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128-760: The government reforms imposed by Tsar Alexander II of Russia , often called the Great Reforms ( Russian : Великие реформы , romanized :  Velikie reformy ) by historians, were a series of major social, political, legal and governmental reforms in the Russian Empire carried out in the 1860s. By far the most important was the Emancipation reform of 1861 which freed the 23 million serfs from an inferior legal and social status, and helped them buy farmland. Many other reforms took place, including the: By 1865 reaction began, and some reforms were cut back. After

256-431: A derevnya with a church became a selo ), run by a mir ('commune', or obshchina in official terms). Imperial Russia had around 20 million dvory , forty percent of them containing six to ten people. The mir assembly, the skhod ( sel'skii skhod ), appointed an elder ( starosta ) and a 'clerk' ( pisar ) to deal with any external issues. Although there were many regional differences and customs, peasants within

384-584: A mir in central Russia shared land and resources. The strips were periodically redistributed within the villages to produce level economic conditions. The land however, was not owned by the mir ; the land was the legal property of the 100,000 or so landowners ( pomeshchiks , an equivalent of " landed gentry ") and the inhabitants, as serfs, were typically not allowed to leave the property where they were born. The peasants were duty-bound to make regular payments in labor and goods. It has been estimated that landowners took at least one third of income and production by

512-548: A Russian architect, even sketched a design of a monumental gate (which was never built) to commemorate the event. Modest Mussorgsky later wrote his piano suite Pictures at an Exhibition , the last movement of which, "The Great Gate of Kiev", is based on Hartmann's sketches. During the 1867 World's Fair in Paris, Polish immigrant Antoni Berezowski attacked the carriage containing Alexander, his two sons and Napoleon III . His self-modified double-barreled pistol misfired and struck

640-561: A Russian victory during Alexander II's rule. Just before the conclusion of the war the Russian Army, under the emperor's order, implemented the mass-killings and extermination of Circassian "mountaineers" in the Circassian genocide , which would be often referred to as "cleansing" and "genocide" in several historic dialogues. In 1857, Dmitry Milyutin first published the idea of mass expulsions of Circassian natives . Milyutin argued that

768-403: A business. The Manifesto prescribed that peasants would be able to buy the land from the landlords. Household serfs were the least affected: they gained only their freedom and no land. The serfs were emancipated in 1861, a process which took place following a speech given by Tsar Alexander II on 30 March 1856. In Georgia , the emancipation took place later, in 1864, and on much better terms for

896-500: A certain value. Unlike in modern jury trials, jurors not only could decide whether the defendant was guilty or not guilty but also could decide that the defendant was guilty but not to be punished, as Alexander II believed that justice without morality is wrong. The sentence was rendered by professional judges. Dmitry Milyutin as war minister, focused on rebuilding a very large, very poor army into one that could compete with modern western armies, as well as deal with ethnic groups on

1024-535: A class of independent communal proprietors. The land-owners initially pushed for granting the peasants freedom but not any land. The tsar and his advisers, mindful of 1848 events in Western Europe, were opposed to creating a proletariat and the instability this could bring. But giving the peasants freedom and land seemed to leave the existing land-owners without the large and cheap labour-force they needed to maintain their estates and lifestyles. By 1859 however,

1152-647: A class of independent communal proprietors. The emperor gave his support to the latter project, and the Russian peasantry became one of the last groups of peasants in Europe to shake off serfdom. The architects of the emancipation manifesto were Alexander's brother Konstantin , Yakov Rostovtsev , and Nikolay Milyutin . On 3 March 1861, six years after his accession, the emancipation law was signed and published. A host of new reforms followed in diverse areas. The tsar appointed Dmitry Milyutin to carry out significant reforms in

1280-623: A counterbalance to their geopolitical rival, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . In 1863, the Russian Navy 's Baltic and Pacific fleets wintered in the American ports of New York and San Francisco, respectively. The Treaty of Paris of 1856 stood until 1871, when Prussia defeated France in the Franco-Prussian War . During his reign, Napoleon III , eager for the support of

1408-708: A disaster similar to the Crimean War. The Russian Emperor succeeded in his diplomatic endeavors. Having secured agreement as to non-involvement by the other Great Powers, on 17 April 1877 Russia declared war upon the Ottoman Empire. The Russians, helped by the Romanian Army under its supreme commander King Carol I (then Prince of Romania), who sought to obtain Romanian independence from the Ottomans as well, were successful against

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1536-505: A great network of railways, partly to develop the natural resources of the country, and partly to increase its power for defense and attack. A new judicial administration (1864), based on the French model, introduced security of tenure. A new penal code and a greatly simplified system of civil and criminal procedure also came into operation. Reorganisation of the judiciary occurred to include trial in open court, with judges appointed for life,

1664-430: A greatly simplified system of civil and criminal procedure also came into operation. Reorganisation of the judiciary occurred to include trial in open court, with judges appointed for life, a jury system, and the creation of justices of the peace to deal with minor offences at local level. Legal historian Sir Henry Maine credited Alexander II with the first great attempt since the time of Grotius to codify and humanise

1792-464: A hundred years later. The building of strategic railways and an emphasis on the military education of the officer corps comprised further reforms. Corporal punishment in the military and branding of soldiers as punishment were banned. The bulk of important military reforms were enacted as a result of the poor showing in the Crimean War. A new judicial administration (1864), based on the French model, introduced security of tenure. A new penal code and

1920-493: A jury system and the creation of justices of the peace to deal with minor offences at local level. Legal historian Sir Henry Maine credited Alexander II with the first great attempt since the time of Grotius to codify and humanise the usages of war. When Alexander II ascended the throne in 1855, the largely peasant conscripted army in the Crimean War was a national disgrace, and clearly demonstrated that despite its large size,

