The state of Russia before 1855

Dossier informing the Queen of Russia’s situation in 1850:
A brief potted history of Russian dynastic history over the past 1,000 including key events and people-
Year
Date
Event
1707
8 October
Bulavin Rebellion: A small band of Don Cossacks killed a Muscovite noble searching their territory for tax fugitives.
1708
7 July
Bulavin Rebellion: After a series of devastating military reversals, Bulavin was shot by his former followers.

18 December
An imperial decree divided Muscovy into eight guberniyas (an administrative division of the country).
1709
28 June
Battle of Poltava: A decisive Muscovite military victory over the Swedes at Poltava marked the turning point of the war, the end of Cossack independence and the dawn of the Russian Empire.
1710
14 October
The Russian guberniyas were divided into lots according to noble population.

20 November
Russo-Turkish War (1710–1711): Charles XII of Sweden persuaded the Ottoman sultan to declare war on Russia.
1711
22 February
Government reform of Peter I: Peter established the Governing Senate to pass laws in his absence.

21 July
Russo-Turkish War (1710–1711): Peace was concluded with the Treaty of the Pruth. Russia returned Azov to the Ottoman Empire and demolished the town of Taganrog.
1713
8 May
The Russian capital was moved from Moscow to Saint Petersburg.

17 July
The Riga Governorate was established on the conquered territory of Livonia.

The territory of the Smolensk Governorate was divided between the Moscow and Riga Governorates.
1714
15 January
The northwestern territory of the Kazan Governorate was transferred to the newly established Nizhny Novgorod Governorate.
1715
11 October
Peter demanded that his son, the tsarevich Alexei Petrovich, endorse his reforms or renounce his right to the throne.
1716

Alexei fled to Vienna to avoid military service.
1717
22 November
The Astrakhan Governorate was formed on the southern lands of Kazan Governorate.

The territory of the Nizhny Novgorod Governorate was reincorporated into the Kazan Governorate.

12 December
Government reform of Peter I: Peter established collegia, government ministries that superseded the prikazy.
1718
31 January
Alexei returned to Moscow under a promise he would not be harmed.

18 February
After torture, Alexei publicly renounced the throne and implicated a number of reactionaries in a conspiracy to overthrow his father.

13 June
Alexei was put on trial for treason.

26 June
Alexei died after torture in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
1719
29 May
Lots were abolished; the guberniyas were divided instead into provinces, each governed and taxed under a preexisting elected office (the Voyevoda). Provinces were further divided into districts, replacing the old uyezds. The district commissars were to be elected by local gentry.

The Nizhny Novgorod Governorate was reestablished.

The Reval Governorate was established on the conquered territory of Estonia.
1721
25 January
Peter established the Holy Synod, a body of ten clergymen chaired by a secular official that was to head the Russian Orthodox Church in lieu of the Patriarch of Moscow.

30 August
Great Northern War: The Treaty of Nystad ended the war. Sweden ceded Estonia, Livonia and Ingria to Russia.

22 October
Peter was declared Emperor.
1722

Peter introduced the Table of Ranks, which granted the privileges of nobility based on state service.

July
Russo-Persian War (1722–1723): A Russian military expedition sailed in support of the independence of two Christian kingdoms, Kartli and Armenia.
1723
12 September
Russo-Persian War (1722–1723): The Persian shah signed a peace treaty ceding the cities of Derbent and Bakuand the provinces of Shirvan, Guilan, Mazandaran and Astrabad to the Russian Empire.
1725
28 January
Peter died of urinary problems. He failed to name a successor; one of Peter's closest advisers, Aleksandr Menshikov, convinced the Imperial Guard to declare in favor of Peter's wife Catherine I.
1726

The Smolensk Governorate was reestablished.

8 February
Catherine established an advisory body, the Supreme Privy Council.
1727

Catherine established the Belgorod and Novgorod Governorates and adjusted the borders of several others. Districts were abolished; uyezds were reestablished.

17 May
Catherine died.

18 May
According to Catherine's wishes the eleven-year-old Peter II, the son of Alexei Petrovich and grandson of Peter the Great, became tsar. The Supreme Privy Council was to hold power during his minority.

9 September
The conservative members of the Supreme Privy Council expelled its most powerful member, the liberal Menshikov.
1730
30 January
Peter died of smallpox.

1 February
The Supreme Privy Council offered the throne to Anna Ivanovna, the daughter of Ivan V, on the conditions that the Council retain the powers of war and peace and taxation, among others, and that she never marry or appoint an heir.

4 March
Anna tore up the terms of her accession and dissolved the Supreme Privy Council.
1736
20 May
Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739): The Russian army captured the Ottoman fortifications at Perekop.

