To What Extent Did Alexander III Bring Order and Stability in the Period 1881-1894?

There is evidence to suggest that during his reign, Alexander III, both succeeded and failed in attempts to bring order and stability to Russia between 1881 and 1894.

Alexander III feared change because he thought it would bring about instability and threaten autocracy, as a result of this he introduced more conservative policies- The Reaction. After the assassination of his father, Alexander II, the government introduced the Statute of State Security which set up government controlled courts to try the opponents such as People's Will. This allowed the government to arrest and put on trial political opponents without any need for a jury to be involved. The people who were found guilty faced punishment such as execution or being exiled to Siberia. Action also had to be taken in order to stop the spread of radical ideas. To do this press freedom was severely restricted, fourteen major newspapers were banned due to displaying 'liberal tendencies'. The secret police, called the Okhrana, censored foreign books and newspapers because The Tsar didn't want the Russian people being influenced by foreign ideas such as democracy and parliamentary government as this could make them think about change within Russia's political system. Education was changed as well for both schools and universities. Fees were increased to exclude all but the very wealthy and in 1884 the universities came under control of the government. All zemstava primary schools were controlled by the church and restrictions were put in place to prevent peasants children from entering secondary school. This was because if the peasants couldn't read that well then they couldn't read revolutionary articles and this would stop them from wanting to have a revolution. Russia was home to many different ethnicities so the Tsar adopted a policy of 'Russification' which made the Russian language mandatory. All official documents had to in Russian and all other languages were banned in schools. The reaction was important because it meant that how the Russian people thought was under control of the Tsar and his government, they controlled what they could see and hear about and so this meant that there was a certain amount of order to Russia. The policy of 'Russification' brought unity and cohesion to the whole country so it was more stable as everyone would be the same. The Reaction also allowed Alexander III to re establish the autocratic power of the Tsar so he was in complete power.

Although the Tsar feared change he knew that Russia needed to modernise in order to strengthen the Russian economy, a stronger economy would protect Russia from external threats that would affect the stability and the country's international reputation. In order for this to happen the oil, steel, coal and transport industries had to be developed as these industries could make weapons and would be useful during war. The first financial minister