Alexander's peasant reform 2 table. Reforms of Alexander II (except land)
High school student
The reforms carried out by Alexander II were not called “great” for nothing. They touched upon and solved a number of socio-economic problems and expanded the boundaries of the rule of law. Unfortunately, not all of them were completed or were limited (judicial and zemstvo).
University reform
The university reform was carried out in 1862-1863. The university charter, adopted on June 18, 1863, was the most liberal of the university charters of pre-revolutionary Russia and consisted of 12 chapters.
Each university in the Russian Empire was supposed to have 4 faculties: history and philology, physics and mathematics, law and medicine. Only in St. Petersburg, instead of the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Oriental Studies was established. The university was governed by the rector, and the faculty by the dean. The rector was elected every 4 years by the University Council. The duties of the rector included monitoring the educational process and order.
University professors were elected.
A student could be a young man who had reached the age of 17 and graduated from a gymnasium or passed an exam there and received a certificate, as well as graduated from a higher or secondary educational institution. Studying at the Faculty of Medicine lasted 5 years, and at other faculties – 4 academic years.
All faculties (except medicine) had the following academic degrees: candidate, master and doctor. Both Russians and foreigners could receive an academic degree.
The new charter gave universities more independence in internal management matters, created more favorable conditions for scientific and educational activities, increased the attractiveness of teaching work at universities for young people and contributed to the establishment of qualified teachers in university departments in the future.
St. Petersburg University
In the first years of the reign of Alexander II, an optimistic but calm mood prevailed in universities, which corresponded to the mood of the entire Russian society in these years.
But by the beginning of the 60s, opposition sentiments intensified in the country and, accordingly, in universities. The publication of its own newspapers and magazines was published without any censorship; Universities were freely visited by outsiders, including at lectures. Young people sought to participate in public life. Various demands began to be placed on professors.
The new charter restored the autonomy of universities. Access to the university for outsiders was sharply limited. The system of self-government of the council and faculties deprived students of any legal opportunity to organize their own social and comradely life.
In the first years after the introduction of the charter, a certain calm prevailed in the universities, thanks largely to the liberal attitude of the Ministry of Public Education itself, while A.V. was at its head. Golovnin.
To limit the need for students to travel to European universities and prevent the spread of the “revolutionary contagion” from Europe, efforts were made to create and equip research laboratories in Russian universities.
Reform of secondary education (1871)
The reform of secondary education was carried out in 1871 by the Minister of Public Education, Count Dmitry Andreevich Tolstoy.
Count D. A. Tolstoy, Minister of Public Education in 1866-1880. Author: unknown russian pre-revolutionary Photograph - Book: Managerial Elite Russian Empire(1802-1917). Faces of Russia. St. Petersburg 2008. From Wikipedia
The reform was aimed at introducing large volumes of mathematics and ancient languages (Latin and Greek) into the curriculum and reducing literature. This, according to Count Tolstoy, was supposed to “prepare the mind and feelings for proper work” and distract from “superficial freethinking.” Thus, a course was set for a classical education system that would protect young people from superficial radical views leading to nihilism and superficial intellectualism, popular among young people, especially developed by liberal literature teachers.
In his activities, Tolstoy relied on the views of well-known publicists at that time M. N. Katkov and P. M. Leontyev, editors and publishers of the Russky Vestnik and Moskovskie Vedomosti. Katkov was an enemy of the nihilistic trend, which developed and largely continued to operate in the late 60s. Nihilism then meant the spread of a materialistic worldview, which was associated with the latest findings of natural science.
High school student of the Russian Empire
Only pupils of classical gymnasiums had the right to enter the university. The former real (technical) gymnasiums were transformed in 1872 into real schools, in which mathematics and drawing were taught in an expanded form, but the humanities were reduced. Graduates of real schools were prepared for admission to higher technical schools. Classical gymnasiums and real schools were supposed to provide completed secondary education.
Progress of reform
The reform was difficult, because there were not sufficient funds to carry it out, and there were also not enough teachers of Latin and especially Greek who could immediately take over teaching in the changed gymnasiums. In addition, not everyone understood and accepted the need for this reform - there was opposition, even in the State Council. Therefore, Tolstoy got down to business very carefully and gradually: first, he formed a new higher educational institution - the Philological Institute, which was supposed to provide well-trained teachers of ancient languages, and also invited teachers of ancient languages from abroad to Russia.
For five years the Ministry of Education worked on the Charter, which was adopted in 1871.
Thus, the reform of secondary school education boiled down to the introduction of a new type of classical gymnasium, in which Latin and Greek languages were included in a huge volume, the mathematics course was greatly increased and natural science was excluded, and the number of lessons in the Russian language, literature and history was sharply reduced.
Along with this, the educational system in gymnasiums also changed, which was aimed at strengthening discipline and unquestioning obedience.
Female secondary education
N. Yaroshenko "Student"
Before the accession of Alexander II to the throne, there were no open public secondary schools for women in Russia. Girls from wealthy families were raised at home or in closed educational institutions - institutes for noble maidens, of which there were not enough. In addition, these educational institutions were organized under Catherine, when the question of women’s emancipation had not yet arisen.
At the end of the 50s, a social upsurge began, and in its wake, in the capitals and large university centers, as well as in all provincial provincial cities, donations began to be collected for the opening of women's schools. In 1859, the opening of women's schools and gymnasiums began. At first these were 4-grade, then 6-grade female secondary educational institutions. Empress Maria Alexandrovna took these institutions under her patronage, and their management was concentrated not in the Ministry of Public Education, but in the department of institutions of the empress.
F. Winterhalter “Portrait of Empress Maria Alexandrovna” (1857)
The leadership of women's educational institutions was carried out by the famous teacher of that time N.A. Vyshnegradsky. The program of women's gymnasiums corresponded to a somewhat shortened course of real schools.
ON THE. Vyshnegradsky
Vyshnegradsky established “pedagogical courses for women” in 1863.
E. Zarudnaya “Portrait of K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumina" (1889)
With the assistance of Professor K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin, “higher women’s courses” were opened in St. Petersburg in 1878, which were called “Bestuzhev courses”. Then, following the example of St. Petersburg, they began to appear in other university cities.
Public education
Public education under Alexander II was also actively reformed. Secular primary schools, which were under the care of zemstvos, were added to the already existing parochial schools.
Zemstvo school
By the end of the reign of Alexander II, there were already several tens of thousands of public schools.
Alexander's reformsII
1 Land reform
In 1857, by decree of Alexander II, a secret committee on the peasant question began to work, main task which was the abolition of serfdom with the mandatory allocation of land to peasants. On February 19, 1861, he signed a number of laws. There was a manifesto and a provision on granting freedom to the peasants. The peasants received personal freedom, but the land remained the property of the landowners, and while allotments were allocated, the peasants, in the position of “temporarily obligated,” bore duties in favor of the landowners.