19 June
Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739): The Russians captured Azov.
1737
July
Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739): Austria joined the war on the Russian side.
1739
21 August
Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739): Austria agreed by the Treaty of Belgrade to end its participation in the war.

18 September
Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739): The Treaty of Nissa ended the war. Russia gave up its claims on Crimea and Moldavia and its navy was barred from the Black Sea.
1740
17 October
Anna died of kidney disease. She left the throne to her adopted infant son, Ivan VI.

18 October
Anna's lover, Ernst Johann von Biron, was declared regent.

8 November
Biron was arrested on the orders of his rival, the Count Burkhard Christoph von Munnich. Ivan's biological mother,Anna Leopoldovna, replaced Biron as regent.
1741
8 August
Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743): Sweden declared war on Russia.

25 November
Elizabeth, the youngest daughter of Peter the Great, led the Preobrazhensky to the Winter Palace to overthrow the regency of Anna Leopoldovna and install herself as empress.

2 December
Ivan was imprisoned in the Daugavgriva fortress.
1742
4 September
Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743): Encircled by the Russians at Helsinki, the Swedish army surrendered.
1743
7 August
Russo-Swedish War (1741–1743): The Treaty of Åbo was signed, ending the war. Russia relinquished most of the conquered territory, keeping only the lands east of the Kymi River. In exchange Adolf Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp, the uncle of the Russian heir to the throne, was to become King of Sweden.
1744

The Vyborg Governorate was established on conquered Swedish territories.
1755

Mikhail Lomonosov and Count Ivan Shuvalov founded the University of Moscow.
1756
29 August
Seven Years' War: The Kingdom of Prussia invaded the Austrian protectorate of Saxony.
1757
1 May
Diplomatic Revolution: Under the Second Treaty of Versailles, Russia joined the Franco-Austrian military alliance.

17 May
Seven Years' War: Russian troops entered the war.
1761
25 December
Miracle of the House of Brandenburg: Elizabeth died. Her nephew, Peter III, became tsar.
1762
5 May
Seven Years' War: The Treaty of Saint Petersburg ended Russian participation in the war at no territorial gain.

17 July
Peter was overthrown by the Imperial Guard and replaced with his wife, Catherine II, The Great, on her orders.
1764
5 July
A group of soldiers attempted to release the imprisoned Ivan VI; he was murdered.
1767
13 October
Repnin Sejm: Four Polish senators who opposed the policies of the Russian ambassador Nicholas Repnin were arrested by Russian troops and imprisoned in Kaluga.
1768
27 February
Repnin Sejm: Delegates of the Sejm adopted a treaty ensuring future Russian influence in Polish internal politics.

29 February
Polish nobles established the Bar Confederation in order to end Russian influence in their country.

25 September
Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774): The Ottoman sultan declared war on Russia.
1771
15 September
Plague Riot: A crowd of rioters entered Red Square, broke into the Kremlin and destroyed the Chudov Monastery.

17 September
Plague Riot: The army suppressed the riot.
1772
5 August
The first partition of Poland was announced. Poland lost thirty percent of its territory, which was divided betweenPrussia, Austria, and Russia.
1773

Pugachev's Rebellion: The army of the Cossack Yemelyan Pugachev attacked and occupied Samara.

18 September
A confederated sejm was forced to ratify the first partition of Poland.
1774
21 July
Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774): The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca was signed. The portion of the Yedisan region east of the Southern Bug river, the Kabarda region in the Caucasus, and several Crimean ports, went to Russia. The Crimean Khanate received independence from the Ottoman Empire, which also declared Russia the protector of Christians on its territory.

14 September
Pugachev's Rebellion: Upset with the rebellion's bleak outlook, Pugachev's officers delivered him to the Russians.
1783
8 April
The Crimean Khanate was incorporated into the Russian Empire.

24 July
Threatened by the Persian and Ottoman Empires, the kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti signed the Treaty of Georgievskunder which it became a Russian protectorate.
1788

Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792): The Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia and imprisoned her ambassador.

27 June
Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790): The Swedish army playacted a skirmish between themselves and the Russians.

6 July
Battle of Hogland: The Russian navy dispersed a Swedish invasion fleet near Hogland in the Gulf of Finland.

6 October
Great Sejm: A confederated sejm was called to restore the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
1790
14 August
Russo-Swedish War (1788–1790): The Treaty of Värälä ended the war, with no changes in territory.
1791
3 May
Great Sejm: Poland's Constitution of 3 May was ratified in secret. The new constitution abolished the liberum veto, reducing the power of the nobles and limiting Russia's ability to influence Polish internal politics.

23 December
Catherine established the Pale of Settlement, an area in European Russia into which Russian Jews were transported.
1792
9 January
Russo-Turkish War (1787–1792): The Treaty of Jassy was signed, ending the war. The Russian border inYedisan was extended to the Dniester river.

