The reign of Alexander II (1856-1881) went down in history as a period of "great reforms". Largely thanks to the emperor, serfdom was abolished in Russia in 1861 - an event that, of course, is his main achievement, which played a big role in the future development of the state.
Prerequisites for the abolition of serfdom
In 1856-1857, a number of southern provinces were shaken by peasant unrest, which, however, subsided very quickly. But, nevertheless, they served as a reminder to the ruling authorities that the situation in which the common people find themselves, in the end, can turn into serious consequences for them.
In addition, the current serfdom significantly slowed down the progress of the country's development. The axiom that free labor is more effective than forced labor manifested itself in full measure: Russia lagged far behind Western states both in the economy and in the socio-political sphere. This threatened that the previously created image of a powerful state could simply dissolve, and the country would move into the category ofsecondary. Not to mention that serfdom was very much like slavery.
By the end of the 50s, more than a third of the country's 62 million population lived in complete dependence on their owners. Russia urgently needed a peasant reform. 1861 was to be a year of serious changes, which should have been carried out in such a way that they could not shake the established foundations of the autocracy, and the nobility retained its dominant position. Therefore, the process of abolishing serfdom required careful analysis and elaboration, and this was already problematic due to the imperfect state apparatus.
Necessary steps for the coming changes
The abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861 should have seriously affected the foundations of life in a vast country.
there was no representative body. And serfdom was legalized at the state level. Alexander II could not cancel it alone, as this would violate the rights of the nobility, which is the basis of autocracy.
Therefore, in order to advance the reform, it was necessary to create a whole apparatus, specially engaged in the abolition of serfdom. It was supposed to be composed of institutions organized locally, whose proposals were to be submitted to and processed by a central committee which, in itsturn, would be controlled by the monarch.
Since it was the landlords who lost the most in the light of the upcoming changes, for Alexander II the best way out would be if the initiative to free the peasants came from the nobles. Soon such a moment turned up.
Rescript to Nazimov
In the middle of autumn 1857, General Vladimir Ivanovich Nazimov, the governor from Lithuania, arrived in St. Petersburg, who brought with him a petition for granting him and the governors of the Kovno and Grodno provinces the right to give freedom to their serfs, but without granting them land.
In response, Alexander II sends a rescript (personal imperial letter) to Nazimov, in which he instructs local landowners to organize provincial committees. Their task was to develop their own versions of the future peasant reform. At the same time, in the message, the king also gave his recommendations:
- Granting full freedom to serfs.
- All land plots must remain with the landowners, with the retention of ownership.
- Enabling liberated peasants to receive land plots subject to the payment of dues or working off corvee.
- Enabling peasants to redeem their estates.
Soon the rescript appeared in print, which gave impetus to a general discussion of the issue of serfdom.
Establishment of committees
Even at the very beginning of 1857, the emperor, following his plan, created a secret committee on the peasant question, which secretly worked on the development of a reform to abolish serfdom. But only afterAfter the "rescript to Nazimov" became public, the institution began to work in full force. In February 1958, all secrecy was removed from it, renaming it the Main Committee for Peasant Affairs, which was headed by Prince A. F. Orlov.
Editing commissions were created under him, which considered projects submitted by the provincial committees, and on the basis of the data collected, an all-Russian version of the future reform was created.
The chairman of these commissions was appointed a member of the State Council, General Ya. I. Rostovtsev, who fully supported the idea of abolishing serfdom.
Contradictions and work done
During the work on the project between the Main Committee and the majority of provincial landowners, there were serious contradictions. Thus, the landowners insisted that the release of the peasants be limited only to the provision of freedom, and the land could be assigned to them only on the basis of a lease without redemption. The committee wanted to give former serfs the opportunity to purchase land, becoming full owners.
In 1860, Rostovtsev dies, in connection with which Alexander II appoints Count V. N. Panin, who, by the way, was considered an opponent of the abolition of serfdom. Being an unquestioning executor of the royal will, he was forced to complete the reform project.
In October, the work of the Editorial Committees was completed. In total, the provincial committees submitted for consideration 82 projects for the abolition of serfdom, which occupied 32 printed volumes in terms of volume. The result of painstaking work was submitted for consideration to the State Council, and after its adoption, it was submitted for assurance to the king. After familiarization, he signed the relevant Manifesto and Regulations. February 19, 1861 became the official day of the abolition of serfdom.
