From the beginning of the nineteenth century, an industrial revolution began throughout Europe. It leads to the need to reform many areas. Quickly "rebuilding" in a new way, the countries of Europe noticeably surpassed Russia. That, in turn, getting involved in the Crimean War, once again saw the weakness of the tsarist regime and imperial politics as a whole. The country was in a difficult atmosphere of waiting.
Alexander II perfectly understood that he would have to carry out the reforms of the 60-70s - this was required by a new time, which promptly left Russia behind the countries of Europe. Note that the tsar needed considerable endurance and courage to take this unpopular step for some classes. At the same time, there was no other way. The bourgeois reforms of the 60-70s of the 19th century were to take place.
Preparation went on for a long six years. The first ideas arose as early as 1855, however, they did not receive significant development due to the change of emperor (this year Alexander the Second was replaced by Nicholas the First). The end of the Crimean War made it possible to engage in domestic politics in a more substantive way. Now the bourgeois reforms of the 60-70s began to be actively discussed in the higher circles. The first and most important reform is the “Manifesto on the Abolition of Serfdom” in 1861. With this document, dedicated to the sixth anniversary of his tenure, Alexander II granted the peasants personal freedom. A similar step pushed the rest of the bourgeois reforms of the 60-70s, and made it possible to carry out other significant transformations. However, such a good was painted in a negative shade. Together with personal free peasants received ... Nothing. Land - their main nurse, remained in the power of the landowner. For her, the peasant was forced to pay the ransom with money that he did not have. In fact, people were left to their own devices. To a large extent, the reform also hit the landlord economy, because the masses of peasants moved to the cities to earn money.
Such a radical change in the country entailed other bourgeois reforms of the 60-70s. These include zemstvo, judicial, military, urban and educational.
In judicial reform, the posts of prosecutor and lawyer were introduced. Now the court has become adversarial. The key to decision-making was the trial by jury, which passed a verdict on the guilt of a person. The role of the judge was assigned only to monitor the correctness of the process.
Zemsky reform provided for the introduction of local self-government. Now zemstvos included representatives of all classes. Among the merits of the Zemstvos, it is worth noting the establishment of a network of educational and medical institutions.
Military reform included the formation of a regular army through universal labor service. However, its terms were noticeably reduced. Instead of 25 years, it now reached a maximum of six years in certain branches of the armed forces. Good-looking men who had reached the age of twenty-one years were called up for service.
Educational reform also had certain advantages. According to it, each child was required to receive elementary education, access to higher education institutions was formally opened for representatives of all classes, universities received greater autonomy.
The bourgeois reforms of the 60s and 70s undoubtedly had positive results. Thanks to them, Russia began to turn from an agrarian country into an industrial one, although the agrarian sector still occupied large volumes in the country's economy. However, industrial development continued at a rapid pace. Not everyone supported such changes. Against Alexander the Second, persecution began on the part of the Narodniks, who more than once attempted to encroach on his life. In 1881, such an attempt was successful, but the reform machine was already launched, and the country finally entered a new round of development.