In 1861, an event took place in Russia that was expected by many advanced people of that time, and which forever changed the course of history. Emperor Alexander II issued a manifesto, which made the peasants free people who were not dependent on the landowners. What made the monarch take this step? What were the reasons for the abolition of serfdom in Russia?
Background and Reasons for Reform
By the middle of the nineteenth century, the need to eliminate serfdom was becoming increasingly apparent. Actively developing market relations increasingly impeded the slave position of the peasants. In the 1840s, an industrial revolution began in the country - the transition from manual labor to machines. The development of factories and plants required labor, which was sorely lacking - the landowners did not really want to be left without free labor. If they let the peasant work, they set the condition to give the master a part of the money earned. This, of course, increased the cost of labor and further impeded the development of industry.
The maintenance of serfdom has also hit agriculture. The existence of forced peasant labor impeded the development of progressive land cultivation technologies and the introduction of agricultural machinery. The landlords went in a simpler way - trimming peasant plots and increasing corvee. Such a policy led the peasants to ever greater impoverishment, and the landlords to bankruptcy. Nobles more and more often went into debt, mortgaging their estates. At the end of the 1850s, 65% of the landlord peasants were pledged by the landlords into banks, like some kind of real estate. Therefore, the abolition of serfdom in Russia could have occurred in a slightly different way - it would be enough for the state to take away the landlord estates for debts. But this would have caused another palace revolution, and Alexander II, of course, did not go to such a step.
Attempts to somehow change the existing situation of peasants were made by the government before. So, as far back as 1803, a tsar’s decree “On free cultivators” was issued, according to which peasants could free themselves from serfdom for ransom. But only 47 thousand people were able to become free over the period from 1803 to 1825. The reason was both the high amount of the ransom - 400 rubles in silver for one person, and the unwillingness of the landlords to part with the gratuitous labor force. In 1804-1805 in Livonia and Estonia, the peasants made lifelong users of their allotments, and were allowed to inherit them. Their rights also expanded - already in 1801 they were allowed to rent land, later they were allowed to trade and engage in contracts. Since 1844, the government began to carry out the so-called inventory reform, according to which the exact number of peasant duties was established, which were entered on the lists - the so-called inventories. Their compilation did not end due to the resistance of the landowners. For the ruling circles, it became increasingly apparent that cosmetic changes in this area could not be avoided - a complete abolition of serfdom in Russia was necessary.
The discontent of the peasants with their position grew every year. It especially increased after the unsuccessful Crimean War, which worsened the country's financial situation. During the period from 1856 to 1860, 815 peasant uprisings took place in Russia (for comparison: in 1850-1855 there were only 215 of them). The defeat in the war affected the ruling circles: it became obvious that Russia lost, primarily because of its economic backwardness. And the growth of peasant riots did not bode well for the government. Thus, the circumstances under which serfdom was abolished in Russia can be briefly described as follows: the economic crisis and the danger of peasant warfare.
Reform Preparation
On March 30, 1856, Alexander II delivered a speech to the Moscow nobility in which he described the current situation in the country and said that it was better to free the peasants by the government and landowners before they did it themselves. So the emperor clearly hinted to the nobles that the impending changes are inevitable.
Initially, the Secret Committee on Peasant Affairs took up the projects for the liberation of the peasants, but its activities did not produce tangible results, and then in 1858 a wider circle of people was involved in the preparation of the reform. Provincial noble committees were organized, preparing reform projects, which were sent to the Main Committee. These projects were considered by the Editorial Commissions that existed under the committee. The peasant question was also discussed on the pages of the press, which made the reform irreversible. As expected, the landlords abolished serfdom in Russia, to put it mildly, did not please. Most of the projects provided by the provincial committees proposed to free the peasants either by not giving them land at all, or by leaving scanty plots. Liberal leaders (K.D.Kavelin, A.M. Unkovsky) proposed that the peasants be released from the land, but for a large sum. In the end, the liberal version of the reform was adopted by the Editorial Commissions. But later, many of its provisions were made more profitable for landowners.
Reform and its implications
Finally, on February 19, 1861 , on the next anniversary of his reign, Alexander II approved the Manifesto and the Regulation on Peasant Reform. Landowner peasants turned into "rural inhabitants" and were endowed with civil and economic rights. Now they did not depend on the landowner and could choose their own occupation - to trade, engage in crafts, independently make any transactions, move to other classes, defend their rights in court, marry without any permission. The peasants had to redeem their land from the landowner. They paid 20-25% of the amount themselves, the rest was paid by the state. Before paying the landowner their share, the peasants were considered temporarily liable, that is, they had to fulfill all the previous duties. Since the land was bought back by agreement with the landowner, the transition to a buyback was stretched for a long time. If it were not for the landlords' debts to the state, forcing them to agree to the redemption of land by peasants, the abolition of serfdom in Russia would go on indefinitely. For the peasants, the purchase of land turned into many years of bondage - they returned the amount paid by the state over 49 years, and even with interest.
And yet, despite its shortcomings, peasant reform had positive consequences for the country's economy. The transformation of peasants into free owners gave them the opportunity to engage in market relations. The industry was able to make up for the shortage of workers. And most importantly, the reform led to new transformations in the country - zemstvo, judicial, financial, military and other reforms that changed the economic and political structure of the Russian Empire.