Alexander II and Reform
Impact of the Crimean War
The war initially silenced
opposition to the Nicholas I.
But the impact of the war
What did Russians see?
Their army was humbled.
Brining further discredit to the
Officials now openly questioned
Revolts increased among the
Alexander IIs Realization
Alexander II kept the crisis in
Likewise he realized that
reforms were needed.
Or Russia would face civil war.
But he knew that reforms had to
However, he did not have a plan
Ukaz of March 31, 1856
Alexander announced the treaty.
He indicated it could open a new
period of hope and tranquility.
He also had proposals before him
involving serfdom, education, and the legal system.
Questions, Questions, and More Questions
The serfs would not accept words
The nobles wanted to know what
he was about to do?
Alexander told them: better to
abolish serfdom from above than waite till they begin to liberate themselves.
Who Was Alexander II?
Was he Tsar-Liberator?
Was he the Abraham Lincoln of
Was he properly trained for the
tasks he faced?
But when he took the throne he
was 36 and the best educated of the lot.
He was also more humane than his
The First Moves
The Ukaz of March 31, 1856,
opened the debate.
But it took five years before
action took place.
Much of the delay belonged to
The Status of the Nobility
The nobility saw the need for
But they delayed like the Tsar.
But they wanted the best for
The questions of the nobility
delayed the process.
To reach his objective, he had
to turn to his liberal ministers.
Committees of Nobles
These committees of nobles
started the process in Jan. 1857.
Findings were forwarded to St.
There they were reviewed by the
Private Committee of the Emperor.
Their was a delay because
conservatives dragged their feet.
In 1858, the Committee was
renamed the Main Committee.
Alexander pleaded to move
Drafting the Legislation
The actual drafting began in
The main spokesmen was Nicholas
Miliutin, the Deputy Minister of the Interior.
A draft proposal was ready by
The Conservatives attempted more
The final proposal was then sent
to the Emperor to be discussed in the State Council.
The deliberations finally ended
on Feb. 27, 1861.
Which had to be done by the time
of Spring planting.
Vote of the State Council
Votes were made point by point.
Alexander II ordered that the
Act would stand as the draft.
The final form consisted of the
17 articles and special sections.
The full act was known as The
Act on the Emancipation of the Peasants from Sefdom.
Signed on March 3, 1861.
The State Peasants would benefit
Divisions of Serfs
1.4 Million household sefs.
21 million worked the land.
24.7 were state peasants.
22.4 Million serfs were given
their personal liberty.
This effectively brought serfdom
to an end.
More an Involved Process
The peasants retain the land
But they could not refuse.
The goal was to avoid a class of
The nobility was not to be paid
for the loss of their serfs, but they would paid for the loss of their land.
The payment would be in either
money or labor.
The peasants would get the
beggars quarter and wave their claims to the rest.
Paying Their Debt
The serfs preferred to make a
The government provided low
interest loans to those who could not pay.
The redemption payments would
cover 49 years.
By 1880, settlements were made
on 85% of the land.
Most of their land was over
The Devil was in the Details
The land did not go to the
Instead it went to the commune.
One could leave the commune and
sell their land.
While the Emancipation Manifesto
ended the peasant/landlord relationship.
But it did not end the
relationship between the peasant and the commune.
The commune was to collect the
redemption dues, what was to be grown, and when the land tilled.
The Administrative Organ of Emancipation
Village commune was the organ.
The district/canton government
supplement the commune.
The local government included
assessor, judge, clerk, and elder.
Elected by delegates from the
The court handled original
jurisdiction and handled appeals from the assembly.
The goal was to become the
self-government for the peasants.
Class Status of the Peasants
Socially they were at the
There clothes set them apart.
Which made them second class.
If not lower.
Restricted from entering public
And still liable for corporal
Established a free peasantry but
could not support themselves.
Accelerated the collapse of the
But exposed the nobility as
Some tried to become gentlemen
Rural areas continued to
Emancipation was just the first
The improved status of the serfs
required strengthening of local government.
Nicholas Miluitin adopted many
of Speranskys proposals.
Miluitin had too many enemies
and was replaced byh Peter Valuiev.
Valuiev championed the dominance
of the nobility.
The Zemstvo Law
Proposed by Valuiev.
Established elected assemblies
on the district level.
Composed three classes of voters
landowners, wealthy townspeople, and peasants.
Each class voted separately.
The nobility had the edge in
In the first elections 43%
nobles, 38% peasants, and 18% from other classes.
Zemstvos had no jurisdiction
And only applied to European
Powers of the Zemstvos
Authority to impose limited
taxes on real estate and business.
Work on roads.
Had no police powers.
Liberals thought this would work
and lead to other reforms.
Most of the earlier reforms only
existed on paper.
Earlier on 10% of eligible
voters ever voted.
A draft reform was ready by
But a conservative reaction
forced Alexander II to retract this measure.
The Statute of 1870 allowed for
suffrage for males who paid taxes.
A three-class system was
organized according to wealth.
The emperor appointed the mayors
in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The Duties of Municipal Governments
Limited taxing powers.
But not chief political
Alexander realized the old
system had to be reformed.
So in 1862, work was started on
a new legal code.
By 1864, the new legal system
was introduced on the French system.
Which provided for:
Justice-of-the-peace system to
handle petty offenses.
Some Weaknesses in the Legal System
Did not apply to the peasantry.
Juries could not handle cases
Censorship was an other issue.
Partially lifted, but not
All books of over ten pages were
subject to preliminary censorship.
Some books got through
Marxs Das Kapital.
Harsh measures of Nicholas I
Schools were now open to
children of all classes.
Religion was no longer a bar to
Autonomy was now restored.
Faculties had the authority to
control their administrations.
Admissions were liberalized.
Women were allowed to become
The Crimean war exposed Russia
to the necessity of reform of the Army.
This was the work of D.A.
He was war minister from
Earlier the bulk of the army
came from urban poor or peasants.
Who served for 25 years.
And discipline was harsh.
Raise the dignity of service.
Improve the quality of the
Eliminate corporal punishment.
Reduce the length of service to
Established military schools to
Including specialized schools
for the infantry, artillery, and cavalry.
Still the nobility monopolized
the officer billets.
The major change came in 1874
with universal military service.
All males eligible for military
service at 20.
Some were excused or exempted.
Following active service, a
reserve commitment was required.