused on setting up the structure of what a larger essay would include - so strong thesis with initial consideration of how you would support your thesis. After your initial post you should constructively critique one of your classmates postings. You will only have one reply to make and each person will only get one critique. (First Come- First Serve) Once you have a critique of your original posting you will need to post a response to the critique addressing questions and offering clarification to the critique.
In short you have three postings this time - original answer to prompt, peer critique, response to critique.
Markscheme: What common factors caused the 1848/9 revolutions in Europe to fail?
Candidates should mention the role of the military the ultimate strength of the governments, the lack of resolve among the revolutionaries and the conflicting aims of the revolutionary groups. Better candidates might note that, in the long run, it may be questioned whether the revolutions did fail in that they laid the foundation for future changes in government. Reference should be made to the revolutions in France, Italy, Germany and Austri-Hungary.
This is a very straightforward question and the only pitfall is that candidates may not include all of the revolutions. (Italy can be treated as a whole; do not insist on details of all the revolutionary areas in Italy.) The intention is for candidates to look at general European trends rather than specific countries and "common factors" should be the main focus of any answer. Candidates could note that there were specific factors, which applied to each country, but these should be placed in a wider perspective.
Original Posting and peer critique should be completed Wednesday April 24th. Response to Critique should be posted by May 1 and final posting for this semester.
Here is the next paper 3 prompt and something to perhaps help you begin thinking about our current topic and the start of next semester:
Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century.
(May 08 Paper 3)
Please remember this is to be the introductory paragraph to a larger FRQ. So you should be setting up the argument you want to make in the longer process. As before, please keep in mind that these are formal pieces and should be constructed as such. Avoid the vernacular, short hand, and colloquialisms of common speech. I will include a brief mark-scheme for the Pre-Cursor Nationalism prompt with the next posting.
Please remember this is to be the introductory paragraph to a larger FRQ. So you should be setting up the argument you want to make in the longer process. As before, please keep in mind that these are formal pieces and should be constructed as such. Avoid the vernacular, short hand, and colloquialisms of common speech. I will include a brief mark-scheme for the Pre-Cursor Nationalism prompt with the next posting.
Markscheme: What common factors caused the 1848/9 revolutions in Europe to fail?
Candidates should mention the role of the military the ultimate strength of the governments, the lack of resolve among the revolutionaries and the conflicting aims of the revolutionary groups. Better candidates might note that, in the long run, it may be questioned whether the revolutions did fail in that they laid the foundation for future changes in government. Reference should be made to the revolutions in France, Italy, Germany and Austri-Hungary.
This is a very straightforward question and the only pitfall is that candidates may not include all of the revolutions. (Italy can be treated as a whole; do not insist on details of all the revolutionary areas in Italy.) The intention is for candidates to look at general European trends rather than specific countries and "common factors" should be the main focus of any answer. Candidates could note that there were specific factors, which applied to each country, but these should be placed in a wider perspective.
During the second half of the nineteenth century, Russia underwent a very large series of changes in structure, ideals, and international relations. Although some of the changes can be viewed as regression, the overall significance of the time period was that it allowed Russia to reform itself into a prominent nation fighting for power and recognition. The most major weakness of Russia was that it had fallen behind other European countries in terms of reform and policies in economics and politics. Over the period they were able to catch up with Alexander II’s “Great Reforms” which included freeing the serfs, redistributing land, taxing the peasants, and creating zemstvos (local management by all people of things like education and health). These greatly benefitted Russia in social areas, yet the people were still left with issues in disagreeing over methods for reform (peasant socialism, Marxism, or liberalism) leading to terrorism and conflict. Another strength of Russia came from Witte’s economics, which led a plan to modernize the economy of Russia despite the poverty of the nation and lack of land in proportion to the immense population. The social and economic aspects of Russia were greatly advanced, but the political aspect refused to change and proved a great weakness of Russia, especially under Alexander III. Over the extent of the second half of the nineteenth century in Russia, much reform and change occurred, resulting in various levels of weaknesses and strengths in the areas of social, economic, and political reforms.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a really nice job answering the question and writing a thorough response. You included a lot of detail, which I think strengthens it. The only major critique I have is to maybe focus your thesis a little more. If you provide a little more detail in that last sentence, I think the paragraph overall will be stronger and will provide you with one single sentence to look back on to stay consistent when writing the rest of the FRQ. Maybe tie in some of the details you mentioned previously into the thesis. But overall, nice job!
DeleteI would have your last statement be more suggestive towards one singular outcome (either strong or weak). While the prompt does say to analyse both the strengths and weaknesses, a clear thesis should still be stated at the end of the first paragraph.
DeleteOkay, thank you! I agree that there wan't enough focus in the last paragraph, and I think I strayed away from the format of an introductory paragraph. I think parts of the paragraph also have some unnecessary detail that could be explained later in the FRQ.
DeleteRussia experienced several changes throughout the second half of the 19th century that would eventually lead up to the Russian Revolution. At this time, Russia had many strengths. Alexander I’s “Great Reforms” ended serfdom in 1861. In 1864, judicial reforms provided trained judges and improved judicial procedures. Alexander II’s military reforms of 1861 improved the Russian military by reducing the length of service from 25 to 6 years. Education improved as well, and the number of children in school had doubled by 1878. Transportation like the Trans-Siberian Railway lead to the spread of new ideas and better communication means. Railroads also exported Russian coal, iron and petroleum to other countries. Modern European technology was introduced to Russia and soon led to the growth of industry at this time. Lastly, when Marxism spread, people began to realize how much Russian society could be improved, and therefore,they were able to think for themselves. Despite these strengths, there were several weaknesses in Russia in this point of history. Russia experienced a dramatic population growth that could not be supported by the unchanging agriculture. Because of this, there would be a famine in 1891. Also, peasants were not given more land once the population increased. Terrorist groups such as the “People’s Will” soon formed and killed several officials, believing revolutionary steps were needed to be taken in order to improve Russian society. Alexander III’s russification policies and extreme nationalistic views increased anti-Semitism in Russia. Because of the rapid Russian industrialization, urban cities and tobacco factories had poor sanitary conditions. Changes could not be made in the factories because worker unions were prohibited. In conclusion, Russia had several strengths and weaknesses in the last half of the nineteenth century that would lead up to the Russian Revolution.
ReplyDelete(continued posting) The government's undermined power was true,y expressed in June the new emporer of austria used Russian military forces to get Austrian revolutionaries to surrender serving as a perfect example for how the undermined power of the government (including military force) caused revolutions across europe to fail. However these revolutions cannot totally be considered as a failure because they caused ideas such as nationalism and unification of countries ( shown by German and Italian unification) to take hold in Europe. Mazzini is a prime example of how these revolutions produced leaders and ideas that changed the way that countries thought about their government.
DeleteI thought you did a really great job at incorporating all of the vital successes and drawbacks of Russian evolution in the late 19th century. You connected them in a very logical way and I thought it was very informative. One thing I would do different though is maybe talk a little bit more about the significance of each one, and how that led to the revolution, and less about the facts themselves. But other than that I thought it was great!
DeleteFinish the post? Also, you answered the question from last week instead of the one from this week: Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century. You do have some good arguments, though.
Deletesorry my blog posted weird the first half is below.
DeleteShelby - Yes, I do agree I could have outlined the significance of each event and their impacts more. This paragraph, I think, sounded a bit more like a list than it did an actual explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of Russia. Anyway, thanks for the kind comment!
DeleteDuring the second half of the nineteenth century, the weaknesses of Russia greatly outweighed their strengths; weaknesses included the Tsar political system and militant ability. The Tsar political system was inefficient in controlling such a large country and lack of political freedom led to the rioting and violence that eventually resulted in the assassination of Alexander II. Similarly, the inefficient and under-supplied military were the reason Russia lost the Crimean War. Strengths of nineteenth century Russia soon emerged though their economic and social systems, which were originally significant weaknesses. As serfs were emancipated in 1881, tariffs were introduced, and a more advanced railroad system was developed, the Russian economy opened up with the emergence of a middle class. Soon education became more available and the societal sophistication progressed. Although the weaknesses of Russia during the second half of the nineteenth century were great, reform and modernization were soon ubiquitous nationwide.
ReplyDeleteGo further into how the economic and social systems were origionally weaknesses, because I think that is a great point that deserves more focus! In what ways were the systems changed into being capable of functionality? Other than this, great post Jenn.
Deletexoxo
Gossip Girl
I liked that you said Russia had more strengths than weaknesses and then gave a further explanation. Also it was good that you did not get too detailed since it is an introductory paragraph.
DeleteHowever it might be a good idea to connect the weaknesses ultimately leading Russia to the Revolution of 1917 and/or the weaknesses inhibiting Russia from becoming a strong European nation.
I thought this was a really good introductory paragraph. You did a nice job including the right amount of detail to lead to a solid FRQ but not so much that it would take away from the body of your essay. The only thing I would critique would be that it seems like your argument changes from the beginning to the end of the paragraph. At first you were making the argument that the weaknesses greatly outweighed the strengths. But in your last sentence, you made it sound like the strengths and weaknesses balanced each other out and were about equal. I think that the majority of the information in the rest of the paragraph supports the last sentence, so if you focused solely on that argument, it would make the paragraph stronger. Other than this, it was a strong introductory paragraph and would lead nicely into the rest of the FRQ.
DeleteYou may also want to add how these reforms were conducted. Also, mentioning that the serfs killed Alexander II might be helpful in adding that there was a lot of chaos during this period of uncertainty.
DeleteThanks team! Yes, Emily B., I agree with you after I read through it again. If I changed my first sentence from "weaknesses greatly outweighed strengths" to "weaknesses were many, but not great enough to completely outweigh the strengths which lead helped jump-start the Revolution of 1917." That way I can clarify my point and make that connection to the Revolution.
DeleteLeading up to the revolution, Russia was going through a period of both success and struggle. While some areas flourished, others were in desperate need of a positive change. Alexander II implemented the "Great Reforms" and did away with serfdom, which were both positive influences on the country in that they greatly increased Russians' civil liberties and opened the doors to rapid economic and social change. The population of free workers had risen and Russians came close to gaining full civil liberties, with the improvements in education and introduction of universal conscription. Additionally, a major strength of Russia during this time was the major industrialization and modernization. The economy was doing well, though still lagging behind that of Western Europe. This leads into the many weakness of Russia at the time. Russian peasants were experiencing many hardships during this period. Because of the simultaneous dramatic peasant population increase and the increase in prices of limited amounts of land, peasant unrest was not uncommon. Add on the lack of agricultural production and the many taxes peasants had to pay after being freed from serfdom, and the peasant population, the majority, was quite unhappy. Difficult working conditions contributed to the increasing popularity of socialism, which only pushed Russia closer to revolution. By the closing of the 19th century, Russia, though strong in regards to economy and modernization, experienced many weakness due to the struggling peasant population and differing beliefs on where the country was headed next.
ReplyDeleteLauren, this is a great start to the rest of a paper and leaves lots of room for expansion and a strong paper. I think the weaknesses and strengths you include are relevant and the depth of analysis is perfect for an opening paragraph. If anything, I would make the time period in question more easy to recognize in the beginning.
