ABSTRACT
Most Russians were formalistically religious, little educated, vaguely loyal to the tsar, and increasingly resentful of the harsh life they endured and of the privileged elite who appeared to reap the benefits of their sacrifices. Within Russian culture as a whole and particularly among the educated elite a deep-seated and divisive clash of values was developing. Since so much of the social and economic life of the country was built upon the peasantry and the system of serfdom, we need to take a closer look at rural Russia and its institutions. Despite nascent industrialization and slowly improving productivity, Russia remained essentially an underdeveloped country, with an economy linked too heavily to an inefficient agricultural system. Alexander in particular was a disappointment to those who looked for new directions for Russian society. Russian artists of the midnineteenth century excelled in music as well as in literature.
