The
Emancipation Edict of 1861 to some degree was successful in improving the lives
of Russian peasants by 1881 as the serfs were freed by the ‘Tsar Liberator’,
Alexander II. However, it could be argued that there were other reforms which
Alexander II implemented which improved the lives of the Russian peasants far
greater than the Emancipation Edict did.
The
Emancipation Edict was to some extent successful in improving the lives of the
Russian peasants by 1881 as it publically announced the implementation of the
emancipation after a bank crisis in order to maintain public order. Not only
this but Alexander also wanted to alleviate the suffering of his people and
thereby sought to secure the freedom of the Russian peasants by abolishing
serfdom, giving them greater independence than they’ve ever received. The
Emancipation Edict allowed them to choose whom they wanted to marry, to own
property and even set up businesses and from this, it is inferred that the
edict had improved the lives of the Russian peasants as they had greater
freedoms and were no longer servants to the nobility. However, in reality, it
made conditions and circumstances much more difficult for the peasants as
ex-serfs were still bounded by redemption dues to compensate for the lack of labour.
Redemption dues were a long-term debt which spanned over 49 years with an
interest rate of 6% and from this it is clear that it did not improve the lives
of the Russia peasants by 1881 as debts even passed onto children if they
couldn’t pay it off. Not only that but many historians and critics of Alexander
II’s reign stated that the edict did not equally free the serfs and thereby did
not entirely succeed in improving the lives of the Russian peasants. This was
seen where a new group of peasants emerged known as the kulaks who were lucky
enough to have been former state-serfs and thus gained better quality land.
They were also able to hire labour and make big profits which implies that only
a small group of Russian peasants’ lives were truly improved. This is seen to
be less successful as there were 647 peasant riots in four months after the
edict and thus the Emancipation Edict was nothing more than an illusion which
did not completely free the ex-serfs nor did it entirely improve the lives of
the Russian peasants as a whole.
On
the other hand, it could be said that Alexander II’s educational reforms played
a huge part in improving the lives of Russian peasants as initially, 95% of
peasants were illiterate and with education being made accessible to all
classes, this percentage decreased to 74%, demonstrating an increase in
literacy and thereby the improvement of living of the Russian peasants. Women
were also allowed to attend university and by 1881, statistics had shown that
there were approximately 2,000 women attending university. Sunday schools were
set up by volunteers who were willing to educate the illiterate, signifying the
improvement of living in which the ex-serfs did not have access to under
Tsarist Russia’s predecessor, Nicholas I. However, there were some limitations
with the education reforms as secondary education was still fee-paying and was
limited to those that were better off, indicating that not all Russian
peasants’ lives had improved. Additionally, the Minister of Education wasn’t
very keen on promoting education among the peasants and this thereby indicates
that the educational reforms had improved the lives of Russian peasants, but
only to a small extent.
Military
reforms were also introduced as Alexander II had realised after the humiliating
defeat of the Crimean War, that reforms had to be made. Reforms included
reducing the service duration from 25 years to 15, the implementation of
training, the abolishment of corporal punishment and the means of increasing
morale such as universal conscription (all classes subject to service). This
meant that both the peasants and nobles felt less pressured into fighting a war
and less opted out. The success of the military reforms was seen in the
Russo-Turkish War where they had 750,000 reserves ready to fight. These reforms
meant that the Russian peasants could also rise up in ranks based on merits
which to some extent improved the lives of some Russian peasants and thereby signifies
that the military reforms had provided some benefits to the lives of Russian peasants.
Lastly,
political and judicial reforms meant that there would be an increase in legal
rights and say for the peasants, ultimately improving the lives of Russian
peasants. The introduction of a local government known as the Zemstva, had
enabled people to be more democratic whereby they were elected in positions of
the administration and also debated issues. Not only this but judicial forms
meant that all classes were judged equally before the law, were open to the
public and reporters and judges’ training and pay were improved to prevent
corruption. This meant that a fairer and less corrupt system was created and
that if Russian peasants were tried by court, they would not be discriminated
based on their class, signifying that to some extent political and judicial
reforms had improved the lives of Russian peasants.
In
conclusion, the Emancipation Edict of 1861 did little to fully improve the
lives of Russian peasants as a whole. While the edict was successful in giving
the ex-serfs greater freedoms in terms of setting up businesses, and marrying
whom they wanted, they were still bound by redemption dues and ultimately not
every Russian peasant had the same outcome as some peasants had benefited
greatly from this, as seen from the emerging middle classed Kulaks. The
educational reforms improved the standards of literacy and numeracy but
secondary education remained free-paying, limiting it to those that were
wealthy enough to fund it. Additionally, although military, political and
judicial reforms to some extent benefited Russian peasants, it would be argued
that neither the edict nor other reforms was fully successful in improving the
lives of the Russian peasants by 1881.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Feel free to correct any mistakes, add your opinion, or just a comment in general!