Web Wiz/History/Modern History/Preliminary Units of work/Decline of the Romanovs

Key Provisions of Emancipation
Land	Personal	Mir (Village Commune)
Problems: The gentry kept 50% of the land and the size of the plots available to the peasants was decided by commissioners. Peasants had to buy land they had previously farmed and considered to be theirs. They lost between 20% and 40% of this land in 'cut offs'. Peasants lost rights to wood from the forests and the use of common land for their animals as these were now declared the lord's property. Domestic serfs were not given any land. Not enough land was allocated to the peasants.	Peasants no longer owned by landlords. Free to marry, trade, work where they pleased No longer forced to work for the landlords. Compensation Landlords were compensated for loss of their land by the government. However this was often overvalued so the peasants paid high prices for land. Peasants were compelled to buy the right to farm the land with a 49 year mortgage from the landowners.	Powers strengthened. The Mir took over much of the landlord' role, ie tax collection, selecting recruits for the army, keeping order in the region. The land was actually owned by the Mir and families only had the right to farm the land. The Mir was responsible for collection of redemption payments for the government. Peasants had to gain permission from the Mir if they wanted to leave the area.

Reactions to Emancipation
The peasants felt cheated by the terms of emancipation. There were many peasant riots between 1861 and 1853. They believed that they owned the land they worked on and told the nobles "we are yours but the land is ours". The Tsar's decree however, began by saying the peasants were now free but they would have to buy their land and cottages. When the details of the Emancipation Act were made public there were many peasant riots between 1861 and 1853. The thought of paying for land they believed they already owned appalled most peasants. Also the land settlement sold less land to the peasants than they had used before 1861 and at very high prices. Added to this the landowners retained ownership of the best, most fertile land. Emancipation did not result in private ownership of the land which remained under the control of the village commune and peasants still could not leave the area without permission. In effect the government had bought the land from the nobles and sold it to the peasants but the peasants had to borrow money to buy the land which left most of them deeply in debt. The idea of paying for land they had always considered to be their own horrified many peasants. Instead of freeing up the peasantry as free labour they were now tied to the land by debt and the Mir. The domestic serfs suffered most as they were freed without land.

As well as this the peasants had other problems. Farms were often too small to feed a family, taxes remained high, farming methods were very old-fashioned and the peasants did not have the money to invest in modern equipment.

The nobility lost access to free labour under the terms of emancipation as well as feudal taxes paid to them by the peasants. They also lost their traditional powers over justice and police matters. In the short term they gained from the payments they received as compensation from the government. However, almost half of the money paid to nobles went to repay old debts. The reforms created serious problems for the nobility, without serfs they were no longer guaranteed an income. To survive they would have to develop businesslike skills. Most nobles despised business and few had the interest or the ability to run their estates in a businesslike manner. Many failed to adapt and so sold their land. The government relied less on the nobility for support after emancipation, relying instead on the bureaucracy to carry out their commands. So, the nobility, after emancipation, lost status.

Results of Emancipation
About fifty million serfs were emancipated in 1861 and the granting of freedom clearly meant a lot to the peasants. The riots which broke out when Emancipation was introduced died away after 1862. There were some economic benefits for Russia as a result of the reforms. Emancipation was seen as an essential transition to a capitalist, industrialised economy. Many serfs did move to the cities and industrial centres and took work in the factories and mines. Russia was not an industrialised nation yet but by the 1890s the Russian industrial economy was growing at a faster rate than the rest of Europe.

Exercise 2.5: True/False exercise

Now go to a True/False quiz to check your understanding of the terms of the Emancipation Act.

Exercise 2.5b: Rewrite the incorrect statements so that they contain correct information. Email your answer to your teacher.