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It was more despotic than the [[enlightened absolutism]], as the Tsar was not constrained by the laws (which he can change). |
It was more despotic than the [[enlightened absolutism]], as the Tsar was not constrained by the laws (which he can change). |
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The center of the tsarist |
The center of the tsarist autocracy was the person of the [[tsar]] himself, a [[sovereign]] with absolute powers.<ref name=lee>Stephen J. Lee ''Russia and the USSR, 1855-1991: Autocracy and Dictatorship'', Routledge, 2006 |
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ISBN 0415335779, [http://books.google.com/books?id=LQJa17k46zYC&pg=PA1&dq=%22Tsarist+autocracy%22#PPA1,M1 Google Print, p.1-3]</ref> The purpose of the system was not, however, to benefit the person of the ruler, but the entire country of Russia.<ref name=lee/> |
ISBN 0415335779, [http://books.google.com/books?id=LQJa17k46zYC&pg=PA1&dq=%22Tsarist+autocracy%22#PPA1,M1 Google Print, p.1-3]</ref> The purpose of the system was not, however, to benefit the person of the ruler, but the entire country of Russia.<ref name=lee/> |
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[[Ivan III]] built upon [[Byzantine]] traditions and laid foundations for the tsarist |
[[Ivan III]] built upon [[Byzantine]] traditions and laid foundations for the tsarist autocracy, a system that with some variations would govern Russia for centuries.<ref name=pt>Peter Truscott, ''Russia First: Breaking with the West'', I.B.Tauris, 1997 |
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ISBN 186064199, [http://books.google.com/books?id=2xYGaod3prIC&pg=PA17&dq=%22tsarist+absolutism%22&as_brr=3 Google Print, p.17]</ref><ref name=Viereck>Peter Viereck, ''Conservative Thinkers: From John Adams to Winston Churchill'', Transaction Publishers, 2005 |
ISBN 186064199, [http://books.google.com/books?id=2xYGaod3prIC&pg=PA17&dq=%22tsarist+absolutism%22&as_brr=3 Google Print, p.17]</ref><ref name=Viereck>Peter Viereck, ''Conservative Thinkers: From John Adams to Winston Churchill'', Transaction Publishers, 2005 |
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ISBN 1412805260, [http://books.google.com/books?id=qXxHHXwJT28C&pg=PA85&dq=Dostoyevsky+autocracy&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPA85,M1 Google Print, pp. 84-86]</ref> Additional influences include the [[Tatar Yoke]] and the [[Mongol]] ideas and administrative system.<ref>[http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/russia/lectures/07tartar.html Tartar Yoke] Professor Gerhard Rempel, [[Western New England College]]</ref><ref name=Viereck/> [[Peter the Great]] reduced the power of the [[nobility]] and strengthened the central power of the [[tsar]], establishing a [[bureaucracy]] and a [[police state]].<ref>Nicolai N. Petro, ''The Rebirth of Russian Democracy: An Interpretation of Political Culture'', Harvard University Press, 1995, ISBN 0674750012, [http://books.google.com/books?id=5XGXwAzRav4C&pg=PA34&vq=absolutism&dq=%22tsarist+absolutism%22&as_brr=3&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0 Google Print, p.35-36]</ref> This was built on by [[Catherine the Great]] and other later Tsars. Although [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] made some reforms and established an independent judicial system, Russia did not have a representative assembly ([[State Duma of the Russian Empire|Duma]]) or a constitution until the [[1905 Revolution]].<ref>Nicolai N. Petro, ''The Rebirth of Russian Democracy: An Interpretation of Political Culture'', Harvard University Press, 1995, ISBN 0674750012, [http://books.google.com/books?id=5XGXwAzRav4C&pg=PA34&dq=%22tsarist+absolutism%22&as_brr=3#PPA48,M1 Google Print, p.48]</ref> The system was abolished after the [[Russian Revolution of 1917]]. |
ISBN 1412805260, [http://books.google.com/books?id=qXxHHXwJT28C&pg=PA85&dq=Dostoyevsky+autocracy&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES#PPA85,M1 Google Print, pp. 84-86]</ref> Additional influences include the [[Tatar Yoke]] and the [[Mongol]] ideas and administrative system.<ref>[http://mars.wnec.edu/~grempel/courses/russia/lectures/07tartar.html Tartar Yoke] Professor Gerhard Rempel, [[Western New England College]]</ref><ref name=Viereck/> [[Peter the Great]] reduced the power of the [[nobility]] and strengthened the central power of the [[tsar]], establishing a [[bureaucracy]] and a [[police state]].<ref>Nicolai N. Petro, ''The Rebirth of Russian Democracy: An Interpretation of Political Culture'', Harvard University Press, 1995, ISBN 0674750012, [http://books.google.com/books?id=5XGXwAzRav4C&pg=PA34&vq=absolutism&dq=%22tsarist+absolutism%22&as_brr=3&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0 Google Print, p.35-36]</ref> This was built on by [[Catherine the Great]] and other later Tsars. Although [[Alexander II of Russia|Alexander II]] made some reforms and established an independent judicial system, Russia did not have a representative assembly ([[State Duma of the Russian Empire|Duma]]) or a [[constitution]] until the [[1905 Revolution]].<ref>Nicolai N. Petro, ''The Rebirth of Russian Democracy: An Interpretation of Political Culture'', Harvard University Press, 1995, ISBN 0674750012, [http://books.google.com/books?id=5XGXwAzRav4C&pg=PA34&dq=%22tsarist+absolutism%22&as_brr=3#PPA48,M1 Google Print, p.48]</ref> The system was abolished after the [[Russian Revolution of 1917]]. |
