Given more freedom and a larger class of intellectuals, the Russians developed intellectual movements. The first of these, Nihilism, was based on the principal that nothing is sacred. Nihilists desired complete liberation of the individual from all established conventions and authority. The next, more political movement, Populism, was a precursor to socialism. It stated that the intellectuals had a responsibility to serve the people as well as they could.
Political movements, and social problems occupied individuals in the Russian empire during the latter half of the 19th century. Religion and art for arts sake were largely ignored or frowned upon. The reforms that Alexander created were greeted with cries for more reform. Political representation was demanded. The Russian socialism of the time was not based on the writings of Karl Marx which would later be the basis of the Communist revolution. Instead it was based on the writings of Herzen and Chernyshevski. It was based more on the peasantry than on the tiny working class, central to Marxism.
Alexander II was assassinated by enemies of his reforms. His son, Alexander III was a reactionary (extremely conservative). He used the murder of his father as a reason to reverse most of Alexander's reforms, besides the abolition of serfdom. Censorship and religious persecution were common and trials of political enemies were done without jury. This oppressive attitude was passed on to Alexander's successor, Nicholas II.
The industrial revolution in the latter part of the 19th century brought extensive railways and commercial credit facilities along with other financial reforms such as backing up all money with gold. Coal, iron and textile industries all experiences tremendous growth during this period. Trade was at an all-time high.
For all this industrial gain, the majority of Russians, the peasantry, were living in poverty. Farmers were not given enough land following the abolition of serfdom to make a decent living. On top of that, the government expected frequent and expensive payments for the land it had allotted the former serfs. Basically, it all came down to agrarian over-population. There simply wasn't enough land for the millions of Russian farmers to each have an ample plot.