2 Abolition of corporal punishment
By decree of April 17, 1863 (on the sovereign’s birthday), they were canceled. The new law abolished spitzrutens, cat whips, and the imposition of brands, but temporarily retained the rods. The following were completely exempt from corporal punishment: a) women; b) clergy and their children; c) public school teachers; d) those who have completed a course in district and agricultural and, especially, in secondary and higher educational institutions; e) peasants holding public positions by election.
3 Zemstvo and city reforms
The principle of the Zemstvo reform carried out in 1864 was electivity and classlessness. In the provinces and districts of Central Russia and part of Ukraine, zemstvos were established as local government bodies. The right of election to district assemblies is enjoyed by: a) local landowners who are not peasants; b) local peasants; c) residents of a given county town. The assembly gives orders, controls, and the administration puts into effect the resolutions of the meetings. “City regulations” (June 16, 1870) gave the population of cities local self-government, with the right to manage their city economy and promote the development of education in their cities.
4 Judicial reform
After the act of February 19 returned their civil rights to the multi-million population, the former landowner (patrimonial) court lost its meaning, and it had to be replaced by a state court, fair, common and the same for everyone. The “Basic Principles” of the upcoming judicial reform were previously developed and published publicly in order to provoke a comprehensive and free discussion of them. The judicial statutes were promulgated on November 20, 1864 and laid the foundation for a new court in Russia. The main features of the new court:
1. The judicial power was separated from the administrative and legislative.
2. In criminal cases, judicial power is separated from accusatory power (prosecutor's supervision).
3. The trial took place publicly, with open doors, accessible to anyone.
4. The trial took place orally, through direct questioning and exchange of opinions.
5. An adversarial process has been introduced (prosecution and defense; comparison and indication of data for and against the accused). For this purpose, prosecutorial supervision (prosecutorial power) and the institution of sworn attorneys (defense; official legal profession) were established. A defense (advocacy) was created, which did not exist in the old courts.
6. Introduction of jurors. They could judge by conscience, by conviction.
7. To eliminate pressure from administrative authorities, the police were excluded from participation in the investigation of criminal cases; the investigation was conducted by forensic investigators.
8. To better ensure the impartiality of the judicial investigation, the position of judicial investigators was declared irremovable; for their actions they were answerable to the Senate alone.
9. Magistrates' courts have been established for minor cases (without the participation of jurors).
Judicial institutions according to the judicial statutes of 1864:
1. Lower authority: World Court (for all classes) and volost court (separately for peasants).
2. Highest authority: Congress of justices of the peace (one per county): cases of complaints against decisions of justices of the peace and volost courts were transferred here.
1. Lowest: District Court (one per province); consists of two branches: criminal and civil.
2. Higher: Judicial Chamber (one for several provinces): cases on complaints against decisions of district courts were transferred here.
III. The crown of judicial institutions was the Senate, which examined complaints against decisions of world congresses and judicial chambers.
5 Military reform
The main event of the entire military reform was the January 1 Manifesto of 1874 on universal conscription. This made it possible to create a new type of army that would not suffer from a shortage of soldiers, but would not require huge amounts of money for maintenance. The recruitment system was abolished; every Russian citizen over the age of 20 who had no criminal record was required to serve in the army.
The service life in most troops was 6 years. It was impossible to buy off military service or avoid it by any other method; in the event of war, the entire population who had undergone military training was mobilized. The division into districts made it possible to transfer affairs that did not concern the entire state from the Minister of War and transfer them to the jurisdiction of the districts. The soldiers received new modern weapons that could compete with the weapons of Western powers. Military factories were reconstructed and could now produce modern weapons and equipment themselves.
6 Financial reform
In 1860, the State Bank was established, the tax farming system was abolished, which was replaced by excise taxes (1863). Since 1862, the only responsible manager of budget revenues and expenditures was the Minister of Finance; the budget became public. An attempt was made to carry out monetary reform (free exchange of credit notes for gold and silver at the established rate).
7 Educational reforms
The “Regulations on Primary Public Schools” of June 14, 1864 eliminated the state-church monopoly on education. Now both public institutions and private individuals were allowed to open and maintain primary schools under control of the district and provincial school councils. The charter of the secondary school introduced the principle of equality of all classes and religions, but introduced fees. The University Charter (1863) granted universities broad autonomy, and elections of rectors and professors were introduced. The leadership of the educational institution was transferred to the Council of Professors, to which the student body was subordinate. A coherent education system was created in Russia, which included primary, secondary and higher educational institutions.
8 Censorship reform
In May 1862, censorship reform began, “temporary rules” were introduced, which were replaced in 1865 by a new censorship charter. According to the new charter, preliminary censorship was abolished for books of 10 or more printed pages; editors and publishers could only be held accountable in court. With special permissions and a deposit of several thousand rubles, periodicals were also exempt from censorship, but they could be suspended administratively. Only government and scientific publications, as well as literature translated from a foreign language, could be published without censorship.
9 Consequences of reforms
Alexander II left a deep mark on history; he managed to do what other autocrats were afraid to undertake - the liberation of peasants from serfdom. We still enjoy the fruits of his reforms to this day. The main reform of his reign - the liberation of the peasants - radically changed the order that existed before and entailed all other reforms. The internal reforms of Alexander II are comparable in scale only to the reforms of Peter I. The Tsar-Reformer carried out truly grandiose transformations without social cataclysms and fratricidal war. With the abolition of serfdom, commercial and industrial activity “resurrected”, a flow of workers poured into the cities, and new areas for entrepreneurship opened up. Former connections between cities and counties were restored and new ones were created. The fall of serfdom, the equalization of everyone before the court, the creation of new liberal forms of social life led to personal freedom. And the feeling of this freedom aroused the desire to develop it. Dreams were created of establishing new forms of family and social life. During his reign, Russia firmly strengthened its relations with European powers and resolved numerous conflicts with neighboring countries. Alexander Nikolaevich correctly understood the essence of his calling in the memorable (1855-1861) years of his reign. He firmly maintained his post at the “stern of his native ship” during these difficult years of his voyage, rightfully deserving of adding an enviable epithet to his name Liberator »
Introduction
Chapter 1. Alexander II
1.1 short biography
Chapter 2. Liberal reforms
2.3 Conciliators
2.4 Allotments and duties
2.7 Zemstvo reform
2.8 Urban reform
2.11 Military reform
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction
Target:get to know the personality of Emperor Alexander II, who stands in line with emperors like Peter I, Catherine the Great, who continues their great endeavors.
task, which I set myself to connect the reforms of the 60-70s of the 19th century with the reforms of modern Russia, to understand for myself what conditions are necessary for the successful implementation of reforms.
Subjectmy research on the life, fate and reforms of Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov - Emperor Alexander II.
The bourgeois reforms of the 60-70s of the 19th century carried out in Russia have not lost their relevanceand in our days. Today's Russia, just like Russia in the second half of the 19th century, faces a choice of path. Where to develop? How to develop?
In Russia, in the 20th century alone, three revolutions occurred:
1905 - 1907 - First revolution
History has shown that almost all revolutions end in bloody, immoral civil wars.
