R13+Government

=Government=


 * Tsarist system of government was an absolute monarchy. Tsar had complete power. Ruled by “divine right”.
 * No elected representative body.
 * No constitution.
 * The Tsar was advised by his ministers.

On the eve of his assassination, Alexander II had approved a plan for constitutional reform. The plan laid the basis for a national semi-representative assembly. On his accession to the throne Alexander III immediately cancelled this reform. He believed firmly in and tried to strengthen the slogan of Nicholas I: “**Autocracy, Orthodoxy, Nationality**.” By the 1880s this was far more difficult to impose and led to even greater repression than that experienced under Nicholas I.

Alexander III firmly believed in autocracy and divine right: “The voice of God orders us to stand firm at the helm of government... with faith in the strength and truth of the autocratic power which we are called to strengthen and preserve, for the good of the people, from every kind of encroachment.” (**Alexander**, upon his accession to the throne)

From 1865 he was educated by the reactionary Pobedonostsev. When Alexander became Tsar, Pobedonostsev remained his confidante and advisor, strongly influencing his opinions.

Here are some of Pobedonostsev’s beliefs:
 * Constitutional government** is “//the greatest political lie which dominates our age//.”
 * Parliament** is “//one of the greatest illusions of human delusion//.”
 * Democracy** is “//the most complicated and most burdensome system of government recorded in the history of humanity//.”