Analysis of Alexander II's Achievements in Russia
Analysis of Alexander II's Achievements in Russia
As an autocrat, Alexander II recognized it as his duty to rectify a system that had manifestly failed Russia (in the Crimea as well as at home), yet he was uncertain how best to go about the task. Following the war political prisoners were released, censorship was relaxed, tax arrears were cancelled, serfdom was abolished and some of the liberties of Poland and of the Catholic Church were restored. The Crimean war had also illustrated faults in the social and governmental system of Russia which Alexander tried to correct by instigating a number of reforms which were motivated by a desire to strengthen the autocracy. Alexander II marked the opening of a period of reform in Russian politics and social issues, in which such reforms were to have implications for the future of Russia.
“Existing order of serfdom cannot remain unchanged. It is better to abolish it from above than to wait for the time when it will begin to abolish itself from below” This speech was given by Alexander to the nobility of Moscow in April 1856, and was to be the introduction of arguably the grandest social reform of the19th century in Russia. The Emancipation of Serfs was introduced five years after the speech above and ultimately granted the serfs their personal freedom over a period of two years, and the land which they had previously worked. However domestic serfs who did not work the land were not entitled to land which created further hostility. For state peasants the period of transition to freedom was five years. The landowners were not expected to surrender land freely, in compensation for the land that they transferred to the peasants they received payment in the form of government bonds. To recoup their losses the government charged peasants ‘redemption dues’ in the form of regular repayments over a period of 49 years.
This had considerable impacts on the population, firstly the process was slow, dictated by the needs of the individual landowner, secondly, the land settlement made upon the ex-serfs was usually un-satisfactory. The areas granted to them were often too small, and they were charged sometimes nearly three times the value of the land obtained with added pressure of ‘redemption payments’ foreshadowing an unhappy ‘freedom’.
Further administrative reform was needed as a consequence to the emancipation of serfs, this...