The Main Stages of the Preparation of the Reform on the Abolition of Serfdom in the Russian Empire, Causes and Contradictions

Abstract

This article is devoted to the study of the reform of the abolition of serfdom in the context of its main causes and stages. The study includes not only the theme of Alexander II's Manifesto on the liberation of peasants from 1861, but also an analysis of a number of normative acts adopted since the end of the XVIII century, the subject of which were preliminary steps aimed at the subsequent acquisition of personal rights and freedoms by serfs. In particular, this article examines such documents as: The Manifesto of Paul I “On three-day serfdom”, the Decree of Alexander I “On free farmers”, the Regulations on the peasants of Estonia and Livonia, as well as the Decree of Nicholas I “On obliged peasants”. The authors of the article pay sufficient attention to external and internal factors that served as the reasons and prerequisites for the adoption of the reform on the abolition of serfdom, such as the defeat in the Crimean War, the industrial and technical revolution, the social crisis, the increased peasant riots, the development of higher education and, at the same time, changes in the worldview of the enlightened segment of the population of the Russian Empire. In addition, the article examines in detail the internal political processes for organizing activities aimed at preparing and implementing the reform of serfdom. The authors analyzed the course of preparation of the draft peasant reform and formulated the key contradictions that represented a number of obstacles to the implementation of the reform.