Therefore, the reformist path of development is always preferable to the revolutionary one.
Having understood the reforms of the 60-70s of the 19th century, it is much better to understand the reforms of modern Russia.
Alexander II went down in Russian history as the emperor who, from talking about reforms, was the first to take the path of their practical implementation.
If Catherine II and Alexander I only talked about reforms, then Alexander II began to implement them.
reform alexander emperor peasant
Peter I (the first Russian emperor) turned Russia around, Catherine II continued Peter’s initiatives, and Alexander II completed the formation of a Great Power.
The fate of Alexander II proved that it is impossible to carry out more than one reform in Russia without paying for it in blood.
Reforms in Russia are a hard lot:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky - the largest Russian reformer early XIX century, for preparing a project for the state reorganization of Russia, he was exiled to the city of Perm.
Sergei Yulievich Witte, Minister of Finance and head of government, who spoke about the need for reforms in the country at the end of the 19th century, was removed from office.
Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin - head of government, reformer Agriculture Russia, was killed in 1911.
Conclusion: all reformers lost, if not their lives, then their destiny.
Chapter 1. Alexander II
1.1 Brief biography
Alexander II is the son of a tsar, a pupil of a poet.
Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov, the first-born of the grand ducal family - Nikolai Pavlovich and Alexandra Fedorovna - was born on Easter week on April 17, 1818 in Moscow, in the Kremlin and was baptized in the Chudov Monastery.
Poet V.A. Zhukovsky, who was then a teacher of the Russian language under Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna, responded to the family joy with significant lines:
May he meet a century full of honor!
May he be a glorious participant!
Yes, on the high line he won’t forget
The holiest of titles: man.
Zhukovsky, seeing how the plan he had drawn up was collapsing, gradually abandoned his upbringing and went abroad for a long time. But he fell in love with a playful and sympathetic boy, and correspondence between them did not stop." Rule not by force, but by order," the poet instructed the future king, "the true power of a sovereign is not in the number of his soldiers, but in the well-being of the people... Love your people: without love the king for the people there is no love of the people for the king."
Alexander grew up healthy and cheerful. He swam and shot well, studied successfully, although his teachers noticed in him a lack of perseverance in achieving his goals. When faced with difficulties, he often fell into apathy. He was distinguished by great impressionability. Zhukovsky's lessons sank deeply into his soul. But his father had no less influence on him. He feared him and admired him. At the age of 18, the prince received the rank of major general, clearly not according to his merits. He still did not comprehend military affairs to the same extent as Nikolai (an excellent military engineer). But he knew the tinsel of parades, shows and divorces down to the smallest detail and loved it selflessly. All his life, two principles fought in his soul - the humane, instilled by Zhukovsky, and the militaristic, inherited from his father. In this respect he resembled Alexander I.
The future tsar will forever remember his trip to Russia in 1837. He was accompanied by Zhukovsky. In seven months they visited 30 provinces. In Siberia they met with the Decembrists. In Vyatka, the exiled Herzen told them about the riches of the local region. Upon his return, the heir asked for a mitigation of the fate of the Decembrists. At the same time, Herzen was transferred to Vladimir.
In addition to parades and balls, Alexander had another hobby, purely sports, which in a strange way influenced events in the country. He passionately loved hunting and, of course, could not pass by “Notes of a Hunter” by I.S. Turgenev. Subsequently, he said that the book convinced him of the need to abolish serfdom.
He carried out the abolition of serfdom and then carried out a number of reforms (zemstvo, judicial, military, etc.). After the Polish uprising of 1863-64 he switched to a reactionary domestic political course. Since the late 70s. Repressions against revolutionaries intensified. During the reign of Alexander II, the annexation of the territories of the Caucasus (1864), Kazakhstan (1865), and most of the Middle East to Russia was completed. Asia (1865-81). In order to strengthen its influence in the Balkans and help the national liberation movement of the Slavic peoples, Russia participated in the Russian-Turkish War of 1877-78. For life Academician Andrei Sakharov - Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Director of the Institute of Russian History, speaking about the fate of Alexander II the following: “The main tragedy of the Russian autocracy is that it could not reform itself. To go further along the path of reforms, it was necessary destroy yourself - Alexander II understood this."
Assassinations and murder
Several attempts were made on Alexander II: D.V. Karakozov, Polish emigrant A. Berezovsky May 25, 1867 in Paris, A.K. Solovyov on April 2, 1879 in St. Petersburg. Executive committee"Narodnaya Volya" on August 26, 1879 decided to assassinate Alexander II (an attempt to blow up an imperial train near Moscow on November 19, 1879, an explosion in the Winter Palace carried out by S.N. Khalturin on February 5, 1880). To protect state order and fight the revolutionary movement, the Supreme Administrative Commission was created. But nothing could prevent his violent death. On March 1, 1881, Alexander II was mortally wounded on the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg by a bomb thrown by Narodnaya Volya member I.I. Grinevitsky. He died precisely on the day when he decided to give birth to M.T.’s constitutional project. Loris-Melikova, telling his sons Alexander (the future emperor) and Vladimir: “I do not hide from myself that we are following the path of the constitution.”
1.2 Need for reforms
Serfdom in Russia existed much longer than in other European countries, and bore the most cruel and ugly features of slave coercion and violence. The question of the abolition of serfdom was raised by Russian enlighteners N. Novikov and A. Radishchev back in the 18th century, under Catherine II. The Decembrists also in all their program documents invariably emphasized the need to abolish serfdom.
With the end of the Crimean War, a new period began in the history of Russia. It was called the era of Liberation and Great Reforms. In the minds of contemporaries and descendants, it was firmly connected with the name of Emperor Alexander II.
Chapter 2. Liberal reforms
February 19, 1861 - Abolition of serfdom. The emperor signed the “General Regulations on Peasants Emerging from Serfdom” and a manifesto according to which serfs received personal freedom. Domestic historians express different opinions about the reasons for the abolition of serfdom. Most of them believe that the decisive factor was the economic factor: the crisis of the serf economic system due to the disinterest of the serfs in the result of their labor.
This factor did not contribute to increasing the productivity of landowner farms. Another group of supporters highlights the landowners' reasons for the abolition of serfdom: Russia's humiliating defeat in the Crimean War and the authorities' desire to avoid social misfortunes.
For the first time, the need for a radical peasant reform was officially announced by Alexander II in a speech by representatives of the Moscow nobility on March 30, 1856, a few days after the conclusion of the Paris Peace: “The existing order of ownership of souls cannot remain unchanged. It is better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait for that time, when it itself begins to be canceled from below.”
Prominent figures stood at the origins of the abolition of serfdom:
Milyutin Nikolai Alekseevich, who actually led the preparation of the Peasant Reform of 1861.
Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich was one of the most prominent figures in the history of the reign of Alexander II. Konstantin Nikolaevich played an outstanding role in the preparation and implementation of the peasant reform.
