February 19, 1861. Peasant Reform in Russia. Abolition of serfdom

The reign of Alexander II (1856-1881) went down in history as a period of "great reforms". In many respects, thanks to the emperor, serfdom was abolished in Russia in 1861 - an event that, undoubtedly, is his main achievement, which played a big role in the future development of the state.

Preconditions for the abolition of serfdom

In 1856-1857 a number of southern provinces shook the peasant unrest, which, however, very quickly subsided. But, nevertheless, they served as a reminder to the ruling authorities that the situation in which the common people are located can eventually turn out to be grave consequences for it.

In addition, the existing serfdom significantly slowed the progress of the country's development. The axiom that free labor was more effective than the servitude was fully manifested: Russia lagged behind the Western states in both the economy and the socio-political sphere. It was threatened by the fact that the image of a powerful power that had been created earlier could simply dissolve, and the country would become second-rate. Not to mention the fact that serfdom was very much like slavery.

By the end of the 1950s, out of the country's 62 million people, more than a third of them lived in complete dependence on their owners. Russia urgently needed a peasant reform. 1861 was to be a year of serious changes, which should be carried out so that they could not shake the established foundations of the autocracy, and the nobility maintained its dominant position. Therefore, the process of abolishing serfdom required careful analysis and elaboration, and this, because of the imperfect state apparatus, was already problematic.

The necessary steps for the coming changes

The abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861 had to seriously affect the life foundations of a huge country.

However, if in states that live under the Constitution, before they make any changes, they are discussed in the ministries and discussed in the government, after which ready reform projects are submitted to the parliament, which makes the final verdict, in Russia neither ministries nor the representative body Existed. And serfdom was legalized at the state level. Alexander II could not abolish it alone, since this would violate the rights of the nobility, which is the basis of the autocracy.

Therefore, in the country, to advance the reform, it was necessary to create a whole apparatus specifically dedicated to the abolition of serfdom. It was assumed that it would consist of institutions organized in the field, whose proposals should be submitted and processed in the central committee, which, in turn, would be controlled by the monarch.

Since in the light of the upcoming changes the landlords lost most of all, for Alexander II the best way would be if the initiative for the liberation of the peasants was from the nobility. Soon such a moment turned up.

Rescript to Nazimova

In the middle of the autumn of 1857, General Vladimir Ivanovich Nazimov, the governor from Lithuania, arrived in St. Petersburg and brought with him a petition for granting the right to him and the governors of the Kovno and Grodno provinces to give free their serfs, but without giving them land.

In response, Alexander II sends a rescript (personal imperial letter) addressed to Nazimov in which he instructs the local landowners to organize provincial committees. Their task was to develop their own options for future peasant reform. At the same time the Tsar gave his recommendations in the message:

• Granting complete freedom to serfs.
• All land allotments must remain with the landowners, with the preservation of the property right.
• Provision of an opportunity for the liberated peasants to receive land allotments provided that they pay a dowry or work out a corvée.
• To give the peasants the opportunity to redeem their estates.

Soon rescript appeared in the press, which gave impetus to a general discussion of the question of serfdom.

Establishment of committees

At the very beginning of 1857, the emperor, following his plan, created a secret committee on the peasant question, which secretly engaged in the development of reform to abolish serfdom. But only after the "Rescript Nazimov" became public, the institution earned its full force. In February 1958, he was removed from all secrecy, renaming the Main Committee on Peasant Affairs, headed by Prince AF. Orlov.

When it was created, the Editorial Commission, which examined the projects submitted by the provincial committees, and based on the collected data, an all-Russian version of the future reform was created.

The chairman of these commissions was appointed member of the State Council, General Ya.I. Rostovtsev, who fully supported the idea of abolishing serfdom.

Contradictions and the work done

In the course of working on the draft, there were serious contradictions between the Main Committee and the majority of the provincial landowners. Thus, the landowners insisted that the liberation of the peasants be limited only to the granting of freedom, and the land could be secured for them only on a leasehold basis without redemption. The committee also wanted to give the former serf the opportunity to acquire land, becoming full owners.

In 1860, Rostovtsev dies, in connection with which the head of the Editorial Commissions, Alexander II appoints Count VN. Panin, who, by the way, was considered an opponent of the abolition of serfdom. Being an unquestioning performer of the Tsar's will, he was forced to complete the reform project.

