How valid is the judgement that Alexander II’s reforms caused more problems than they

solved?

It can be argued that Alexander II’s reforms caused more problems than they solved. This is
especially the case with reform concerning the emancipation of the serfs, administrative
reform and reform that aimed to modernize Russia. One theme that runs through this essay
is the limitations that these reforms were implemented with. Limitations were undoubtedly a
problem as it required further reform to correct but also, in some cases, sparked more
hostility amongst the populists and other stakeholders involved. The judgement is
undoubtedly valid, especially, as a result of Alexander’s education reform, it resulted in his
death, which, with no need for further consideration, caused more problems than it solved.

Emancipation of the serfs

● Peasant unrest
○ In the long term after emancipation there were far fewer peasant
disturbances.
○ The quantity and intensity of peasant unrest fell over the next 40 years. No
rebellion was conjured showing that the threat was minimal.
● Economic backwardness
○ Economic output of farms increased.
○ 17.7% increase in Russian GDP in second half of 19th century
○ Improvement in peasant nutrition
○ Serfdom impeded the emergence of a modern capitalist economy because of
an inelastic labour force and the absence of a money economy retarded
industrial development, it was further argued that serfdom was an inefficient
and unproductive form of agriculture because, essentially, it was forced
labour, and so the serfs had no incentive to do any more than subsist, instead
of making surplus goods.

Issues WIth Emancipation

● Conditions of peasants
○ Improved little, if at all.
○ Debts
■ Not free
■ Were hereditary and took 49 years for the peasants to pay off their
debts.
● Peasants lost in material terms and the idea of increasing economic output as a
result of Serfdom was a myth and the idea of communes de-incentivised Serfs to
improve the land and make surplus goods.
■ It was left to the Landlords to decide what land the Serfs got.
■ The Landlords then chose the worst bits of land on the estate.
■ The Landlord also could rent out the rest of the land to the Serfs for an
extra cost
■ The Land given to the Serfs was also arranged into communes. The
land that each Serf has in the commune was rotated every five years,
resulting in a lack of incentive to improve the land.
■ 27 years after emancipation (1878) it was found that only half of the
peasantry were able to produce surplus goods.
 ■ Necessitated extensive further reforms of the administrative, judicial
systems.
● Peasant unrest - was worsened in the short-term - only solved by further
administrative reform.
○ Peasant unrest only decreased because they found it easier to avoid playing
taxes - replaces one problem with another (Acton’s thesis).
■ Peasant unrest also rose in the short term
● This caused further uprising (474 uprisings in 5 years and now
3,000 in one year) as they were astounded that the promise of
freedom turned out to be contractualised slavery.

Administration
- Administrative reforms were necessitated by the reforms made under emancipation
of the surfs
- Courts
- Limitations
- An official accused of breaking the law could only be prosecuted with
the consent of his superior
- The government also reserved the right to deal with cases above the
law if it was considered politically dangerous through administration
outside the courts (such as the D.V. Karakozov incident where he
made an attempt on the Tsar’s life).
- These limitations caused more problems than they solved as they
strengthened what they sought to weaken, creating hypocrisy within
the administration. This would have caused resentment amongst the
populists.
- However
- The Judiciary separated from the administrative bureaucracy
- This meant that
- Judges were to be irremovable
- Trials held in public
- Juries wer to adjudicate serious criminal cases
- Elected justices of the peace were to hear minor
criminal and civil cases.
- This was the most thorough and effective reform as it promised
a giant stride towards security under the law
- Zemstvos
- There were problems with this system however.
- Zemstvo assemblies only met a few days a year
- Their budget and powers of taxation were strictly limited
- Peasants were reluctant to take part meaning that the lords still
dominated the zemstvo, essentially undermining emancipation as it
kept in a way the old method of serfdom with the lords having heavy
influence over the peasants through said councils
- The most important problem, however, was that the elections of the
Zemstvos was incredibly weighted towards the Aristocracy
- From 1865-7 74% of zemstvo seats were held by nobles.
 - This created the problem of the fact that his administrative
reform was undermined as it caused what it set out to reform.
This would, again, create resentment amongst the populists as
the role of the commune is being undermined and the position
of the aristocracy strengthened.
- However:
- Alexander III wanted the system of representative county councils
(zemstvo) to fill the administrative power vacuum in the countryside
(who the Skhods answered to) as a result of abolition of the feudal
system
- Joined liberal demands that the Gov. should return to the spirit of the
Great Reforms, respect the independence of the country and the
freedom under the law of the press, and provide some means for
public participation in framing legislation.
- Answering of Demands and therefore solved a previous issue.

Modernisation
- Education
- Reforms made to introduce education such as the introduction of a technical
school
- Education reform and the improvement / expansion of the student
body led to students become disloyal to and question the status-quo.
Their elevated position made students receptive of radical ideas .
- Such reform ultimately led to the assination of the Tsar
- Education and ALexander IIs death
- Rysakov
- Attended technical school and was born in 1862
so was subject to the education reform
- Suggesting that it did cause more problems than they solved
- Education reform and the improvement / expansion of the student body led to
students become disloyal to and question the status-quo. Their elevated
position made students receptive of radical ideas .
- Disciplinary measures by the authorities were counter-productive
- This led to additional grounds for grievance and the punishment of an
entire college tended to strengthen student esprit de corps (cohesion
amongst the students)
- Press reform
- Reformed the press
- Russia’s Punitive press control was limited:
- The government had a free hand when dealing with radical
press, showing a limited move to punitive censorship
- Government regulation of press was flawed
- once papers were closed down journalists were
sometimes successful in starting up new titles and
therefore carried on under different names
- However
- Press:
 - Preventative
- This was the method used in Russia until 1865 which involved
officials from the ministry if the interior, who also came under
the instructions of the Synod and the minister for war, proof-
reading everything that went to press and deleting what was
deemed to be seditious
- This took a lot of time and money
- Reforming this was necessary and they did so reducing costs
even if it involved a degree of limitation, it accomplished what it
wanted to, which was to streamline the press situation reduce
costs.
- The expanding popular press newly equipped with
communication by telegraph, provided colourful coverage of
Russian reform
- Education
- Expansion of the student body led to a more educated workforce and
therefore and expanding economy.
- The expansion of the reading public called into being a
commercially viable and increasingly sophisticated press.
Provided the context for masterpieces of Russia’s golden age
of literature.
- Culture became a great export of Russia.
- (Although it made no change to the still heavy agrarian
economy)

To conclude Alexander II’s reforms undoubtedly caused more problems than they solved.
Emancipation left Russia with little change to both its economic status but also its domestic
unrest and loopholes such as the tax avoidance caused more problems than it solved as tax
revenue decreased whilst limited change had occurred as a result. Furthermore the
emancipation statute also degraded the conditions of the peasant, creating contractual
slavery and the degredation of land due to the lack of incentive for the serfs to improve it.
Furthermore administrative reform of the Courts and Zemstvos were also limited and as a
result led to enhanced resentment amongst the populists. And finally reform that aimed to
modernise Russia led to irreversible problems, one such being the death of Alexander II as a
result of the education reform, showing how the reform caused more problems than they
solved. However there is a degree of success in some of the reforms, such as the
streamlining of the press censorship system but also an increase in the educated workforce
which led to the golden age of literature for Russia. However these solutions undoubtedly do
not outweigh the problems they caused.