DeleteVery good! But make sure that you keep the same tense throughout your peace. I think your thesis is clear by the end of the paragraph, though I don't think you have to lay out your piece so thoroughly. This is just your intro paragraph.
DeleteThese are really cool observations it is just unclear how this caused the revolutions to fail. How did the cultural/economical differences mentioned in the first sentance add to the failure?
DeleteThanks Jenn! Maybe I could just add at the beginning that I'm referring to the revolution in the early twentieth century, and that Russia was experiencing this period of success and struggle during the second half of the nineteenth century.
DeleteIn the second half of the 19th century, Russia had many weaknesses and minimal strengths which would inhibit its ability to become a strong European nation. Under Tsar Alexander II, the Great Reforms were made to help Russia. The reforms included reorganization of the military, expansion of education, freedom to the serfs with small local governments, and eased censorship. These reforms strengthened Russia in an effort to enable the country to be counted among the European powers. However, after emancipation, serfs were still treated as second class citizens, and there was an increase in terrorism that ultimately resulted in the Tsar’s death. In contrast, under Tsar Alexander III there were many weaknesses because he favored absolute monarchy and traditional values instead of helping to push Russia in the modern age. Another Russian strength was major industrial growth, though not as developed as the rest of Europe. Russia still relied heavily on agriculture. Other weaknesses included the inability to adapt to major population growth and its reliance on other countries like France for foreign aid. Russia’s desire to become a strong European country weakened it because there were few liberal reforms; the Tsarist regime did not work for such a large population and geographical area.
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of great details in here, but the organization could have been a little bit better. The way you've worded all of this, it would make more sense to but all the strengths together then state the weaknesses. Also, I like your thesis sentance, but it seems like you list a lot of strengths. Do you think you could expand more on the weaknesses to support your thesis better?
DeleteI structured it this way because I wanted to list the strengths and weaknesses of each Tsar and then talk about the overall strengths and weaknesses of Russia. However, I think it makes more sense to structure it your way instead.
DeleteAt the beginning of the 19th century, Russia was a major world power, playing a large part in both the Congress of Vienna and in the subsequent revolutions. The sheer size of the country, combined with Alexander I's idealist look on the world created a new dynamic for the world, one in which Russia would seem to have been posed for progressive modernism. Yet the second half of the century seemed to prove this idea completely false. During the late 1800's, Russia had a serious decline in power due to it's major military weaknesses, inability to modernize, and ostracization from the rest of western Europe. When combined with the serf liberation and largely differing views between the czars, the Russian dynamic was one of confusion and struggle. Yet under the rule of the czars, Russia created a new and rather singular sense of nationalism, in which the improvement motivations of integral, combined with the solitary unity of reform created a Russia determined to improve. Ultimately, the weakness created too large a disparity to be overcome, and Russia fell into a decline until the revolutions at the very end of the century.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was very well put together and your information was very relevant. Considering this is supposed to be the introduction to the essay, I thought you did a really great job at expressing your ideas without going into full detail, and deterring from the essay. One thing I would have done would be to have connected the advantages and disadvantages a little bit more, considering I don't see much for advantages. But over all this was really well put together!
DeleteOverall how did russia's decline contribute to the failure of the revolutions of 1848 across all of Europe? Really cool focus on Russia.
DeleteHow did all of the creative and intellectual developments aid the creation of the new sense of nationalism?
DeleteThe nationalism of Russia enabled a forward growth which strengthened the country as it moved into the 20th century. The progress of modernization and Russia's integration into western Europe enabled the ties which would allow Russia's post revolution government to succeed in the coming years.
DeleteA major factor in the failure if the revolutions of 1848 was the fact that the government was largely undermined. While changes in the government we initially enacted these changes wer superficial and did not last long. With a spread of revolutions in France starting in february to German areas a new idea of a more unified country was brought up. However the new government could not be maintain because there was not constitutional structure and soon the old order was restored. But the idealism on a more nationalistic government spread and riots appeared in Czechs, Hungarians, and other groups and
ReplyDeleteFinish the post? Also, you answered the question from last week instead of the one form this week: Analyse the strengths and weaknesses of Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Delete(continued posting) The government's undermined power was true,y expressed in June the new emporer of austria used Russian military forces to get Austrian revolutionaries to surrender serving as a perfect example for how the undermined power of the government (including military force) caused revolutions across europe to fail. However these revolutions cannot totally be considered as a failure because they caused ideas such as nationalism and unification of countries ( shown by German and Italian unification) to take hold in Europe. Mazzini is a prime example of how these revolutions produced leaders and ideas that changed the way that countries thought about their government.
DeleteThe second half of the 19th century appeared to be a time when Russia's development and progression slowed down in comparison to the west, which meant crisis. While Russia was larger and more populated (population doubled between 1850 and 1900)/developed many of its citizens lived and remained in rural territory, which meant slow economic development in Russia as a whole, as well as the population being 4/5 peasants. Alexander the II favored reforms and reformed education, military, government, and judiciary. From these reforms followed emancipation and military reform. What made this a weakness was that it lead to the failure of Russia to use military modernization to base its industrial development on in the 1860s again leading to economic troubles. Following the crimean war Russia revived its expansionist policies and moved miliotary forces to make gain in the region of Caucasus. However with a lack in modernization and an underdeveloped economy this was a problem for Russia.
Overall Russia's progressive thoughts and reforms served as a source of strength but the majority of Russia's weaknesses in the 1880s hovered around their economic situation.
Russia had many improvements during the late nineteenth century, but with that came many detrements to the Russian people. Tsar Alexander II was the leader that saw needed reforms, and quickly implicated them, focussing on the improvement of the people rather than increasing government wealth. He imposed the "Great Reforms" which would be seen as great by some, and unbelieveable by others. In 1861, serfdom was ended as well as the length of required military service being drastically shortened from 25 years to 6 years, in 1864, judicial reforms were made, making the court systems more fair, and the number of children in school had nearly doubled by 1878. Alongside the improvements such as the Trans-Siberian Railway and modernizing technology, Russia seemed to be heading in the right direction. But, with any great leader comes a reactionary group that doesn't want change. In this case, this was the People's Will. In 1881 they successfully assassinated Alexander II, leaving Russia to his only son, Alexander III. Alexander III came in at a rough time considering the freedom of serfs had caused a great population boom, leaving the country with too many people and not enough food, and large numbers of radical groups, wanting things back the way they were. Alexander the III had the same views and his grandfather, Alexander I. Those being conservative and nationalistic. Many of those who agreed with his policies were those in higher positions of power. Considering more than 85% of the population was serfs, and those of the lower class, Alexander III was greatly outnumbered in those who didn't agree with his ideas. But, because of imposed policies under the freeing of the serfs, requiring them to be heavy taxes, and limiting them to the amount of land they got, the serfs weren't prepared to stand up to the Tsar. Over time, suppression and lack of importance led to a great upheaval, and ultimately, the Russian Revolution.
ReplyDeleteVery thorough and well written. The facts were easy to follow. Your thesis states that, although Russia has undergone many advancement, eventually the Russian people responded to them with revolution. I rephrased it like that because the original thesis sounded as if the new advancements caused the revolution of the people, when the essay talked about the serfs causing the upheaval in spite of the advancements. A great start to an essay, however!
DeleteThanks Sydney! I agree with you in that the thesis needed rewording and I think that was great way to reword it!
DeleteDespite the discontent towards the autocratic government present in the citizenry, pre-revolutionary Russia was undergoing a period of growth of the arts, known as the Silver Age, and increasing modernization brought on by Alexander II. During the late nineteenth century, Russia experienced a surge in the fine arts, including the development of visual art, music, literature, and thought. While this development was a welcome introduction of new forms of culture into Russian society, the revolutions in thought had a more profound effect on the people's psyche. Emerging philosophers such as Mikhail Bakunin, Leon Trotsky, and Vladimir Lenin encouraged anarchy and the dissolution of the monarchy. While these progressive ideals were certainly detrimental to the monarchy, they had a positive effect on the country as a whole, encouraging the people to unite against the monarchy they despised. The existence of the monarchy, however, was a great weakness of the country, as it was ineffective at accomplishing things, most notably, the Crimean War. In the Crimean War, Russia was defeated by the Ottoman Empire, nicknamed "the Sick Man of Europe" and generally considered a weak and failing power. This defeat was extremely embarrassing for Alexander II, so he began a campaign to modernize and industrialize Russia, including initiating the draft in order to improve the army. He wanted to make Russia a significant European power. His improvements had a great many positive effects in terms of improving the country's standard of living and general level of modernization. Alexander brought Russia into a new, more modern, era, and facilitated its "catching up" with the rest of Europe.
ReplyDeleteI think you gave an interesting interpretation of the culture of Russia at this point in history. You included strong examples that support the points you made in your paragraph well. The strengths of Russia, however, could have been a bit more specific.
DeleteI really liked how you outlined the progress made by Alexander II as I think that was really important in the events leading up to the revolutions. But I think you should have cut down on the benefits of his reign and highlighted the opposition a bit more or even the failure of Alexander III to set up the stage for the Russian Revolution that came later down the road. This way if you were actually writing an essay about the success of the revolution the reader would have some background knowledge about the opposition. Great paragraph though!
DeleteDespite the discontent towards the autocratic government present in the citizenry, pre-revolutionary Russia was undergoing a period of growth of the arts, known as the Silver Age, and increasing modernization brought on by Alexander II. During the late nineteenth century, Russia experienced a surge in the fine arts, including the development of visual art, music, literature, and thought. While this development was a welcome introduction of new forms of culture into Russian society, the revolutions in thought had a more profound effect on the people's psyche. Emerging philosophers such as Mikhail Bakunin, Leon Trotsky, and Vladimir Lenin encouraged anarchy and the dissolution of the monarchy. While these progressive ideals were certainly detrimental to the monarchy, they had a positive effect on the country as a whole, encouraging the people to unite against the monarchy they despised. The existence of the monarchy, however, was a great weakness of the country, as it was ineffective at accomplishing things, most notably, the Crimean War. In the Crimean War, Russia was defeated by the Ottoman Empire, nicknamed "the Sick Man of Europe" and generally considered a weak and failing power. This defeat was extremely embarrassing for Alexander II, so he began a campaign to modernize and industrialize Russia, including initiating the draft in order to improve the army. He wanted to make Russia a significant European power. His improvements had a great many positive effects in terms of improving the country's standard of living and general level of modernization. Alexander brought Russia into a new, more modern, era, and facilitated its "catching up" with the rest of Europe. His successor Alexander III, however, was much more conservative and attempted to reverse some of the progressive measures implemented by his father. This was detrimental to society, but also served to further motivate the revolutionary thinkers to implement change to the government.
DeleteThe strengths of Russia in this time were in four categories: Political,economic, social, and military. The obvious strength of the autocratic system was quite clearly in that this system possessed total dominance over the legal system in the country. Additionally, the secret police during the Tsars reign was also successful, and denied any political opposition that arose for the country in the later years of the 19th century.