Under pressure from the Grand Duke, the Secret Committee, with great difficulty, decided to begin preparing measures “to improve the life of the landowner peasants.” In accordance with it, the reform was carried out in three stages: “preparatory”, when a policy of softening serfdom is carried out, a “transitional period” and “final”, when the peasants become completely free (without providing land allotment). The ideas of liberating peasants with land for ransom, which he defended Grand Duke, clearly did not resonate with the majority of committee members, and Konstantin Nikolaevich acquired a reputation as a “muzhikophile” in bureaucratic and noble circles.
Cherkassky Vladimir Alexandrovich (1824-1878). Since the 1840s advocated the liberation of the peasants. Participant in the preparation of the peasant reform of 1861
Rostovtsev Yakov Ivanovich (1803/04-60), One of the leaders of the preparation of the peasant reform of 1861, chairman of the editorial commission; his program for the abolition of serfdom formed the basis of the Regulations of February 19, 1861.
In the fall of 1857, the nobility of the Lithuanian provinces, under pressure from Governor General V.I. Nazimova stated that she agreed to free the peasants from personal serfdom, but subject to the preservation of all the land. Immediately, the emperor signed a rescript (a rescript is an act of the monarch in the form of a specific instruction to a minister or some other person) addressed to Nazimov, which ordered the formation of provincial committees in each of the three provinces (Vilna, Kovno and Grodno) to prepare proposals for organizing the life of peasants .
2.2 Basic provisions of the peasant reform
The conditions for the liberation of peasants emerging from serfdom were set out in the Regulations on February 19, 1861. Since the publication of the reform documents, the former serf, previously considered the property of his master, received not only the opportunity to freely dispose of his personality (personal freedom was provided free of charge), but also acquired a number of other personal and property rights. Free rural inhabitants could enter into various transactions, sue, engage in trade and crafts, own movable and immovable property, marry without the consent of the landowner, and enter “general educational institutions.” From now on, the peasant became a legal entity in civil, administrative and criminal cases.
Former landowners and peasants were included in the tax-paying estates and had to bear state and zemstvo duties. Until January 1, 1887, peasants paid a poll tax, before the introduction of universal conscription
2.3 Conciliators
GOVERNING MEDIATOR, an official in Russia during the period of the peasant reform of 1861. Appointed from among the nobles to approve charters and resolve disputes between peasants and landowners. He had judicial and administrative powers.
If on initial stage In preparation for the reform, the government intended to entrust its practical implementation to the local nobility in the form of provincial committees; then, having later encountered the fierce, irreconcilable position of the landowners, the ruling circles were forced to create the institution of world intermediaries - special representatives for the implementation of the reform locally.
The main function of the peace intermediaries was to facilitate agreement between peasants and landowners and draw up so-called “statutory charters”, which precisely determined the size of the allotment received by the peasants, the location and peasant duties. The statutory charters had to be put into effect no later than two years after the publication of the “Reform Provisions”.
Global mediators approved village elders and volost elders, could cancel decisions of peasant assemblies, considered complaints against landowners and peasant government bodies, imposed penalties, and acted as notaries when concluding deeds of landowners with temporarily obligated peasants.
In the lists of world intermediaries one could find representatives of famous noble families, outstanding figures of Russian culture, science, and education: L.N. Tolstoy and his brother Sergei, K.D. Kavelin, N.I. Pirogov, Samarin brothers, physiologist I.M. Sechenov, biologist K.I. Timiryazev and many others.
2.4 Allotments and duties
The central link of the reform was the issue of land. All land on the estate was recognized as the property of the landowner, including that which was at the disposal of the peasants. At the same time, in accordance with the reform document, peasants must buy back their estate and allotment land from the landowners. Those who bought them became peasant owners. Until the redemption of their plots, peasants had to continue to bear duties in the form of corvee or quitrent. Therefore, personally free peasants who bore duties in favor of the previous owner were called “temporarily obligated.” According to the "Regulations of February 19", the temporarily obliged state of peasants could last for 9 years. In fact, for many peasants it lasted for 20 years.
When determining the size of an allotment, preference should be given to voluntary agreement between peasants and landowners, and since such an agreement most often could not be reached, the size of the allotment was determined by law.
For these purposes, the entire territory of the country was divided into 3 zones: chernozem, non-chernozem and steppe. For the chernozem and non-chernozem zones, two standards were established - the highest and the lowest (the latter is 3 times lower than the highest). Highest rate for the black earth strip it was from 2 3?4 up to 6 dessiatines, for non-chernozem soil - from 23 to 7 dessiatines. In the steppe zone, only one specified allotment norm was established. These norms, as a rule, were lower than the old peasants' plots, which the peasants used before the reform, therefore, according to the law, landowners received the right to cut off "extra" land from their former peasants.
As a result of the reform, peasants received 33.7 million dessiatines of land, an average of 3.4 dessiatines. Per capita. According to economists' calculations, to meet the minimum needs of a peasant economy, it was necessary to have at least 5 dessiatines per capita in black earth provinces, and from 6 to 8 dessiatines per capita in non-black earth provinces. Thus, more than 9/10 of the former landowner peasants "Regulations of February 19, 1861" retained corvee as a form of feudal service, but it was significantly limited. For the highest, or designated, allotment, peasants had to work 40 men's and 30 Women's Day(previously 135 days). n did not receive this necessary norm.
2.5 Redemption and redemption operation
After the conclusion of the redemption transaction, the peasants from the category of temporarily obliged people moved to the category of peasant owners. In order to protect the interests of the landowners, the developers of the reform proposed the following: for the allotment, the landowner must be paid an amount that, if deposited in the bank, will give the owner the current quitrent in the form of interest. If the quitrent is 10 rubles, then at 6% bank interest the amount is 166 rubles. 66 kopecks. will give the landowner these 10 rubles a year. Thus, the redemption amount for the allotment was determined at 167 rubles. At the same time, the market price is 1 dessiat. Land in the central regions usually did not exceed 25 rubles, but its redemption cost the peasant 60 rubles. On average throughout the country, the ransom exceeded the price of land by one third. It followed from this that the price of the allotment had no direct relation to the real price of the land, but it allowed the master to retain his previous privileges. Having lost the peasants, the landowner actually retained the income from them.
The peasants, naturally, could not immediately pay the landowner the entire redemption amount. Then the government met the owners halfway by organizing a “buyout operation,” that is, acting as an intermediary between the landowners and their former peasants. The owner received a one-time loan from the treasury in the amount of 88% of the redemption amount if the peasants received a full allotment, or 75% if the peasants received an incomplete allotment. Peasants had to pay for this amount by making annual so-called “redemption payments” in the amount of 6% of the redemption amount for 49 years, until 1910. It turned out that during this time the peasant had to pay almost
% of the loan provided. The former peasants had to pay the difference between the redemption amount and the redemption loan to the landowner - immediately or in installments. In cases where the redemption was made at the request of the landowner, without the consent of the peasants, the latter were exempt from additional payment.
