Russia was one of the last European “powerhouses” to even think about industrializing, and it was not until a devastating loss that Alexander …show more content…
After the devastating, embarrassing loss of the Crimean war, Alexander realized he needed to do something to improve his army. The old army was composed of serf recruits, and now that serfs were emancipated Alexander needed a new way to build a successful army. January 1, 1874 Alexander introduced the universal draft. This ended only tax paying estates, that being the peasants and the bourgeoisie, to be apart of the army. Conscription was another reform that included equality of all estates. Now every social class had to serve in Russia’s army. The military reforms not only included conscription but an outlaw on corporal punishment. This meant peasants and the middle class men who participated in the military could no longer be physically