The 1961 manifesto forever abolished serfdom in the Russian Empire. What has changed for the common people this reform? Firstly, yesterday's serfdom, which was the property of the landowner, almost a thing, gained personal freedom. Secondly, he received the right to dispose of his property on his own. What has always been the most important thing for the peasant? Of course, the land that feeds and allows you to live by your labor.
Each peasant received an allotment from the landowner for use, for which he paid with corvee or dues, which in reality did not differ much from previous duties. Thus, the life of the people with the acquisition of freedom has not changed too much. Often, a temporarily liable peasant received an even smaller plot than he worked until then. In addition, the landlords retained the best land, while the people received the poorest, stony and uncomfortable plots.
The reform assumed that the temporarily liable peasant would become the owner of his allotment. To do this, he had to pay the landowner the cost of the estate and field plots of land, while greatly overpriced. It turned out that he also pays for his personal freedom. The state immediately gave money to the landlords, and ordinary people had to pay him the full amount for 49 years, and in addition 6% annually for using a loan.
The landowner, as a result of the reform, seemed to be losing his property - serfs, but he sold the worst parts of his territory at a high price, which more than compensated for his losses. Those who did not redeem the land paid for its use as a rent or worked for the former owner.
The temporarily liable peasant was called the "owner" of the land allotment immediately after he concluded a redemption transaction. However, it became its full owner only after payment of all debts. We can say that only at that moment he stopped being a serf and became a free man, since he completely depended on the land, which remained in the hands of the landowners.
It was assumed that for 20 years each temporarily liable peasant would give the landowner money for his land allotment. However, the exact terms were not set, so many were in no hurry to take out a loan, continuing with corvee labor or a quitrent to pay the landlord. By 1870, there were only about half of the redeemed plots. Over the next eleven years, their number increased to 85%. It was then that the temporary liable state of the peasants was canceled. 1881 was the year when the law on compulsory redemption of land allotment was adopted over the next two years. Everyone who did not complete a buy-back transaction during this time lost his plot. Thus, finally this category of people disappeared by 1883.
The manifesto of 1861 granted the peasants freedom without any conditions, however, payments for a loan from the state led to the fact that as early as the beginning of the 20th century, about 40% of them remained actually semi-fortified, continuing to work for the landowners to pay off the debt. The state for the period that the temporarily liable state of the peasants lasted, only on operations with land allotments made a profit of about 700 million rubles.