2048-456: A language of the common people to a national language equal to Swedish opened opportunities for a larger proportion of Finnish society. Alexander II is still regarded as "The Good Tsar" in Finland. These reforms could be seen as results of a genuine belief that reforms were easier to test in an underpopulated, homogeneous country than in the whole of Russia. They may also be seen as a reward for

2176-561: A local leader murdered a large number of uprising peasants in the village of Bezdna. When the incident was over, the official report counted 70 peasants dead and another 100 wounded. After further investigation, and trial of some members of the uprising, five peasants were found guilty of "agitation" and not uprising. That said, several different instances did take the form of an uprising. In Congress Poland and in northern Russia peasants became both free and landless (batraks), with only their labour to sell, while in other areas peasants became

2304-473: A marriage, however, would not work, as Alexander was not a minor prince of Europe and was in line to inherit a throne himself. In 1847, Alexander donated money to Ireland during the Great Famine . He has been described as looking like a German, somewhat of a pacifist, a heavy smoker and card player. The death of his father gave Alexander a diplomatic headache, for his father was engaged in open warfare in

2432-449: A minor role in the decision. Alexander II of Russia Alexander II (Russian: Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич , romanized : Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich , IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ] ; 29 April 1818 – 13 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia , King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881 . Alexander's most significant reform as emperor

2560-404: A period of radical reforms, including an attempt not to depend on landed aristocracy controlling the poor, an effort to develop Russia's natural resources, and to reform all branches of the administration. Boris Chicherin (1828–1904) was a political philosopher who believed that Russia needed a strong, authoritative government by Alexander to make the reforms possible. He praised Alexander for

2688-482: A quarter of the land, free. It was called pauper's allotment ( bednyatskiy nadel ). Many reform-minded peasants believed the manifesto's conditions were unacceptable: "In many localities the peasants refused to believe that the manifesto was genuine. There were troubles, and troops had to be called in to disperse the angry crowds." The land-owners and nobility were paid in government bonds, with their debts deducted. The bonds soon fell in value. The management skills of

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2816-493: A series of new appointments, replacing liberal ministers with conservatives. Under Minister of Education Dmitry Tolstoy , liberal university courses and subjects that encouraged critical thinking were replaced by a more traditional curriculum, and from 1871 onwards only students from gymnasiums could progress to university. In 1879, governor-generals were established with powers to prosecute in military courts and exile political offenders. The government also held show trials with

2944-433: A strong, authoritative government by Alexander to make possible all the important reforms that did take place. He praised Alexander for the range of his fundamental reforms, arguing that the tsar was: In 1858 he removed most of the censorship restrictions on the media—newspapers, magazines, books and pamphlets, resulting in an explosion of new publications. Thus Alexander achieved a degree of "glasnost" or open discussion, as

3072-458: A third of their estates and two-thirds of their serfs were mortgaged to the state or noble banks. This was why they had to accept the emancipation. To 'balance' this, the legislation contained three measures to reduce the potential economic self-sufficiency of the peasants. Firstly a transition period of two years was introduced, during which the peasant was obligated as before to the old land-owner. Secondly large parts of common land were passed to

3200-447: Is to abolish serfdom ... you can yourself understand that the present order of owning souls cannot remain unchanged. It is better to abolish serfdom from above, than to wait for that time when it starts to abolish itself from below. I ask you to think about the best way to carry this out The liberal politicians who stood behind the 1861 manifesto— Nikolay Milyutin , Alexei Strol'man and Yakov Rostovtsev —also recognized that their country

3328-513: The Narodnaya Volya (People's Will), a radical revolutionary group which hoped to ignite a social revolution , organised an explosion on the railway from Livadia to Moscow, but they missed the emperor's train. On the evening of 5 February 1880 Stephan Khalturin , also from Narodnaya Volya , set off a timed charge under the dining room of the Winter Palace , right in the resting room of

3456-467: The zemstvo system, imposing universal military service, ending some privileges of the nobility, and promoting university education. After an assassination attempt in 1866, Alexander adopted a somewhat more conservative stance until his death. Alexander was also notable for his foreign policy, which was mainly pacifist, supportive of the United States , and opposed to Great Britain . Alexander backed

3584-746: The April Uprising , causing a general outcry throughout Europe. Some of the most prominent intellectuals and politicians on the Continent, most notably Victor Hugo and William Gladstone , sought to raise awareness about the atrocities that the Turks imposed on the Bulgarian population. To solve this new crisis in the "Eastern question" a Constantinople Conference was convened by the Great Powers in Constantinople at

3712-519: The Circassian genocide ; and into Turkestan . Although disappointed by the results of the Congress of Berlin in 1878, Alexander abided by that agreement. Among his greatest domestic challenges was an uprising in Poland in 1863, to which he responded by stripping that land of its separate constitution and incorporating it directly into Russia. Alexander was proposing additional parliamentary reforms to counter

3840-494: The Diet of Finland and initiated several reforms increasing Finland's autonomy within the Russian Empire, including establishment of its own currency, the Finnish markka . Liberation of business led to increased foreign investment and industrial development. Finland also got its first railways , separately established under Finnish administration. Finally, the elevation of Finnish from

3968-561: The Ems Ukase being an example. The authorities banned use of the Latin script for writing Lithuanian. The Polish language was banned in both oral and written form from all provinces except Congress Poland , where it was allowed in private conversations only. Nikolay Milyutin was installed as governor and he decided that the best response to the January Uprising was to make reforms regarding

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4096-719: The League of the Three Emperors that stabilized the European situation. Despite his otherwise pacifist foreign policy, he fought a brief war with the Ottoman Empire in 1877–78 , leading to the independence of Bulgaria , Montenegro , Romania and Serbia . He pursued further expansion into the Far East , leading to the founding of Vladivostok ; into the Caucasus , approving plans leading to