The state carried out the reform without actually spending a single ruble on it. The total redemption amount for peasant plots was determined at 867 million rubles, while the market price of this land in the 60s of the 19th century was about 650 million rubles. Over 45 years, the former peasants managed to pay the treasury more than 1.5 billion rubles in redemption payments and still owed it. Having carried out the redemption operation, the state, at the expense of the peasants, also solved the problem of returning pre-reform debts from the landowners. The amount of landowners' debts to the treasury at the beginning of the reform amounted to 425 million rubles, this amount was deducted from the redemption loan received by the owners.
2.6 Peasants' reaction to the reform
The peasants, of course, did not expect such liberation. The bewilderment with which they listened to the Manifesto quickly gave way to murmur and general indignation, as soon as they understood the main thing in the decree they read: the land was recognized as the property of the landowners, and the peasants would continue to either pay quitrent or serve corvee until the redemption. The peasants refused to believe what they heard; they considered the published Manifesto to be a fake document, which was drawn up by landowners and officials who agreed with them, hiding the real royal will.
The government foresaw that the reform would cause disappointment and, perhaps, outright indignation among the peasantry. It is no coincidence that the major generals and adjutants sent to the localities had the broadest powers in pacifying any “restlessness, disobedience or disobedience among the peasants.” Disobedience and “restlessness” were not long in coming. Famous publicist N.A. Serno-Solovyevich wrote in June 1861: “The same phenomena were repeated everywhere: the peasants refused to go out to corvée and pay rent to the landowners, brought changes to the elders and mayors appointed by the landowners, complained about oppression from the landowners ... they demanded pure will.” In the spring of 1861, the peasant movement gained its greatest scope in the Kazan, Penza, Tambov, Saratov, Chernigov, Vilna, Kovno and Smolensk provinces.
Major protests by peasants took place in the villages of Bezdna, Kazan province, and Kandeevka, Penza province. The “Regulations of February 19” caused peasants to An abyss of bewilderment and protest. Not satisfied with the explanation of the landowners and priests, the peasants tried to find other interpreters. And such an interpreter was found. One of the local scholars, sectarian Anton Petrov, “read” from the “Regulations” the following fantastic “true will”: “for the landowner - mountains and valleys, ravines and roads and sand and reeds, there is no twig for them in the forest. He will take a step from his land - drive away with a kind word, if he doesn’t listen, cut off his head, you will receive a reward from the king.” Anton Petrov urged the peasants not to listen to the landowners and bosses, not to go to corvee, not to pay quitrent, and to take bread from the barns of the lords.
The period 1861-1863 is characterized by open peasant protests. But highest voltage Peasant unrest reached in the first months after the proclamation of the reform. The government managed to break the resistance of the peasantry and suppress the spontaneously scattered and unorganized peasant movement.
2.7 Historical significance of the abolition of serfdom
The peasant reform of 1861 was an outstanding milestone in the political, economic and social development Russia. The abolition of serfdom created the conditions for the establishment of capitalism in Russia, both in the city and in the countryside. These conditions primarily consisted of the personal liberation of 22 million landowner peasants, who made up a third of the country's population. The transfer of peasants to ransom meant the actual elimination of serfdom, the creation in the village of a class of peasant owners.
The abolition of serfdom also had high moral significance. She ended serfdom forever. Former serfs, having received certain personal and property rights, became new citizens of Russia. In the political and social situation that developed in post-reform times, the question of representative, constitutional forms of government and the movement towards a rule of law arose in a new way.
The reform of 1861 was the result of a complex compromise between the opposing interests of the state, landowners and peasants. The balancing government made numerous concessions to the landowners, but without them the peaceful liberation of the peasants would hardly have been possible. This explains the significant shortcomings of the reform, its half-heartedness, inconsistency, rather short chronological framework, which fits perfectly within two post-reform decades. But even the imperfect reform was more acceptable to society than the peasant revolution, in which representatives of the radical movement called Russia.
Let us pay tribute to the group of reformers of that time, but let us single out one in particular - Alexander II. “One such great and noble reform as the emancipation of the peasants is enough to immortalize the monarch forever,” said one of the emperor’s contemporaries about him and the reform. Not historians, Alexander II himself determined his place in history. A place that is not disputed by anyone.
2.7 Zemstvo reform
On January 1, 1864, Alexander II approved the draft Regulations on provincial and district institutions. Zemstvo institutions were created as all-class elected bodies of local self-government. They consisted of administrative bodies - district and provincial zemstvo assemblies and executive bodies - district and provincial zemstvo councils. Both were elected for a three-year term. Members of zemstvo assemblies were called vowels, i.e. had the right to vote.
How were local deputies elected? Elections of the councilors were carried out at three electoral congresses of the curiae. The first curia - district farmers - included owners of at least 200 des. Lands, regardless of those classes of ownership, as well as large owners who had rural areas real estate valued at least 15 thousand rubles. The second curia - the city one - included the owners of city industrial and commercial establishments with a turnover of at least 6 thousand rubles, merchants of the 1st and 2nd guilds, as well as owners of city real estate. The third curia consisted of chairmen of rural societies. There was no property qualification for participation in elections in this curia. However, this did not create any advantages for the peasants. The elections for the peasant curia were multi-stage. At first, rural societies sent representatives to volost assemblies, who nominated “electors,” and they, in turn, elected members at the district congress. At each curial congress a certain number of vowels were elected. As a result, landowners received a majority of seats in district zemstvo assemblies. In the provincial assemblies, the deputies of which, in turn, were elected at district assemblies, the local nobility had an overwhelming reseed.
Zemstvos were introduced gradually. By the end of the 70s, they were introduced only in 35 provinces of European Russia.
From the very beginning, the action of zemstvos was strictly limited to the narrow limits of purely economic “uses and needs” of a given area: the arrangement and maintenance of local communications, zemstvo schools, hospitals, almshouses and shelters; care for local trade and industry; establishing veterinary services; mutual insurance, local food supply; construction of local roads and bridges; maintenance of prisons and insane asylums, etc. Zemstvos did not have the right to engage in political activities. Violation of the framework of competence was punishable by law.
The significance of the Zemstvo reform
Russian society The creation of zemstvos was greeted with satisfaction.
K.D. Kavelin noted that it was a “huge event,” a “significant, significant phenomenon” among the transformations, that it would be the seed for the development of a “multi-branched tree.” History has proven the famous liberal right. Zemstvo played a serious role in various areas of Russian life. The zemstvos made a great contribution to the concept of the cultural level of the Russian village and the spread of literacy among the peasants. By 1880, 12 thousand zemstvo schools had been created in the countryside, which were rightfully considered the best. No less noticeable is the importance of zemstvo activities for the development of healthcare in the European part of Russia. Zemstvo hospitals were opened for peasants, who had previously been practically deprived of any medical care. Zemstvos assisted in the dissemination of agronomic knowledge in the countryside.
In Perm and Vyatka, zemstvos were the first to acquire improved landowner tools, machines and seeds, and developed an institute of agronomic supervisors.
