The moment when serfdom was abolished is rightfully considered a turning point in the history of Russia. Despite the gradualness of the reforms, they became a significant impetus in the development of the state. This date is not in vain given such importance. Everyone who considers himself an educated and literate person should remember in what year serfdom was abolished in Russia. After all, if it were not for the Manifesto, signed on February 19, 1861, which liberated the peasants, we would live today in a completely different state.
Serfdom in Russia was a kind of slavery that applied only to rural residents. This feudal system steadfastly held out in a country that aspired to become capitalist, and significantly hampered its development. This became especially obvious after the Crimean War was lost in 1856. According to many historians, the consequences of the defeat were not catastrophic. But they clearly showed the technical backwardness, the economic failure of the empire and the scope of the political crisis that threatened to turn into a revolution.peasants.
Who abolished serfdom? Naturally, under the Manifesto was the signature of Tsar Alexander II, who ruled at that time. But the haste with which the decision was made speaks of the compulsion of these measures. Alexander himself admitted: delay threatened that “the peasants would have liberated themselves.”
It should be noted that the question of the need for reforms in agriculture was raised repeatedly already in the early 1800s. The liberal-minded sections of the nobility were especially persistent about this. However, the answer to these calls was only a leisurely "study of the peasant question", which covered the unwillingness of tsarism to part with its usual foundations. But the widespread intensification of exploitation led to the discontent of the peasants and numerous cases of flight from the landowners. At the same time, the developing industry required workers in the cities. A market for manufactured goods was also needed, and the widespread subsistence economy prevented its expansion. The revolutionary democratic ideas of N. G. Chernyshevsky and N. A. Dobrolyubova, activities of secret societies.
The tsar and his advisers, when they abolished serfdom, showed political foresight, having managed to find a compromise solution. On the one hand, the peasants received personal freedom and civil rights, albeit infringed. The threat of revolution was delayed for a significant period of time. Russia once again received world recognition as a progressive country with a reasonable government. On the other hand, Alexander II managed to take into account the interests of the landlords in the ongoing reforms and make them beneficial for the state.
Contrary to the opinion of educated nobles, who analyzed the European experience in comparison with Russian reality and presented numerous projects for future reforms, the peasants received personal freedom without land. The allotments that were given to them for use remained the property of the landowners until they were completely redeemed. For this period, the peasant turned out to be “temporarily obliged” and was forced to fulfill all the previous duties. As a result, freedom became only a beautiful word, and the situation of the “rural inhabitants” remained extremely difficult as before. In fact, when serfdom was abolished, one form of dependence on the landowner was replaced by another, in some cases even more burdensome.
Soon, the state began to pay for the new "owners" the cost of allotted land, in fact, providing a loan at 6% per year for 49 years. Thanks to this "virtuous deed" for the land, the real value of which was about 500 million rubles, the treasury received about 3 billion
The conditions for the reforms did not suit even the most enterprising peasants. After all, the ownership of allotments did not pass to each farmer specifically, but to the community, which helped to solve many financial problems, but became an obstacle for the enterprising. For example, taxes and redemption payments were made by the peasants all over the world. As a result, I had to pay for those memberscommunities who, for various reasons, could not do this themselves.
These and many other nuances led to the fact that throughout Russia, starting in March 1861, when serfdom was abolished, peasant riots began to flare up. Their number in the provinces numbered in the thousands, only the most significant were about 160. However, the fears of those who expected the "new Pugachevism" did not materialize, and by the autumn of that year the unrest subsided.
The decision to abolish serfdom played a huge role in the development of capitalism and industry in Russia. This reform was followed by others, including the judiciary, which to a large extent removed the sharpness of the contradictions. However, the excessive compromise of changes and a clear underestimation of the influence of Narodnaya Volya ideas caused the bomb explosion that killed Alexander II on March 1, 1881, and the revolutions that turned the country upside down at the beginning of the 20th century.
