Student Essay on Reforms During Alexander II's Reign

Reforms During Alexander II's Reign

Summary:   During Alexander II's reign as tsar, Russia experienced a number of reforms, including the emancipation of serfs, the reforms of the Russian military, and the opening of education to all citizens. To what degree did these reforms change Russia, and to what extent can they be attributed to Alexander II himself?

Alexander II

"A period of remarkable reforms for which the credit must be given largely to Alexander II."- To what extent to do you agree with this view"

During the time of Alexander II there were many improvements to Russia and the Russian people. Alexander came into power after Nicolas I and he saw no alternative for his country but to make drastic changes. There were many problems facing the new Tsar, such as the Crimean war and Russia being in a very backwards state. Before he died he managed to ensure peace with several countries, ended feudal control of serfs in 1861 and had political interactions with powerful countries. His many reforms included education, military and judicial reform. This text will only focus on three major reforms put in place by Alexander II the Edict of emancipation, military reforms and education reforms. While these reforms have been great success for the Russian empire two questions have to be asked. Firstly, were his reforms remarkable? Did the reforms really change Russia at the time of there issuing? Secondly, how much of the decision was made by Alexander rather then he was just following through with circumstances? These question need to be answered for there to be an accurate representation of Alexander II and the reforms that he put in place. Unfortunately, because of rising "extremist" revolutionary movements, Alexander's changes to Russia were not completed when he was assassinated in 1881. From this it is clear that Alexander II had a positive effect on Russia because of the but to what extent does the credit go to Alexander?

Many say that Alexander's greatest achievement was the Edict of emancipation, that being the emancipation of surfs. Until 1861, there was a very strict social order where the surfs were at the bottom. The surfs faced terrible working conditions, beatings and poverty. Essentially there were slaves that could not own land, have very limited rights, if any, and were condemned to poverty. There were many reasons for the emancipation of serfs. Many saw serfdom as Russia's biggest handicap in development into a new modern era, to be the equal of other European powers. There were many conflicting viewpoints as to wether to abolish serfdom or not. Some argued that to abolish serfdom would be a "blow to morals and the security of the state." Others argued that if it were not abolished then Russia would never catch up to the rest of Europe and that it was preventing industrial growth. Also, because serfs were the only people, aside from peasants, involved in physical agriculture, eg. farming, it was not possible for Russia to move into new methods of agriculture, this left Russia behind the rest of Europe. As the majority of the army was made up of conscription serfs, who were ill trained and supplied, it was almost impossible for there to be a fully competent army while serfdom survived. The number of Peasant and Serf revolts was rising and Alexander II saw that one of the ways to reduce these was to eliminate serfdom. With these reasons and limited resistance Alexander II decided to put an end to serfdom in 1861, but what really changed?

One has to ask whether the abolition of serfdom changed anything. While the Serfs were no longer enslaved to an owner they were now enslaved to a village. This meaning they were too impoverished to leave the village and were still not entirely free. This begs the question, were Alexander's reforms remarkable? Judging from the result of the Edict of emancipation, there was little change. To some extent this discredits Alexander II, by not fully endorsing his own reform it has lost value. Also, for what reasons did Alexander want the reform made. There are several reasons that the Edict of emancipation may have occurred. While it has been explained the Russia was behind the rest of Europe economically and politically, the Russian military was also far behind that of most other European countries. For Russia to move forwards and to be considered a European power once again it needed a powerful army. Serfs could not accomplish this and so this is a key reason why the Edict of emancipation was made. Also, through rising peasant revolts Alexander II sought the refuge of the Edict as this brought down peasant and Serf revolts.

Alexander II was responsible for other large reforms such the military reform (1874). The military reform was put in place because serfdom made it extremely difficult to transform the army from the semi-feudal organization it was at that time into a modern, bourgeois army. The military system that was in place prior to 1874 had a conscription quota of four men per thousand males during peace and eight per thousand during a war. There were attempts to increase this quota but this was denied. It was also impossible for the government to reduce the period of service and still obtain an adequate reserve of trained manpower. This left Russia in a terrible position and often they would have no choice but to use national militia when the national army was left wanting.

The new reform cut the military term from 25 years to just six. This was a major revelation in Russia's army because there was now much greater efficiently caused by the regular turnover of troops. The army was made to be more accommodating for the soldiers with the army methods being made more humane. This meant that training was made more relaxed and corporal punishment was banned. There is a strong link between the abolition of serfdom and Russia's improved army because serfdom did not allow the Russian army to shorten service terms. These changes also made the Russian army equal in terms of who was drafted. It was not longer based on wealth or class; no one was immune to conscription. While the military changes were essential for Russia to move forward were they remarkable? The poor quality of Russia's army was demonstrated during the Crimean war and this new system introduced by Alexander improved the army considerably. It could be said that this reform was remarkable and that credit could be given largely to Alexander II. It could also be said that this reform was just the next logical step after the abolition of serfdom. If there were no longer any serfs being forced into military service recruits would have to be found in other places. To a certain extent one could say that Alexander II was just following through with circumstance. However the reform came to pass it allowed the Russian army to be modernised and become, once again, a large European power.

Another major reform by Alexander II was that of Education. Alexander ushered in a new era in terms of who could receive education. Previously education was only available to the richest and those who could afford privet tuition. After the educational reform primary education became available to everyone. This had positive effects on Russia, such as literacy increase among peasantry and other low levels of society. Secondary education was also available for all, but this could have been potentially dangerous for the Autocratic system Russia had in place at the time. This is because if people were given advanced education, such as the increased students allowed to study at university, they may start to question whether the system Russia had in place was adequate. Alexander could be said to be a brave man after allowing universities to give lectures on topics such as law and government but this was all part of the new freedoms allocated to the education system. These changes were very beneficial for Russia as a whole because this meant that education was no just reserved for the rich. This reform could be viewed as remarkable because it liberated a section of Russia that had been reserved only for the rich. Through this liberation it helped to equalise the classes and allowed students to express their views without fear of being persecuted. Secondly, the educational reform does not seem to have been put in place through Alexander II following through with circumstance. It seemed to be a decision that was made because he believed there to be a deficiency wit the educational system as it was.

To what extend were the reforms made during the time of Alexander II as Tsar credited to him? Through his reforms he restored equality to Russia, through means of education and the Edict of emancipation. In relation to the topic question, the extent to which Alexander's II reforms should be credited to him is up to opinion. He was successful in bringing great change to Russia and without the reforms it would still have been stuck in the backwards way of thinking that it was before he became tsar. While his reforms were remarkable it is too difficult to determine wether all the credit can be given to Alexander II for the decisions. It would have to be agreed that a large portion of the credit can go to Alexander and that he was not just following circumstance. He was responsible for his decision and, while he was being pressured into change, he based his decisions on what would further the nation. The extent to which Alexander II can be largely credited with the remarkable decision he made during his time as Tsar is to great extent.