ReplyDeleteIn the means of Economic strength, were the laws passed in regards to the countries peasants. Such as the one in 1881.As well as the increase in railroads, which benefited the economy.
Socially, during this time, education became more widely available. This allowed a higher percentage of the population to be educated.
Lastly, Alexander's II military reforms in 1861 cause the improvement of the countries military.
As for weaknesses, were the fact that the country had a total 13 local governments for different regions in Russia and 114 000 administrators. This clearly caused fragmentation in the unity of government.
As for agriculture, their ways of farming were behind the times and often considered "backwards".
For social and military, the current government spent far too much on the revival of the military. This caused a greater strength in the department, but poverty for many civilians.
The end.
This is a great start! All of your thoughts are well organized. You use specific examples to bolster your points which makes your thesis more solid. My one critique would be to maybe combine the political and military ideas since the military focuses on Alexander II who can also be political. It could be helpful to connect your points back to how you said the autocratic system had total dominance. Nice work!
DeleteDuring the second half of the nineteenth century, before the revolutions, Russia experienced a period of great growth, which was accompanied by extremely problematic weaknesses. This growth was initiated when Alexander I created the Great Reforms which ended serfdom in 1861. But the former serfs were treated only as second class citizens, so terrorist groups like the People’s Will were formed. This particular group assassinated several officials, including Alexander I. It was this way his son, Alexander II came into power. Although he held grudging feeling against lower class citizen for killing his father, he still created several policies that help develop Russia. The military was improved when the length of service was reduced to six year, the number of children enrolled in school doubled, and judges were trained with new judicial procedures. The Trans-Siberian Railway and other new technology industrialized Russia, and brought it closer to the levels of European nations. But this industrialization also caused a population growth, which the current agricultural system in Russia could not support. To produce the new technologies also put Russia in a bad economical situation, so foreign aid was needed so their economy would not collapse. Finally, when Alexander III came into power, he wanted to change the nation back to the old absolute monarchy style of government. By doing this, he would undo what his father and grandfather were trying to do, develop enough to be on the same level as Europe.
ReplyDeleteI like how you brought up many valid points about a whole spectrum of ideas from the economy, to industrialization, to the military. The way you organized it was very nice and this could be expanded into a really in depth essay full of detail. However, you made the whole paragraph based off of what the Alexanders did in Russia. Do you think that most of Russia's failures and accomplishments started with them or are there other contributing factors?
DeleteThanks for your feedback Tim! I think that most of Russia's failures leading up to the revolution were based off the Alexanders' decisions, but there were other contributing factors that caused them to fail. Not all of the accomplishments were entirely due to the Alexanders' policies, but since they were in power at this time period, their political decisions were the most significant successes.
DeletePre-revolutionary Russia was a very important time in the development of the issues that caused the revolution. The political state of Russia was very important leading up to the revolution. Alexander II was in charge of Russia during this time period, and he maintained control through his control of the legal system, where there were no juries or lawyers and the suspect was presumed guilty until proven innocent. However, there were large groups of people opposed to the autocratic rule in Russia, and they plotted assassinations of government officials, like Alexander II. Another important component of the of pre-revolutionary Russia was the social state. Serfdom was a huge part of pre-revolutionary Russia. Like American slaves, they could not own anything or improve there social class because they were not paid. Before their emancipation in 1861 by , there were almost 50 million serfs in Russia. After their emancipation, they were forced to pay redemption payments, so they were in debt. This had a huge effect on the strength of the Russian economy and nation in general.
ReplyDeleteYou gave lots of specific facts but I don't feel like I grasped the ways in which Russians were affected. Just elaborate on how the factors set up the Revolution a bit more and you should have a really solid paragraph!
DeleteI thought you had good facts included in your paragraph to show changes in pre-revolutionary Russia. However, at parts you deviated from the prompt and didn't include very much of a thesis. The paragraph could have been improved by addressing which of the elements you listed were strengths and which were weaknesses of Russia. You also could have taken the facts that you included to make some kind of generalization for your thesis. But, like I said, you had solid information and good connection. It was a good paragraph overall, so nice job!
DeleteThanks for the feedback. Pre-revolutionary Russia was a very important time in the development of the issues that caused the revolution. The political state of Russia was very important leading up to the revolution. Russia was the last true autocracy in Europe, and Alexander II was in charge. He maintained control through his control of the legal system, where there were no juries or lawyers, and the suspect was presumed guilty until proven innocent. This was a weakness in Russian society because many people could be wrongly convicted for Alexander II's political benefit. Another important component of pre-revolutionary Russia was the social state. Serfdom was a huge part of pre-revolutionary Russia, and like American slaves, they could not own anything or improve there social class because they were not paid. Before their emancipation in 1861, there were almost 50 million serfs in Russia. After their emancipation, they were forced to pay redemption payments, so they were in debt. This was a weakness in the autocracy, and it had a major effect on the urban, working class, who believed that they would have more political favor under a different government. These ideas were very important causes of the revolution, and they provided the working class with a reason to revolt.
DeleteThere are many weaknesses and strengths when talking about the latter half of the 19th century in Russia. Starting with the good, Russia did get more kids involved in primary school and saw more graduates than usual, and the economy started to boom after setting up more railroads for better communication and dealing with more foreign investment. The economy in Russia was growing and becoming very powerful however, this cannot undo the negatives in Russia. Alexander III and Nicholas II both set out try and quiet the minority groups within Russia because they wanted to make Russia a more one-cultured unit. This backfired and many minority groups rebelled. Along with this the technology in Russia was none to be desired at the time. To go along with medieval farming techniques which ruined the agricultural economy, Russia also did not have advanced weapons and war techniques at the time. This can be proven by their loss to the "Sick Man of Europe," or the Ottoman Empire. Do the positives in Russia in the second half of the 1900s beat the negatives?
ReplyDeleteI really like you examples concerning the strengths of Russia. I also liked how you approached Alexander III at one point because everyone else only focused on Alexander II. Altogether I believe this is a very strong intro into an essay. My only critique would be that the 19th century is the 1800s not the 1900s...
DeleteThank you for your thoughtful comments. Also yes I realize that the 19th century is the 1800's not the 1900's, it was just a simple typo. As for your paragraph, your intro paragraph was really well structured and I knew exactly where you were going with the paragraph because of the format. You also gave very general ideas about each topic which gave just the right amount of background information needed to understand each topic in an intro paragraph. Nicely done.
DeleteDuring the second half of the 19th Century, Russia's weaknesses were many in comparison to its few strengths. Russia's size and population labeled it a superpower in pre-revolutionary Europe. For the very same reason, however, it was also a difficult to try and govern such a large country that was at the same time rather inaccessible. This was demonstrated by the autocratic rule of Nicholas I, the Russian Emperor from 1825 - 1855. Nicholas I was the third son of Paul I, and consequently was rather uneducated in politics. Due to his lack of a proper political education, he enacted many repressive laws and policies, including many that strengthened control over the serfs. In an attempt to correct this, Alexander II, who ruled from 1855 - 1881, enacted many reforms, which was one of the strengths of the Silver Age. The reforms included modernizing political policies, increasing and organizing military strength, a more rigorous education system, and the abolishment of Russian serfdom, among many others. His reforms modernized Russia, labeling it once again as a superpower. Unfortunately, several of his reforms failed and were largely unpopular, most likely due to the size of the uneducated population and small middle class defined by the distinction between the previous serfdom and upper class. The Russian defeat in the Crimean War was also a low point in the second half of the 19th Century. This was again seen in its majority under the reign of Nicholas I, but ended in the first year of the rule of Alexander II. To prevent another humiliating defeat such as this one, considering they had lost to a dying empire, Alexander II passed reforms which increased the size, and therefore the strength, of the Russian army. Unfortunately, Alexander II was assassinated by the terrorist group Narodnaya Volya who believed the Emperor was moving too slowly in political matters. Their aim was to kill the Emperor and to intimidate his successor to grant constitutional rights to the working class. Despite the modernization of Russia brought about by his father, Alexander II, Alexander III (1881 - 1894) initiated many reforms that undid these. Alexander III came into power after his father's assassination in 1881, who had allowed Industrialism to take root and encouraged capitalism. All of the internal reforms of Alexander III were a direct attempt to undo his father's liberalizing laws, as he believed that an autocracy was the correct way to control the Russian population. Alexander III again repressed a large part of the population, and was therefore largely unpopular among his subjects. The weaknesses expressed politically during the Silver Age greatly outweighed its strengths, and prohibited or slowed down its growth as a nation and modernization as a contending European power.
ReplyDeleteWow Jibin this is long!You definitely packed a lot of informative stuff in here, and you still managed to make an argument. I like where you're going with how the weaknesses outweighed the strengths.
DeleteYour information is really strong, though i think you focus on tiny details that wouldn't belong in an introductory paragraph too much. If you cut down the tiny stuff that wasn't important in a thesis, then you could go deeper into the topic when writing the rest of the FRQ
DeleteYes, I agree Erin. I think the length is partially due to some disorganization and awkward phrasing, but those aren't difficult to fix and I could definitely condense this. I think I perhaps need to be a little more focused so as to show just how much the weaknesses outweighed the strengths. Thanks Erin!
DeleteIn late nineteenth century, Russia was in the era immediately before the revolution that would change the country forever. Many of the changes being made in the country were the liberation of the serfs, and restructuring of the society in many areas such as the military system and as a result of these changes the population in the more urban areas in Russia began to grow with an increase in a more impoverished demographic. Because of these changes, Russia became both a stronger nation and a weaker one. Due to the increasing urban population, there were more people putting money into the area's economy, conversely, there were more people so the amount of people that needed providing for also increased. The restructuring of the military system, that is, requiring people to serve in the army before they continued their life as a reserve increased the size of the nation's government and subsequently made Russia a force to be reckoned with. This too had negative effects with it. Because the nation was forcing it's constituents into serving, they would become less passionate about the battles they would fight, though they would fight them. Through all these, Russia made net progress in the late nineteenth century, and would soon become a very prominent nation in the world.
ReplyDeleteRussia in the second half of the 19th century was going through a time of reform and change, and was experiencing many strengths and weaknesses. One of the major weaknesses was the political Tsar system. There were major struggles from the political system when trying to push Russia into the more modern era. Alexander the 3rd held back Russia because he had very traditionalist values and kept the Russian government from advancing. The Tsar political system was not well equipped for governing such a large body of people, and the military as well. Alexander the 3rd came into power shortly after the freedom of the surfs which lead to a massive growth in population, and a drastic change in the economic standards. The lack of a good political system with strong leaders who could control their government eventually lead to their defeat in the crimean war. However this significant change in economy lead to be one of the major strengths for Russia during this time when they advances in industrialization and manufacturing because of this shift in the economy with the surfian freedom. There were many factors that were both positive and negative that were controlling Russia during the second half of the 19th century.
ReplyDeleteAbbey I definitely can see a clear understanding. I appreciate your thesis. It is easy to follow, yet very informative. If you wanted to go further into the reforms made by Alexander II then it would be beneficial I believe.