On March 5, Alexander II personally read documents to the people.
Summary of the Manifesto of February 19, 1861
The main provisions of the document were as follows:
- The serfs of the empire received full personal independence, now they were called "free rural inhabitants".
- From now on (that is, from February 19, 1861), serfs were considered full-fledged citizens of the country with the corresponding rights.
- All movable peasant property, as well as houses and buildings, were recognized as their property.
- The landowners retained the rights to their lands, but at the same time they had to provide the peasants with household plots, as well as field plots.
- For the use of land, the peasants had to pay a ransom both directly to the owner of the territory and to the state.
Necessary Reform Compromise
The new changes could not satisfy the desires of all concerned. The peasants themselves were dissatisfied. First of all, the conditions under which they were provided with land, which, in fact, was the main means of subsistence. Therefore, the reforms of Alexander II, or rather, some of their provisions, are ambiguous.
Thus, according to the Manifesto, throughout Russia, the largest and smallest sizes of land plots per capita were established, depending on the natural and economic characteristics of the regions.
It was assumed that if the peasant allotment had a smaller size than established by the document, then this obliged the landowner to add the missing area. If they are large, then, on the contrary, cut off the excess and, as a rule, the best part of the dress.
Norms for allotments provided
The Manifesto of February 19, 1861 divided the European part of the country into three parts: steppe, black earth and non-black earth.
- The norm of land allotments for the steppe part is from six and a half to twelve acres.
- The norm for the black earth belt was from three to four and a half acres.
- For the non-chernozem strip - from three and a quarter to eight acres.
In the country as a whole, the area of allotment became smaller than it was before the changes, thus, the peasant reform of 1861 deprived the "liberated" more than 20% of the area of cultivated land.
In addition, there was a category of serfs who, in general, did not receive any plots. These are courtyard people, peasants who previously belonged to land-poor nobles, as well as workers in manufactories.
Conditions for the transfer of land ownership
According to the reform of February 19, 1861, the land was not provided to the peasants for ownership, but only for use. But they had the opportunity to redeem it from the owner, that is, to conclude the so-called redemption deal. Until the same momentthey were considered temporarily liable, and for the use of land they had to work out corvee, which was no more than 40 days a year for men, and 30 for women. Or pay rent, the amount of which for the highest allotment ranged from 8-12 rubles, and when assigning a tax, the fertility of the land was necessarily taken into account. At the same time, the temporarily liable did not have the right to simply refuse the allotment provided, that is, the corvée would still have to be worked out.
After the redemption transaction, the peasant became the full owner of the land.
And the state was not left behind
From February 19, 1861, thanks to the Manifesto, the state had the opportunity to replenish the treasury. This income item was opened due to the formula by which the amount of the redemption payment was calculated.
The amount that the peasant had to pay for the land was equated to the so-called conditional capital, which is put in the State Bank at 6% per annum. And these percentages were equated to the income that the landowner had previously received from dues.
That is, if the landowner had 10 rubles of dues from one soul per year, then the calculation was made according to the formula: 10 rubles were divided by 6 (interest on capital), and then multiplied by 100 (total interest) - (10 / 6) x 100=166, 7.
Thus, the total amount of dues was 166 rubles 70 kopecks - the money is "unbearable" for a former serf. But then the state entered into a deal: the peasant had to pay the landowner a lump sumonly 20% of the settlement price. The remaining 80% was contributed by the state, but not just like that, but by providing a long-term loan with a maturity of 49 years and 5 months.
Now the peasant had to pay to the State Bank annually 6% of the amount of the redemption payment. It turned out that the amount that the former serf had to contribute to the treasury exceeded the loan three times. In fact, February 19, 1861 was the date when the former serf, having got out of one bondage, fell into another. And this despite the fact that the amount of the ransom itself exceeded the market value of the allotment.
Results of change
The reform adopted on February 19, 1861 (the abolition of serfdom), despite the shortcomings, gave a solid impetus to the development of the country. 23 million people received freedom, which led to a serious transformation in the social structure of Russian society, and further revealed the need to transform the entire political system of the country.
The timely Manifesto of February 19, 1861, the prerequisites of which could lead to a serious regression, became a stimulating factor for the development of capitalism in the Russian state. Thus, the eradication of serfdom is certainly one of the central events in the history of the country.
