Radical Changes In Russia Under Tsar Alexander II

Under Tsar Alexander II, Russia experienced a few changes. One of the most radical changes to have occurred was the liberation of serfs; fifty million serfs were freed. Emancipated peasants formed new communities, and as part of these new groups were allowed to own land through grants given by the government. Unfortunately, being part of a commune in which decisions and landowning was a shared event, individual peasants could not put up their portion of land for sale and leave their community to work in factories. In exchange for the land they farmed, peasants were forced to pay off long-term government loans which lined the pockets of the original landowners. Even with these hefty financial burdens and strict communal parameters in place that peasants had to deal with, the end of serfdom helped to make life much more bearable for them. …show more content…
Regional councils (zemstvos) were established. This local self-government gave nobles the ability to control public health, welfare, and education. With the Zemstvos evolving into such a political might, they could have been problematic for the rigid central government. Also, the judicial reforms helped to set an important precedence: in the eyes of the law, people of all social ranks were identified as being on the same level plane and were given equal access to civil courts.

The Russian military also experienced reform. The government cut the amount of time that soldiers were mandated to serve: the twenty-five year term was condensed to a six-year period. In addition, the government made it a priority that their armed forces receive the proper education needed to ensure that their troops’ fitness and efficiency were equivalent to that of their counterparts in western