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The tsarist |
The tsarist autocracy had many supporters within Russia. Major Russian advocates and theorists of autocracy included the world famous writer, [[Fyodor Dostoyevsky]],<ref name=Scanlan>James Patrick Scanlan, ''Dostoevsky the Thinker: A Philosophical Study'', Cornell University Press, 2002, ISBN 0801439949, [http://books.google.com/books?id=lbMYxaFTMZAC&pg=PA171&dq=Dostoyevsky+autocracy&as_brr=3&as_pt=ALLTYPES Google Print, p.171-172]</ref><ref name=Viereck/>, [[Mikhail N. Katkov]],<ref>Richard Pipes, ''Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture'', Yale University Press, 2007, ISBN 0300122691, [http://books.google.com/books?id=I1yCrMAfg_IC&pg=PA123&dq=Dostoyevsky+supported+absolutism&lr=&as_brr=3#PPA124,M1 Google Print, p.124]</ref> [[Konstantin S. Aksakov]],<ref>Nicolai N. Petro, ''The Rebirth of Russian Democracy: An Interpretation of Political Culture'', Harvard University Press, 1995, ISBN 0674750012, [http://books.google.com/books?id=5XGXwAzRav4C&pg=PA90&dq=konstantin+Aksakov+absolutism&as_brr=3 Google Print, p.90]</ref> [[Nikolay Karamzin]],<ref name=Scanlan/> [[Konstantin Pobedonostsev]]<ref name=lee/><ref name=Viereck/> and [[Pyotr Semyonov]]. They all argued that strong and prosperous Russia needs a strong tsar, and philosophies of [[republicanism]] and [[liberal democracy]] are not fit for Russia.<ref name=Viereck/> For common people, the tsar was responsible for all good in their lives, while all the disasters came from meddling bureaucracy, nobles, and such. |
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In Poland, tsarist |
In Poland, tsarist autocracy has been analyzed more critically by [[Stanisław Mackiewicz]]. |
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Some historians see the traditions of Tsarist |
Some historians see the traditions of Tsarist autocracy as partially responsible for laying groundworks for the [[Soviet]] [[totalitarianism]].<ref>Dennis J. Dunn, ''The Catholic Church and Russia: Popes, Patriarchs, Tsars, and Commissars'', Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2004, ISBN 0754636100, [http://books.google.com/books?id=lmFEjKYlQfcC&pg=RA1-PA72&dq=%22tsarist+absolutism%22&lr=&as_brr=3 Google Print, p.72]</ref><ref name=pt/><ref name=mal>David Lloyd Hoffmann, ''Stalinism: The Essential Readings'', Blackwell Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0631228918, [http://books.google.com/books?id=54ZJypH-7xcC&pg=PA66&dq=%22Tsarist+autocracy%22#PPA67,M1 Google Print, p.67-68]</ref><ref name=Viereck/> They see the traditions of autocracy and patrimonialism as dominating Russia's political culture for centuries; for example, [[Stephen White]] wrote that Russian political culture is "rooted in the historical experience of centuries of absolutism."<ref>Nicolai N. Petro, ''The Rebirth of Russian Democracy: An Interpretation of Political Culture'', Harvard University Press, 1995, ISBN 0674750012, [http://books.google.com/books?id=5XGXwAzRav4C&pg=PA15&vq=absolutism&dq=%22tsarist+absolutism%22&as_brr=3&source=gbs_search_s&cad=0 Google Print, p.15]</ref> All of those views had been challenged by other historians (for example, Nicolai N. Petro and Martin Malia).<ref name=mal/> |
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==Notes== |
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<div class='references-small'> |
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<references/> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*[[Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality]] |
*[[Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality]] |
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*[[Oriental despotism]] |
*[[Oriental despotism]] |
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==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
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==Further reading== |
==Further reading== |
Revision as of 20:14, 26 December 2008
Tsarist autocracy (Russian: царское самодержавие, [tsarskoye amoderzhaviye] Error: {{Transliteration}}: missing language / script code (help)), also known as tsarist absolutism, Russian absolutism, Russian autocracy or Russian despotism refers to a form of absolute monarchy specific to Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire.
