Emancipation reform of 1861

1855-1881, formally emancipated, or set free, the serfs in the Emancipation Reform of 1861 despite that it was only applied to privately owned serfs and was a measured three stage process beginning with personal freedom. Ultimately, Alexander II emancipated the serfs as it held back Russia’s economy from progressing and improving. However, the combination of various military, social and political factors also contributed to the decision of Alexander II to emancipate the serfs. There were many military-related reasons which would incentivise the emancipation of serfs, especially following the Crimean War which led people to believe that reform was necessary. During…

Alexander II is known today as the “Tsar Liberator. He held a vision of Russia as a major world power, a Russia that was westernized, industrialized, and educated. However, his reforms did not go so smoothly. With many attempts to take his life were made throughout his reign, he was finally assassinated before the completion of his reforms in March 1881. Was the reforms he made deemed a success? The humiliation of the Crimean War had greatly exposed Russia's main problems, involving its lack…

increased the peasants’ incentive to produce, and in the response to this production increased by 40 %. Even with the introduction of industrialisation, the majority of Russians were peasants working the land. Therefore, it was clear that in order to remain in power, Russian rulers and leaders had to keep peasants on their side. Before 1861, serfs owned no land. However, this partly changed after 1861 when the serfs were emancipated by Alexander II. Whilst the serfs still had to work for their…

Alexander's attempts to save the country from the disastrous state it was in.However Passage A overlooks the consequences and the actual impact of his reforms. Passage B also overlooks the long term impact that Alexander's reforms had, instead focuses on the short term effects and immediate impact of Alexander's reforms. Passage A describes the impact of Alexander’s domestic policies in theory rather than in practice, because of this we are given a limited insight into the impact of the…

By 1861, Russia had been and would remain a backwards country. Russia possessed a large population and adequate land, both of which had combined to eliminate the urgent need for industrialization that had affected Western Europe. With its primarily agrarian economy and autocratic government, Russia struggled to catch up with the rest of the modernizing countries in Europe. In this historical context, Tsar Alexander II’s 1861 emancipation of all Russian serfs was a shocking first in a series of…

mitigated some of the financial burden faced by the peasantry after the emancipation of 1861 and diminished distress and unrest in the countryside. Polunov asserts Nikolai Bunge is credited with the founding of “a Peasant Land Bank, on May 18, 1882”, however, it's likely Alexander III would receive the credit even if he was not at the forefront of the movement. As Goodson claims “Alexander III established the Peasant Land Bank” which further shows how Alexander III wanted to portray himself as…

Although many of Alexander II’s reforms appeared liberal in nature, most of them did not turn out so in practice and were simply initiated to promote stability in the Russian Empire. Furthermore, Alexander II was reluctant to relinquish his absolute power. Combined with the fact that he displayed traits of an autocrat from time to time, particularly after an assassination attempt in 1866, these reasons make ‘Tsar Liberator’ an unsuitable title for him. Instead, a better term to describe…

The Reformation period of Tsar Alexander II’s reign stapled him in Russian history as the “Tsar-Liberator”. The Emancipation of Serfs, and the Zemstvo reform had a major positive impact on Russia in both economic and political ways. Through the scope of historical perspective, Alexander II is deserving of the title “Tsar-Liberator” for making great advancements in Russia even when it opposed prior Russian culture and norms. The Emancipation of Serfs was the boldest of all of Alexander II’s…

President Lincoln issued the proclamation in January 1863. At this time the Democratic Party had just won the election, and Lincoln felt that he could get a positive reaction from the majority. Besides, he had been advised by the secretary of state William Seward to delay the emancipation proclamation until the union had won the elections. The emancipation proclamation decision was due to the pressure from the antislavery northerners who demanded the liberation to weaken the South 's power in…

unifications of Italy and Germany, many other countries were also undergoing change to become better, successful, and more dominant. Mainly, there were three countries that had experienced reforms or changes. One of these countries or nations, was the Austrian Empire. As the only lasting result of the revolution of 1848 was the emancipation, which freed the serfs; the Austrian Empire was in need of economic and social change. However, this change brought about an urban proletariat, labor unrest,…