Intentions of Alexander II and the Failure of the Emancipation of the Serfs

Intentions of Alexander II and the Failure of the Emancipation of the Serfs

In the 19th century it was estimated that about 50 per cent of the

40,000,000 peasants in Russia were serfs, who worked on the land and

were owned by the Russian nobility, the Tsar and religious

foundations. This had been true for centuries; in 1861, however, this

was all changed when Tsar Alexander II emancipated the serfs and gave

them freedom from ownership. Alexander's decision was based on many

reasons, and did not have the desired consequences, for the serfs at

least. Therefore, it is possible to question Alexander's motives for

such large reform, which this essay will do and will also look at why

the emancipation, which had been anticipated for so long, was such a

failure.

In the mid and late nineteenth century the whole of western Europe

underwent immense change, both economically and socially, due to the

industrial revolution. Factories, railways and industrial cities were

built at an astonishing rate, and trade between countries became even

more important as agriculture became less important. In order to

survive as a strong power in this new economic and social climate,

Russia needed to be able to compete in industrial terms with the rest

of the world, particularly as it's agriculture was under threat

already. Even though four-fifths of the population were peasants, a

prosperous and thriving faming economy had never fully developed,

party because of the land itself - much of Russia lay too far north to

have soil good enough for either crop-growing or cattle-rearing.

From 1840 onwards, the need for serious reform became apparent to the

Tsar ...

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...of the Emancipation Act show

that the real needs and wants of the serfs were not properly

considered, and, although he probably believed that what he was doing

was right for Russia, Alexander's reforms were based more on his fear

of uprising and his vision of an industrialised Russia. Emancipation

failed, therefore, because Alexander II forced a freedom onto the

serfs that they were neither prepared for nor welcoming of.

Bibliography

www.spartacus.schoolsnet.co.uk

www.pvhs.chico.k12.ca.us

Access to History, Reaction and Revolutions: Russia 1881-1924

Michael Lynch (2000)

Challenging History: Europe 1890-1990

[1] Michael Lynch, Russian 1881-1924 (2000) p. 10

[2] E Acton, Russia, p.75 (1986)

[3] Russell Sherman, Russia 1815-81 (1992) p. 58

[4] Jake Axel, www.webserver.rcds.rye.ny.us