DeleteThanks! yeah I deffinetly think it would be good to talk about the reforms made by Alexander, to show the contrast between him and the problematic political system.
DeleteThe Revolutions of 1848 were a turning point in the history of Europe, a time when the lower classes finally discovered their power to revolt against the long standing monarchies of the day. Overall however, the Revolutions were not successful. In Russia a sort of Renaissance called the Silver Age spurred the growth of philosophy and art that tossed aside the traditional values of technique and uniformity, replacing them with emotion. The new czar Alexander II brought about the "Great Reforms" which to many seemed to be truly great to many but the People's Will thought the opposite and ultimately assassinated Alexander II. This left the unorganized Alexander III on the throne who did little for the Russians. However, the majority of the population was not ready for a revolution quite yet and many years passed until the revolution began. When it did start the organization of the new power was sub par and thus not successful at first.
ReplyDeleteNice job! Your writing is clear and concise and the paragraph is easy to follow. I liked how you tied in background information on the 1848 revolutions.
DeleteHowever, I think you could include more information regarding specific strengths and weaknesses of Russia in the late 19th century. I think you have a great start with the points about the Silver Age and Alexander II, maybe expand on these and include other details about the Russian economy/military/etc?
Thanks for the input Emily! So for a real essay I could talk about the specific ways that the Silver Age influences society (i.e. dance, literature, etc.) and then go into the issue of serfdom and poverty.
DeleteThroughout the the second half of the 19th century, Russia had various strengths and weaknesses. First, the industrialization throughout Russia helped to increase the economy of Russia and help them to catch up with the other European countries from a production standpoint even though they could still not compete on the same level as them. With the industrialization came a larger number of free workers and larger economy. This period also came with various social reforms. In particular, literature increased greatly during this period. Their education expanded greatly especially through the increase in journalism and book printing. In addition to this, there was much less censorship (more freedom of speech).
ReplyDeleteThere were numerous weaknesses as well. Peasants became increasingly angry due to the lack of agricultural production increase. And while the industrialization was making up some ground in the Russian economy, Western Europe was still far ahead of Russia in their economy. Also, with the elimination of serfdom, the position of the nobility fell making the upper class less content. Also, Russia had less military authority especially after their defeat in the Crimean War. Finally, Russia had weak leadership which was shown in the discontent that the citizens had for Alexander III.
Did the strengths outweigh the weaknesses or vice-versa? In what ways?
DeleteUltimately, the weaknesses outweighed the strengths. While literacy did in fact increase, it helped lead to the spreading of literature, art, and other things that acted as propoganda in the revolution. Other factors such as peasant unrest, and a weak economy led to further and further discontent among the Russian people. The weaknesses can be displayed by the revolution that followed.
DeleteIn Russia, during the second half of the nineteenth century, Russia experienced many changes in government, rulers, and policies, in attempt to catch up to the rest of pre-modernized (western Europe. In this time period, Russia had many strengths that allowed them to move towards modernization, but at the same time the country had many weaknesses that lessened the efficiency of their move toward modernization and delayed the progress of Russia. The “Great Reforms” that Tsar Alexander II implemented, were overall very beneficial to Russia. The “Great Reforms” liberated serfs, created a larger army, redistributed land, and zemstoves (local government). However there were also many drawbacks such as the peasant tax which created many hardships for peasants who had little money to begin with. The population also had rapidly increased and agricultural demands were not being met, making the majority of Russia (the lower class) unhappy due to economic difficulties. Reforms began to slowly die and once Alexander III succeeded his father and abolished any reform attempts, Russia declined until the end of the revolution.
ReplyDeleteInteresting points, but it is a little choppy and repetitive.
DeleteWhat caused the economic difficulties that caused the peasant tax and made them unhappy in the first place?
Part of the Great Reforms was the freeing of serfs and when the serfs were freed they received between 10-20% of the land they had previously tilled. The government then compensated the lords for the lost service of their serfs and to get this money to compensate the lords, the government taxed peasants in what they called redemption dues. However, the peasants had very little money to begin with, and these new dues caused them to be extremely poor, which then contributed to their unhappiness.
DeleteThe future of Russia was looking up in the first half of the 19th century, due to its large involvement in the Congress of Vienna and the revolutions that followed. However, many weaknesses were uncovered in the second half of the 19th century that would keep it from becoming a strong European nation. Although Russia was not as developed as the rest of Europe, there was major industrial growth. Tsar Alexander II made the Great Reforms in order to help Russia. These included expansion of education, eased censorship, freedom from serfdom, and reorganization of the military. However, after the serfs were emancipated, they were still treated like second class citizens. This led to an increase in terrorism that ultimately caused the death of the very man who implemented the reforms, Tsar Alexander II. There were also weaknesses that he favored which did not strengthen the country. He favored an absolute monarchy and other traditional values that did not help to put Russia in the modern age. Also, he was not able to adapt to large population growth and relied on other countries, such as France for foreign aid. The sheer geographical size of the country caused problems. There were not very many liberal reforms, which inhibited the country from becoming a strong European nation.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a nice job and included good details and explanations. I liked how you started off talking about the first half of the 19th century and moved into the your arguments for the second half. I think you could include more details about the strengths in an economic sense, such as explaining how the Great Reforms were strengths.
DeleteThanks!
DeleteSome of the economic strengths that resulted from the Great Reforms were the redistribution of land and creating zemstvos. Zemstvos was a system of local management by all the people of things like education and health. Also, new tariffs were introduced and a more advanced railroad system was developed. The development of a more advanced railroad system was vital for the growth of Russia's economy because it was now able to trade with other European countries. With these changes also came improvements in education and the rise of the middle class.
The nineteenth century in Russia had many intellectual and creative developments, but politically the country faltered. Russia started out the nineteenth century without a strong identity; most of the things considered good and desirable were from foreign countries. Many composers went to the foreign countries to study and learn about the musical styles of Europe. In the second half of the century, however, a unity was created and Russia became known for its artistic development. “The Mighty Five,” a group of composers, who wanted to give Russia a national identity, wrote music that “sounded” Russian. Igor Stravinsky composed several famous ballets including “The Right of Spring.” Leo Tolstoy wrote of Russian life in novels such as “Anna Karenina” and “War and Peace” and is considered by many to be the greatest novelist of all time. However, the nineteenth century included a string of wars with the Ottoman Empire and Tsar Alexander II was assassinated. Russia lost some of the territory that it gained from the Congress of Vienna like the German regions. Intellectual development in Russia grew incredibly, but the political situation was not desirable.
ReplyDeleteI like how you compare the first half of nineteenth century Russia with its second half and explain with examples the change in artistic creations. To improve your piece you could explain the impact of these creations in Russia and explain how it effected or related to the political situation of Russia.
DeleteOK, thank you! The culture developments were very influential at the time and later on. They were starting to shift into more realistic descriptions of the people, the lower classes in particular. This allows those who were very well off to see how the others live. Those lower classes already felt repressed, and because of the arts, the upper class knew why.
DeleteThe latter half of the nineteenth century bore witness to the first stirrings of revolution in a waning Russia. A multitude of weaknesses plagued the once-great nation, which had largely fallen behind its western European counterparts in the race for modernization. An embarrassing defeat in the Crimean War had all but stripped the country of its political prowess and drew attention to the ravaged state of the Russian army. European nations were also taken aback by the apparent “backwardness” of the nation, especially in regard to serfdom still existing within its borders. Another weakness that would prove to be a major disadvantage was the country’s sheer size, both in land mass and in population. Russia experienced a significant population boom in the early 1860s that resulted in a scarcity of resources and widespread unrest amongst the peasant population. Adding to the unrest was the fact that much of the populace was isolated and difficult to reach; this inaccessibility would prove detrimental to the autocratic government’s attempts to promote a sense of loyalty to the nation. The severity of such negative factors seemed nothing short of insurmountable; nonetheless, Russia still maintained a reputation as one of Europe’s traditional powers. The people were aware that major changes were in order if the country was to move forward. This progressive mindset was largely reflected in the reforms implemented by Tsar Alexander II, which included the emancipation of serfs, improvement of education, revitalization of the army, and mobilizing the economy. Although Russia possessed the manpower and motivation necessary for reemergence in the modern world, its vast size and lagging economy ultimately proved obstacles too difficult to overcome.
ReplyDeleteI like how you highlighted the many weaknesses. You went into good detail regarding them. However, you did not talk about strengths nearly as much. For example, how did Russia maintain a reputation as one of Europe's traditional powers? I also think this could be better if you tied the strengths and weaknesses together a little more. Why do the weaknesses limit the strengths?
DeleteI agree. Looking back at it, I should have had a more even emphasis on strengths and weaknesses. I think including information about where Russia's power originated from/talking about the state of Russia in the first half of the nineteenth century would have balanced out the paragraph. Thanks!
DeleteDuring the second half of the nineteenth century, Russia had strengths and weaknesses, although the weaknesses dominated over the strengths. Russia's strengths started with good ideas for reform. However, they were poorly enacted. Alexander II wanted emancipation for the serfs, but by doing this, free labor was removed, as was military strength. 85% of the population was freed, and their sense of nationalism lagged. Alexander II attempted to prevent an economic downfall through a smooth emancipation. Land was distributed and a better government system was created. Without free labor, though, the economy collapsed and the military population decreased. This caused the loss of the Crimean War. Another good idea for reform was to create a draft to increase the size of the military and create public schools to increase education levels of those being drafted. A draft was needed because of the lack of nationalism. The freed serfs felt no need to fight for their country. The only sense of nationalism that arose came from a Polish revolution in 1863. It provoked conservative thoughts which led to the assassination of Alexander II. This sense of nationalism was short lived. Despite good ideas for reform, they were poorly enacted because of leadership. After Alexander II was assassinated, the following tzars did not continue to make progress on his already-in-place reform systems. Alexander III removed power from government branches. Nicholas the II was weak and easily manipulated. Bad leadership was a major weakness of Russia. In addition to poorly enacted reform and bad leadership, the lack of nationalism and bad economy from the emancipation of the serfs led to a weak Russia that could not be brought up by it's few strengths.
ReplyDeleteThis looks very nice, however, you seem to mention nationalism a lot, and in fact didn't really mention anything else, but the thesis it seems that you set up at the beginning is that there were strengths and weaknesses across the board.
DeleteStrengths:
Delete1) Government system set up to aid after emancipation
2) Draft
3) public schools
Weaknesses:
1) Economic downfall after emancipation of serfs
2)Number one led to lagging nationalism
3)Also led to military population and strength decrease
4) Nationalism came from watching other countries fight; was short lived
5) Bad leadership
I thought I mentioned other strengths and weaknesses besides Nationalism, but you must have just not caught them or I wasn't clear enough. Sorry! If I were to re-do my thesis to make it more focused on nationalism, I would say: "Durin the second half of the nineteenth century, Russia's nationalism fluctuated, leading to the onset of an unhappy country and the formation of a revolution."
