The transformations carried out during the reign of Alexander 2 had important consequences for Russia of those times. Not only descendants, but also contemporaries of the emperor noted the positive importance of the reforms of Alexander 2 for the development of statehood, and negative.
The Inevitability of Reform
Immediately after accession to the throne in February 1855 - the day after the death of the father of Emperor Nicholas 2 - Alexander 2 made it clear to his subjects that he perfectly understood at what time he would have to rule and in what condition the country went to him. He stated this in his first speech as emperor to members of the Council of State. The socio-political situation in Russia at that time was far from stable and progressively developing. It was necessary in a short time to solve a number of rather complex both internal and external political issues in order to lead the country out of the crisis.
The failed Crimean War led to the breakdown of the financial system and the complete international isolation of Russia. Discontent grew among the nobility and peasantry by the rule of the highest officials and proteges of the emperor in the provinces. The people understood that change was necessary and was ready to follow any leader if he promised to give them. The spread of the terrorist movement was accepted in society as a protest against the outdated monarchy. Educational reform of Alexander 2, the beginning of which It was laid in the first years of his reign, for a while calmed the heated minds of progressively-minded youth, but not for long. In the end, the emperor fell victim to the conspiracy of the people of the people, despite all his good intentions.
Student unrest before reform
In the last years of the reign of Nicholas 2, the first signs of future mass rebellion were already outlined in the student community, tired of the rigid regime of education and life. But the change of ruler, the subsequent slight relaxation in the life of students, the new leadership in the universities of both capitals partially extinguished the grumble of the dissatisfied. The reasons for the reforms of Alexander 2, including the educational one, were not only in this or that spontaneously erupted event - there were a considerable number of circumstances.
The small student unrest that marked Moscow in 1858 was caused by tactlessness and ignorance of the police, firmly fixated on a stable and sluggish present, while progressive youth was rapidly rushing into a dynamic future. Clashes with the police in those years had nothing to do with politics and the emperor was justified - Alexander laid all the blame for them on the guard of order, but by the beginning of the 60s the opposition mood of Russian society had taken over universities. The reform of Alexander 2’s education was an answer to the obstinacy of the student’s environment. Briefly, it can be described as follows: the old charter, which has been in force since 1835, has been replaced by a new one, Nikolaev’s proteges were replaced, Alexander’s appointees sat down in the university rector’s chairs.
Education for all
At the beginning of 1861, some events of principle importance for the country took place, which in many respects determined the course of the new emperor’s reign: the disgrace of disaster, new student riots for the death of peasants, police provocations, the ambiguity with which even the most insignificant incidents in the country are perceived by society. The initiator of most of the transformations, which began in the early years of the 60s, was Alexander 2 himself. Education reforms were to significantly change the rules of study at universities, real schools, and enable peasant children to learn to read and write. Enlightening transformations were joyfully accepted by the female half of the country's population - it became obvious that educational institutions would soon be opened for them. Before the reign of Alexander, 2 girls from noble families received the education they needed at home, in merchants, bourgeois, and peasant houses, such trifles as the ability to read and write children were cared for only by rare parents.
Development of a draft of the future Charter
By the fall of 1861, university rules approved by Alexander a few months earlier were to work. They had nothing to do with the future Charter and were designed for temporary implementation, while the Ministry of Education worked on projects for the expected large-scale reforms.
The reform of public education of Alexander 2 was carried out carefully and thoughtfully. Russian professors studied the order and forms of study at the best European universities, where they were seconded specifically for these purposes. All their achievements have been discussed for more than a month by officials, prominent scientists and prominent political figures. The project was sent to educational institutions not only in Russia, but also in some Western countries. A wide discussion was also held in the press, which Alexander 2 himself favorably accepted. Education reforms, the pros and cons of which provoked heated debate, were nevertheless adopted and implemented throughout the country. Their signing took place on June 18, 1863.