It was more despotic than the enlightened absolutism, as the Tsar was not constrained by the laws (which he can change).
The center of the tsarist autocracy was the person of the tsar himself, a sovereign with absolute powers.[1] The purpose of the system was not, however, to benefit the person of the ruler, but the entire country of Russia.[1]
Ivan III built upon Byzantine traditions and laid foundations for the tsarist autocracy, a system that with some variations would govern Russia for centuries.[2][3] Additional influences include the Tatar Yoke and the Mongol ideas and administrative system.[4][3] Peter the Great reduced the power of the nobility and strengthened the central power of the tsar, establishing a bureaucracy and a police state.[5] This was built on by Catherine the Great and other later Tsars. Although Alexander II made some reforms and established an independent judicial system, Russia did not have a representative assembly (Duma) or a constitution until the 1905 Revolution.[6] The system was abolished after the Russian Revolution of 1917.
The tsarist autocracy had many supporters within Russia. Major Russian advocates and theorists of autocracy included the world famous writer, Fyodor Dostoyevsky,[7][3], Mikhail N. Katkov,[8] Konstantin S. Aksakov,[9] Nikolay Karamzin,[7] Konstantin Pobedonostsev[1][3] and Pyotr Semyonov. They all argued that strong and prosperous Russia needs a strong tsar, and philosophies of republicanism and liberal democracy are not fit for Russia.[3] For common people, the tsar was responsible for all good in their lives, while all the disasters came from meddling bureaucracy, nobles, and such.
In Poland, tsarist autocracy has been analyzed more critically by Stanisław Mackiewicz.
Some historians see the traditions of Tsarist autocracy as partially responsible for laying groundworks for the Soviet totalitarianism.[10][2][11][3] They see the traditions of autocracy and patrimonialism as dominating Russia's political culture for centuries; for example, Stephen White wrote that Russian political culture is "rooted in the historical experience of centuries of absolutism."[12] All of those views had been challenged by other historians (for example, Nicolai N. Petro and Martin Malia).[11]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Stephen J. Lee Russia and the USSR, 1855-1991: Autocracy and Dictatorship, Routledge, 2006 ISBN 0415335779, Google Print, p.1-3
- ^ a b Peter Truscott, Russia First: Breaking with the West, I.B.Tauris, 1997 ISBN 186064199, Google Print, p.17
- ^ a b c d e f Peter Viereck, Conservative Thinkers: From John Adams to Winston Churchill, Transaction Publishers, 2005 ISBN 1412805260, Google Print, pp. 84-86
- ^ Tartar Yoke Professor Gerhard Rempel, Western New England College
- ^ Nicolai N. Petro, The Rebirth of Russian Democracy: An Interpretation of Political Culture, Harvard University Press, 1995, ISBN 0674750012, Google Print, p.35-36
- ^ Nicolai N. Petro, The Rebirth of Russian Democracy: An Interpretation of Political Culture, Harvard University Press, 1995, ISBN 0674750012, Google Print, p.48
- ^ a b James Patrick Scanlan, Dostoevsky the Thinker: A Philosophical Study, Cornell University Press, 2002, ISBN 0801439949, Google Print, p.171-172
- ^ Richard Pipes, Russian Conservatism and Its Critics: A Study in Political Culture, Yale University Press, 2007, ISBN 0300122691, Google Print, p.124
- ^ Nicolai N. Petro, The Rebirth of Russian Democracy: An Interpretation of Political Culture, Harvard University Press, 1995, ISBN 0674750012, Google Print, p.90
- ^ Dennis J. Dunn, The Catholic Church and Russia: Popes, Patriarchs, Tsars, and Commissars, Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2004, ISBN 0754636100, Google Print, p.72
- ^ a b David Lloyd Hoffmann, Stalinism: The Essential Readings, Blackwell Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0631228918, Google Print, p.67-68
- ^ Nicolai N. Petro, The Rebirth of Russian Democracy: An Interpretation of Political Culture, Harvard University Press, 1995, ISBN 0674750012, Google Print, p.15
Further reading
- Paul Dukes, The Making of Russian Absolutism, 1613-1801, Longman, 1986
- Marshall Poe, "Russian despotism" : the origins and dissemination of an early modern commonplace. Thesis (Ph. D. in History). University of California, Berkeley, 1993.
- Hugh Ragsdale, The Russian Tragedy: The Burden of History, M.E. Sharpe, 1996, ISBN 1563247550