In the second half of the nineteenth century, Russia showed strength through the boost in Russian economy following the laws to reduce peasant redemption payments, as well as the abundance of railways and protective tariffs resulting in Sergei Witte being elected finance minister. However, weaknesses in this time period seem to be more common due to the autocratic political system, the hiatus of agriculture and industry, and famine. In comparison the nearing countries, such as Great Britain, Russia fell behind in development. As a whole, Russia saw many setbacks throughout the second half of the nineteenth century.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your background knowledge on the subject! However, I would also consider the dangers you are setting yourself up for when you limit your focus so much. You're talking a lot about finance and the economy, when there are so many other things in Russian culture at this time that you could also talk about. So maybe make this paragraph less specific, and use this information in one of your would be body paragraphs.
DeleteThanks for the advice, Meredith. You are completely right. Assessing not only economical changes, but social and a more in depth political analysis would strengthen the idea of writing a detailed DBQ.
DeleteDuring the late nineteenth century, Russia had changed both for the better, and for the worse. There were many advancements intended for improvement that often did improve, but also hurt Russia’s present state. These advancements included the rebuilding of the Russian army, increased attention to education (which later helped lead into the art/literature revolution), the freeing of the serfs, and industrialism. The rebuilding of the Russian army was a necessity due to Russia’s embarrassing loss in the Crimean War. The rebuilding was a positive thing but also entailed some negative effects such as forcing people to enlist. This forcement increased the size of the army but in turn it diminished the needed passion that a military needs to have. Regardless, Russia became a larger threat. The improvement in education allowed a higher literacy rate and opened pathways for citizens to potentially excel more than they normally would have. Industrialism bettered the economy of Russia. Despite this, Russia still did not compare with the economic state of other European countries and the agricultural yield was decreasing. So despite the advancements of Russia in the late nineteenth century, Russia still had much room to grow, but was still however in a much better state than it was in the early nineteenth century.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up really good points for both sides of the argument but maybe you could go into more details of how the attempted improvements didn't work. But it is well written.
DeleteGood job in keeping focused on strengths and weaknesses. Try to watch out for repeating words in the paragraph and try not to use the word "thing". Just to be sure, what caused these strengths and weaknesses and how could you expand on your ideas? Good, straightforward job though.
DeleteReally good intro paragraph. I would try to separate your major points more. It seemed to me as if you were jumping between them the whole time. But otherwise I would also expand more on the military point and maybe some statistics on the draft situation.
DeleteSimilar to like I said, the Russian army forcing people to enlist was not entirely a good thing because people lost their passion for fighting for their country(decrease in nationalism). Industrialism also lead to poor working conditions and minimum wage prices.I was trying to express the idea that the Russian improvements did not just have positive effects.
DeleteDuring the second half of the 19th century, Russia was experiencing both strength and weakness. The time of reform brought many changes to Russia that both helped and hindered it as a nation. Its strengths included the advances it made creatively and intellectually, including art, music, and new forms of thought which is known as the Silver Age. But politically and economically, the country was weak. Tsar Alexander II was responsible for the emancipation of serfs and other good things called the Great Reforms including the improvement of education and the redistribution of land. However, after the emancipation, the serfs were still treated poorly which led to terrorism and ultimately the death of the Tsar. Another strength was the industrialism and railroads that spread throughout the country and helped increase the level of production to catch up, but not compete with, the rest of the European countries. While this did accumulate more money for the country, most of that money was spent on the enforcement of the military strength, which helped with defense but also put a lot of the Russian citizens in poverty. Another political issue was that the very large country was being controlled and influenced by a lot of people with different views, which added a lot of conflict. Overall, Russia had a good start for moving into the modern world, but its leaders, sheer size, and lack of a balanced economy caused it to fail.
ReplyDeleteDuring the late nineteenth century Russia underwent a number of changes in art, theater, and literature. These changes fueled revolutionary sentiment among the peasants and serfs of Russia. However this revolutionary sentiment was able to grow due to the weaknesses in the Russian government, such as the Czars. This system of government caused Russia to fall behind in giving its citizens more rights and it wasn't until Alexander II that the serfdom was finally abolished, decades after other European powers. Because serfdom continued for so long the Russian military suffered due to soldiers who were poorly trained and unmotivated to fight for Russia. This is why Russia was beaten by the Sick Man of Europe(the Ottoman Empire) in the Crimean War. Although Russia had been a great military force in Europe earlier in the Century the countries lack of social and political reform crippled the nations military presence and set the tone for revolution.
ReplyDeleteInteresting points but its a bit short and doesn't go in depth with strengths and not enough weaknesses. Maybe expand on both of these?
DeleteThank you. I was trying to set my paragraph up so that there could be things for me to go into detail about in the body paragraphs but I do see how more detail would strengthen the argument and the paragraph.
DeleteDuring the first half of the 19th century Russia was a very influential country and played a part in several different beneficial events. However in the second half of the century many weaknesses became apparent. These include the Tsar system where the leaders were very old fashioned and refused to modernize. Another weakness is a very unorganized military that worked together as a team worse than the New York Jets. There were however, some bright spots in this very dim sounding country. A big boom in industry helped the economy. All these workers got some social reform also. These included better literacy probably due to an improved education system. Overall during the second half of the century the weaknesses of Russia were too strong for the strengths of the country to overcome, causing a need for significant improvement.
ReplyDeleteI see the point that you are making here, but sometimes, the language you use, or the transitions you have between ideas make it very choppy to read, and seems to jump around a little. If you take your point at the end that there were insurmountable weaknesses and put it at the beginning, you can tie all your ideas back into it, and make the entire thing read better.
DeleteTry to include more detail, you are being very vague. How were the Tsar leaders refusing to modernize, when Tsar Alexander implemented the Great Reform? Back up your claims with detail and probably don't compare the army to the New York Jets... Otherwise, good job!
DeleteI see what you mean, I was very vague in explaining the Tsar issue. I was trying to explain how the Tsar system had very little control so there were big problems when they tried to implement new concepts. And yes, the New York Jets reference probably was not my best choice for a metaphor.
DeleteRussia in the second half of the nineteenth century had many weaknesses that overruled its strengths. The emancipation of the serfs, enacted by Alexander II, was meant to prevent any revolutionary action, on the part of the serfs. Essentially the emancipation led to loss of power, and strength as a nation. Free labor, and military strength were lost despite Alexander II's effort to draft a stronger, larger, military, and Crimean war was lost as a result. One of the strengths of nineteenth century Russia was the idea a public education, though with the leadership of Alexander II this reform did little to strengthen Russia as a nation. Alexander II was later executed because of his lack of leadership, and Alexander III took the throne, though he failed to lead Russia as well.
ReplyDeleteGood job Molly! You did a good job of going over the history of Russia and including multiple events. To improve this, maybe you could go more in depth on the strengths of Russia during the second half of the 19th century. Other than that good job with pointing out all the weaknesses and how they affected Russia.
DeleteDuring the second half of 19th century Russia, there are many strengths and weaknesses present. The weaknesses include the military, agriculture, and political system. To go along with the poor arsenal, the military was also very under-supplied. This led to the loss of the Crimean War. The out-dated farming techniques led to low agriculture production and the political system was inefficient in maintaining order throughout the massive country. The strengths include economy and education. When the railroads were built, it allowed for easier transportation throughout Russia which greatly benefited its economy. Also the emergence of a middle class greatly helped the economy. The opening of public school was a great strength to Russia because it gave kids the chance to be educated. In the end though, does Russia’s strengths outweigh its weaknesses?
ReplyDeleteTyler, I like where you are going with this and think you have some solid information. I think you have good points that you will later add detail in your body paragraphs. Just add more organization to your introduction it seems a little all over the place. Also just add a little bit more detail to get your information across better.
DeleteThank you Natasha, I could definitely clean this up and make it more organized I was jumping around a lot. I didn't want to provide to much detail as to sum up my body paragraphs but I definitely could provide more, thanks!
DeleteIn the later half of the nineteenth century, Russia was riddled by both weakness and strengths. After a century of revolution, change and upheaval in Europe, Russia and its people had begun to feel the strain. Some strengths in Russia before in its 20th century cultural revolution were in the reformation of serf policy. The liberation of the serfs, the reorganization of the military and the resulting increase in literacy in the country were all major strengths of Russia who now could obtain large amounts of soldiers, enough food to feed them and a more literate population. However this did not come without downsides. After the abolishment of serfdom, the countryside was in chaos, no one knew what the social standards were in nor did they know how to gain land or earn a living. The serfs came out of serfdom into a peasant lifestyle of starvation and struggle. The large military that Russia now wielded may have been large however over half of it was composed of malnourished former serfs or their descendants. Russia also found strength in mobilization of the economy and its maintaining, just barely, the prowess of being a European power. However Russia was also fraught with difficulty and weakness. Due to sheer size and population, Russia had weak borders and the political centers in the West could not control the unruly eastern lands of Manchuria and Siberia. Another weakness was in the recent embarrassing defeats in the Crimean War and Russia's loss of much of its political influence. These weakness lead to a rather unstable Russia in the late nineteenth century full of strength yet with weakness as well.
ReplyDeleteRussia in the second half of the nineteenth century went through a time of change in ideals and foreign relations. It included both strength and weaknesses. The strengths of the nineteenth century Russia were heavily influenced by Alexander II introducing the “Great Reforms”. This included freeing the serfs, redistributing land, taxing the peasants, and improving health and education. Throughout this time of change, a middle class started to appear and more importantly Russia developed a better railroad system to improve communication and international relations. In addition, Russia started to get more kids involved in school which really boosted its education and economy. Weaknesses of Russia included the Tsar political system and the military. The Tsar political system lacked control over its large country and gave little freedom to its people which led to violence. Since the Tsar political system wasn’t well equipped for controlling its large country, these revolts got out of hand and led to the death of Alexander II. The military was a major weakness for Russia because it was so under-supplied. Industrially Russia was not even close to being modernized due to their lack of communication and a transportation system. This made transport of raw goods and materials nearly impossible. Due to the lack of transport of goods the Russian military suffered because they were under-supplied with weapons, which thankfully they fixed later on. The military was a main reason that Russia lost the Crimean War from 1853-56, in addition to the fact Russia’s government lacked control through strong leaders. Russia wanted to modernize and promote change but Alexander III refused change to hold on to traditional Russian values. To add to the economic system of Russia in an agricultural sense, it went backwards because the farmers did not know how to farm effectively. Their resulting poor harvests and growing populations lead to the famine of 1891-1892. There are many strengths and weaknesses throughout the second half of nineteenth century Russia and they all intertwined somehow. Many of the strengths were in response to the weaknesses, but all were in play in Russia’s undergoing of change. The weaknesses outweighed the strengths, mainly due to the political aspects.
ReplyDeleteNice Natasha, this is really detailed. I like how you prevent a broad range of strengths and weaknesses, and don't focus on just one or two. Some of the details you present could probably be saved for the body paragraphs, but I think this is a good introduction to a solid essay. You also might want to talk about how these strengths and weaknesses contributed to Russia's successes and difficulties in the early 20th century, but overall good job!