18 May
Polish–Russian War of 1792: The army of the Targowica Confederation, which opposed the liberal PolishConstitution of 3 May, invaded Poland.
1793
23 January
Polish–Russian War of 1792: The second partition of Poland left the country with one-third of its 1772 population.

23 November
Grodno Sejm: The last sejm of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ratified the second partition.
1794
24 March
Kościuszko Uprising: An announcement by Tadeusz Kościuszko sparked a nationalist uprising in Poland.

4 November
Battle of Praga: Russian troops captured the Praga borough of Warsaw and massacred its civilian population.

5 November
Kościuszko Uprising: The uprising ended with the Russian occupation of Warsaw.
1795
11 September
Battle of Krtsanisi: The Persian army demolished the armed forces of Kartl-Kakheti.

24 October
The third partition of Poland divided up the remainder of its territory.
1796
April
Persian Expedition of 1796: Catherine launched a military expedition to punish Persia for its incursion into the Russian protectorate of Kartl-Kakheti.

5 November
Catherine suffered a stroke in the bathtub.

6 November
Catherine died. The throne fell to her son, Paul I.

A brief biography of the Tsar Nicholas I:
Nicholas I was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855. He was the younger brother of his childless predecessor, Alexander I. Nicholas inherited his brother's throne despite the failed Decembrist revolt against him, and went on to become the most reactionary of Russian monarchs. In his last years, Nicholas I led the Russian army in the unsuccessful Crimean War, however he defeated the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish war 1828-1829. Thus he was a key player in the governing of Russia as a world power and helped destroy the Ottoman Empire.
A brief biography of the Tsar Nicholas I’s heir-Alexander:
Alexander II was the Emperor of Russia from 2 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881. His most important achievement was the emancipation of serfs in 1861, for which he became known as Alexander the Liberator, although his generally liberal course did not prevent many assassination attempts. His other reforms include a new judicial administration in 1864 and an elaborate scheme of local self-government for the rural districts also in1864.
What constitutes Russia:
Imperial Russia, Russia's population growth rate from 1850 to 1910 was one of the fastest of all the major powers, The emancipation law of 1861 freed the peasants from dependence on the landowners By the end of 19th century, Russia was largest producer and exporter of cereals in the world. Owing to the development of agriculture, Russia gradually assumed a more important position in the world trade. Industrial growth was significant, although unsteady, and in absolute terms it was not extensive. Tsarist Russia was the largest land empire in modern world history, stretching across 6,000 miles from Poland and the Baltic States in the West all the way to Vladivostok and the Pacific Ocean in the East. Huge size included an enormous diversity of climate, vegetation and physical features, with the Black Sea having a sub-tropical climate while Siberia only has two months without frost. Difficult climate and terrain in many areas made survival tough, and the majority of the population worked with agriculture of some sort. Only 1.6% of the population in 1855 lived in cities or towns of over 100,000 inhabitants. The size and nature of the empire provided the Tsars with both opportunities (vast natural resources and large population) and problems (before the railway was developed it could take months to travel from one end of the empire to the other, making fast communication impossible; and much of the land was of limited productive use because of its climate). The size and diversity of the country in particular made Russia difficult to govern, forcing the development of a centralized military state to control it from the seventeenth century onwards.

How Russia is governed by a Tsarist system of autocracy in 1850: "The Emperor of all the Russias is an autocratic and unlimited monarch: God himself ordains that all must bow to his supreme power", Nicholas I, 1832. The motto of Nicholas I's regime was: "autocracy, orthodoxy, nationality". Under the Tsar's autocratic system of government, the Tsar exercise supreme and absolute political power and his word was the only source of law. All political decisions lay with the Tsar, and anyone wishing to make any political or social change in Russia was dependent upon securing the support of the Tsar to do so. The Tsar ruled the people as a stern father - as a senior police official explained, "his subjects are his children, and children never ought to reason about their parents". Autocracy was supported by serfdom, as peasants were kept in state of ignorance and superstition. Peasants believed that: (i) the tsar had been appointed by God, (ii) the tsar was on their side and would be able to right their wrongs, (iii) a visit to the Winter Palace would bring justice in any petty local dispute and (iv) the tsar knew every detail of peasant life and would set things right. This 'autocracy-serfdom' formula was at the centre of Russia's political and social system in the mid-nineteenth century. To rule the country practically the Tsar was dependent upon the nobility. At the centre there were 13government departments run by Ministers drawn from the nobility, but the Tsar appointed these positions and could sack them at any time, as well as ignore their advice if he pleased. To run Russia beyond the capital, there were 114,000 administrators - provincial governors and officials also drawn from the ranks of the nobility. Many nobles saw government service as a way to increase their incomes though over-taxing and bribery. Complete lack of political freedom for the population at large meant the only available means of opposition was violence - either peasant revolts or terrorism. Nicholas I set up a secret police force to work against opponents of the regime, and the army was used to maintain law and order and put down any rebellions. (The army was largely made up of serfs, conscripts forced to serve for 25 years.)