Features of the University Charter and the consequences of its implementation
Behind the desire to bring such radical transformations closer to the needs of the emperor and those filed simultaneously, some provisions of the Charter only meant the democratization of student society. The created corporation of professors endowed them with autonomous self-government by the council and faculties, thereby depriving students of the possibility of legally creating their own partnerships, which distinguished Western universities. The educational reform of Alexander 2 was supposedly developed in a European image and likeness, but practically did not resemble them.
Undoubtedly, the freer attendance of lectures, the admission of free listeners to them, and the public oversight of university governance served as pluses. Not only the educational, but also the educational component of teaching was widely propagated. But the lack of student self-government, an influx of free-listeners who could freely root the not always useful free-thinking principles among the masses, quite often became reasons for new unrest. The reasons for the reforms of Alexander 2, which were based on ineffective rule, were not actually corrected, and this was not only true of the University Charter.
Secondary education reform
The expansion of the network of public schools in Russia also falls on the 60s of the XIX century. In addition to the transformations that affected the university environment, the reform of education of Alexander 2 affected all the educational institutions that were available at that time, which involved children from all walks of life. Secondary education could now be obtained not only in classical gymnasiums, but also in real schools, in which mathematics and the natural sciences were taught more intensively. Some contemporaries considered these schools to discriminate against the educational system, created only for immigrants from the lower and middle classes, since they did not teach languages, which distinguished classical gymnasiums. Subsequently, graduates of real schools were virtually denied access to universities due to a lack of knowledge of languages.
Did Alexander 2 consider this important? Education reforms carried out under his rule made it possible to receive secondary education for a significantly larger number of children than before, and this was the main thing at that time.
Education for women before the reforms of Alexander
Oddly enough, but only at the end of the XIX century in Russia for the first time they started talking about the establishment of public schools for girls. Institutions, where the daughter of the noblemen had the opportunity to receive education, first appeared under Catherine 2, but there were few of them, they did not enjoy wide popularity because of the principles of gender inequality that were established at that time, in which women were assigned only the role of the mother of the family and only.
A similar state of affairs was changed by the democratic Alexander 2 - educational reforms, which he considered no less significant than the abolition of serfdom, extended to girls. Moreover, the women's issue, which was spreading more and more widely in society in those years, was ardently supported not only by emancipated ladies - many representatives of the fair half wanted to feel their public significance. In 1859, women's schools were opened in almost all Russian cities. Empress Maria Alexandrovna herself patronized them .
From the abolition of serfdom to the education of peasant children
Emperor Alexander 2 went down in history as the Liberator.
The abolition of serfdom, which was implemented under him, somewhat overshadowed the other transformations of his rule, and there were many of them. The same reform of public education Alexander 2
- why not
occasion to give him the name "Enlightener"?
Among the intelligentsia, in addition to the women's issue, the consequences of the exodus of the peasants from the landlords and their further fate were discussed. The ideas about the needs of organizing primary education for peasant children practically did not cause disputes - the enlightened minds of the state recognized the need for their education unconditionally. Many cited as an example the genius of Russian science Mikhail Lomonosov, fate
which was so amazing and unique. Alexander 2 also had deep respect for him. Education reforms were supposed to open the way to the world of knowledge for many peasant children. A great supporter of education among the people was I.S. Turgenev, who proposed his own project to create a literacy committee, which was approved by the emperor.
The historical significance of the transformations introduced in the reign of Alexander
In addition to the fact that Alexander 2 abolished serfdom, adopted and signed new educational charters, carried out a complete educational reform, among his merits there are other important transformations that affected the whole of Russian society. In 1862-1863, the adoption of changes in the management of financial resources of the state was necessary, in 1865, the press law. Reforms - self-government, judicial, military - were adopted by society in different ways, but their necessity was recognized by all. Although not everything was carried out as planned, but the very fact of the reforms and the positive significance of the reforms of Alexander 2 for the further development of the state is difficult not to recognize. Although some of them are given different assessments to this day, but both in the domestic and in the foreign political arena, Russia in the era of Alexander 2 became stronger.