2.8 Urban reform
The zemstvo reform had a significant impact on the creation of a new system of city government. On June 16, 1870, Alexander II approved the draft of the new City Regulations. City self-government was reformed on the same principles as zemstvo. Elections to the City Duma were also held in three electoral congresses, depending on property qualifications. The right to participate in elections, regardless of class, was given to owners of real estate taxed in favor of the city, as well as all persons paying commercial and industrial taxes. Deprived of the right to vote were wage workers, the vast majority of whom did not own real estate, as well as representatives of the educated part of the population: doctors, teachers, engineers, officials, who mostly did not have their own houses, but rented apartments. This procedure greatly limited the number of voters. On average 46 major cities voters accounted for 5.6% of total number residents.
Elections to the Duma took place every four years. At the meeting of the Duma, the executive body of public administration was elected - the council and the mayor, who was simultaneously the chairman of both the executive and administrative bodies.
The competence of city self-government, like that of the zemstvo, was limited to the narrow framework of purely economic issues: external improvement, arrangement of markets and bazaars, care of local trade and industry, health care and education, adoption of sanitary and fire safety measures.
The importance of urban reform
The new city governments played significant role in the economic and cultural development of Russia. The successful solution of many problems depended to a large extent on the people who were part of the dumas and headed these institutions. An entire era in the history of Moscow was made up of the activities of Nikolai Aleksandrovich Alekseev, who was the mayor from 1855 to 1893. Over the course of 8 years, such magnificent buildings as the Moscow City Duma (in Soviet times there was a museum of V.I. Lenin), Upper Trading Rows (GUM building) appeared in the city, electrification of the central part of the city began, and construction of a new water supply system was completed. The pinnacle of N.A.’s selfless and selfless service. Alekseev was the donation of significant funds for the creation of a hospital for the mentally ill.
2.9 1864 - Judicial reform
By the middle of the 19th century, perhaps not a single organ of the state apparatus was in such bad condition like the judicial system.
I.S. Aksakov wrote in the 1980s that just remembering the old trial “makes your hair stand on end, and chills run through your skin.”
The new judicial statutes, introduced on November 20, 1864, declared their goal to guarantee “a speedy, just and merciful trial, equal for all.” The judicial reform was based on the principles that underlay the courts of the bourgeois states of Western Europe. Russia received a new court: all-class, public, adversarial, independent of the administration. The old class courts, preserved from the time of Catherine II, were replaced by common judicial institutions for all subjects of the empire, no matter what class they belonged to: everyone was tried in the same courts, according to the same laws, under the same procedure legal proceedings. This was a decisive step forward.
The new legislation established two types of courts: magistrates and general. The magistrate's court considered minor acts and offenses, minor civil cases, if the damage did not exceed 500 rubles. The highest authority in relation to the magistrate's court was the congress of magistrates of the given district. Justices of the peace were elected by district zemstvo assemblies and city dumas for 3 years from candidates who had a certain educational and property qualification.
The general court had three categories: district court, judicial chamber and Senate. The district court became the central link of the new judicial system. The court included the chairman, his deputies, and members of the court. Jurors - elected persons involved for a certain time to participate in the proceedings of court cases (12 people) - had to decide whether the accused was guilty or innocent, and the court determined the punishment. Political cases were removed from the jurisdiction of the jury. The precaution, as it turned out later, was not superfluous for the authorities.
The creation of the institution of sworn attorneys - the Bar - was of great importance. The government, right up to the abolition of serfdom, had a negative attitude towards the idea of establishing a legal profession in Russia on the Western European model. “Who, who ruined France, if not lawyers,” exclaimed Nicholas I, “who were Mirabeau, Marat, Robespierre?! No... while I reign, Russia does not need lawyers, we will live without them.” The son lived in a different era.
The role of lawyers immediately became quite noticeable. “The Russian legal profession of the 60-70s,” according to the prominent lawyer V.D. Spasovich, “became the focus of judicial figures who could compete with any European celebrities...” The names of outstanding lawyers of that time D.V. Stasova, F.N. Plevako, P.A. Alexandrova was known throughout Russia.
The importance of judicial reform
Judicial reform was the most consistent and radical reform of Alexander II, however, it remained unfinished. The Senate was not reformed. Religious, military, commercial, and foreign courts were left intact. The highest officials of the empire were tried by a special Supreme Criminal Court. The peasant volost court, established General provision February 19, 1861. The latter was partly explained by the fact that peasant legal concepts differed sharply from general civil ones. Therefore, the volost court judged, guided not by imperial laws, but on the basis of written customary law and local peasant customs.
Despite all these deviations, the new court differed sharply from the pre-reform court with its clerical secrecy and bribery, endless red tape through the authorities, lack of legal representation and arbitrariness of the administration. The judicial reform of 1864 undoubtedly had a progressive significance, contributing to the development in society of a sense of legality and civic consciousness.
It is difficult to disagree with the famous publisher and journalist M.N. Katkov, who gave the reform a succinct definition: “With the strengthening of the new legal process, it becomes possible to live in Russia as in a civilized country.”
2.10 Reforms in the field of public education and the press
The reforms of the 60s in the field of education and the press were inextricably linked with the transformations that followed the peasant reform of 1861. Even during the work of the Editorial Commissions, an opinion was expressed about “the urgent need to establish rural schools everywhere.” The development of this issue took several years before, on June 14, 1864, Alexander II approved
"Regulations on primary public schools."
In accordance with it, the right to open and maintain schools was granted to public institutions and private individuals with appropriate permission.
There were different types of primary schools - state, zemstvo, parish, Sunday. The duration of their studies did not exceed three years. The training course involved teaching the following disciplines: the Law of God, reading, writing, the four rules of arithmetic and church singing. Teaching was to be carried out everywhere only in Russian.
In 1864, a new charter for gymnasiums was approved. He entered high school the principle of equal rights to education for everyone who has the opportunity to pay the established tuition fees: children of persons “of all classes, without distinction of rank or religion,” could be admitted to the gymnasium. There were two types of gymnasiums - classical and real, with a seven-year training period. In classical gymnasiums, preference was given to humanitarian training and the study of ancient languages; in real gymnasiums, mathematics and science had an advantage. Those who graduated from a classical gymnasium had the right to enter the university without exams, while graduating from a real gymnasium gave the right to enter only higher technical educational institutions. In the early 60s, women's education also developed. In 1863, a new university charter was adopted, which restored university independence. The University Council received the right to independently decide all educational, scientific and administrative issues, to manage all inner life university The charter provided for the election of the rector, deans and professors with their subsequent confirmation in office by the Minister of Public Education. Students did not receive any corporate rights. Women were not allowed into universities.
New law university life was received positively, because he, as the famous philologist F.I. wrote. Buslaev, “contributed to success in the sciences,” and professors could “give lectures calmly and unhindered,” without being embarrassed by picky formalities, “without any fear of secret guardianship.”
