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Nationalism in Russia and Turkey

In this lesson, students will be able to define the following terms:

AutocratsEmancipation of Serfs

RussificationPogroms

“Sick Man of Europe”

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Although the middle class was gainingpower in Western Europe, the Tsars

(Czars) of Russia continued to rule asautocrats or absolute rulers.

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Through the use of secret police andcensorship, they repressed new ideas and

attempts at political and social reform.

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Most Russians were illiterate serfs. Serfs were bound to the land. They

lived in poverty. Serfdom still existedin Russia.

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After Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War (1854-1856) by Britain and France,Tsar Alexander II listened to reformers

and emancipated the serfs in 1861.

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However, Tsar Alexander II wasassassinated shortly afterwards.Hopes for future reforms ended.Later Tsars opposed all change

to the social order.

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The Russian government also adopteda policy of Russification.

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Under Russification, all non-Russianpeople living in the Russian empirewere forced to adopt the Russian

language, culture, and Russian Orthodoxfaith.

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Jews in Russia faced state organizedriots known as pogroms. Pogroms

were violent attacks on Jews inRussia. They were encouraged by the

Russian government.

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Nationalism also accelerated thedecline of the Ottoman Empire.

The Ottoman Empire was crumblingand referred to as the “Sick Man

of Europe” due to its weakened state.

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There were many reasons for the declineof the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman

Turks had failed to keep pace withWestern technology and science.

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Serbs, Greeks, and Romanians gainedindependence from the Ottomans in the

early 19th century. Nationalism encouraged self-determination.

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Russian Orthodox Christians waged aseries of wars against the Ottoman Turks.

The Ottomans lost important territoriesin Austria and Russia.

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Questions for Reflection:

• Why were many Russian tsars autocrats?• Who emancipated Russia’s serfs and what

happened to him?• How did Russification affect the Russian

empire?• What were pogroms?• Why was the Ottoman Empire called the

“sick man of Europe”?