How+successful+were+Alexander+II's+reforms?

1. Look at each reform. Choose two and answer the following questions.

a) Which group benefited most from this reform? b) Which lost power or prestige? c) What ideas were behind the reforms and what ideas limited them?

 2. Using the information in this website and your textbook, about the zemtsva:

a) list the main difficulties experienced by the zemstva b) Historian Lionel Kochan said, "...the [the zemstva] developed into a genuinely liberal force, constantly at odds with the tsarist bureaucracy". Explain in your ownwords why the zemstva became a centre for anti-tsarist opinion.

3. Essay task: choose either option a) or b).

a) Assess the success of the social and political reforms introduced by Alexander II during his reign. b) "Alexander II committed a great fault, and brought about his own ruin,by raising so many hopes which later he did not satisfy". (P. Kropotkin) Do you agree with this statement? Support your opinionwith relevant information.

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