When serfdom in Russia was abolished

The moment when serfdom was abolished, is rightfully considered a turning point in the history of Russia. Despite the gradualness of the reforms, they have become a significant impetus in the development of the state. This date is not vainly given such importance. Everyone who considers himself an educated and literate person should remember in which year serfdom was abolished in Russia. After all, if it were not for the Manifesto signed on February 19, 1861 and liberating the peasants, we would now live in a completely different state.

Serfdom in Russia was a peculiar form of slavery, which extended only to rural residents. This feudal system staunchly held in the country, which aspired to become capitalist, and considerably hampered its development. This became especially obvious after the Crimean War was lost in 1856 . According to many historians, the consequences of the defeat were not catastrophic. But they clearly showed the technical backwardness, the economic inconsistency of the empire and the scope of the political crisis that threatened to turn into a peasant revolution.

Who abolished serfdom? Naturally, the Manifesto contained the signature of Tsar Alexander II, who ruled at that time. But the haste with which the decision was made, speaks about the necessity of these measures. Alexander himself admitted: the delay threatened by the fact that "the peasants would have freed themselves".

It should be noted that the question of the need for reforms in agriculture was raised several times already in the early 1800s. Particularly insistently talked about this liberal-minded strata of the nobility. However, the response to these appeals was only a leisurely "study of the peasant question", which covered the reluctance of tsarism to part with the usual foundations. But the general increase in exploitation led to discontent among the peasants and to numerous cases of flight from the landlords. At the same time, the developing industry required workers in the cities. The market for the goods produced was also needed, and the widespread subsistence economy hindered its expansion. The revolutionary democratic ideas of NG helped to strengthen the radical moods of the public. Chernyshevsky and N.A. Dobrolyubova, the activities of secret societies.

The tsar and his advisers, when they abolished serfdom, showed political foresight, having managed to find a compromise solution. On the one hand, peasants have received personal freedom and civil rights, albeit disadvantaged. The threat of revolution was postponed for a considerable period of time. Russia once again received world recognition as a progressive country with a reasonable rule. On the other hand, Alexander II managed to take into account the interests of the landlords and make them profitable for the state in the ongoing reforms.

Contrary to the opinion of educated nobles who analyzed the European experience in comparison with Russian reality and represented numerous projects of future reforms, peasants received personal freedom without land. The allotments that were given to them for use remained the property of the landowners until they were fully redeemed. For this period, the peasant was "temporarily obligated" and was forced to perform all previous duties. As a result, freedom became only a beautiful word, and the situation of "rural inhabitants" remained extremely difficult. In fact, when serfdom was abolished, one form of dependence on the landowner was replaced by another, in some cases even more burdensome.

Soon the state began to pay for the new "owners" the cost of allocated land, in fact, providing a loan at 6% per year for 49 years. Thanks to this "virtuous act" for the land, the real value of which was about 500 million rubles, the treasury received about 3 billion rubles.

The conditions for carrying out the reforms did not suit the more proactive peasants. After all, ownership of allotments did not pass to each farmer specifically, but to the community, which helped solve many financial problems, but became an obstacle for the enterprising. For example, the peasants paid taxes and ransom payments by the whole world. As a result, they had to pay for those members of the community who could not do it themselves for various reasons.

These and many other nuances led to the fact that peasant riots broke out throughout Russia, beginning in March 1861, when serfdom was abolished. Their number in the provinces was estimated in the thousands, only the most significant were about 160. However, the fears of those who expected the "new Pugachevschina" were not justified, and by the autumn of the same year the excitement subsided.

The decision to abolish serfdom played a huge role in the development of capitalism and industry in Russia. This reform was followed by others, including the judiciary, which largely removed the severity of the contradictions. However, the excessive compromise of changes and the obvious underestimation of the influence of the people's ideas made the bombing of the bomb that killed Alexander I on March 1, 1881, and the revolutions that upset the country in the early 20th century.