4224-543: The Narodnaya Volya (People's Will) party killed him with a bomb. The Emperor had earlier in the day signed the Loris-Melikov constitution , which would have created two legislative commissions made up of indirectly elected representatives, had it not been repealed by his reactionary successor Alexander III . An attempted assassination in 1866 started a more conservative period that lasted until his death. The Tsar made

4352-561: The Pale of Settlement , and became eligible for state employment. Large numbers of educated Jews moved as soon as possible to Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and other major cities. The Alaska colony was losing money, and would be impossible to defend in wartime against Britain, so in 1867 Russia sold Alaska to the United States for $ 7.2 million (equivalent to $ 157 million in 2023). The Russian administrators, soldiers, settlers, and some of

4480-563: The Romanov dynasty itself. Even so, there was no one more prepared to bring the country around than Alexander II. The first year of his reign was devoted to the prosecution of the Crimean War and, after the fall of Sevastopol , to negotiations for peace led by his trusted counsellor, Prince Alexander Gorchakov . The country had been exhausted and humiliated by the war. Bribe-taking, theft and corruption were rampant. The Emancipation Reform of 1861 abolished serfdom on private estates throughout

4608-572: The Union during the American Civil War and sent warships to New York Harbor and San Francisco Bay to deter attacks by the Confederate Navy . He sold Alaska to the United States in 1867, fearing the remote colony would fall into British hands in a future war. He sought peace, moved away from bellicose France when Napoleon III fell in 1871, and in 1872 joined with Germany and Austria in

4736-425: The "well-to-do" serfs, along with previously free peoples, were able to purchase land as private property. While early in the reforms the creation of local government had not changed many things about Russian society, the rise in capitalism drastically affected not only the social structure of Russia, but the behaviors and activities of the self-government institutions. With new, capitalistic ideals, local government

4864-783: The Bulgarians' first ruler. For his social reforms in Russia and his role in the liberation of Bulgaria, Alexander II became known in Bulgaria as the "Tsar-Liberator of Russians and Bulgarians". A monument to Alexander II was erected in 1907 in Sofia in the "National Assembly" square, opposite to the Parliament building. The monument underwent a complete reconstruction in 2012, funded by the Sofia Municipality and some Russian foundations. The inscription on

4992-449: The Empire's population of 74 million. They belonged to the state, to monasteries and to 104,000 rich gentry landowners—it was the last group that was emancipated first. As soon as he became tsar Alexander set up numerous commissions that studied various proposals for reforms in practically every area. Experts debated in draft of the proposals, but Alexander made all the final decisions. While

5120-486: The Russian Empire. By this edict more than 23 million people received their liberty. Serfs gained the full rights of free citizens, including rights to marry without having to gain consent, to own property, and to own a business. The measure was the first and most important of the liberal reforms made by Alexander II. Polish landed proprietors of the Lithuanian provinces presented a petition hoping that their relations with

5248-546: The Russian Orthodox Church into the 21st century. Alexander firmly believed he had the God-given duty to rule as an autocrat, and that he alone understood the best interests of all of the people of Russia. Therefore he rejected any idea of a constitution that would limit his authority, and rejected any parliament or Duma that would take over some of the responsibilities that he alone could perform. The first decade of

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5376-479: The Russian armed forces. Further important changes were made concerning industry and commerce, and the new freedom thus afforded produced a large number of limited liability companies . Plans were formed for building a great network of railways, partly to develop the natural resources of the country, and partly to increase its power for defense and attack. Military reforms included universal conscription , introduced for all social classes on 1 January 1874. Prior to

5504-415: The Russian army was no longer competitive to smaller industrial powers such as Britain and France. The demand for reform was widespread, but unorganized. There had been little consideration of how the complex economic, social, political, and legal roles of the service would be ended. The Tsar decided to abolish serfdom from above, setting up a new system whereby the state would be able to purchase farmland from

5632-547: The Russian emancipation of 1861. However the constitutional's independence of Poland was weakened and the Catholic Church lost its properties. In Warsaw, the official language of instruction was now to be Russian. The diet or Parliament of Finland had not met in 55 years, but in 1863 Alexander called it into session. It passed a language law that would make Finnish equal with Swedish in all public business. Mass protests erupted across Finland in 1898 when Tsar Nicholas II reversed

5760-402: The Russian government amongst individuals within the community. Due to the community's ownership of the land, as opposed to the individual's, an individual peasant could not sell his portion of the land to go work in a factory in the city. A peasant was required to pay off long-term loans received by the government. The money from these loans was given to the primary landowner. The land allotted to

5888-491: The Stolypin agrarian reform under the influence of the revolution in 1905. The judicial reforms were among the most successful and consistent of all his reforms. A completely new court system and order of legal proceedings were established. The main results were the introduction of a unified judicial system instead of a cumbersome set of estates of the realm courts, and fundamental changes in criminal trials. The latter included

6016-487: The Turks and the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 ended with the signing of the preliminary peace Treaty of San Stefano on 19 February [ O.S. 3 March] 1878. The treaty and the subsequent Congress of Berlin (June–July 1878) secured the emergence of an independent Bulgarian state for the first time since 1396, and Bulgarian parliamentarians elected the tsar's nephew, Prince Alexander of Battenberg , as

6144-703: The United Kingdom, had opposed Russia over the Eastern Question . France abandoned its opposition to Russia after the establishment of the French Third Republic . Encouraged by the new attitude of French diplomacy and supported by the German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck , Russia renounced the Black Sea clauses of the Paris treaty agreed to in 1856. As the United Kingdom with Austria could not enforce

6272-484: The assassination of Alexander II. The backlash was fierce and conditions grew much worse. The Alaska colony was losing money, and would be impossible to defend in wartime against Britain, so in 1867 Russia sold Alaska to the United States for $ 7.2 million (equivalent to roughly $ 200 million in current dollars), The Russian administrators, soldiers, settlers, and some of the priests returned home. Others stayed to minister to their native parishioners, who remain members of

