ABSTRACT
The reign of Alexander III saw the reversal of many of the reforms of the 1860s and the return to more traditional Russian values based on the Orthodox Church and absolute monarchy. Steps towards a more Western society were halted but not everything could be changed. Government and society were now very different, and Alexander and many of his ministers accepted that Western policies of industrialization, urbanization, and modernization were necessary if Russia was to maintain her role as a European great power. These policies included not just the development of heavy industry and railways, including the trans-Siberian, but also a modern bureaucracy and government structure. Not all Alexander II’s reforms were reversed, despite extraordinary legislation to curb terrorism and unrest. The zemstvo and an independent judiciary remained, and educational opportunities developed. Alexander III was a conservative rather than a reactionary.
In an age of imperialism the new reign saw the extent of the empire reach its peak, with expansion across Central Asia and the Far East leading to the need to integrate new, non-Russian, territories into the existing empire, and to reconcile this integration with a new emphasis on Russification.