In October, the work of the Drafting Committees was completed. In total, the provincial committees submitted 82 drafts for the abolition of serfdom, which occupied 32 printed volumes in volume. The result of painstaking work was submitted for consideration to the State Council, and after its adoption is presented for assurance to the tsar. After acquaintance with him, the relevant Manifesto and the Regulations were signed. February 19, 1861 was the official day of abolition of serfdom.

On March 5, Alexander II personally read the documents before the people.

The main provisions of the manifesto on February 19, 1861

The main provisions of the document were as follows:

• The serfs of the empire received full personal independence, now they were called "free rural inhabitants".
• From now on (that is, on February 19, 1861) serfs were considered full citizens of the country with the corresponding rights.
• All movable peasant property, as well as houses and buildings were recognized as their property.
• The landlords retained their rights to their lands, but they had to provide homesteads to the peasants, as well as field allotments.
• For the use of land plots peasants had to pay ransom both directly to the owner of the territory, and to the state.

The necessary compromise of reform

New changes could not satisfy the desire of all interested. The peasants themselves were dissatisfied. First of all, by what conditions did they provide land, which, in fact, was the main means of existence. Therefore, the reforms of Alexander II, or rather, some of their provisions, are ambiguous.

Thus, according to the Manifesto, the largest and smallest sizes of land allotments per capita were established throughout Russia, depending on the natural and economic characteristics of the regions.

It was assumed that if the peasant allotment was smaller than that established by the document, then it obliged the landowner to add the missing area. If it's big, then, on the contrary, cut off the extra and, as a rule, the best part of the allotment.

Norms of allotments provided

The Manifesto on February 19, 1861, divided the European part of the country into three parts: the steppe, chernozem and non-chernozem.

• The rate of land allotments for the steppe part is from six and a half to twelve dessiatines.
• The norm for the chernozem strip was from three to four and a half acres.
• For the non-chernozem strip - from three and a quarter to eight dessiatines.

In general, the area of the allotment became smaller in the country than before the changes, thus, the peasant reform of 1861 deprived the "liberated" more than 20% of the area of cultivated land.

In addition, there was a category of serfs who, in general, did not receive any plots. These are household people, peasants who previously belonged to the landless nobles, as well as workers' manufactories.

Terms of transfer of land in ownership

According to the reform of February 19, 1861, the land was given to the peasants not for property, but only for use. But they had the opportunity to buy it from the owner, that is, to conclude a so-called redemption deal. Until the same time, they were considered temporarily liable, and for using the land they had to work out a corvée, which was no more than 40 days a year for men, and 30 for women. Or, to pay a rent, the amount of which for the highest allotment was from 8 to 12 rubles, and when assigning the tax, the fertility of the lands was necessarily taken into account. At the same time, the temporarily liable did not have the right to simply refuse the allotment provided, that is, the corvee still had to work out.

After the completion of the redemption deal, the peasant became a full-fledged owner of the land plot.

And the state did not remain in the forefront

Since February 19, 1861, thanks to the Manifesto, the state has the opportunity to replenish the treasury. This income item was opened because of the formula by which the amount of the redemption payment was calculated.

The amount that the peasant was to pay for the land was equal to the so-called contingent capital, which was put into the State Bank at 6% per annum. And these percentages were equated to that income which the landlord received from a quitrent earlier.

That is, if the landowner had 10 rubles a year from one soul per year, then the calculation was made using the formula: 10 rubles were divided into 6 (percentages from capital), and then multiplied by 100 (the total number of percentages) - (10/6) х 100 = 166.7.

Thus, the total amount of the quitrent was 166 rubles 70 kopecks - the money was "prohibitive" for the former serf. But then the state entered into the transaction: the peasant had to pay the landowner at a time only 20% of the estimated price. The remaining 80% was contributed by the state, but not simply, but by providing a long-term loan with a maturity of 49 years and 5 months.

Now the peasant was to pay the State Bank annually 6% of the amount of the redemption payment. It turned out that the amount that the former serf had to contribute to the treasury exceeded the loan three times. In fact, February 19, 1861 was the date when the former serf peasant, getting out of one bondage, fell into another. And this despite the fact that the size of the amount of redemption exceeded the market value of the allotment.

Results of changes

The reform, adopted February 19, 1861 (abolition of serfdom), despite the shortcomings, gave a strong impetus to the development of the country. Freedom received 23 million people, which led to a serious transformation in the social structure of Russian society, and later revealed the need to transform the entire political system of the country.

The Manifesto issued on February 19, 1861, the prerequisites of which could lead to serious regress, became a stimulating factor for the development of capitalism in the Russian state. Thus, the eradication of serfdom, of course, is one of the central events in the history of the country.