6400-413: The autocratic ruler. But now he was the autocratic ruler himself, and fully intended to rule according to what he thought best. He rejected any moves to set up a parliamentary system that would curb his powers. He inherited a large mess that had been wrought by his father's fear of progress during his reign. Many of the other royal families of Europe had also disliked Nicholas I, which extended to distrust of

6528-599: The beginning of his reign, Alexander made a memorable speech to the deputies of the Polish nobility who inhabited Congress Poland , Western Ukraine , Lithuania , Livonia , and Belarus , in which he warned against further concessions with the words, "Gentlemen, let us have no dreams!" This served as a warning to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The territories of the former Poland-Lithuania were excluded from liberal policies introduced by Alexander. The result

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6656-478: The beginnings of a market economy. Alexander II , unlike his father, was willing to deal with this problem. Moving on from a petition from the Lithuanian provinces, a committee "for ameliorating the condition of the peasants" was founded and the principles of the abolition considered. The main point at issue was whether the serfs should remain dependent on the landlords, or whether they should be transformed into

6784-429: The brothers Nikolay Milyutin (1818-1872). and Field Marshal Dmitry Milyutin . Minister of War Dmitry Milyutin (1861–81) was responsible for sweeping military reforms. He was also instrumental in creating the framework for the Circassian genocide that led to the deaths of large numbers of Circassian refugees from 1861 to 1865. Boris Chicherin (1828-1904) was a political philosopher who believed that Russia needed

6912-523: The bulk of serious commentary on the emancipation of the serfs was highly favorable before 1917, With Alexander playing a central role. Soviet historians minimized Alexander and the other personalities , arguing that the crisis in feudalism forced the rulers to compromise. The key Leninist interpretation was that the concessions were merely a tactical response to a concerted attack on the status quo by rural masses and their urban allies. Western historians have generally agreed that fear of further upheaval played

7040-577: The clauses, Russia once again established a fleet in the Black Sea . France, after the Franco-Prussian War and the loss of Alsace–Lorraine , was fervently hostile to Germany and maintained friendly relations with Russia. In the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) the states of Romania , Serbia , and Montenegro gained international recognition of their independence while Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia achieved their autonomy from direct Ottoman rule. Russia took over Southern Bessarabia , lost in 1856.

7168-418: The emancipation of the serfs in 1861 was the most famous and dramatic reform, a host of new reforms affected diverse areas. The tsar appointed Dmitry Milyutin to carry out significant reforms in the Russian armed forces. Further important changes were made concerning industry and commerce, and the new freedom thus afforded produced a large number of limited liability companies . Plans were formed for building

7296-404: The emancipation of the serfs on private estates and of the domestic (household) serfs. Serfs were granted the full rights of free citizens, gaining the rights to marry without having to gain consent, to own property and to own a business. The Manifesto also permitted peasants to buy the land from the landlords. Mir communities had the power to distribute the land given to newly freed serfs by

7424-550: The end of the year. The participants in the Conference failed to reach a final agreement. After the failure of the Constantinople Conference, at the beginning of 1877, Emperor Alexander II started diplomatic preparations with the other Great Powers to secure their neutrality in case of a war between Russia and the Ottomans. Alexander II considered such agreements paramount in avoiding the possibility of causing his country

7552-479: The entire administration, to introduce freedom of the press in the context of untrammeled authority, to call new forces to life at every turn and set them on firm legal foundations, to put a repressed and humiliated society on its feet, and to give it the chance to flex its muscles. Alexander II succeeded to the throne upon the death of his father in 1855. As Tsesarevich, he had been an enthusiastic supporter of his father's reactionary policies. That is, he always obeyed

7680-516: The establishment of the principle of equality of the parties involved , the introduction of public hearings , the jury trial , and a professional advocate that had never existed in Russia. However, there were also problems, as certain obsolete institutions were not covered by the reform. Also, the reform was hindered by extrajudicial punishment , introduced on a widespread scale during the reigns of his successors – Alexander III and Nicholas II . The judicial reforms started on 20 November 1864, when

7808-425: The first Romanov heir to visit Siberia (1837). While touring Russia, he also befriended the then-exiled poet Alexander Herzen and pardoned him. It was through Herzen's influence that he later abolished serfdom in Russia. In 1839, when his parents sent him on a tour of Europe, he met twenty-year-old Queen Victoria and they became acquainted. Simon Sebag Montefiore speculates that a small romance emerged. Such

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7936-429: The first half of the nineteenth century. The need for urgent reform was well understood in 19th-century Russia. Much support for it emanated from universities, authors and other intellectual circles. Various projects of emancipation reforms were prepared by Mikhail Speransky , Nikolay Mordvinov , and Pavel Kiselyov . However, conservative or reactionary nobility thwarted their efforts. In Western guberniyas serfdom

8064-471: The first time, although massive amounts had to wait for the alliance with France in the 1890s. Under Alexander II Polish nobles demanded greater autonomy. This demand was rejected by the Tsar's council. Instead there were new restrictions on internal mobility inside Poland, including requiring passports. In response to unrest the Tsar appointed a moderate Aleksander Wielopolski as chief minister in 1862. Wielopolski

8192-498: The form of rents instead of serfdom. A major revolt broke out in January 1863 . It was brutally crushed by the Russian army, despite frequent demands across Europe for leniency and reforms. Nikolay Milyutin was installed as governor and he decided that the best response to the revolt was to make reforms regarding the peasants. Emancipation of the Polish peasantry from their serf-like status took place in 1863, on more generous terms than

8320-434: The fringes of the empire. In the old system conscription was compulsorily enforced only for the peasantry. It was for 25 years for serfs, and they were selected by the landowners. The result was an infantry filled primarily with poorly qualified, poorly motivated and incompetent soldiers. The new reforms included universal conscription, introduced for all social classes starting in 1874. Other military reforms included extending

