Late 19th Century European Powers: Germany, Russia, Ottomans
Chancellor Bismarck’s Germany (1871-1890)
Otto von Bismarck served as Chancellor from 1871 until 1890. The core of his policy was ensuring security through preventive strategies, both domestically and internationally. He confronted the Catholic Church in the Kulturkampf, aiming for state control over education and clergy, but later eased these policies.
The Russian Empire in the Late 19th Century
The Russian Empire possessed enormous ethnic, cultural, and religious diversity, including:
- Russians
- Poles
- Belarusians
- Finns
- Lithuanians
- Latvians
- Estonians
- Ukrainians
- Georgians
- Armenians
- Turkic peoples
- and others.
This diversity led to two opposing trends: a centrifugal force pushing for independence and a centripetal one aiming for Russification and Pan-Slavism (uniting and protecting all Slavic peoples). This latter trend informed the Tsars’ policy of Russification, which involved strengthening the empire and the army, improving the economy and education, and maintaining the autocratic regime while repressing opposition.
Tsar Alexander II (1855-1881): Reform and Reaction
His reign was influenced by Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War (1856). Key developments included:
- Emancipation of the Serfs: Liberated 22.5 million serfs between 1858 and 1863, though peasants remained tied to their rural districts (mir) and continued paying redemption taxes.
- Sale of Alaska: Sold the Alaskan territory to the United States in 1867.
- Modernization Efforts: Initiated industrialization, began railway construction, attempted judicial modernization, and improved local administration by creating elected assemblies (Zemstvos).
- Reforms and Repression: Reformed government and education but also suppressed opposition groups.
He was assassinated on March 1, 1881, by revolutionaries, just as he was considering proposals for a constitution.
Tsar Alexander III (1881-1894): Conservatism & Industry
He was highly conservative but stimulated economic development through fiscal reform and attracting foreign capital, aided by capable ministers like Nikolai Bunge and Sergei Witte. Key aspects of his reign:
- Industrialization: Advanced significantly in sectors like petroleum, mining, metallurgy, textiles, and railways, exemplified by the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway.
- Russification and Control: Intensified Russification policies, tightly controlled education and culture, and persecuted political opposition.
- Political Police: Strengthened the secret police, the Okhrana.
During this era’s influence, the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), later led by Lenin, was founded in 1898.
Tsar Nicholas II (1894-1917): Repression and Revolution
He continued his father’s policies of repression and Russification, supported by the Orthodox Church and the state education system. His reign saw Russia’s humiliating defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), which triggered the widespread, though ultimately unsuccessful, 1905 Revolution.
The Declining Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire was a vast, multinational, and multi-continental state facing significant political volatility and territorial losses.
- Territorial Losses: France took administrative control of Lebanon (after 1860 intervention) and established a protectorate over Tunis (1881); Great Britain occupied Egypt (1882).
- Governance: A theocratic state where the Sultan was also the Caliph, uniting political and religious authority.
- Internal Weaknesses: Suffered from an inefficient bureaucratic system, widespread administrative corruption, and the high financial cost of maintaining its army.
- Political Upheaval: In 1876, a group known as the ‘Young Ottomans’ (often conflated with the later ‘Young Turks’) pushed for a liberal constitution, which Sultan Abdul Hamid II initially accepted but soon suspended. He consolidated absolute power and suppressed opposition movements.