In the second half of the nineteenth century, a series of reforms took place in the Russian Empire, which aimed to transform the socio-political system in accordance with the requirements of the time, one of them was the abolition of serfdom and the post specially introduced for this - the world mediator.
The peasant question under Alexander I
By the middle of this century, Russia came up with an extremely weakened economy and agriculture, and the defeat in the Crimean War exacerbated all the negative processes of Russian reality. Since the beginning of the 19th century, the issue of the abolition of serfdom has constantly been raised in society. First, Alexander the First was very liberal and inclined towards this decision. Especially after the victory of our country in the Patriotic War of 1812 and the foreign campaign, reformist sentiments intensified not only among the intelligentsia, but also among the peasants themselves, as well as progressively-minded landowners. Alexander Pavlovich was well aware of all this, but was not in a hurry to carry out the reforms, and after a series of revolutionary actions in some European countries, he completely abandoned any changes in the situation of the peasants. The law “on free cultivators” and the liberation from dependence of peasants in the Baltic States, which were very few, are all measures taken to alleviate the situation of peasants.
The point of view of Nicholas I Pavlovich
The heir to the emperor, the younger brother Nikolai, was known as a confident conservative in the family, the uprising of the Decembrists in 1825 further strengthened him in this direction. Already after his suppression, the emperor himself took part in the interrogation of the participants in the riot, and the whole disappointing picture of Russian reality loomed clearly before him. Nikolai Pavlovich agreed with the assertion that serfdom was evil for Russia, but he considered changing something under the circumstances to be even greater evil.
Nevertheless, during his reign, the emperor’s favorite, Count Arakcheev, drew up a project for the release of peasants, the needs of which required about five million rubles annually, and the process itself was extended over time for an indefinite period. Even this very limited project provoked open resistance from government circles. Minister of Finance Count Kankrin said that there is no such money in the treasury, so you need to look for another way, all the other half-attempts also ended in nothing. Nicholas I for his rather long reign did nothing to alleviate the fate of the peasants. Meanwhile, the economy continued to grow at a slower pace, which was expressed in subsequent events.
Dead center shift
In 1856, the eldest son of Nicholas, Alexander II, ascended the throne. He was already a well-established man and personality, of no small importance was the fact that the heir's educator was Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky, a poet who held liberal views and tried to instill them in his pupil. From the first days of the reign, Alexander Nikolaevich declared his intention to abolish the pernicious and shameful phenomenon - serfdom. It all started with a public discussion of the reform, which gave it a vowel character and irreversibility. There were several reform projects in the capital. In 1859, drafting commissions were created, which were to analyze and combine all the projects, achieving the most acceptable result for the landowners and peasants. The work went on in an atmosphere of extreme contradictions; nevertheless, the king did not give in to difficulties and insisted on his own. By the beginning of 1861, all preparatory measures had been completed, and on February 19 the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom was declared, the slavery of the peasants had fallen, however, the reform required the creation of many new bodies and officials to monitor its implementation. Thus appears the lowest executive link - the world mediator.
"Liberty"
"The provisions of the Manifesto of 1861" defined the main task of these persons as the registration of relations between the landowner and the peasant on the basis of an agreement concluded between them, called the "charter letter". Also, world mediators are people whose competence included supervision of the self-government of rural units, approval of elected posts (peasant elder, foreman of the volost). If necessary, a global mediator could remove them from their posts. In relation to the peasants, he was vested with judicial and police powers, examined various minor conflicts, could arrest and impose corporal punishment. The site, which was served by one intermediary, covered from three to five volosts. Across the empire, there were approximately 1,714 of these officials. They were appointed from among the nobles of the given area on the proposal of the governor and leader of the nobles. The above was a list of tasks that the world mediator was solving, 1861 was the most productive year, many were appointed from among the progressive landowners, including L.N. Tolstoy, N.I. Pies. With the further course of events, the content allocated to one intermediary decreased every year.
Reform Outcomes
However, these people played a very important role in the reform process. It was thanks to them that a certain balance of interests of the peasants was maintained, although they were infringed, but this did not acquire a egregious character. And their most important business was to draw up a legally correct document that meets the mutual interests of both sides of the document, which were the charter letters. World mediators have tried to ensure that every peasant and landowner draw up a buyback deal as soon as possible, and also that the temporarily liable state of the peasants is not extremely prolonged. The activities of these officials were discontinued in 1874, and two independent institutions were created in return. However, they were little interested in the needs of the peasants and soon became part of the huge bureaucratic apparatus of the Russian Empire. But the main thing was done: the peasants received freedom, and world mediators are a symbol of freedom for peasants.