8448-561: The goal was not to simply move them so that their land could be settled by productive farmers, but rather that "eliminating the Circassians was to be an end in itself – to cleanse the land of hostile elements". Tsar Alexander II endorsed the plans. A large portion of indigenous Muslim peoples of the region were ethnically cleansed from their homeland at the end of the Russo-Circassian War by Russia. A large deportation operation

8576-524: The government bureaucrats shut out the liberals from the actual planning, much to their dismay. A compromise was reached whereby the gentry was given extensive new roles in zemstvos created to operate local government. The national government also owned serfs, called state serfs until they were emancipated in November 1866. The tsar promulgated a law "On the Land Device State Peasants", allowing

8704-601: The government, plus interest, over forty-nine years. The government finally cancelled these redemption payments in 1907. The legal basis of the reform was the Tsar 's Emancipation Manifesto of 3 March [ O.S. 19 February] 1861, accompanied by the set of legislative acts under the general name Regulations Concerning Peasants Leaving Serf Dependence ( Russian : Положения о крестьянах, выходящих из крепостной зависимости Polozheniya o krestyanakh, vykhodyashchikh iz krepostnoi zavisimosti ). This Manifesto proclaimed

8832-508: The guards a story below, killing 11 people and wounding 30 others. The New York Times (4 March 1880) reported "the dynamite used was enclosed in an iron box, and exploded by a system of clockwork used by the man Thomas in Bremen some years ago." However, dinner had been delayed by the late arrival of the tsar's nephew, the Prince of Bulgaria , so the tsar and his family were not in the dining room at

8960-637: The horse of an escorting cavalryman. On the morning of 20 April 1879, Alexander was briskly walking towards the Square of the Guards Staff and faced Alexander Soloviev , a 33-year-old former student. Having seen a menacing revolver in his hands, the Emperor fled in a zigzag pattern. Soloviev fired five times but missed; he was sentenced to death and hanged on 28 May. The student acted on his own, but other revolutionaries were keen to murder Alexander. In December 1879,

9088-543: The intention of deterring others from revolutionary activity, but after cases such as the Trial of the 193 where sympathetic juries acquitted many of the defendants, this was abandoned. After Alexander II became Emperor of Russia and King of Poland in 1855, he substantially relaxed the strict and repressive regime that had been imposed on Congress Poland after the November Uprising of 1830–1831. However, in 1856, at

9216-428: The land were obliged to make redemption payments to their obshchina (the village mir, or commune) over a 49-year period. Besides liberating the serfs from tight control by the gentry, emancipation brought a supply of free labour to the cities—including both peasants and gentry. This stimulated industry by providing a working class and the middle class grew in number and influence. All the land and property turned over to

9344-420: The land-owners were generally poor. Some Mir's did not enter the land redemption process at all, remaining as temporarily obligated peasants under their former owners until an 1881 decree made redemption compulsory. In 1883, concerned by rising levels of tax arrears, the government made a 13% cut (varying by commune, as a national average) to payment rates to combat the problem. Despite newly acquired freedom,

9472-508: The landowners and sell it to the freed serfs. The Tsar told Moscow nobles: “Better that the reform should come from above than wait until serfdom is abolished from below.” Historians have debated Alexander's role. Soviet era historians downplayed him, as they believed social forces caused history not individuals. Non-Marxist critics say he did not go far enough, especially since he rejected any parliament or duma. His top advisors included Count Michael von Reutern, Finance Minister, 1862-1878, and

9600-468: The landowning gentry were conservative, the strong liberal element was more articulate. They vigorously argued that serfdom was severely restricting the entrepreneurial opportunities of the gentry. They proposed that emancipation of the serfs, financed by the government, would provide the gentry and the nobles with capital to invest in the sort of economic opportunities that were being demonstrated in Western Europe. These innovative schemes came especially from

9728-586: The latest models from Western Europe. Alexander II also made the mistake of putting his brother in charge of the Navy, and then playing his ministers against each other to save money. Consequently naval programs were poorly coordinated with other ministries. In any case most of the budget went to the Army and Russia was never able to catch up with even the second-tier European naval powers. Alexander's bureaucracy instituted an elaborate scheme of local self-government ( zemstvo ) for

9856-446: The liberal gentry in Tver province. The plan was to use government loan so that freed serfs could purchase farms from the gentry. The gentry would then have the capital to begin entirely new enterprises not restricted by the low returns to farming in the cold Russian climate. In late 1858 Alexander II set up a commission to study emancipation and the liberal ideas proved attractive. However

9984-459: The life of a serf remained grim in many aspects. Household serfs benefited the least, gaining their freedom, but no land. Many bureaucrats believed that these reforms would bring about drastic changes that would only affect the "lower stories" of society, strengthening the autocracy. In reality, the reforms forced the monarch to coexist with an independent court, free press, and local governments—all operating differently and more freely than they had in

10112-606: The loyalty of its relatively western-oriented population during the Crimean War and during the Polish uprising . Encouraging Finnish nationalism and language can also be seen as an attempt to dilute ties with Sweden. During the Crimean War Austria maintained a policy of hostile neutrality towards Russia, and, while not going to war, was supportive of the Anglo-French coalition. Having abandoned its alliance with Russia, Austria

10240-518: The main reforms came in 1863. They extended popular education, opened secondary schools to women and allowed some women to audit University courses. Universities obtained more autonomy, but when small-scale student protests erupted, universities were returned to closer supervision. Private groups opened over 500 Sunday schools, without government funding or supervision, but the government distrusted innovations—such as teaching history—in place of rote language drills and closed them down. Although new funding

