The Emancipation of Serfs in 1861
What are the reasons for the failure of the Emancipation of Serfdom in 1861?
Abstract
The necessity of reforming society based on serfdom had not been new in XIX century. However the same way, a person with a cancer does not show symptoms of illness in the first stages, the same way it was not apparent that Russia had been economically and industrially “sick” until the defeat in the Crimean War. The most significant reform to remedy Russian backwardness was the Emancipation Edict, followed by a number of jurisdictional, educational and military reforms. The essay focuses on emancipation, as it was the most radical change, representative for the trends and problems in Russia. It discusses the causes why such promising reform proved to be inefficient and unsuccessful, and concludes that the emancipation of serfs was not only imposed by the circumstances exposed by the Crimean War, it was also voluntary reform of the Tsar and even the nobility. The failure laid in the dichotomy of this intention typical for the Russian elite; eager to improve quality of life of every Russian, they were never ready to make any concession on power or wealth. Carefully, but ill-thought Emancipation Edict, therefore had never had any chance of success.
I. The Importance of the Crimean War
When Alexander II became a tsar in 1855, it was obvious that his country would not survive without change. Russia had entered the Crimean War in 1854 with high hopes of victory. Two years later it suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the Allied armies of France, Britain and Turkey. Unfortunately, the first and by far the most significant reform, the emancipation of the serfs, is often accredited to this defeat. It is a common view among historians, that Russia with its exposed backwardness, an incompetently led, poorly-provisioned, and disease-ridden expeditionary force, realized that its military, social, and economic systems were desperately outmoded, and therefore in the aftermath, they quickly
Abstract
The necessity of reforming society based on serfdom had not been new in XIX century. However the same way, a person with a cancer does not show symptoms of illness in the first stages, the same way it was not apparent that Russia had been economically and industrially “sick” until the defeat in the Crimean War. The most significant reform to remedy Russian backwardness was the Emancipation Edict, followed by a number of jurisdictional, educational and military reforms. The essay focuses on emancipation, as it was the most radical change, representative for the trends and problems in Russia. It discusses the causes why such promising reform proved to be inefficient and unsuccessful, and concludes that the emancipation of serfs was not only imposed by the circumstances exposed by the Crimean War, it was also voluntary reform of the Tsar and even the nobility. The failure laid in the dichotomy of this intention typical for the Russian elite; eager to improve quality of life of every Russian, they were never ready to make any concession on power or wealth. Carefully, but ill-thought Emancipation Edict, therefore had never had any chance of success.
I. The Importance of the Crimean War
When Alexander II became a tsar in 1855, it was obvious that his country would not survive without change. Russia had entered the Crimean War in 1854 with high hopes of victory. Two years later it suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the Allied armies of France, Britain and Turkey. Unfortunately, the first and by far the most significant reform, the emancipation of the serfs, is often accredited to this defeat. It is a common view among historians, that Russia with its exposed backwardness, an incompetently led, poorly-provisioned, and disease-ridden expeditionary force, realized that its military, social, and economic systems were desperately outmoded, and therefore in the aftermath, they quickly
References: Lynch, M., The emancipation of the Russians serfs, 1861--a charter of freedom or an act of betrayal? History Review, 2001 Retrived on 10th of March, 2011, 2001 from http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-1237264/The-emancipation-of-the-Russians.html Seton-Watson, H. The Russian Empire, 1801-1917, The Oxford Hisotry of Europe, Oxford Univeristy Press, 1967 Moon, D., The abolition of serfdom in Russia, 1762-1907, Pearson Eduction Ltd, 2001 Chapman, T. Imperial Russia 1801-1905, Routledge Publication, 2001 Primary sources for the great reforms [ 3 ]. Seton-Watson, H. The Russian Empire, 1801-1917, The Oxford History of Europe, Oxford University Press, 1967 p. 334 [ 4 ] [ 5 ]. Chapman, T. Imperial Russia 1801-1905, Routledge Publication, 2001 p.84 [ 6 ] [ 9 ]. Lynch, M., The emancipation of the Russians serfs, 1861--a charter of freedom or an act of betrayal? History Review, 2001 [ 10 ] [ 11 ]. Moon, D., The abolition of serfdom in Russia, 1762-1907, Pearson Education Ltd, 2001 [ 12 ] [ 15 ]. Seton-Watson, H. The Russian Empire, 1801-1917, The Oxford History of Europe, Oxford University Press, 1967 [ 16 ] [ 17 ]. Mosse W. E., Alexander II and the Modernization of Russia, London: English Universities Press, 1958 p 33