What was the role of Alexander 2 in the abolitionserfdom? Why did he decide to make the peasants free? We will answer these and other questions in the article. The peasant reform that abolished serfdom began in Russia in 1861. It was one of the most significant transformations of the emperor.
Basic reasons
What is Alexander 2 famous for?The abolition of serfdom is his merit. Why did this unusual reform come about? The prerequisites for its occurrence were formed at the end of the XVII century. All strata of society considered the serf system as an immoral phenomenon that disgraced Russia. Many wanted their country to be on a par with European states that did not have slavery. Therefore, the Russian government began to think about the abolition of serfdom.
The main reasons for the reform:
- Due to the unproductive labor of the serfs (poor performance of serfdom), landlord farming declined.
- Serfdom hampered the development of industry and trade, which prevented the increase in capital and put Russia in the category of secondary countries.
- The defeat in the Crimean War (1853-1856) revealed the backwardness of the political regime in the country.
- The increase in the number of peasant revolts indicated that the serf system was a “powder keg”.
First steps
So, we continue to find out what he did.Alexander 2. The abolition of serfdom was first initiated by Alexander 1, but his committee did not understand how to implement this reform. Then the emperor confined himself to the law of 1803 on free plowmen.
In 1842, Nicholas 1 adopted the law "On the Guiltypeasants ”, according to which the landowner was entitled to free the villagers, giving them a piece of land. In turn, the village for the use of plots were to bear a duty in favor of the gentleman. However, this law did not exist for long, as the owners did not want to release their serfs.
The great emperor was Alexander 2.The abolition of serfdom is a magnificent reform. Her official training began in 1857. The king ordered the formation of provincial committees, which were to produce projects to improve the life of the villagers. Guided by these programs, the drafting commissions wrote a bill that was supposed to consider and establish a Main Committee.
In 1861, February 19, Tsar Alexander 2 sealedwith his signature, the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom and approved the "Provision on the villagers who were liberated from slave status." This emperor remained in history with the name of the Liberator.
Priorities
What good did Alexander 2?The abolition of serfdom in the village gave some civil and personal freedoms, such as the right to go to court, marry, enter civil service, engage in trade, and so on. Unfortunately, these people were restricted in their freedom of movement. In addition, the peasants remained a unique estate that could be subject to physical punishment and carried recruitment duty.
The land remained the property of landowners, and the villagersthere was a field plot and manor residency, for which they were obliged to serve duties (work or money). The new rules from the serfs almost did not differ. By law, villagers had the right to buy out the estate or put it on. As a result, they became independent villagers-owners. Until then, they were called "temporarily obliged." The ransom was equal to the rent given over the year, multiplied by 17!
Power Help
What did the reforms of Alexander 2 lead to?The abolition of serfdom was a rather complicated process. The government arranged a specific “redemption operation” to help the peasantry. After the land plot was established, the state paid 80% of its price to the landowner. 20% were attributed to the villager in the form of a government loan, which he took on installments and must repay within 49 years.
Cultivators united in rural communities, and those inturn integrated into the parish. Field land was used by the community. In order to make a "redemption payment", the peasants began to help each other.
Domestic people did not plow the land, but for twoyears they were temporarily liable. Then they were allowed to join the village or city society. Between the peasants and the landowners were agreements, which were set out in the “charter documents”. A post of mediator was instituted, which dealt with the differences that arose. The reform was led by "provincial for rural affairs presence."
Effects
What conditions created the reforms of Alexander 2?The abolition of serfdom transformed labor into a commodity, influenced the development of market relations that exist in capitalist countries. As a result of this transformation, new social strata of the population — the bourgeoisie and the proletariat — began to form imperceptibly.
Due to changes in political, social andthe economic life of the Russian Empire after the abolition of serfdom, the government had to develop other significant reforms that influenced the transformation of our state into a bourgeois monarchy.
Reform briefly
Who needed the abolition of serfdom underAlexandra 2? In Russia in the middle of the 19th century, an acute economic and social crisis began, the source of which was the primitiveness of the feudal serf system. This nuance hindered the development of capitalism and identified the general lag of Russia from the progressive states. The crisis showed itself to be the loser of Russia in the Crimean War.
Feudal serf exploitation continuedpersist, which caused discontent among farmers, unrest. Many villagers fled from forced labor. The liberal segment of the nobility understood the need for change.
In 1855-1857The king received 63 letters proposing the abolition of serfdom. After some time, Alexander 2 realized that it was better to free the villagers of their own accord with a decision “from above” than to wait for the insurrection “from below”.
These events took place against the backdrop of strengtheningradical democratic-revolutionary attitudes in society. N. A. Dobrolyubov and N. G. Chernyshevsky popularized their ideas, which found tremendous support among the nobility.