10368-413: The major land-owners as otrezki ("cut off lands"), making many forests, roads and rivers accessible only for a fee. The third measure was that the serfs must pay the land-owner for their allocation of land in a series of redemption payments, which in turn, were used to compensate the landowners with bonds. The government would advance 75% of the total sum to the land-owner, and then the peasants would repay

10496-480: The majority land-owners in their province(s). The 1861 Emancipation Manifesto affected only the privately owned serfs. The state-owned serfs were emancipated in 1866 and were given better and larger plots of land. The reforms changed the Russian economy. The individuals who led the reform favored an economic system similar to that in other European countries, which promoted the ideas of capitalism and free trade. The reformers aimed to promote development and to encourage

10624-624: The matter of complete conquest of the Caucasus is near to conclusion. A few years of persistent efforts remain to utterly force out the hostile mountaineers from the fertile countries they occupy and settle on the latter a Russian Christian population forever. — Imperial rescript of Alexander II ordering the ethnic cleansing of the Muslim Circassians and advancement of Russian settler-colonial program in Caucasus. (Dated 24 June, 1861) The Russo-Circassian War (1763–1864) concluded as

10752-626: The monument reads in Old-Bulgarian style: "To the Tsar-Liberator from grateful Bulgaria". There is a museum dedicated to Alexander in the Bulgarian city of Pleven . In April 1866, there was an attempt on the emperor's life in St. Petersburg by Dmitry Karakozov . To commemorate his narrow escape from death (which he himself referred to only as "the event of 4 April 1866"), a number of churches and chapels were built in many Russian cities. Viktor Hartmann ,

10880-499: The most challenging reforms undertaken in Russia since the reign of Peter the Great . His uncle Emperor Alexander I died childless. Grand Duke Konstantin , the next-younger brother of Alexander I, had previously renounced his rights to the throne of Russia. Thus, Alexander's father, who was the third son of Paul I, became the new Emperor ; he took the name Nicholas I . At that time, Alexander became Tsesarevich as his father's heir to

11008-417: The municipal duma. The executive is in the hands of an elective mayor and an uprava , which consists of several members elected by the duma. The gentry played the leading role in most localities, and indeed the new system was designed for them. Before 1860 Russia had a scattershot educational program that featured a few good universities, but severe limitations in every other area. Planning began in 1858, and

11136-472: The new media were often filled with discussions of reforms that were urgently needed. The emancipation reform of 1861 that freed 23 million serfs was the single most important event in 19th-century Russian history, and the beginning of the end for the landed aristocracy's monopoly of power. The decree ended the feudal obligations owed by serfs and allotted them land. The owners received Treasury bonds, which amounted to liquid capital. The peasants who stayed on

11264-406: The new regulation, as of 1861, conscription was compulsorily enforced only for the peasantry. Conscription had been 25 years for serfs who were drafted by their landowners, which was widely considered to be a life sentence. Other military reforms included extending the reserve forces and the military district system, which split the Russian states into 15 military districts, a system still in use over

11392-529: The nobles than in Russia. State-owned serfs (those living on and working Imperial lands) were emancipated in 1866. Just prior to 1861 Russia had three main categories of peasants: Only those who were owned privately were considered serfs . They comprised an estimated 38% of the population. As well as having obligations to the state, they also were obliged to the landowner, who had great power over their lives. The rural population lived in households ( dvory , singular dvor ), gathered as villages ( derevni ;

11520-439: The ownership of private property, free competition, entrepreneurship, and hired labor. This they hoped would bring about an economic system with minimal regulations and tariffs, thus a more "laissez-faire" economy. Soon after the reforms there was a substantial rise in the amount of production of grain for sale. Because of this there was also a rise in the number of hired laborers and in farm machinery. Furthermore, an indicator of

11648-406: The past. This new form of local government involved in each area an assembly called a zemstvo . In regards to new localized government, the reforms put in place a system where the landowners were now able to have more of a say within their newly formed "provinces". While this was not the direct intent of the reforms, it was evident that this significantly weakened the idea of the autocracy. Now,

11776-511: The peasants was owned collectively by the mir , the village community, which divided the land among the peasants and supervised the various holdings. Revolutionaries were not satisfied. They believed that the newly freed serfs were merely being sold into wage slavery by the bourgeoisie. Revolutionaries calling themselves Narodnaya Volya (the People's Will) made multiple attempts to assassinate Alexander II, and they succeeded in 1881. While most of

11904-405: The peasants. He devised a program which involved the emancipation of the peasantry at the expense of the nationalist szlachta landowners and the expulsion of Roman Catholic priests from schools. Emancipation of the Polish peasantry from their serf -like status took place in 1864, on more generous terms than the emancipation of Russian peasants in 1861. In 1863, Alexander II re-convened

12032-471: The policy and made Russian the official language. Under Alexander's rules Jews could not hire Christian servants, could not own land, and were restricted in travel. However special taxes on Jews were eliminated and those who graduated from secondary school were permitted to live outside the Pale of Settlement , and became eligible for state employment. Large numbers of educated Jews moved as soon as possible to Moscow and other major cities. Jews were blamed for

12160-508: The poll tax was continued, but the much hated salt tax was abolished. He promoted private credit institutions and stabilised the rouble. Government revenues rose significantly, the chronic budget deficit was eliminated by 1867 and surpluses were achieved from 1873. On trade policy Reutern pragmatically supported reducing some tariffs and duties on manufacturing goods in 1863 and 1868. A balanced budget facilitated borrowing from Western Europe, using state guaranteed railway bonds. This made possible

12288-521: The priests returned home. Others stayed to minister to their native parishioners, who remain members of the Russian Orthodox Church into the 21st century. Alexander maintained a generally liberal course. Radicals complained he did not go far enough, and he became a target for numerous assassination plots. He survived attempts that took place in 1866, 1879, and 1880. Finally 13 March [ O.S. 1 March] 1881, assassins organized by

