Russia+Sim+Group+Page+2

= = =Russia Sim Group Page there's about 48 pages of outlining ( not including maps or the boxed stories) GUY WORK ON THIS PLEASE JUST PICK UP WHERE SOMEONE LEFT OFF=

- The Nature of Decline
A. **Military Decline**
 * Ottoman Empire lost a lot of battles, lost miserable to Austria and Russia
 * The Ottoman Empire was behind in army strategy, weaponry, tactics, and training compared to European forces
 * Janissary forces were the Ottomans army but 17th to 18th century became powerful political force
 * Janissaries didn't want to advance in weapon technology.
 * The military declined because the Janissaries neglected military trainig, advancing in weapon technology and became less disciplined
 * became vulnerable to their neighbors
 * Loss of military power meant loss of central government control
 * Empire lost power to its provinces because their semi- independent governors had created their own army to support the sultan in Istanbul in return for autonomy ( independence)
 * The rulers of the provinces were focused on their own interests and when collecting taxes, they would only send a little to the imperial treasury, and deprived the central state of revenue

B. **Territorial Losses**
 * Maintained power in Anatolia and Iraq
 * Russia took over Caucasus and in central Asia
 * Austria nibbled away at the western frontiers
 * Balkan provinces, Notably Greece (1830), and Serbia (1867) declared and got independence from the Ottoman empire
 * Most significant loss was to Egypt
 * 1798 Napolean invaded egypt hoping to use it for and attack the British empire in India
 * He failed and had to return to France where he proceeded to over throw the directory
 * the invasion sparked turmoil in Egypt and they wanted their own independence


 * Muhammad Ali was the most successful with helping gain independence in Egypt
 * he ruled from 1805-1848
 * he drafted peasants to serve as infrantry
 * hired French and Italian forces to train his troops
 * Launched a program of industrialization focusing on cotton and textiles
 * he remained subordinate to the Ottoman sultan, by 1820 he has established himself as the effective ruler of Egypt
 * he then invaded Syria, and Anatolia threatening to capture Istanbul and topple the Ottoman state
 * Ottoman empire survived because the British empire intervened fearing if a collapse occured Russia would expand


 * Economic ills aggravated the military and political problems of the Ottoman state
 * trade declined
 * Europe was main source but then traded with counter parts in India and China
 * by 18th century Europes trade focus had shifted to the Atlantic Ocean basin, where the Ottomans had no Presence at all
 * Europeans textiles and manufactured goods started to flow into the Ottoman empire

C. **Economic Difficulties**
 * the European merchandise was high quality and inexpensive it put pressure on the Ottoman artisans and craftsman who often held riots to protest foreign imports
 * Ottoman exports consisted largely of raw materials such as grain, raw cotton, hemp, indigo, and opium but they didnt offset the value of imported European manufactures
 * Slowly the Ottoman empire moved toward the fiscal insolvency and financial dependency
 * after 19th century the Ottoman's economic developments depended heavily on foreign debts
 * European capital financed the construction of railroads, utilities and mining enterprises
 * Interest payments grew to the point where it consumed more than half of the Ottoman's revenues
 * in 1822 the Ottoman state was unable to pay interest on their loans and had no choice but to accept foreign administration of its debts

D. **The Capitulations**
 * Capitulations: agreements that exempted European visitors from Ottoman law and provided European powers with extraterritoriality -the right to exercise jurisdiction over their own citizens according to their own laws.
 * Nothing symbolized foreign influence than capitulations
 * Ottoman empire signed it in the 16th century so they wouldn't have to deal with the burden of administering justice for communities of foreing merchants
 * by the 19th century they found capitulations as humiliating intrusions on their sovereignty
 * Capitulations also served as instruments of economic penetration by European business people who established tax-exempt banks and commercial enterprises in the Ottoman empire, and they permitted foreign governments to levy duties on goods sold in Ottoman ports
 * early 20th century the Ottoman lacked the resources to maintain its costly bureaucracy
 * less money to pay the palace employees, military, and the religious hierarchy so tried to increase taxation
 * led to more exploitation of peasantry and a decline in agricultural production

Reform and Reorganization
A. **The reforms of Mahmud II** B. Legal and Educational Reform (Tanzimat era) C. Opposition to the Tanzimat
 * He became sultan after the revolt
 * when Janissaries resisted, Mahmud had them killed; cleared the way for reforms
 * he built a European-style army, academies, schools, roads, and telegraph
 * Ruling class sought restructuring to strengthen the state
 * Broad legal reforms, modeled after Napoleon's civic code
 * State reform of education(1846), free and compulsory primary education(1869)
 * Undermined authority of the ulama, enhanced the state authority
 * religious conservatives were critical of the attack on Islamic law and tradition
 * legal equality for minorities was resented by some, even a few minority leaders
 * young ottomans wanted more reform
 * freedom, autonomy, decentralization
 * high level bureaucrats wanted more power, checks on the sultan's power