DeleteThanks Mac! I agree that I need to cut it down and save some of the information for the body paragraphs instead of having it all in the introduction. I agree that talking about how these strengths and weaknesses contributed to Russia's successes and difficulties would be a good idea! Thanks again.
DeleteDuring the 19th century Russias literature, art, theater, dance, music, and thought changed influencing the culture as it did. Alexander II freed the serfs in an attempt to bring equality to the nation. He also made reforms in education and the land distribution system. However the workers who once had free easily available labor in the form of serfs now were forced to pay for workers which they disliked. Although they were compensated for losing their free workers it didn't do much to help and the economy collapsed on itself not long after this. Because of this the serfs who had it bad already now had little to no work to be found forcing them farther into the peasant class and making their living conditions even worse. Much of the new art and literature was written to reflect this period of suffering and change from the perspective of the working man and although the country itself had lost alot of its nationalism it seemed to unite under the universal struggles of the working man.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you mentioned aspects and factors that overall influenced culture and could be considered as strengths. Its really interesting so you should definitely expand on it. You should connect the last part about the new art and literature with your section about how culture was influenced. Overall, its good with describing strengths and weakness but you might want include a few more for better perspective/context
DeleteDuring the second half of the nineteenth century Russia had its share of successes and failures. The major success that Russia experienced was a major change in their sociocultural profile. They saw great improvements in art, theatre, literature, and music. This factors were able to greatly benefit Russia as a whole because they gave them a identity which they were lacking before because everything popular in Russia before then was from other European nations. Artists such as Igor Stravinsky were specifically striving to not follow the musical norms of other nations but to stick to traditional Russian styles. A weakness of Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century was their isolation and how it affected their economic output abilities. This has and probably always will be a major disadvantage of Russia because there are very few parts of the country that have any somewhat easy access to the rest of Europe. This meant that they could not get their products to foreign markets very quickly at all and it was also very logistically difficult to get things into Russia.
ReplyDeleteI like how you bring in the specifics of the culture at the time. But you may also want to try to address the strengths and weaknesses in all realms: social, political, and economic. That way you covor more of the country and society as a whole instead of just the strengths of the social and the weaknesses of the political and economic.
DeleteI agree. The point that you brought up in the second half of your comment would definitely be a way to make a better intro because it would include details about more divisions of the reasons for the Bolsheviks success.
DeleteRussia's defeat in the Crimean War emphasized the need for radical social, political, economic, and miliary change in Russia. Thus, after the death of Tsar Nicholas I in 1855, the country experienced widespread modernization. The reforms of Alexander II helped to diversify Russia economically as well as enabling citizens to have a greater personal influence on their own social classes. Additionally, after its defeat in the Crimean War, Russia's military became more efficient, helping to re-establish the country as one of the major superpowers. However, the size of the country coupled with the poor infrastructure of the autocracy made it difficult to institute many of Alexander II's reforms. Additionally, the suppression of minority parties before and after Alexander II, especially by Alexander III, led to discontent across the nation. Although Alexander II attempted to establish some change throughout the country, he failed because of the nature of the Russian autocracy and repressive policies of his successor.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the second half of the 19th century Russia was neither a true success nor failure. Their militant status crumpled under the strategies of Alexander II, and their loss of the Crimean war capped the "death" of Russian military success. However, again under Alexander II their government found great success in the adoption of the "great reforms." This policy ended serfdom, and redistributed land. During this time creatives also began to explore the Russian identity. While questions of identity remained strong, great artists and composers began thoughtfully questioning the fundamental basis of Russian ideals, due in large part to the expansion of Russian education. Russian revolutionaries remained unsatisfied, which lead to rioting and violence resulting in the assassination of Alexander II. Economically the middle class grew, and much of Russia became very industrially focused. This resulted in creation of the trans-Siberian railway, and made economic interaction possible across the whole of Russia, and consequently Europe.
ReplyDeleteGraham, I think that you have all of the right information in your post to construct an introductory paragraph. However, you should address the prompt more directly in the first sentence of this paragraph. Don't talk about whether it was a "success" or a "failure". Maybe try a partitioned thesis statement, using a word like "although" or "despite". Additionally, you should divide your paragraph into sections about strengths/successes and weaknesses/failures. This will direct the reader to what was positive and what was negative for the country at that time. With this organization, your information will be communicated much more effectively.
DeleteThis is a very good intro because it includes social, economic, and political factors of influence and they are all discussed with a good amount of detail. One thing I would change however is that I would add a little bit more of an opinion at the beginning of the paragraph stating more of what you think about the state that Russia was in at the time.
DeleteDuring the 19th century, Russia began to feel a need to modernize itself. From its comparatively far east capital of St. Petersburg, Russia was becoming less and less relevant in the global conversation. The traditionally strong country of powerful leaders and influential opinions began to slip. In order to combat these effect, Csar Alexander II began implementing reforms to keep Russia relevant. Under the guidance of Alexander II, Russia abolished serfdom, moved its capital, rebuilt its army, and made education more readily available for all; however, internal disputes and a stubborn elite class diminished the effects of these reforms. Through out the nineteenth century, great strides were made towards modernizing Russia, but due to disparity between classes, the weaknesses outweighed the strengths.
ReplyDeleteThis is really well written, you are so eloquent. I think that you only touch on each of the subjects mentioned. I know that it's just an introductory paragraph but I would try to add a little bit more detail about WHY each thing is a strength or a weakness and HOW it affects the country. But other than that, great job, you're a rockstar
DeleteThis is why we make such a great team, Emily. I would agree its important to make the points a little bit clearer, but I'm curious how much is too much clarification? Thanks for your comments. You're a great editor.
DeleteDuring the second half of the 19th century, Russia experienced changes that both strengthened the country but also weakened it. These changes occurred in the social, political and economic extensions of Russia. Politically, their autocratic system possessed complete control over the legal system in the country. There were no juries or lawyers in courts, and people were presumed guilty until proven innocent. The secret police put down any political opposition in the second half of the 19th century. Alexander the Liberator emancipated all the serfs which helped to expand Russian economy. Although the Russian political system had complete domination over the legal system, it was very fragmented, leaving the Russian state in only partial control of the country. The nobles who helped to govern Russia were corrupt. The lack of political freedom led to opposition of the system with violence. This can be seen in groups such as the People's Will's assassination Alexander II to reform the government.
ReplyDeleteI understand the information in this paragraph, however, what are you trying to prove in your introduction paragraph? It has detailed and solid information, but I think that an argument should be present in this first introductory paragraph. Well written though.
DeleteI like your reasons supporting political change in Russia, but maybe include more about working class(peasants) under the economic extensions. Also and idea that falls under political, social, and economic is industrialization, which was a huge help to Russia during this time, but overall good summary of the 3 extensions of Russia
DeleteI like how specific you are in regards to the chronological events which led to the Russian revolution including political and social considerations. Based on the markscheme, how do these Russian developments relate to the revolutions in 1848/1849? I think overall you have a very solid start but you should include more previous events and events in the future to back up your general thesis.
DeleteI really like the entire set up of your introduction. The only thing I think that it needs is more examples.
DeleteThanks, I agree that I didn't have a thesis in my paragraph and having one would've provided a context for my response.. I should've said either the weaknesses outweighed the strengths or vice versa.
DeleteDuring the second half of the 19th century, Russia underwent a series of changes that were both good and bad. When Alexander II took the throne, he wanted radical reform throughout the country which was widely accepted by the Russian people. This reform was to attack serfdom. He aimed to abolish serfdom from the top down instead of waiting because more than 23 million Russian people were living as serfs in worse living conditions than peasants. The emancipation of the serfs happened in 1861 and was extremely good for Russia and its people. A bad change for Russian was the Crimean War. Russian forces were thought of as very strong and powerful since they had played such a huge role in the defeat of Napoleon. However, in the Crimean War it suffered both on land and at sea. Russia suffered losses in the second half of the 19th century but also had many reforms that strengthened the country as a whole.
ReplyDeleteYou have good detail and good information but i don't see something that you can write an essay on. It just seems like stating facts rather than taking a position on something. Could you make it more like an introductory paragraph with a thesis and paragraph categories that you could make into an essay?
DeleteThe results of the Crimean War had a great effect on Russia during the 19th century. Russia needed to be reformed and/or changed politically, socially, and economically to maintain its strength as a country. Alexander II had to execute reforms, it was essential for the country. He did make some changes including moving the capital, strengthening the military, and making education more accessible than it was before his actions. Russia then underwent wars with the Ottoman Empire, ultimately leading to the assassination of Alexander II. This resulted in Russia losing land they had initially gained from the Congress of Vienna, and the political situation in Russia continued to struggle.
ReplyDeleteJosh, it seems to me that you are trying to argue that the defeat of the Crimean War is responsible for a majority of the happenings in Russia during the second half of the 19th Century. This is probably because you opened with a line that claimed it had a great effect on Russia. You need to be more specific as to what extent it affected Russia's political, economic, and social structures. Also, your timeline is a bit distorted. If I'm not mistaken, the Crimean War was ended before Alexander II strengthened the Russian Military, unless the wars between Russia and the Ottoman Empire that you're referring to is the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78). Otherwise, I like how you're focusing on the Crimean War as the cause of Russia's reformation and modernization, and I believe I see your ideas, but I think you could have expressed them a little better.
DeleteThanks Jibin, I am trying to argue and focus on the Crimean War being a cause of Russia's reformation and modernization. I do agree the I could've been more specific on the political, intellectual, economic, and social structures. I think if I am more specific, I could have a solid introduction to a long essay.
DeletePre-revolution Russia experienced both successes and struggles during the time. Alexander II created positive change in Russia by adding the Great Reforms which iliminated serfdom. His Great Reform influenced social change and economic growth as well as cicil liberties for russian citizens. Another strength of Russia at this time was their improvements in education and the rapid industrialization/modernization. Due to the increase in industrialization, the economy was beginning to prosper and the population consisted mostly of free workers. Although Russia showed some advancements in economy and government, they still struggled to achieve the strengths of Western Europe's economies. One of the major flaws in Russia at the time was the increase in peasant population and the unavailability of land. Also the inflation rates, taxes, and argriculture hardships caused many riots among peasants. Peasants influenced much of Russia's working class to follow the rules of socialism die to the working conditions, thus leading to the ideas of revolution. Pre-revolutionary Russia showed great advancements in industrialization and economy, but the differing beliefs and struggles of the working class ultimitley led Russia to revolution.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, you spelled eliminated wrong. It's not a big deal, but it's just a nit-picky thing. This is very good though as yours strengths and weaknesses were easily found. Tis a great start!
DeleteThe revolutions in 1848/1849 greatly influenced the development in the late 1800s. Most of the revolutions during this period wanted to change the political system to a more liberal style. The working class of these nations wanted more equality and essentially more power. Some of these nations also had very controlling leaders such as Robespierre in the French Revolution. This also helped fuel revolutions in these revolutionary nations. These Revolutions did not necessarily succeed but they did help lay a foundation for future changes. These lessons can be seen in the events that occurred in Russia in the late 19th century. Alexander II leaned or tried to change Russia to a more liberal style of government. He freed the serfs in 1861 and made plenty more reforms during the time period. He was assassinated in 1881 which resulted in mistreatment and cruelty towards Jews. This is somewhat similar to nationalism in countries like Germany in which a nation wanted to purify its people. These events essentially led to a unhappy populous and helped lead to the revolution.