12416-420: The range of his fundamental reforms, arguing that the tsar was: called upon to execute one of the hardest tasks which can confront an autocratic ruler: to completely remodel the enormous state which had been entrusted to his care, to abolish an age-old order founded on slavery, to replace it with civic decency and freedom, to establish justice in a country which had never known the meaning of legality, to redesign

12544-467: The rapid expansion of the railway system. The Russian-Turkish war ran up deficits and he resigned in 1878. The new favorable environment encouraged entrepreneurship. In 1860 there were 78 joint stock companies, with a capital of less than 8 million roubles each. Between 1861 and 1873, businessmen set up 357 joint stock companies with a capital of 1.1 billion roubles. They included 73 banks, 53 railways and 163 factories. Foreign capital started arriving for

12672-399: The recently freed serfs did not include the best land in the country, which remained in the hands of the nobility. The implementation of land settlement varied over the vast and diverse territory of the Russian Empire, but typically a peasant had rights to buy out about half of the land he cultivated for himself. If he could not afford to pay it off, he would receive a half of the half, i.e.,

12800-412: The reserve forces and the military district system, which split the Russian states into 15 military districts. Railway planning emphasized strategic lines connecting population centers to likely battlefields. Military education was dramatically improved for the officer corps. Corporal punishment in the military and branding of soldiers as punishment were banned. The first great task of the reconstituted army

12928-529: The rise of nascent revolutionary and anarchistic movements when he was assassinated in 1881. Born in Moscow , Alexander Nikolayevich was the eldest son of Nicholas I of Russia and Charlotte of Prussia (eldest daughter of Frederick William III of Prussia and of Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz ). His early life gave little indication of his ultimate potential; until the time of his accession in 1855, aged 37, few imagined that posterity would know him for implementing

13056-435: The rule of Alexander II strongly promoted reforms in many areas. In sharp contrast, the remainder of his term after 1865 saw the growing strength of conservatives and reactionaries who reversed or limited many of the reforms. Reactionary elements grew strength from the increasingly violent actions of the revolutionary underground. Historian Orlando Figes has argued: According to Russian scholar Larisa Zakharova: In Russia,

13184-626: The rural districts (1864) and the large towns (1870), with elective assemblies possessing a restricted right of taxation, and a new rural and municipal police under the direction of the Minister of the Interior . All owners of houses, tax-paying merchants and workmen were enrolled on lists in a descending order according to their assessed wealth. The total valuation is then divided into three equal parts, representing three groups of electors very unequal in number, each of which elects an equal number of delegates to

13312-459: The rural society to maintain land in their possession with the rights of "ownership". Redemption from the government of the property holdings was regulated by the law of 12 June 1886. After the implementation of these reforms, plots of state peasants were reduced by 10% in the central provinces and 44% – in the northern. Payments were calculated for 49½ years, and in some cases had to be made before 1931, but were canceled on 1 January 1907 as part of

13440-414: The same landowners to pay their "labor payments", they often neglected their own fields. Over the next few years, the yields from the peasants' crops remained low, and soon famine struck a large portion of Russia. With little food, and finding themselves in a similar condition as when they were serfs, many peasants started to voice their disdain for the new social system. On one occasion, on 12 April 1861,

13568-472: The serfs might be regulated in a way more satisfactory for the proprietors. Alexander II authorized the formation of committees "for ameliorating the condition of the peasants", and laid down the principles on which the amelioration was to be effected. Without consulting his ordinary advisers, Alexander ordered the Minister of the Interior to send a circular to the provincial governors of European Russia ( serfdom

13696-675: The southwest of his empire. On 15 January 1856, the new tsar took Russia out of the Crimean War on the very unfavourable terms of the Treaty of Paris (1856) , which included the loss of the Black Sea Fleet , and the provision that the Black Sea was to be a demilitarized zone similar to a contemporaneous region of the Baltic Sea . This gave him room to breathe and pursue an ambitious plan of domestic reforms. Encouraged by public opinion, Alexander began

13824-443: The supervision of the liberal romantic poet and gifted translator Vasily Zhukovsky , grasping a smattering of a great many subjects and becoming familiar with the chief modern European languages . Unusually for the time, the young Alexander was taken on a six-month tour of Russia (1837), visiting 20 provinces in the country. He also visited many prominent Western European countries in 1838 and 1839. As Tsesarevich, Alexander became

13952-451: The throne. In the period of his life as heir apparent (1825 to 1855), the intellectual atmosphere of Saint Petersburg did not favour any kind of change: freedom of thought and all forms of private initiative were suppressed vigorously by the order of his father. Personal and official censorship was rife; criticism of the authorities was regarded as a serious offence. The education of the tsesarevich as future emperor took place under

14080-418: The time of the explosion and were unharmed. Emancipation reform of 1861 The 1861 Emancipation Manifesto proclaimed the emancipation of the serfs on private estates and of the domestic (household) serfs. By this edict more than 23 million people received their liberty. Serfs gained the full rights of free citizens, including rights to marry without having to gain consent, to own property and to own

14208-478: The tsar signed the decree which enforced four Regulations (Establishment of Judicial Settlements, Regulations of Civil Proceedings, Regulations of Criminal Proceedings, and Regulations of Punishments Imposed by Justices of the Peace). One of the most important results of the reform was wide introduction of jury trials . The jury trial included three professional judges and twelve jurors. A juror had to possess real estate of

14336-418: The tsar's assassination in 1881, his successor Alexander III reversed many reforms. The Russian Empire in the 19th century was characterized by very conservative and reactionary policies issued by the autocratic tsars. The great exception came during the reign of Alexander II , (1855-1881), especially the 1860s. By far the greatest and most unexpected was the abolition of serfdom, which affected 23 million of