//A. Military Defeat and Social Reform:// //B. The Crimean War// //C. Emancipation of Serfs// //D. Political and Legal reform// //A. The Witte System//
 * Russian Empire under pressure:**
 * The keystone to reform efforts was the emancipation of the serfs
 * Reform paved the way for government sponsored industrialization and transformed Russian society
 * Political liberalization did not accompany social and economic reform, because tsars reused to give up autocratic power
 * Oppressive political environment sparked opposition movements that turned radical in the late 19th century.
 * Early 20th century: Discontent reached crisis proportions and started a revolution.
 * 19th century tsars ruled multiethnic, multilingual, and multicultural empire- from Poland to the Pacific Ocean
 * Only about half of the population spoke Russian or viewed the Russian Orthodox faith.
 * Tsars ruled through an autocratic regime in which all initiative came from the central administration
 * Tsars enjoyed support of Russian Orthodox church and powerful class of nobles who owned most of land and were exempt from taxes and military duty
 * Peasants made up most of population and most were serfs who were bound to the lands that they cultivated. This was almost as bad as slavery.
 * Russia was a respected and feared military power.
 * Maintained tradition of conquest and expansion
 * During 19th century, expanded in 3 directions:
 * East to Manchuria
 * South into Caucasus and central Asia
 * Southwest towards Mediterranean
 * Led to interference in the Balkan provinces of the Ottoman empire
 * After defeating Turkish forces in a war (1828-1829) Russia tried to establish a protectorate over the weakening Ottoman empire
 * Threatened to upset balance of power in Europe
 * Led to military conflict between Russia and a coalition (Britain, France, the Kingdom of Sardinia and the Ottoman empire) This was the Crimean War.
 * Showed weakness of Russian empire
 * Russian empire could hold its own against the Ottoman empire and the Qing forces, but not against the industrial power of western Europe.
 * September 1854: Allied forces mounted campaign against Sevastopol in Crimean peninsula (headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet) -Russia was defeated
 * Demonstrated weakness of agrarian economy based on unfree labor
 * Military defeat compelled tsarist autocracy to reevaluate Russian social order and undertake a large restructuring program.
 * Opposition of serfdom had grown steadily since 18th century
 * Not just radicals but also high officials
 * Most people believed it had become an obstacle to economic development and a viable state
 * Serfdom was a source of rural instability and peasant revolt
 * Hundreds of insurrections broke out during first four decades
 * 1861: Tsar abolished institution of serfdom
 * Continued for decades anyway
 * Government sought to balance interests of lords and serfs, but in balance, terms of emancipation were unfavorable to most peasants
 * Government compensated landowners for loss of lands and serfs who had worked on it
 * Serfs were freed, had labor obligations eventually cancelled and gained opportunity to become landowners
 * Peasants won few political rights and had to pay a redemption tax for most of the lands they received.
 * Most peasants believed that the rulers forced them to pay for land that was rightfully theirs
 * A few peasants prospered and improved their position as a result of emancipation
 * Most found themselves in debt for the rest of their lives (a source of alienation and radicalization)
 * Emancipation resulted in little (if any) increase in agricultural production
 * Important reforms came in wake of the emancipation of the serfs.
 * Government created elected district assemblies (zemstvos- 1864) to deal with local issues of health, education and welfare
 * All classes elected representatives to these assemblies
 * Remained subordinate to Tsarist autocracy
 * The autocracy retained exclusive authority over national issues and landowning nobility (who possessed a large share of votes and seats)
 * Legal reform was more fruitful than experimentation with a representative government
 * 1864: Revision of justiciary system
 * Created a system of law courts based on western European models- Independent judges and appellate courts
 * Trial by jury for criminal offences
 * Elected justices of the peace- dealt with minor offences
 * Encouraged emergence of attorneys and other legal experts
 * Professional standards contributed to decline of judicial corruption
 * Industrialization:**
 * Social and political reform coincided with industrialization in 19th century Russia
 * Tsar Alexander II emancipated serfs with the intention of creating a mobile work force for emerging industries
 * Tsarist government encouraged industrialization as a way of strengthening the Russian empire
 * Although industrialization took place within the framework of capitalism, it differed from western European industrialization
 * Motivation for development was political and military
 * Driving force was the government policy rather than entreprenueurial initiative
 * Proceeded slowly at first but surged during the last two decades of the 19th century
 * Prime mover behind Russian industrialization was Count Sergei Witte (minister of finance from 1892-1903)
 * First budget (1893) outlined aims for "removing the unfavorable conditions which hamper the economic development of the country" and "kindling a healthy spirit of enterprise"
 * Implemented policies designed to stimulate economic development
 * Centerpiece of police was a massive program of railway construction
 * Linked faraway bits of Russia
 * Stimulated development of other industries
 * Most important of new lines was the trans-Siberian railway- opened Siberia to large-scale settlement, exploitation, and industrialization
 * To raise domestic capital for industry, he remodeled the state bank and encouraged establishment of a savings bank
 * Supported infant industries with high protective tariffs
 * Also was securing large foreign loans from western Europe to finance industrialization
 * His plan worked
 * France and Belgian capital played a key role in developing steel and coal
 * British funds supported the booming petroleum industry in the Caucasus