ReplyDeleteWhen writing your paper, it would be good to talk about how this idea of nationalism can be related to other countries like Germany, giving specific examples and comparisons. Also you could maybe talk about how the strong controlling leaders in these countries specifically helped to contribute to the revolutions. Overall, I think you could write a very strong essay from this introduction! It sets you up to be able to elaborate off of alot of the topics that you brought up in this introduction.
DeleteDuring the second half of the 19th century Russia underwent many changes in its government, economy, and policies. With the changes that were occurring, Russia was able to advance along with the rest of Europe, but like any other country, it also had its weaknesses that prevented the country from advancing at the pace of the other European countries. Under the strategies of Alexander II, the country’s military improved due to his reform in 186, but due to its loss in the Crimean war, the military collapsed. Even though they lost in the Crimean war, the “Great Reforms” that Alexander II applied, were beneficial to Russia. This policy ended serfdom, liberating more than 85% of the population. It also redistributed land and created a better government. Also the middle class grew since much of Russia had become industrially influenced. This resulted in the increase of railroads that allowed Russia to interact within itself and with other countries. Although Alexander II had achieved many things, there were also many drawbacks. An example is the peasant tax which angered many peasants since they were being taxed when they barely had any money. Also since the “Great Reforms” had freed the serfs there was no longer any free labor and since the agricultural demands had increased this caused for many of the demands not to be met. This unsatisfied many causing for ta sense of nationalism to decrease, many did not support their country. Their unhappiness was demonstrated in the assassination of Alexander II.
ReplyDeleteElva, I think your ideas are good, but I would focus on the effects of the new policies and why they were beneficial more. In this paragraph, you give a few examples of beneficial and harmful policies, but you never address how they benefited or hurt russian society. If you continue to develop and analyze these policies, your essay would be very strong.
DeleteI agree with you. I guess I should have also listed some example of Alexander's policies such as their official names and dates.
DeleteAnalyse the strengths and weaknesses of Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century.
ReplyDeleteIn the late 19th century, Russia was experiencing many changes to its economic and social conditions. The revolution was beginning and the peasants were beginning to demand better "treatment." All amongst Russia, peasants were starting to resent their low wages and bad living conditions. In attempts to modernize Russia two classes were formed, the workers and the capitalists. Because of this the business owners began to resent the nobility and all of their privileges. Even though each group of people were so different they still wanted to the same reform of Russian government. After many uprisings of the peasants regarding their working environment, Alexander II free's the peasants, and buys the land from the nobles in order for the peasants to use. This brought a lot of peasants hope (strengthening Russia), yet after many peasants began moving to the same areas the areas got crowded. This caused many peasants to have to same resentments that they had before (weakening Russia).
Emily, I thought this response was good but I think you could have gone into a bit more detail. What were some other reforms enacted by Alexander II? By including more strenghs and weaknesses I think you would be able to strengthen your response and be able to compose a full essay.
DeleteOther reforms made by Alexander II include implementing a new structure of the judicial system, improving education, and requiring everyone to serve in the military. Once I include these in my introduction, I do agree that it would provide a better, more specific intro into an essay.
DeleteDuring the second half of the 19th century Russia experienced many social and economic changes. Alexander the Liberator freed the serfs and with that came enormous social and political consequences. By doing that Russia came in as a true part of the new world powers being the last major country to eliminate slavery. And this is where the majority of Alexander II changes were focused, on making Russia a major player in Europe and the world. However, there were many other moves that played a role also, such as moving the capitol, rebuilding the army, and increasing the availability of education. Along with the modernization of Russia also came internal struggles such as terrorism and civil unrest. The modernization of Russia was a great advancement but also caused problems within the country itself.
ReplyDeleteGood job outlining generally what was going on in Russia. It could be improved if your went into a little more detail on the terrorism and civil unrest. This would make it a more balanced intro paragraph since most of it is only talking about advances in Russia.
DeleteThanks Weston, I agree I could go more into the specifics and the actual causes and effects of what happened with the terrorism and civil unrest. Plus if I do that I think it would help a little more with addressing the idea of weaknesses more specifically and with greater detail.
DeleteThanks Weston, I agree going into more detail on the specifics of the terrorism and civil unrest would make the paragraph more balanced. And also by doing this it would help to address the idea of weaknesses more specifically and effectively later on in the essay.
DeleteRussia entering the second half of the nineteenth century was reaching a critical turning point in its political and social history. These changes brought about positive and negative effects for Russia which ultimately aided the modernization. The first major step into the second half of the 19th century began with the Crimean War and when Russia had been defeated it created the idea that the Tsarist regime might not have been ideal for such a large nation which was trying to be perceived as a super power in the world. Alexander II played a key role by reacting to the defeat, and consequent unrest, by laying down the "Great Reforms". The main positive reforms were, the increase of commerce and connection with new railroads, the creation of zemstvos for more organized and efficient localized government and the abolition of the serfs, which had negative effects as well because it was not as well organized and planned out as it might have been. Nearly all of the progress being made was halted however by Alexander II assassination which decreased many freedoms in Russia when Alexander III reached the throne. Still the major positive reforms made during the reign of Alexander II, were stronger than any slowing of the modernization after his death and so Russia became more similar to its Western allies.
ReplyDeleteGood information and amount of "stuff". Remember to keep it within the end of the nineteenth century. What are some of the major weaknesses of Russia and make sure to make the strengths and weaknesses distinctly separate. It's very well written, clear and concise. Good job!
DeleteThanks Stephanie, I agree that I did not point out really any clear and separated weaknesses. Maybe I could include how the country was not entirely ready for the abolition of serfdom and how that effected the country negatively (economics, land). That might help to balance out the paper. Also I should probably expand the events to separate the strengths and weaknesses of each one to clarify.
DeleteIn the nineteenth century, Russia had several economic and social strengths, but suffered the weaknesses of an imperial government. The government was very autocratic and the people of Russia had no say. The government had complete control over the legal system, meaning that people were presumed guilty until proven innocent, a policy which failed in many situations. Despite Alexander II's attempt to remove the state from legal proceedings, it was still heavily involved in political crimes, which were dealt with behind closed doors, never truly serving just punishment. However, in 1883, a law was passed which established a land bank for peasants. This opened the Russian economy and increased its abilities greatly, proving to be a great strength for Russia as a whole. During the nineteenth century, strides were made in public school, increasing the numbers of primary school children from 500,000 to one million. More educated citizens proved to be a huge social strength, despite the lack of any other clear social strengths. One of Russia's biggest weaknesses during the nineteenth century was its failure to modernize and develop a stronger economy and industry. This impacted its ability to compete with other nations, ultimately inhibiting its power as a nation.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, this is so good. Nice use of facts and connecting them to other things going on in Russia. You have a good argument.
DeleteSeveral things led to the Russian revolution. The Tsar, Alexander II was also a major contributor. The serfs were freed, yet, with this freedom came great responsibility. The serfs now needed paying jobs, houses and what not and couldn't get them since there was so many new workers that were freed. Also, the formation of the Socialist Revolutionary Party then told everyone and got them rilled up about how horrible their treatment was. Also, one was the violent revolutions that happened before the big revolution. Bloody Sunday in 1905 is an example of this.
DeleteIn Russia,there were many aspects that contributed to the inevitable revolution. The political history and the social history was causing drastic changes through out the country. These said changes brought positive and negative effects for Russia which led further to the modernization of the country, and of the people. Positive changes that this brought was the changes within the literature, dance, and theatre. These things broadened the intellectual ability of those participating and ultimately aided the country in a way that made them smarter, and more well learned. The negative changes however were the battles between political parties and arguments facing what the thought of the new country would become.
ReplyDeleteClaire, this was very well organized, although you should probably include much more less broad examples on how they were positive examples on how Russia came to be modernized, but overall it concluded all that was asked in this prompt, good job.
DeleteThanks Juan! Ya, i kind of saw myself going a bit broad on the examples, I definitely think it i tightened it up a bit it would improve the quality immensely!
DeleteA definite strength of Russia as it moved into the 19th century were the many reforms of Alexander II as his goal was to modernize Russia and "catch up" to other European powers. The country was also moving forward in other aspects such as improving their economy and especially emancipating the serfs which in turn aided the economy. Russia was also strong considering their size, population and overall power and status. Weaknesses concerning Russia in the second half of the twentieth century included the size of Russia and how difficult it was to govern over the entirety (weak borders). Also, some of Alexander II's reforms were deeply disliked and many disagreed with them and the repression that came along. The czar's difficult rule led to his assassination and overall weakness in the country due to angry revolutionaries, riots, etc.
ReplyDeleteI like the comparison of disadvantages and advantages relating to the topic. You used good examples without using too much detail. What were some factors considered before and after this time period? Do the advantages trump or lose to the disadvantages? I think you have a great introduction and only need a few more elements.
DeleteLate 19th century Russia developed into a powerful European Nation, but the weaknesses of the country outweighed its strengths. First of all, Russia's vast amount of territory made it difficult for any tsar to successfully govern over all the inaccessible terrain. Also, Russia's inexperienced and inefficient military led to their loss in the Crimean War. Most of Russia's peasant population was also uneducated and untrained throughout most of the 19th century, so they required foreign guidance and instruction. Alexander II's reforms were beneficial to the country, but some of his policies cut both ways. Many of his reforms were unpopular and failed. However, a strength of 19th century Russia was that in many cases, Alexander II's reforms were very beneficial to the country and were aimed at modernization and catching up with the rest of the European Continent. Russia also had the traditional reputation as a Great Power, and this granted them a certain amount of influence and pushed the tsars to try and uphold that reputation. Russia experienced a lot of social change and modernization, they also struggled with a lot of weaknesses.
ReplyDeleteA major event in Russia near the close of the 19th century was the emancipation of the serfs. On the one hand, their freedom was a huge leap in the right direction for the future state of Russia, beginning to take into account the rights of 85% of the Russian population. On the other hand, their emancipation was largely detrimental to Russian people, communities and the country as a whole. It was very disorganized and poorly planned; birthrate skyrocketed at the same time that the people that worked the land to produce food ceased to do so. Put together, these two facts devastated Russia's population. However, the government's attempts to fix it and feed their population ranged from nonexistent to futile, so the Russian population felt the push to revolt. This was amplified when Alexander II was assassinated, which rapidly decreased freedoms in Russia when Alexander III took control. Russia inevitably reached a state of revolution.