A map with reference to the key geographical features of Russia (rivers, mountains, major cities and its natural resources):

Russia's industrial regions (mainly textile industry) included Moscow, the central regions of European Russia, St. Petersburg, the Baltic cities, Russian Poland, some areas along the lower Don and Dnepr rivers, and the southern Ural Mountains.
Natural resources include: wood, coal, oil, natural gas, timber and many more.

The social structure of Russia (for example the relationship between the serfs and nobles, towns and countryside):
Russian society in the nineteenth century had changed little over the last hundred years, characterized by the dominance of the Tsarist system and its resistance to change. Social system was founded on serfdom, and the vast majority of the Russian population were peasant serfs - of 60 million people in European Russia in 1855, 50 million were serfs, half state-owned half privately-owned. They could be sold and beaten, on top of backbreaking daily work. Russia only had a small middle class - i.e. doctors, lawyers, university teachers. Travel abroad made many critical of Russia's backwardness, but Nicholas I reacted by restricting passports. A great distance existed between the minority of forward-looking, free-thinking educated classes (often 'Westernizers', believing Russia needed to learn from the West to develop and make progress) on the one hand, and the majority of the monarchy and its supporters (often 'Slavophiles', believing Russian ways to be best) and the peasantry on the other. Only the wealthiest of people lived in towns; most of the population settled in the Countryside.

The nature and the role of the Orthodox Church in Russia:
The Orthodox Church and faith played a key role in the lives of European Russians, with religious icons and celebrations playing an important role for the people. Orthodox Church was a major supporter of the Tsarist regime, providing support to the Tsar's claim to be expressing the divine will on earth. A key teaching of the church was faith in God and unquestioning submission to God's will, encouraging passive obedience to the Tsar. So the Church played an important role in upholding the social hierarchy and promoting obedience rather than resistance to authority. It is worth also noting that the Church was not independent of the state, but ultimately also controlled by the Tsar (through the government ministerial position of the Holy Synod). The Tsar had absolute power over Church finances and appointments.

Russia’s relationships with her neighbours and how they view themselves:
Relationships between Russia and Britain are tense at the moment, as during the first half of the 19th century Britain and France dominated Europe, however we are becoming increasingly worried about the growing power of Russia. This is affecting the balance of power. Yet Russia views herself as becoming more powerful and we suspect she is hoping to increase her influence over Europe!
Russian culture:
Russian culture was much influenced by neighbouring Finno-Ugric tribes and by nomadic, mainly Turkic, peoples of the Pontic steppe and Scandinavian Vikings. Largest Orthodox nation in the world. The possibility of Communist ideology is starting to become more likely.

Some nobility use liberty as an excuse to lead lavish lives of leisure.
Over a hundred different languages are spoken in Russia, which proposes a problem for the Tsar, who opposes national self-determination from minority groups.

Is Britain or Russia more modern?
You may notice Britain is far more modern in some ways, due to the industrial revolution, as Russia is not quite as industrial. For example Britain’s metal industry, such as the iron and steel output was more advanced than Russia’s at the time. The archaic technology, communication and links may be noticeable in Russia, due to its vast and diverse landscapes. Therefore Britain will appear more modern. Although you may see that Russia does have the potential to produce lots of natural resources.

Topics to avoid:
-The idea of Nicholas I disliking slavery, yet not ending serfdom, being hypocritical, -Russia’s backward economy, technology and social system, - Alexander I surprised his brother with the news that he, and not Constantine, might be the successor to the Russian throne. Alexander and Constantine did not have sons, and the latter had decided to give up his rights to the throne. This agreement was not made public, and its ambiguities would later come back to haunt Nicholas, -Conflicting ideologies and cold war (tensions between Russia and USA rose in 1947), -Political exiles who had tried to prevent Nicholas I becoming Tsar.
Keywords:
1. Agrarian-riots by peasants,
2. Duma-state,
3. Kolkhoz-collective farms where peasants lived communally managed by state officals,
4. Kulak-peasants who owned own farms and opposed communism,
5. Mir/Obshchina-peasant community,
6. Pan-Slav-movement in Russia to link all people with its protection,
7. Peasant land bank-state funded bank which lent to peasants reasonably, like Britain to Ireland,
8. Tenure-how land is officially owned,
9. Third section(1826)-investigated political opposition and rooted out corruption among officials, run by close friend of Tsar, used spies. Has processed 31 million documents in 1850.
10. Zemstvos-oversee local matters, one in every province and district.

Good luck on your trip Queen Victoria! I hope this dossier helps make it successful.