"Russia in 1894 was a country with many problems" - Discuss this view of Russia

"Russia in 1894 was a country with many problems" - Discuss this view of Russia In 1894, Russia was a large country, perceived as very powerful, due to its large size and army. However, in many ways, it was a divided country, which was much less modern than its neighbours in Western Europe. In this essay I will look at the strengths and weaknesses of Russia at this time, and also what was done to try to …

…solve the problems, but also preserve the Tsar regime, such as the 1883 Peasant's land bank, which encouraged peasants to remain peasants. However, many of the problems were direct results of Autocracy, and thus finding a solution within the Tsarist regime was generally ineffective. Russia had many problems and to solve them it needed to change, to modernise, and break free from the old values in which the poor remained poor and the rich remained rich.