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150 Years Ago in Northeastern Asia

From 1801 to 1825, Alexander I is tsar of Russia. He begins his rule with liberal reforms but later becomes more conservative. With the defeat of Napoleon in 1812 by the Russian army, Alexander is called "the liberator of Europe". But dissatisfaction with Alexander's rule leads to the Decembrist Uprising in 1825 after the tsar's death.

This rebellion is put down with heavy force. Tsar Nicholas I, who rules from 1825 to 1855, imposes tight controls on freedom of speech and movement and establishes a secret police force. Polish revolts in 1830 and 1863 are also put down with great violence.

There is great cultural flowering during this time, in spite of all the domestic unrest. Poets and writers active during this time include Pushkin (1799-1837), Gogol (1809- 1852) and Lermontov (1814-1881). Glinka (1804-1857) becomes one of the best known musical composers. Pushkin was a typical poet and writer of the Romantic period. His grandfather, Hannibal, was an African slave serving in the court of the tsar. Although a slave, he rose to a position of great status in the royal court. While

Pushkin was not a revolutionary himself, his writings reflected the the social upheaval of his time. His criticism of the government sometimes resulted in his arrest. His personal life was also stormy. Pushkin often had money troubles, and he was killed fighting a duel in 1837 to defend the honour of his wife

Victory over the Persians between 1825 and 1828, and over the Turks during the Greek revolt, made the Russians the dominant power in the Caucasus region. Russia annexed Georgia, Azerbaijan and part of Armenia. The Moslem Chechens, a people living in the Caucasus mountains, put up a fierce resistance against the Russian conquest. Under Imam Shamyl, the Chechens fight the Russian army in a guerrilla war from 1831. Only in 1859 is the wily Shamyl finally forced to surrender.

Following the defeat in the Crimean War (see the Mediterranean region), Tsar Alexander II (ruled from 1855-1881), begins a series of reforms that ended the semi- slave status of the serfs, introduced trial by jury, and created limited local self government. Hopes are raised, but fall when people realize the limited reforms are all that will be offered. Even the newly liberated serfs grow disenchanted with the details of emancipation, which did not result in their becoming land owners but instead tended to create a heavily indebted, land-hungry peasantry tied to the authority of the mir (village commune). The result was a flood of revolutionary agitation, generally known as populism, which finally led to the assassination of Alexander II in 1881.

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