Essay on Alexander II

Submitted By Gabriel-Shaft
Words: 1786
Pages: 8
Open Document
“The emancipation of the serfs in Russia was the only genuine reform introduced by Alexander II”.
To what extent do you agree with this assertion?

1881 saw the death of the Tsar known as “the Liberator” by some in Russia. He had emancipated the serfs, thereby abolishing the system of serfdom that was in place, a system where the peasant population were the property of the owner of the land. It can be argued that this was the Tsar's only genuine (sincere and authentic) reform, which is the amendment of something that is unsatisfactory or corrupt, which I believe is false, as there were many other reforms throughout his reign which indicate that the emancipation of the serfs was not the sole mission of Alexander II, however some of his later reforms show to some extent the fears of an ageing Tsar, which can be interpreted as being Muscovite. The process of emancipation and the emancipation itself also gives insight into the sincerity of Alexander II views on reforming Russia, allowing us to determine whether it was even a genuine reform in the first place.

The emancipation edict was came into effect in 1861 and was the life's work of the Tsar who had seen the harshness of the serf system since his early years. The edict itself was divided into three separate stages: freedom, temporary obligation and redemption operation. The first stage gave the serfs their personal freedom, however the serfs were obliged to continue working as serfs for two more years, in order for time to be allowed to survey and value all of the land. The second stage made the serfs pay rent to the landowners, whilst agreeing on the price of land that would be given to them. The third stage was the process of repayment: the ex-serfs would pay taxes to the government and would pay off the land that they had been allocated to the landowner. Judicial and administrative authority was also handed out to the volosts, which were newly formed village communes which were in charge of local courts and ensuring that payments were collected. The success and nature of the emancipation has been argued extensively by historians; David Moon argued that the emancipation did achieve economic development, slowly at first however it began to rise later on in the Tsar's reign, and he also argued that the peasants did experience steady improvement in living standards. It is convincing to draw this conclusion as there is evidence to support this. A middle class known as the kulaks did begin to form in the wake of the emancipation, who experienced significantly better living standards, and some peasants managed to work in the cities, where life was better. On the other hand though, many peasants experienced similar or worse standards of living, as on average they lost 20% of their former land and 15% of the peasant population was still in the second stage in 1881, due to the landowners refusal to agree on a price, hence we can see there were a variety in the different successes and failures of the emancipation. By looking at the aftermath of the emancipation, it is clear that the emancipation was genuinely intended to help the lower classes.

Genuine is used to describe something that is free from pretence, affectation or hypocrisy. A popular synonym is sincere. Was Alexander II decision to emancipate the serfs actually a genuine decision or was it out of necessity? On one hand, it can be seen that there were many practical arguments for emancipating the serfs. The Russian economy was stagnating, due to the lack of industrialisation, unlike what was being seen throughout Europe at the time. The nobles were also falling behind on payments as there wasn't enough grain being produced to export, which led 66% of serfs being mortgaged to the state by 1959, and furthermore the stagnation left the serfs unable to pay taxes, which led to 54 million roubles in tax arrears by 1855, hence it can be seen why reform was necessary in order to fix the economy, perhaps indicating that the
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Alexander II

Tsar Alexander Ii Essay examples

autocratic rule.” To what extent do you agree with this point of view? Tsar Alexander II had many reforms. He was an autocratic ruler who began his reforms in Russia in 1855. Some claim that his reforms were proof of his liberal attitude and others argue that he was primarily a traditionalist, this essay will explore to what extent both of arguments are accurate depictions of “The last great tsar.” When Alexander II came to power he was already faced with a series of problems, the Crimean war…

Words 1150 - Pages 5

Essay on comparing alexander II and alexander III

policies of Alexander II (1855-81) and Alexander III (1881-94) of Russia. Alexander II and Alexander III were both Tsars of Russia and they both believed in the divine will to rule the people. However Alexander II is said to be more liberal than Alexander III though they were both conservative in one way or the other in their social and economic policies because they both wanted to remain with the power over the people. Alexander II was more relaxed in his polices ‘’Great Reformer’’ and Alexander III was…

Words 862 - Pages 4

Essay on How far was alexander II a tsar liberat

How far was alexander II a tsar liberator? After the Crimean war, alexander saw that Russia clearly needed to be reformed. Alexander II was open to the ideas such as of emancipation and social renewal. There are some historians that agree that he was a tsar liberator due to the reforms he made and some that disagree due to him not having the characteristics and attitude that previous rulers had, another reason why certain historians disagree with this is that although alexander made reforms, how…

Words 897 - Pages 4

Essay on To what extent does Tsar Alexander II deserve the epithet 'Tsar Liberator' ?

To what extent does Tsar Alexander II deserve the epithet “Tsar Liberator”? After the death of Nicholas I (1855), his son Alexander II was to succeed the throne at the age of 37. He had been well prepared for taking over from his father, described by historian Lionel Kochan as ‘the best prepared heir the Russian throne ever had’. Although at his accession he was greeted warmly by many, once he introduced a series of radical reforms of many of Russia’s institutions over his reign (1855-1881) in order…

Words 2371 - Pages 10

Greece Thematic Essay

Thematic Essay Alexander the great was a great conqueror, who was able to conquer many territories and it turn gather all of its riches. He was able to conquer territory from Greece all the way to the border of India forming the Hellenistic civilization. Alexander was one of the most feared/greatest conquerors of all time and was able to spread Greek culture through all the territories he conquered and in turn he accepted some of the culture of the civilizations he conquered. Alexander the…

Words 673 - Pages 3

History: Greeks and Hellenistic World Essay example

Hellenistic Essay Through their conquests and spread of culture, Phillip II of Macedon and especially his son Alexander the Great helped lay the foundations for a New Greek world. Their actions and those of their successors spread Greek culture throughout much of the known world and created many lasting social and political changes. In this essay I will argue that Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic world that he created had many enduring impacts on the social, political, and cultural fabric…

Words 1704 - Pages 7

The Major Factors That Led Rome and the Hellenistic Kingdom to Clash Essay

Ptolemies) and to the minor players? This essay will what were the major factors that led to clashes between Rome and the Hellenistic kingdom, down to 146 B.C. A brief history of Rome’s increasing involvement in the Hellenistic area starting with its wars with Hannibal of Carthage and how the Hellenistic Kingdoms of Antigonids, the Seleucids and the Ptolemies and several other minor powers in the area came to be after the death of Alexander. The essay will focus on the…

Words 2308 - Pages 10

Unit Four Questions Essay

Unit Four Essay # 1 ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- Describe and discuss ways in which family life and social patterns changed in the face of the new changes brought about industrialization and urbanization in society. Late in the 18th century widespread changes in social habits and relationships became apparent. This caused wasn’t understood well, but seemed to be linked to the sciences competing with religion due to enlightenment…

Words 2039 - Pages 9

Algerian Rai! Essay

TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY SPRING 2014 WORLD MUSIC MU3318 ESSAY No. (#1) SUBMISSION DATE: 02/12/14 WORDCOUNT: 630 words The Rise of Algerian Rap from Traditional Raï The newly up and coming Algerian rap although seemingly very different from the more traditional raï , which was originated in Oran, are essentially…

Words 637 - Pages 3

John Locke Essay

John Locke John Locke would change the thinking of many, and one day even shape the Declaration of Independence. He was quite a interesting thinker for his time, being that many were doing the exact opposite of what he was writing in his many essays and books. This showed John Locke had a determination to get his ideas out and maybe one day someone would follow. In Wrington Somerset England, Locke was born on August 29th, 1632. His education proved quite strong for he went to many prestigious…

Words 830 - Pages 4