emancipation of serfs

Question 1

emancipation edict 1861

Answer 1

• affected only privately owned serfs (51mill)
• serfs free to marry whoever they wished, own property & set up business
• landowners compensated by state immediately
• freed serfs to pay back redemption payments to serfs for 49 years including interest at 6%
• only when these paid would they have legal title to their land
• could continue to work 30/40 days per year on lord’s land to pay off redemption
• local mir responsible for paying redemption & peasant could only leave mir after paid off tax
• state peasants received better treatment but had to wait till 1866 for their freedom

Question 2

motives - crimean war

Answer 2

• drew attention to state of army where they were mainly made up of peasants (many serfs)
• enlistment mandatory for 25yrs but could be reduced to 15 for good character & if survived given freedom
• military reformers believed they needed a smaller better trained army
• officials convinced military reforms could only be done if serfdom abolished
• ONLY A SHORT TERM CAUSE

Question 3

motives - moral case

Answer 3

• members of royal family considered serfdom was morally & ethically wrong
• nicholas I admitted it was evil & palpable
• enlightened nobles & liberal state officials came to accept view that it was wrong to own someone like a possession
• majority of nobles didn’t accept this position as thought abolition of serfdom would be damaging to russian state & own livelihoods

Question 4

motives - risk of revolt

Answer 4

• serious peasant revolts in past & disturbances increasing since 1840s
• 1467 uprisings since 1800
• worrying as army was mainly made up of peasants
• may be difficult for government to contain major peasant uprising
• tsar worried enough to order weekly reports on mood of peasantry from december 1857
• other historians say this number was exaggerated

Question 5

motives - economic reasons

Answer 5

• many enlightened government officials/intellectuals convinced it was necessary to abolish serfdom if russian economy was to advance
• some of them accepted arguments of economists that free labour was more productive than forced labour
• forced labour impoverished the population & stopped growth of domestic demand which was essential for economic growth
• belied they needed free labour market where peasants could move around where most productive either in agriculture of industry