Nobility opinion
So, you already know what decision you made.Alexander 2. The reasons for the abolition of serfdom are described above. It is known that at that time the Sovremennik magazine was very popular, on which sheets people were discussing the future of Russia. The "Polar Star" and "The Bell" were published in London - they were imbued with hope for the initiative of the monarchy in eliminating serfdom in Russia.
После долгих размышлений Александр 2 начал prepare a draft of the peasant reform. In the years 1857-1858. provincial committees were formed, which included educated and progressive representatives of the nobility (N. A. Milyukov, Ya. I. Rostovtsev, and others). However, the bulk of the aristocracy and the lords opposed innovations and sought to preserve as much of their privileges as possible. As a result, this has affected the draft laws developed by the commissions.
Situation
Surely you already remember what the peasants didfree Alexander 2. The abolition of serfdom is briefly described in many scientific treatises. So, in 1861, February 19, the emperor sealed the Manifesto on the elimination of slave ideology. The state treasury began to pay landowners for the land that had been transferred to the allotments of the villagers. The average size of the plot of the farmer was equal to 3.3 tithes. The peasants did not have enough allocated plots, so they began to rent land from the landlords, paying it with labor and money. This nuance retained the dependence of the peasant on his master and caused the return to the old feudal styles of work.
Despite the rapid development of production andother achievements, the position of the Russian peasant still remained in an extremely depressing state. State taxes, the remaining feudal relations, debts to landowners hampered the development of the agro-industrial complex.
Peasant communities, with their land rights, became the carriers of unitary relations, hampering the economic activities of the most enterprising members.
Prehistory
Agree, the reasons for the abolition of serfdom underAlexandra 2 were quite compelling. The first steps towards the liberation of the peasants from slave dependence were made by Paul 1 and Alexander 1. In 1797 and 1803 they signed a three-day serfdom manifesto, which restricted servitude to labor and the Decree on free grain-growers, which described the situation of independent villagers.
Alexander 1 approved the program A. A.Arakcheeva on the gradual destruction of serfdom by buying the aristocratic villagers from their plots by the treasury. But this program was practically not implemented. Only in 1816-1819. personal freedom was granted to the villagers of the Baltic, but without land.
Принципы землеустройства хлеборобов, на которых the reform was built, they intersect with the ideas of V. A. Kokorev and K. D. Kavelin, who received an impressive response from the society in the 1850s. It is known that Kavelin in the Letter on the Liberation of the Villagers (1855) suggested that the villagers buy out land with a loan and pay 5% annually for 37 years through a special peasant bank.
Kokorev in the publication "Billion in Fog" (1859) offered to buy the plowmen with the help of the funds of the intentionally established private bank. He recommended that the peasants be let go with the land, and the landowners pay for it with a loan paid by the villagers for 37 years.
Reform Analysis
Many experts study what he didAlexander 2. The abolition of serfdom in Russia was investigated by the historian and doctor Alexander Skrebitsky, who gathered together all the available information on the development of the reform in his book. His work was published in the 60s. XIX century in Bonn.
В дальнейшем летописцы, изучавшие вопрос селян, commented differently on the basic provisions of these laws. For example, M. N. Pokrovsky said that the whole reform for the majority of grain-growers was reduced to the fact that they were no longer officially titled "serfs". Now they were called "obliged". Formally, they began to be considered free, but their lives did not change and even worsened. For example, landlords have become even more flogged peasants.
The historian wrote that “obliged” villagers were firmlybelieved that this will - fake. He argued that to be declared a free man by the king and at the same time continue to pay dues and go into serfdom is an outrageous discrepancy that attracts attention. For example, historian N. A. Rozhkov, one of the most authoritative experts in the agricultural problem of old-regime Russia, had a similar opinion, as well as a number of other authors who wrote about peasants.
Many believe that the February laws of 1861,abolishing legally serfdom, were not its liquidation as an economic and social institution. But they prepared the ground for this to happen in a few decades.
Criticism
Why did so many people criticize the rule of Alexander 2?The abolition of serfdom did not please radical contemporaries and many historians (especially Soviet). They considered this reform half-hearted and argued that it did not lead to the liberation of the villagers, but only specified the mechanism of such a process, and an unfair and flawed one.
Историографы утверждают, что данная реорганизация contributed to the founding of the so-called cross strip - the unusual placement of land plots of one owner interspersed with other people's plots. In fact, this distribution has evolved in stages over the centuries. It was the result of the constant redistribution of the land of the communities, mainly in the separation of the families of adult sons.
In fact, the peasant plots afterThe reorganization of 1861 was spoiled by landowners in a number of provinces that took away land from grain growers if the allotment was more than the cushion one prescribed for that area. Of course, the master could give a piece of land, but often he did not do it. It was in the large estates that the villagers suffered from such execution of the reform and received plots equal to the lowest norm.