ReplyDeleteIn the second half of the 19th century, Russia was going through immense change. Nicholas I had just passed and Alexander II had been given power. Alexander II had began reforms on Russia and attempted to modernize Russia and pull ahead of other European powers. He emancipated the serfs and reformed education, the economy, and the army. Some disagreed with these reforms, and ultimately Alexander II was assassinated. In this time period, Alexander III and Nicholas II also had power. Strengths of Russia at this time were the size of Russia in not only land, but also in people, the status of being a Great Power; and the reforms mentioned above that were made by Alexander II. Russies size also came as a weakness though.The size of Russia made it difficult to govern such a large country with many inaccesible areas. The repressive policies of Nicholas I, defeat in the Crimean War, a very small middle class, and an uneducated population were many more weaknesses of Russia.
ReplyDeleteThis greatly shows the strengths of Russia, but undermines the weaknesses that were occurring at the time. You mention size as a weakness, and the war, but don't go into much detail about why it weakened them. Nor did you explain how the policies of Nicholas I were repressive. Overall a good post though.
DeleteThanks! I'll definitely improve on that next time!
DeleteAlthough Russia held some strengths, they were outweighed by the country's weaknesses. Russia had been known for its strength. At one time, Russia had been a very powerful country, which influenced other countries views of Russia. Also, Alexander II helped to strengthen Russia by changing, and modernizing certain reforms, such as serfdom, education and the economy. New reforms helped progress Russia. The concept of serfdom was ultimately weakening and made the country regress. The uneducated population also held Russia back. With low literacy rates, Russians were unable to help themselves, from within the country. The practice of terrorism and assassination (in the end of the Great Reforms era) repelled many educated society members, creating a reaction of counterreform that immobilized Russian political life, which was detrimental to Russia.
ReplyDeleteIn the nineteenth-century, Russia experienced several changes that were strengths as well as weaknesses. One of the most important times was the Silver Age, when the arts had a surge of importance to society. In this way, Russia kept the old culture, while improving it through theater, music, and literature. Alexander II also a strong influence that brought about modernization through his "Great Reforms". During this time, there was the introduction of universal conscription, education was expanded as well as improved, censorship was lessened, and journalism and book printing were encouraged. Some people believed that the "Great Reforms" didn't go far enough which led to terrorist groups forming. One very important strength was the elimination of serfdom along with an increase in the number of free workers, but the position of the nobility deteriorated and the peasants started to be taxed. Industrialization made it possible for Russia to take great strides in the direction towards being a global competitor and it increased the economy. At the same time they were still very far behind Europe and the working conditions were terrible. As the population increased, there grew unrest among the peasants when their share of land did not increase and the agricultural production did not increase as well. Due to the defeat of the Crimean War, Russia was weaker that its rivals. Overall, the improvements outweighed the weaknesses in bolstering Russia's standing among other countries.
ReplyDeleteI think I could save some of the details I use in this paragraph for the rest of my essay. Specifically, when talking about all ofthe reforms made. It is a little jumpy, so I could work on the structuring so it reads better. I don't think I need the Crimean War, because it doesn't fit well. I could tie that into a body paragraph.
DeleteThroughout the secoond half of the 19th century, Russia had begun to develop into a powerful nation. Their rise in power and status greatly attributed to their short lived sucesses and ultimately, their demise. Tsar Alexander II ruled the large country with high hopes of attaining even greater sucess. However, because of the vast amount of territory that was under his control, it made it difficult for any tsar to be able to sucessfully govern the large amount of land and inaccessible people. Another weakness of Russia stood in its legal system. People were guilty until proven innocent. This ultimately proved to be a failure because it took the voice from the people and caused them to become angry with the government and their laws. Also, Russia had a lagging economy compared to the rest of Europe. They had an industrial revolution but that did not help to nearly enough to catch up to the economic status of the rest of the European continent. Furthermore, this angered the peasents who felt there was not an increase in agricultural production. The final greatest weakness of Russia came with the language barrier. Due to the language barrier, the government had to speak French, German, or English in order to communicate with any other nation which caused misunderstandings between the governments because Russia could not speak for themselves in their native tongue. Russia may have had many weaknesses but that did not keep them from having some strength on the world stage. For example, as previously mentioned Russia had an Industrial Revolution that helped them to improve their economy. In addition, Alexander II enacted many reforms that helped to modernize the nation. One of these reforms came with the 1883 land bank for peasants. This gave the peasants more land and shortened the gap between the rich and poor. Considering all of the strengths and weaknesses of Russia, Russia's weaknesses ultimately outweighed the strengths. Eventually, this led to the Russian revolutions causing the people to fight for more rights.
ReplyDeleteYou have a lot of examples for each side which really helps support your argument. You have contradictory points in reference to the Russian economy though. You should either pick it as a strength or a weakness; not both. Finally, I think you had very strong evidence but the structure was lacking a little bit. I think that the flow could be improved a little bit. All in all though, I think it was a really solid answer.
DeleteThanks Cullen, I see what you are saying. Overall, I think the economy was a weakness even with the help of the industrial revolution. As for the structure, should I have made this into two paragraphs or tried to seperate it more with better introductory sentance and concluding sentances? Thanks for the advice too! I found it helpful!
DeleteSome of the strengths and weaknesses in Russia during the 19th Century were really based on Alexander II's reforms and on Nicholas I. Some of the strengths of Russia during the 19th Century were that Russia was really large and the population of Russia was large also. The reforms of Alexander II were a really good strength which aimed at modernization to catch up with other European powers such as emancipation of serfs, education, the economy, the army, and a lesser extent in politics. Some of the weaknesses of Russia during the 19th Century were that the size of Russia was very large that it had difficulties in governing and it became an inaccessible country; autocracy. There were repressive policies of Nicholas I. The defeat in the Crimean War was a really bad weakness, there were also unpopularity and failure of some of Alexander II's reforms. There was a very small middle class that there had to be foreign expertise come to Russia due to the lack of educated and trained population. The repressive policies of Alexander II had a major impact of weakness on Russia.
ReplyDeleteYou have a variety of examples of Alexander's reformations but I think that if you furthered analyzed how these reforms affected the country, the essay would be stronger. Also I think that because of the large population and the bad economy later on, the country suffered.
DeleteDuring the later half of the 19th century Russia was rife with unrest and dissatisfaction with the government and the living conditions of the average citizen, and for good reason. As a whole, Russia was in a less than ideal state politically and economically, but there were a few redeeming factors. The inadequacies of the economic and political system had become clear, and Alexander II did make a significant effort to reform the nation. While carried out with good intentions, the weaknesses of the country far outweighed the new found benefits of a move towards a constitutional government and a reformed economic system.
ReplyDeleteA lot of good content, but I think that you need to remember that the topic calls for both strengths weaknesses. You really only covered the weaknesses, so just make sure that you cover all concepts brought up by the question in order to get full credit. Also, make sure it is in the format of an intro paragraph for the essay.
DeleteIn the second half of the 19th century, Russia went through many changes that both strengthened and weakened the country as a whole. Most of these changes, however were ones that caused the country to become weaker, but the strengths were built because of the strong leadership and reforms of some of the leaders. Tsar Alexander II worked hard to create reforms that helped the new serfs and addressed many of the issues that were arising due to the growing population. He worked hard to develop reforms that strengthened the economy and nationalistic sentiment of Russia in order for it to keep up with the west and even the growing economies and power of Japan and China. These reforms, while doing some good, were not all that effective because they were not very widespread and were limited due to groups that were going against this as it hurt them (nobility and nationalists). Another strength that we see in Russia is the developing sense of nationalism that is creating a national identity for the country (pan-slavism, Russification, growing art forms). The weakness, however, were more numerous and significant than the strengths. The industry and economy of Russia at this time was far behind the rest of the world and could not keep up with the west culturally and economically. Also, due to the recently freed serfs and large boom in population, there was not enough land and work for the working class to live a decent life causing a lot of unrest.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good assessment of some of the strengths and weaknesses of the pre-revolutionary government. However, you may want to include something about the downsides of Russification. While it did encourage nationalism, it also alienated many minority groups within the country.
DeleteDuring the second half of the nineteenth century, Russia's weakness overpowered it's strength and lead to the Russian Revolutions. The Great reforms were a major factor is this. Alexander II's reforms strengthened the economy and focused efforts towards modernization. The modernization was necessary to keep up with other great nations. Weaknesses were Crimean war and the reforms presented by Nicolas I.
ReplyDeleteGood coverage of the basic topics, but needs to be more in depth. Discuss what each of these things were. Though this is a great start to an intro paragraph.
DeleteDuring the second half of the nineteenth century, Russia was catching up to the rest of Europe in terms of development and economic status. The strength of Russia was the rate of which the development was happening compared to the rates of other countries during the same period of development they went through in their history. The weakness of Russia also stemmed from the development unfortunately as it was proceeding too fast. Trying to catch up to the rest of the world when the world is at another stage and developing faster is a problem. Corners get cut and all of the advancement means nothing as the lower class takes the hits with the economy. In addition to the development weakness, the lower class population exploded and couldn't be sustained by the country. The places that needed to be developed to support the population were neglected and the country was falling apart from the foundations.
ReplyDeleteThis is a good analysis of the economic strengths and weaknesses of Russia, however it lacks information on Russia's military strengths and/or weaknesses, and is not really formatted to be an intro paragraph.
DeleteIn the second half of the nineteenth century, Russia underwent some major reforms that strengthened itself, but still was far behind the rest of Europe in many ways. Russia abolished serfdom, modernizing its economy and social structure. While this was an improvement, the freed serfs still lacked the ability to improve their social status, and this led to the eventual overthrow of the Russian government. The attempts at modernization and social reform were strengths for Russia, but these were ultimately overpowered by the weaknesses of ineffectiveness in reforms, and a fundamental lack of Russian economic and military power, as demonstrated in the Crimean war. These overpowering weaknesses led to Russia's eventual revolution.
ReplyDeleteNice clear language! I think you maybe need a little more development perhaps on how a lack of military power was a major fault in social modernization for the serfs, industrialism, and social structure. Perhaps instead the lack of military power was caused by inefficient leadership, or the lack of modern weapons that come with industrialism or something like that? There are lots of ways you can swing it, but as it is this seems like a pretty stong thesis.
DeleteThank you! I agree, I do need more information about how Russia was militarily weaker than other countries. My understanding is that the Russian's had less capable leadership, as well as inferior weaponry, which led to their defeat in the Crimean war. These factors would certainly play a part in Russia's revolution.
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ReplyDeleteAnalyze the strengths and weaknesses of Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century.
Russia had many strengths and weaknesses in the second half of the nineteenth century. For instance the czar system of power was not sufficient enough for the needs of the people, they lacked food and job support for the people of Russia. The economy was beginning to boom near the end of the century which caused equality between the strengths and weaknesses of Russia.
As a rapidly industrializing nation with a quickly growing population and an increasingly liberated and educated peasant population, Russia had many strengths to utilize during the second half of the 19th century. However, the rapidity of these fundamental changes caused structural instability within the country. Rapid industrialization was followed by the exploitation of a working class that would be the foundation of many revolutionary movements. Exponential population growth outstripped Russia’s agricultural capacity to feed its peasantry and land available to work on. Meanwhile, an increasingly aware peasant class fermented dissatisfaction with insufficient social, political, and economic gains. These faults ultimately outweighed Russia’s strengths driving its development during the second half of the 19th century.
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