In an atmosphere of increased liberal sentiment and general dissatisfaction with the state of the press, the “era of censorship terror” came to an end. Back in December 1855, the government of Alexander II stopped the activities of the Buturlinov Committee, and the most reactionary censors were removed. In 1857, the government created a committee to develop a new censorship charter. Finally, in 1856, a new charter was issued, which existed with some changes and additions until 1905.
The new law exempted the capital's periodicals, books of 10 printed sheets for Russians and 20 printed sheets for translated publications from preliminary censorship
Despite the well-known restrictions on the provincial press and mass literature, the new charter was still an undoubted step forward, receiving support among book publishers and journalists.
2.11 Military reform
The lessons of the Crimean War, which revealed the military-technical backwardness of the Russian army, showed that the military machine of feudal Russia was clearly unable to withstand the advanced armies of Western European states. A radical restructuring of the entire military system was necessary.
In 1861, 45-year-old General Dmitry Alekseevich Milyutin, brother of N.A., was appointed to the post of Minister of War. Milyutin, highly educated and military and statesman, known for his liberal views. The personnel choice of Alexander II turned out to be spoiled.
Dmitry Alekseevich rose to the rank of professor at the Academy of the General Staff. He wrote a number of major works on military history, among them " Italian campaign Suvorov." At the end of the 50s, he was appointed head of the Caucasian Army, participated in the development of the operation to capture Shamil, which served to end hostilities in this region. Having excellent theoretical training, the necessary combat experience and skills, and also possessing outstanding personal talents , D.A. Milyutin, like no one else, corresponded to the task: to reorganize the military power of Russia.
YES. Milyutin first of all achieved a reduction in the period of military service from 25 to 16 years. Then conscription into soldiers for crimes was prohibited, corporal punishment, which was widely used in the pre-reform army, was abolished, and literacy training for soldiers was introduced. In 1864, he carried out a reform of military administration based on the creation of military districts. The new leadership system eliminated excessive centralization and facilitated the rapid deployment of the army in the event of hostilities. Modernization took place at a fairly rapid pace to replace smoothbore weapons, rifled weapons arrived. The sailing fleet was replaced by a steam one, and new military vessels appeared: battleships, cruisers, battleships. However, a radical reorganization of military affairs required more radical measures, namely the introduction of a new army recruitment system - replacing the old conscription with universal conscription.
For the first time, the idea of introducing universal military service in Russia, albeit in a veiled form, was expressed by D.A. Milyutin back in 1862 in the emperor’s report. There was no response. Meanwhile, the further growth of armaments and the development of military equipment in Europe, the strengthening of militaristic sentiments among the largest powers of the continent left Russia practically no other choice. There were reasons of a different order. The use of universal conscription could be effective only if military reservists were quickly mobilized, and this, in turn, required the availability developed system communication routes. There was no such system in Russia in the early 60s. Growth of railway construction, creation of a network railways by the beginning of the 70s, they made it possible to complete military reform along the European model. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871 also arrived “just in time.” Contemporaries were struck by the coherence and speed with which the Prussian army was mobilized. P.A. Valuev, who witnessed the victorious march of the Prussians to Paris, returned to Russia and, in a conversation with Miliukov, directly spoke out for the introduction of all-class conscription.
There was no longer any time to delay. Developed by a commission led by D.A. Milyutin's draft of the new military regulations, despite the tinny position of the reactionaries, was nevertheless passed in the State Council and on January 1, 1874 was approved by Alexander II. According to the new military regulations, recruitment was abolished, and universal military service was introduced, which applied to the entire male population of the country who had reached the age of 20, regardless of class. The period of active service in the infantry was set at 6 years and 9 years in the reserve, in the navy - 7 years of active service and 3 years in the reserve. Numerous benefits were established. The terms of active service were shortened for persons who received education: for those who completed primary school- up to three years, graduating from high school - up to one and a half years, and graduates of higher educational institutions could serve only 6 months. With the introduction of the new military regulations, Russia gained the opportunity to have world time a relatively small army, and in the event of hostilities. By calling in reserve reserves, and sometimes militia, to create a massive army with the necessary reserves.
The importance of military reform
The military reforms of 1861 - 1874 played a role important role in increasing the combat effectiveness of the Russian army, which was convincingly demonstrated during Russian-Turkish war 1877 - 1878.
YES. Milyutin served as Minister of War for twenty years, having, unlike other reformers, the opportunity not only to develop a reform, but also to implement it in practice. He died in 1912, at the age of 96, perhaps the last of the glorious galaxy of Russian reformers of the 60s and 70s.
2.12 The significance of the reforms of 1860-1870
Political reforms 1860-1870 years became a worthy continuation of the largest reform of the century - the abolition of serfdom. The creation of modern bodies of self-government, European justice and judicial system, the introduction of universal military service, changes in the field of education and the press, the complexity of the development and implementation of all these reforms testified to the enormous transformative potential aimed at the peaceful, evolutionary development of society and the state. No reform is born in a vacuum. The complex interaction and interweaving of liberal and protective principles in state policy - all this determined the nature of the transformations of the era of Alexander II. They cannot be crossed out or rewritten. For the connection of times is continuous, and our present in this sense is nothing more than an expression of the past. Reading historical books is both fascinating and instructive.
Analyzing the reforms of Alexander II, it should be noted that not everything that was planned in the early 1860s was implemented. Many reforms remained unfinished. And yet they should truly be called “Great Reforms,” which were of great importance for the subsequent development of all aspects of Russian life. In the history of Russia, it turned out that not a single one of the reforms that were conceived and carried out in the country was brought comprehensively and consistently to logical conclusion.
Reasons for the incompleteness of the reforms of the 60-70s of the 19th century
Alexander II started a good job, but he did not have time to complete it, as he was killed. His son, Alexander III, did not see the point in continuing reforms, so he followed the path of counter-reforms.
The incompleteness of the reforms being carried out, the lack of understanding of their significance by society, leads to what the reforms of the 60s and 70s of the 19th century led to - to the discontent of society, which responded with terror.
And the trouble with terror was that both governmental and revolutionary terror were equally destructive for the governmental state of society, taming people to blood, violence, and the cheapness of human life.
Conclusion
Speaking about the reforms of the 60s - 70s of the 19th century carried out by Alexander II, we cannot help but talk about the reforms of the 90s of the 20th century, which were carried out after the collapse of the USSR, life shows that for the successful implementation of reforms certain conditions are necessary:
for carrying out the reform, responsibility should be borne not only by the authorities, but by society, which should go together;
the unity of society, the unity of all is necessary political parties, all democratic forces, and we also lack this unity;
in carrying out reforms we must go to the end, without stopping halfway;
reforms must be proportionate to the individual. Alexander II, like M.S. Gorbachev and B.N. Yeltsin did not really understand the full depth and consequences of the reforms. Indeed, for a huge number of people, reforms both then and today were a disaster;
A strong politician should not be afraid of the strong people around him. Weak people are often chosen because they are easy to control;
To successfully carry out reforms, a favorable domestic and international environment is needed, this is also not the case today, since the situation has been worsened by the economic crisis;
A dissatisfied society, tired of waiting for changes, crosses a certain line that previously restrained the forces of habitual expectation.
