Government reforms of Alexander II of Russia
The Government reforms imposed by Tsar Alexander II of Russia, often called the Great Reforms (Russian: Великие реформы, romanized: Velikie reformy) by historians, were a series of major social, political, legal and governmental reforms in the Russian Empire carried out in the 1860s.
"Great Reform" and "Great Reforms" redirect here. For British reform sometimes called the "Great Reform", see Reform Act 1832.
By far the most important was the Emancipation reform of 1861 which freed the 23 million serfs from an inferior legal and social status, and helped them buy farmland. Many other reforms took place, including the:
By 1865 reaction began, and some reforms were cut back. After the tsar's assassination in 1881, his successor Alexander III reversed many reforms.
Censorship and glasnost[edit]
In 1858 he removed most of the censorship restrictions on the media—newspapers, magazines, books and pamphlets, resulting in an explosion of new publications. Thus Alexander achieved a degree of "glasnost" or open discussion, as the new media were often filled with discussions of reforms that were urgently needed.[14][15][16]
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Poland[edit]
Under Alexander II Polish nobles demanded greater autonomy. This demand was rejected by the Tsar's council. Instead there were new restrictions on internal mobility inside Poland, including requiring passports. In response to unrest the Tsar appointed a moderate Aleksander Wielopolski as chief minister in 1862. Wielopolski was conservative, pro-Russian, a proponent of regaining Poland's pre-1830 autonomy, and a champion of the emancipation of Jews. He adopted a series of liberal reforms in education, for Jews and peasants. He undertook educational reforms, increasing the number of Polish-language schools and establishing in Warsaw the "Main School" (Szkola Glowna, today's University of Warsaw). He also enacted banking-system reforms and agricultural reform for peasants in the form of rents instead of serfdom.[41][42]
A major revolt broke out in January 1863. It was brutally crushed by the Russian army, despite frequent demands across Europe for leniency and reforms. Nikolay Milyutin was installed as governor and he decided that the best response to the revolt was to make reforms regarding the peasants.[43] Emancipation of the Polish peasantry from their serf-like status took place in 1863, on more generous terms than the Russian emancipation of 1861. However the constitutional's independence of Poland was weakened and the Catholic Church lost its properties. In Warsaw, the official language of instruction was now to be Russian.[44]
Military[edit]
Dmitry Milyutin as war minister, focused on rebuilding a very large, very poor army into one that could compete with modern western armies, as well as deal with ethnic groups on the fringes of the empire.[27][28] In the old system conscription was compulsorily enforced only for the peasantry. It was for 25 years for serfs, and they were selected by the landowners. The result was an infantry filled primarily with poorly qualified, poorly motivated and incompetent soldiers.[29] The new reforms included universal conscription, introduced for all social classes starting in 1874. Other military reforms included extending the reserve forces and the military district system, which split the Russian states into 15 military districts. Railway planning emphasized strategic lines connecting population centers to likely battlefields. Military education was dramatically improved for the officer corps. Corporal punishment in the military and branding of soldiers as punishment were banned.[30][31] The first great task of the reconstituted army was defeating the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan wars of 1877. Whilst the war was won, serious failures were discovered at every level of the army from poorly trained companies, to outmoded tactics to dilatory maneuvers, to failures of overall strategy at the top command level.[32][33]
Naval reforms were also attempted, however inexperienced private Russian shipyards were used to build a modern steel fleet. The Russians tried to save money by inventing their own technology rather than purchasing the latest models from Western Europe. Alexander II also made the mistake of putting his brother in charge of the Navy, and then playing his ministers against each other to save money. Consequently naval programs were poorly coordinated with other ministries. In any case most of the budget went to the Army and Russia was never able to catch up with even the second-tier European naval powers.[34]
Education[edit]
Before 1860 Russia had a scattershot educational program that featured a few good universities, but severe limitations in every other area. Planning began in 1858, and the main reforms came in 1863. They extended popular education, opened secondary schools to women and allowed some women to audit University courses. Universities obtained more autonomy, but when small-scale student protests erupted, universities were returned to closer supervision. Private groups opened over 500 Sunday schools, without government funding or supervision, but the government distrusted innovations—such as teaching history—in place of rote language drills and closed them down.[36] Although new funding was not made available, laws in 1864 reformed secondary schools along the lines typical in France and Prussia. Elementary schools likewise were regulated to emphasize religious teaching by Orthodox priests.[37]
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Finland[edit]
The diet or Parliament of Finland had not met in 55 years, but in 1863 Alexander called it into session. It passed a language law that would make Finnish equal with Swedish in all public business. Mass protests erupted across Finland in 1898 when Tsar Nicholas II reversed the policy and made Russian the official language.[45][46]
Alaska[edit]
The Alaska colony was losing money, and would be impossible to defend in wartime against Britain, so in 1867 Russia sold Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million (equivalent to roughly $200 million in current dollars), The Russian administrators, soldiers, settlers, and some of the priests returned home. Others stayed to minister to their native parishioners, who remain members of the Russian Orthodox Church into the 21st century.[49]
Rejection of a parliament[edit]
Alexander firmly believed he had the God-given duty to rule as an autocrat, and that he alone understood the best interests of all of the people of Russia. Therefore he rejected any idea of a constitution that would limit his authority, and rejected any parliament or Duma that would take over some of the responsibilities that he alone could perform.[50]
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