Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
Why did Alexander II emancipate the serfs in 1461? - Coggle Diagram
Why did Alexander II emancipate the serfs in 1461?
Revolutionary threats
In 1856 Alexander II addressed the nobility and said it was 'better to abolish the serfs from above than to wait for the time it abolishes itself from below'
There was increasing unrest during the Crimean war, fear of the serfs revolting against their landlords
Serfs faced social issues - poor housing and conditions, if something did not change, revolution would be likely
Industrialization
the freed serfs could become the new labour force needed for indsutrialisation and military improvement
Lack of educated population was holding Russia back, freeing the serfs would provide the opportunity for them to be educated, giving Russia a larger and educated labour force
Social structures
Meant to strengthen the position of the state, creating a loyalty and gratefulness to the Tsar, regaining the support lost due to the Crimean war
The large majority of the population were uneducated and this was economically holding Russia back - freedom of the serfs would allow them to become educated
Russian society already viewed as behind and socially inferior to the west, this belief was emphasized by the loss of the Crimean War, freedom of the serfs would make Russia more Western and modern
The Crimean War
The defeat of the Crimean war was the trigger for the emancipation, it led to the death of 450,000 people (largely serfs)
The Crimean War was a total humiliation for Russia, it had good odds initially but Alexander II's insistence on continuing the war until Russia won aggravated the people - especially when they lost in 1856
The loss highlighted the backwardness of Russia compared to the West (poor weaponry and navy), stimulated revolutionary ideas
The serfs had been told that they would be given freedom if they fought in the war - would cause huge scale revolution if not
Improving the lives of the Peasants
Peasants received many more rights due to the emancipation -
-were legally free
-could marry who they choose
-could own land
-had free trade
-could sue people in court
-could vote in elections
HOWEVER - the serfs had to pay redemption payments (49 annual sums) to pay off the land they were given from the state. Additionally, the land given to the serfs was poor for agriculture, meaning many serfs were not able to make a living for themselves but still had to pay redemption payments - life didnt become much better for the serfs