Alexander II and Alexander III

The Accomplishments and Failures of the 19th Century Tsars The nineteenth century was filled with a variety of tsars. There are two that deserve a great amount of focus: Alexander II and Alexander III. Alexander II hoped to change and resolve Russia and their social and economic problems. His son, Alexander III, was more conservative and wished to undo everything his father did. Alexander II ascended the throne at the age of thirty-seven. He was tsar of Russia from 1855-1881. Alexander II was referred to as the “Tsar Liberator.” One of the major accomplishments of Alexander II is that he was able to emancipate the serfs. Alexander II singed the emancipation manifesto on March 3, 1861. At his coronation he stated that it is better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait until it would abolish itself from below. (Riasanovsky 366) Prior to the emancipation there had been many peasant uprisings in the attempt to gain freedom. According to the official record, Vasilii Semevsky had counted 550 peasant uprisings in the 19th century prior to the emancipation of the serfs. (Riasanovsky 365) It is speculated that this number is very inaccurate and it is more likely that there were 1,467. Inna Ignatovich gave this break down, “281 peasant rebellions, that is, 19 percent of the total, in the period form 1801-1825; 712 rebellions, 49 percent, from 1826-1854; and 474 uprisings, or 32 percent, in the six years and two months of Alexander II’s reign before the abolition of serfdom.” (Riasanovsky 365) Clearly there were many uprisings going on, which more than likely could have influenced his strong decision to liberate the serfs. During this time there were many exoduses of the serfs towards Caucasus because the serfs believed the rumors of freedom available there. There was the more obvious moral attributes displayed in his decision as well. Many political parties, such as the Decembrists, the Slavophiles, the Westernizers, the Petrashevtsy, and some supporters of the Official Nationality, wanted the freeing of the serfs.
The final evidence presented in the problems of the serf system was the Crimean War. Many serfs were enlisting under the false pretenses of freedom. This just provided the Russians with a poorly trained army. The Crimean War showed much of the deficiencies of Russia in general. Alexander II was aware of the military advances in other countries and applied them to his own army. He reorganized and rearmed the army and navy in Russia. Alexander II also implemented that all men, rich or poor, were to serve in the army. He introduced strategic railways and set an emphasis on military education.
Under Alexander II, the judiciary system was largely reformed. Minister of Justice, Dmitrii Zamiatnin, his assistant Sergei Zarudny, and other enlightened officials were in support of this reform. “Almost overnight it transformed the Russian judiciary from one the worst to one of the best in the civilized world.” (Riasanovsky 372) With the reorganization of the judiciary system, now there was an open court system, judges appointed for life, a jury system, and justices of the peace appointed to deal with minor issues. Under his reign, his bureaucracy reformed the zmestvo system. With this the assembly possessed a restricted right to tax and rural and municipal police were established under the command of the Minister of the Interior.
Alexander II wanted to reform Russia and bring them into the 19th century. However many people did not approve of him. There had been a few assassinations attempts on his life. Finally on March 13, 1881 he fell to an assassination in Saint Petersburg. With his death, his son, Alexander III rose to power. Alexander III “rejected the path of political reform” and did his best to “limit the effectiveness of many changes that had already taken place.” (Riasanovsky 385) Alexander III suppressed revolution and did his best to maintain autocracy. On May 11, 1881, he issued a manifesto which led to the resignation of Loris-Melikov, Dmitrii Miliutin, Grand Duke Constantine, and the minister of finance, Alexander Abaza. These were a few of the enlightened officials. He believed the state had a high purpose of maintaining the law, order stability, and unity among men and that it could only be accomplished by autocracy and the Orthodox Church. (Riasanovsky 386) Temporary Regulations were issued in the summer of 1881. This gave officials the right to deal with people who could threaten public order. These regulations were not rescinded and instead turned into persecution of “virtually anyone whom officials suspected or simply disliked.” (Riasanovsky 386) Alexander III also imposed more restrictions upon the peasants establishing them of wards of the state rather than citizens. This is a counterreform to his father’s emancipation manifesto. Alexander III did not totally oppose reform entirely. As a leader he realized that need for progress was important. The belief that economic and social change could be separate from political change was a new idea. Nikolai Bunge, Ministry of Finance 1881-1887, pursued economic development. He “established a Peasant Land Bank, abolished the head tax, introduced the inheritance tax, and also began labor legislation in Russia.” (Riasanovsky 390) Bunge limited the working day for children from twelve to fifteen to only eight hours. He prohibited night work for children and women working in textile factories. He also ensured a standard and systematic pay for employees without fines or deductions. (Riasanovsky 390) Bunge had to leave office based on his opposition to socialism. Ivan Vyshnegradsky and Sergei Witte, his successors, were even more celebrated because of their industrial effects. They encouraged a massive state railroad system and heavy industry. Father and son, but they were two different people. Alexander II wanted to reform Russia and bring the country as a whole up to date. He was more liberal than his predecessors and his successors. Alexander II freed the serfs and reformed the judiciary system of Russia. It seems like he truly loved Russia and cared for his people. Alexander III disagreed with his father. He was conservative and believed autocracy was the only way. He spent a lot of his reign undoing what his father did. He did have a few reforms but mostly he promoted counterreforms. Alexander III ruined any chance of Russia being a constitutional monarchy by his social and political back peddling.