And a sharp chain reaction begins in response to lack of rights, to blatant social insecurity, violation of individual rights, which lead to crowd power - ochlocracy.
As a result of this, everything moral, beautiful, creative, which constitutes the essence of uniqueness, perishes. human personality.
Bibliography
1. Butikov G. P. Museum - monument "Savior on Spilled Blood" publishing house St. Petersburg 1996
Vasilyeva L.N. "Wives of the Russian Crown", Atlantis XXI century, AST, Moscow, 1996.
Volobuev O.V. "History of Russia 1861-1917", Moscow, 1996.
Kaziev S.Sh. "History in diagrams and tables", LIST, Moscow 1998.
Lyutykh A.A. "Russian history for children and youth." - Moscow, RIPOL, 1996
Lyashenko Leonid "Alexander II, or the story of three solitudes", Moscow, YOUNG GUARDS, 2004.
Materials of the project of Channel 1 television "Name Russia" Alexander II
Ogonovskaya S.I. "History of Russia. A universal guide for schoolchildren and applicants", Ekaterinburg, U-FACTORIA, 2002
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The transformations carried out during the reign of Alexander II had important consequences for Russia at that time. Not only the descendants, but also the emperor’s contemporaries noted both the positive and negative significance of Alexander 2’s reforms for the development of statehood.
The inevitability of reforms
Immediately after ascending the throne in February 1855 - the day after the death of Emperor Nicholas 2's father - Alexander 2 made it clear to his subjects that he understood perfectly well at what time he would have to rule and in what condition the country would be handed to him. He stated this in his first speech as emperor to members of the State Council. The socio-political situation in Russia at that time was far from stable and progressively developing. It was necessary to quickly resolve a number of rather complex internal and external political issues in order to lead the country out of the crisis.
From the abolition of serfdom to the education of peasant children
Emperor Alexander 2 went down in history under the name “Liberator”. which was carried out under him, somewhat overshadowed the rest of the transformations of his reign, and there were many of them. The same reform of public education of Alexander 2 - Why is there no reason to give him the name “Enlightener”?
Among the intelligentsia, in addition to the women's issue, the consequences of the exodus of peasants from the landowners and their future fate were discussed. Ideas about the needs of organization for peasant children gave rise to virtually no controversy - the enlightened minds of the state recognized the need for their education unconditionally. Many cited the genius of Russian science Mikhail Lomonosov as an example, fate
which was so amazing and unique. Alexander II also had deep respect for him. Educational reforms were supposed to open the way to the world of knowledge for many peasant children. A great supporter of education among the people was I.S. Turgenev, who proposed his project for creating a literacy committee, which was approved by the emperor.
Historical significance of the changes introduced during the reign of Alexander
In addition to accepting and signing new educational statutes and carrying out a complete educational reform, among his achievements there are other important transformations that affected the entire Russian society. In 1862-1863, changes in the management of the state's financial resources were adopted, and in 1865, the law on the press was adopted. Reforms - self-government, judicial, military - were accepted by society in different ways, but their necessity was recognized by everyone. Even if not everything was carried out as planned, the very fact of transformation and the positive significance of the reforms of Alexander 2 for the further development of the state is difficult not to recognize. Although some of them are given different assessments to this day, Russia became stronger both in the domestic and foreign policy arena in the era of Alexander 2.
Russian Emperor Alexander II
Having ascended the throne in 1855, Alexander II received a difficult legacy: he had to resolve complex internal and external issues (Eastern, peasant, Polish, etc.); Russia's financial situation was upset by the unsuccessful Crimean War, as a result of which Russia found itself in international isolation.
Emperor Alexander II began to gradually carry out the reforms necessary for the state, including urban reforms.
Urban reform
It was a direct continuation of the zemstvo reform.
On June 16, 1870, the emperor issued the “City Regulations”, as a result of which elective self-government was introduced in 509 of the 1130 cities existing at that time - city councils. The number of public members of the Duma was significant: depending on the number of voters in the city - from 30 to 72 people. There were much more vowel members in the capital's Dumas: in the Moscow Duma - 180, in the St. Petersburg Duma - 252.
They were elected for 4 years. The City Duma was administrative authority. She elected her permanent executive agency — city government. The city government consisted of the mayor, who was also elected for 4 years, and several members.
Mayor was simultaneously the chairman of the city duma and the city government. City councils were controlled by government officials.
1870 Urban Reform Scheme
The right to vote and be elected to the City Duma
It was based on the bourgeois property qualification.
This right was granted only to those residents who had property qualifications (mainly owners of commercial and industrial establishments, houses, and banks). The City Duma consisted of three electoral assemblies: the first included large taxpayers who contributed a third of city taxes, the second included smaller ones who paid the other third of taxes, and the third included everyone else. Various departments, institutions, companies, societies, churches, monasteries also enjoyed suffrage as legal entity. Only men over 25 years of age were allowed to vote. Women could participate in elections only through their proxies. Salaried workers, who mostly did not own real estate, representatives of the intelligentsia (engineers, doctors, teachers, officials, who often did not have their own houses, but rented apartments), were actually deprived of the right to vote.
The limitations of this reform are obvious: the bulk of urban residents were excluded from participation in city government.
Competence of city government
This competence was limited to solving purely economic issues: the establishment of hospitals, schools, urban improvement, care for the development of trade, urban taxation, fire safety measures, water supply, sewerage, street lighting, transport, landscaping, urban planning problems. City councils were also supposed to take measures against beggary and promote the spread of public education (establish schools, museums, etc.).
The importance of urban reform
Russia's entry onto the path of capitalism was marked by the rapid development of cities, changes social structure their population, which led to the increasing role of cities as centers of economic, socio-political and cultural life of the country.
As a result, both clergy and nobles who owned real estate within the city limits, who until 1870 were excluded from work in self-government bodies as non-taxable classes, were attracted to participate in city government.
Alexander II did a lot for Russia. He did what other rulers were afraid to undertake: he freed the peasants from serfdom.
The internal reforms of Alexander II are comparable in scale to the reforms of Peter I. The Tsar-Reformer carried out truly grandiose reforms without a fratricidal war.
As a result of the abolition of serfdom and urban reform, commercial and industrial activity was revived, a flow of workers flowed into the cities, and new opportunities for entrepreneurship appeared.
D. Medvedev: “The reforms of Alexander II continue today”
D. Medvedev, speaking in St. Petersburg at the Mariinsky Palace on the occasion of the anniversary of the abolition of serfdom, noted that the reforms of Alexander II continue now: “Alexander II received a country with a powerful military-bureaucratic vertical of power. Behind its pomp - and we always knew how to show off - he saw the ineffectiveness of these institutions. He abandoned the traditional way of life and pointed the way to the future. This path turned out to be long and difficult. And it is still not completed to this day. In essence, we are continuing the course that was laid out a century and a half ago.”