As the eldest of Nicholas I's sons, Alexander was groomed from an early age to become the ruler of Russia. Unlike his father, he was not unprepared to become emperor, and in fact had received a classical as well as a practical education. He was one of the most intelligent men to rule Russia, as well as one of the most enlightened.

The events of the Crimean War, plus his own observations, led Alexander to believe that changes had to be made in the way that Russia was governed. At the time of his coronation in 1856 (following his father's death in 1855) Alexander stated that it would be better to begin to abolish serfdom from above than to wait until it began to abolish itself from below, and asked that the nobility begin to consider that idea.

He also made it clear that emancipation would have to occur with land, and lifted restrictions on discussing the issue in the press. In 1858, gentry committees were established to discuss the issue and determine the most effective manner in which to go about ending serfdom. The gentry throughout the country realised that Alexander was serious and that their best bet was to ensure that they were not cheated by being part of the process. Those who lived in the southern regions, where the soil was the best, wanted to provide the serfs with monetary compensation rather than with land, while the northern nobles wanted monetary compensation for themselves for the loss of their rent payments.

In addition to worries about compensation, etc, issues of the legal standing of the serfs after emancipation also existed, as well as the question as to where the newly freed serfs would fit socially.

Emancipation

On February 19, 1861, Alexander signed the emancipation into law, with the announcement being made public 12 days later. However, this was not a complete emancipation. The serfs, although no longer held in bondage, still had to pay a head tax, had to remain in the communes, and were judged on customary law rather than the official law code. Serfs who had been farmers were given land, but those who had worked as household servants did not receive anything.

The land grants were typically about half of what the serfs had been previously working, with the other half going back to the landlords. The serfs were required to repay their former owners for the land, which was done by having the serfs purchase treasury bonds from the government, and then agreeing to repay the government over the 49 year period.

As an alternative, peasants were allowed to take a 1/4 portion of their normal parcel (1/8 of what they had previously worked) without having to pay the government back; this land, called a "Beggar's Portion" was rarely enough to sustain an individual, much less a family.

Except in the Ukraine, the land was not given individually to peasants, but rather was given to the obshchina, or commune, again stressing the importance of remaining with the commune. The commune was responsible for the payment of taxes, the providing of recruits for the army, and all other obligations to the state, and as a result the individual peasant had no real interaction with the state.

The reform impacted 52 million peasants, of whom about 20 million had been held on private estates, and while when compared to the emancipation of the slaves in the US (where those formerly held in bondage received nothing) the Russian plan is certainly more favorable, there were still major problems and criticisms.

The land allotments were not large enough, because their allotments were frequently less than what the serfs had been tilling themselves, and in part because the land they were given was usually the worst of the lot.

They were not granted the lands with forests, or with access to rivers or irrigation, so crops would not grow. Supplies were not granted, nor was livestock, so their means of production were rather limited. In addition, the financial arrangement was ridiculous; most serfs could barely feed their families, much less make mortgage payments to the state. Interest payments mounted, many accounts were foreclosed, and by the time the payments were abolished in 1905 (a little too late), the peasantry had already paid 1 and 1/2 times what the land was worth.

The decision to give the land to the communes was, in the opinion of most historians, a major mistake. The communes were not the most advanced system of government to exist, and they tended to perpetuate backwardness and other problems of stagnation simply because of their structure. In addition, favoritism did exist, with certain peasants receiving better land because of their relationship with the head of the commune, which added to the resentment of the peasantry.

Finally, the reforms disappointed the one group that Alexander had hoped to appease: the growing radical community, who believed that the reforms were inadequate and began to argue against the continuation of the monarchy. Alexander would try to appease these groups with a series of other reforms.

Zemstvo Reforms

The first of the major reforms were changes in local government, with the establishment of the zemstvo system in 1864. The idea behind the zemstvos was the strong modernisation and democratisation of the local government, coupled with an attempt to meet the local needs of the small farmers without the inconvenience usually associated with the Russian government.

Representation in the zemstvos was determined by amount of land ownership, but the gentry were not allowed to be part of it, as they were already represented with the various incarnations of the Duma. Most local needs fell under the zemstvo boards, including education, veterinary medicine, insurance, roads, medicine, and so on.

Overall, the system was somewhat ineffective, as it did not have much power in terms of taxation and remained subordinate to the central government in terms of police action and administrative control of the countryside. However, regardless of the criticism, the creation of the zemstvo was a huge step for Russia towards more self-government. In 1870, the creation of a similar system for the urban centers applied many of the same requirements and powers to the towns.

Legal Reforms

Legal reform also occurred in 1864. These reforms separated courts from administration, so that rather than remaining a part of the bureaucracy, the courts became their own branch of government.

Many of the proceedings became open rather than secret, and judges could only be dismissed or transferred by court action, rather than on the whims of bureaucrats. Two major ways to conduct a procedure, general and abbreviated, replaced the previous 21 ways, and trial by jury was introduced for serious crimes.

All Russians were to be equal before the law, with the exception of the military and the church. The legal reforms followed French models and were by far the most successful of the great reforms, in terms of their usefulness and in terms of how they were implemented.

Military Reform

The reorganisation of the military was the last of the great reforms. Begun in 1874, the reform changed the laws regarding mandatory service, although this only applied to the lower classes. Terms of service were changed from 25 to 6 years, so that a term in the military was no longer a life sentence. The reforms also saw the organization of a military reserve.

One of the major problems for the military during the Crimean War had been the lack of education among the soldiers, and the Great Reforms addressed that, establishing that basic education be provided for all draftees. The reforms also eliminated corporal punishment, as well as a better trained officer corps. In addition, the same types of changes were enacted in the navy.

Unfortunately, none of these changes touched on the most obvious problem of the Russian military, and that was the backwardness of the services. This problem, which had been exposed during the Crimean War, was one which impacted all branches of the Russian military. Over the course of the 40 years following the Great Military Reform, it would become increasingly obvious that the Russian military was behind its European counterparts in terms of equipment, training, and preparation, and in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5, the backwardness of the Russian military would result in a shocking defeat to the rising Asian power.

Other Reforms

Other reforms included the creation of a state bank, and of a single state treasury, the liberalisation of education and censorship laws, and a general lifting of restrictions.

Unfortunately for Alexander, these reforms did not satisfy everyone. They only applied to Russia proper, and when the Poles revolted against Russia in 1863, in part because of the lack of reforms in that country, the rebellion was quickly put down and Poland was placed back under strict Russian control.

Perhaps the clearest sign that things were not as positive as Alexander would have liked were the assassination attempts against the emperor, one of the most serious of which occurred in 1866. Alexander was a little dissuaded by the negative reaction that many of the reforms received, and as a result his reforms were somewhat less radical after that time. In fact, ironically, the people that were most disappointed in his reforms were the radicals, who believed that he did not go far enough. The revolutionary movement that began during the reign of Alexander II would eventually give rise to the Social Democrats, the Social Revolutionaries, the Constitutional Democrats, and a score of other political parties who demanded changes within the government. In perhaps one of the greatest ironies of all time, Alexander was actually on his way to discuss the possibility of a constitutional monarchy when he was assassinated in March of 1881. His assassins, members of the People's Will Party, included Vera Figner, whose "Memoirs of a Revolutionist" provided an in depth examination of how and why the tsar was killed. Her party, and the others, will be discussed next week.

A marble bust of Alexander II, now displayed at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg

The Church of the Savior of the Spilt Blood, built on the site where Alexander II was assassinated in 1881

The cover of Figner's Memoirs, with her most famous portrait