14464-540: The usages of war. Alexander's bureaucracy instituted an elaborate scheme of local self-government ( zemstvo ) for the rural districts (1864) and the large towns (1870), with elective assemblies possessing a restricted right of taxation, and a new rural and municipal police under the direction of the Minister of the Interior . Under Alexander's rules Jews could not own land, and were restricted in travel. However special taxes on Jews were eliminated and those who graduated from secondary school were permitted to live outside

14592-524: Was abolished early in the century. In Congress Poland , serfdom had been abolished before it became Russian (by Napoleon in 1807), but it was largely restored once Russia took over in 1815. Serfdom was abolished in governorates of Estonia in 1816, in Courland in 1817, and in Livonia in 1819. In 1797, Paul I of Russia decreed that corvee labor was limited to 3 days a week, and never on Sunday, but this law

14720-416: Was achieved in 1862 by legislation that created a ministry of finance under Count Michael von Reutern (1862-1878), along with a regular national budget supervised by the finance minister. Reutern installed a uniform system of public accounting for government agencies. Tax collection was no longer handled by private farmers, but became a regular national bureaucratic issue. There was no income tax yet, in fact

14848-556: Was conservative, pro-Russian, a proponent of regaining Poland's pre-1830 autonomy, and a champion of the emancipation of Jews. He adopted a series of liberal reforms in education, for Jews and peasants. He undertook educational reforms, increasing the number of Polish-language schools and establishing in Warsaw the "Main School" (Szkola Glowna, today's University of Warsaw). He also enacted banking-system reforms and agricultural reform for peasants in

14976-542: Was defeating the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan wars of 1877. Whilst the war was won, serious failures were discovered at every level of the army from poorly trained companies, to outmoded tactics to dilatory maneuvers, to failures of overall strategy at the top command level. Naval reforms were also attempted, however inexperienced private Russian shipyards were used to build a modern steel fleet. The Russians tried to save money by inventing their own technology rather than purchasing

15104-455: Was diplomatically isolated following the war, which contributed to Russia's non-intervention in the 1859 Franco-Austrian War , which meant the end of Austrian influence in Italy; and in the 1866 Austro-Prussian War , with the loss of its influence in most German-speaking lands. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), Russia supported the Union , largely due to the view that the U.S. served as

15232-618: Was launched against the remaining population before the end of the war in 1864 and it was mostly completed by 1867. Only a small percentage accepted surrender and resettlement within the Russian Empire . The remaining Circassian populations who refused to surrender were thus variously dispersed, resettled, or killed en masse . In April 1876, the Bulgarian population in the Balkans rebelled against Ottoman rule . The Ottoman authorities suppressed

15360-431: Was not a simple goal capable of being achieved instantaneously by imperial decree. It contained complicated problems, deeply affecting the economic, social, and political future of the nation. Alexander had to choose between the different measures recommended to him and decide, if the serfs would become agricultural laborers dependent economically and administratively on the landlords, or if the serfs would be transformed into

15488-427: Was not enforced. Beginning in 1801, Alexander I of Russia appointed a committee to study possible emancipation, but its only effect was to prohibit the sale of serfs without their families. Beginning in 1825, Nicholas I of Russia expressed his desire for emancipation on many occasions, and even improved the lives of serfs on state properties, but did not change the condition of serfs on private estates. My intention

15616-592: Was not made available, laws in 1864 reformed secondary schools along the lines typical in France and Prussia. Elementary schools likewise were regulated to emphasize religious teaching by Orthodox priests. The extreme difficulties of financing the Crimean War , and the military weakness caused by an ineffective railway system, made economic reforms a high priority. A state bank was founded in 1860, and municipal banks in 1862, as well as savings banks in 1869, all under national supervision. A systematic overhaul of national finances

15744-532: Was not responsible for the rules and regulations dictating how the new market would operate. If there was a positive of this movement towards localized government, from the autocracy's point of view; it was (as Petr Valuev put it): the zemstvo would "provide activity for the considerable portion of the press as well as those malcontents who currently stir up trouble because they have nothing to do". The serfs of private estates received less land than they needed to survive, which led to civil unrest. The redemption tax

15872-470: Was one of a few remaining feudal states in Europe . The pitiful display by Russian forces in the Crimean War left the government acutely aware of the empire's weaknesses. Eager to grow and develop industrial and therefore military and political strength, they introduced a number of economic reforms. It was optimistically hoped that after the abolition the mir would dissolve into individual peasant land owners and

16000-476: Was rare in other parts) containing a copy of the instructions forwarded to the Governor-General of Lithuania, praising the supposed generous, patriotic intentions of the Lithuanian landed proprietors, and suggesting that perhaps the landed proprietors of other provinces might express a similar desire. The hint was taken: in all provinces where serfdom existed, emancipation committees were formed. Emancipation

16128-424: Was so high that the serfs had to sell all the grain they produced to pay the tax, which left nothing for their survival. Landowners also suffered because many of them were deeply in debt, and the forced selling of their land left them struggling to maintain their lavish lifestyle. In many cases, the newly freed serfs were forced to "rent" their land from wealthy landowners. Furthermore, when the peasants had to work for

16256-535: Was the January Uprising of 1863–1864 that was suppressed after eighteen months of fighting. Hundreds of Poles were executed, and thousands were deported to Siberia . The price of suppression was Russian support for the unification of Germany . The martial law in Lithuania, introduced in 1863, lasted for the next 40 years. Native languages, Ukrainian , and Belarusian , were completely banned from printed texts,

16384-503: Was the emancipation of Russia's serfs in 1861, for which he is known as Alexander the Liberator (Russian: Алекса́ндр Освободи́тель , romanized : Aleksándr Osvobodítel , IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐsvəbɐˈdʲitʲɪlʲ] ). The tsar was responsible for other liberal reforms, including reorganizing the judicial system, setting up elected local judges, abolishing corporal punishment , promoting local self-government through

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