The 1961 Manifesto forever abolished serfdom in the Russian Empire. What did this reform change for the common people? Firstly, yesterday's serf, who was the property of the landowner, almost a thing, gained personal freedom. Secondly, he received the right to dispose of his property independently. What has always been the most important thing for a 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 corvée or dues, in fact, little different from the previous duties. Thus, the life of the people with the acquisition of freedom has not changed much. Often the temporarily liable peasant received an even smaller plot than he had cultivated until then. In addition, the best land remained with the landlords, while the people received the poorest, rocky and inconveniently located 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, which was greatly inflated. It turned out that he also pays for hispersonal freedom. The state immediately gave the money to the landlords, and the common people had to pay him the entire amount for 49 years and, moreover, 6% annually for using the loan.
As a result of the reform, the landowner 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 buy the land paid dues for its use or worked for the former owner.
A temporarily obligated peasant was called the "owner" of the land allotment immediately after he entered into a redemption deal. However, he became its full owner only after paying all debts. It can be said that only at that moment did he stop being a serf and become a free man, since he was completely dependent on the land, which remained in the hands of the landlords.
It was assumed that within 20 years each temporarily liable peasant would give money to the landowner for his land allotment. However, the exact dates were not set, so many were in no hurry to take out a loan, continuing to pay the owner for the use of the land with corvée or dues. By 1870, there were only about half of the purchased plots. Over the next eleven years, their number increased to 85%. It was then that the temporarily obligated state of the peasants was abolished. 1881 was the year when a law was passed on the mandatory purchase of land allotment over the next two years.years. Anyone who did not draw up a redemption deal during this time lost their plot. Thus, this category of people finally disappeared by 1883.
The Manifesto of 1861 gave the peasants their freedom without any conditions, but payments for a loan from the state led to the fact that even at the beginning of the 20th century, about 40% of them remained practically semi-serfs, continuing to work for the landlords to pay off the debt. The state for the period that the temporarily obligated state of the peasants existed, only on operations with land plots received a profit of about 700 million rubles.
