The optimality of the option of abolishing serfdom in Russia, implemented in 1861

Vitaly Yu Zakharov,Irina N Velmozhko,Anna N Ivanova,Vladimir A Volkov,Olga B Chirikova

doi:10.34069/ai/2021.46.10.2

Vitaly Yu Zakharov, Irina N Velmozhko + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.34069/ai/2021.46.10.2

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Abstract

The article discusses the controversial issues related to the abolition of serfdom in Russia in 1861: its causes, features of preparation and implementation. The authors focus on the question of whether the implemented version of the abolition of serfdom in Russia was optimal. For this purpose, a comparative analysis of the abolition of serfdom in Russia is carried out with similar reforms in European countries, which could serve as a reference point, primarily in Austria and Prussia. It is concluded that the peasant reform in Russia in 1861 (in the final version) was carried out primarily in the interests of the state and not of individual social groups (landowners and peasants). It is the state that has benefited most from the implementation of this particular version of the reform, both financially and politically. Among the losers there were both peasants (to a greater extent) and landowners (to a lesser extent). The main thing was that the reform provoked the problem of the lack of land of the majority of peasants, which in the future became one of the main reasons for the social explosion and revolutions at the beginning of the XX century.

Highlights

In 2021 we will celebrate the 160th anniversary of one of the most important events in Russian history: liberation of serfs
The authors focus on the following questions: why attempts to begin the abolition of serfdom in the first half of the XIX century ended in failure; what are the reasons for the abolition of serfdom in 1861 and which of them was the main one; was there a variant of the abolition of serfdom implemented in 1861 optimal, especially in comparison with the peasant reforms in Austria and Prussia; who has benefited most from this option of abolishing serfdom in Russia; Volume 10 - Issue 46 / October 2021 21 всего, в интересах государства, а не отдельных социальных групп
Before we talk about the peasant reform of 1861 and its results, in our opinion, we should answer the question why serfdom in Russia lasted longer than in other European countries and was not abolished earlier, at least in the first half of the XIX century? In our article "Discussion aspects of the establishment and development of serfdom in Russia", published in "Bylye Gody" in No 16(1) 2021 (Zakharov et al, 2021), to which we refer the readers, these issues were analyzed in sufficient detail

Summary

Introduction

In 2021 we will celebrate the 160th anniversary of one of the most important events in Russian history: liberation of serfs. On February 19, 1861, the long-awaited Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom was issued, which ended the shameful phenomenon that caused indignation of the enlightened part of Russian society, but at the same time it was the basis of the socio-economic and political development of the Russian Empire for two centuries. It was a truly significant and epoch-making event in the history of the Russian state. Главное же заключалось в том, что реформа спровоцировала проблему малоземелья большинства крестьян, что в будущем стало одной из главных причин социального взрыва и революций в начале XX века

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