Name of the reform

Dates

Target

Events

Results

Judicial

November 1864

Introduction of all-estate legal proceedings

Introduction of the independence of the court before the administration (irremovability of judges);

introduction of publicity of legal proceedings;

introduction of competition in court (prosecution-defence);

the introduction of jury trials; creation of a system of magistrates' courts

Embodied all the progressive trends in the world practice of legal proceedings (publicity, competitiveness, independence)

Military

Overcoming technical and military backwardness; creation of trained military reserves

Reform of military educational institutions;

The introduction of all-class military service;

Technical re-equipment of the army;

Construction of a steam fleet

Creation of a strong combat-ready army of a modern type

education

June 1864

Perfection public education

Introduction of equality in secondary education for all classes;

Introduction of classical and real gymnasiums;

Introduction of university autonomy;

The beginning of women's higher education

Democratization of education

1 . What caused the need for liberal reforms in the 60-70s of the 19th century:

A. strengthening of the monarchy.

B. the removal of landlord guardianship from the peasants.

V. terrorist activities of the populists.

G. pressure from foreign states.

A. prohibition of women's education

B. introduction of university autonomy

C. the introduction of restrictions on the admission of peasant children to the gymnasium

D. opening of research institutes

3. The military reform of 1874 organized by D.A. Milyutin assumed:

A. the transition from compulsory military service to a professional army.

B. transition from recruitment to universal military service.

B. increase in the size of the armed forces.

G. tougher discipline.

4. Judicial reform did NOT provide for:

A. the creation of a magistrate's court.

B. trial by jury.

B. preservation of the volost court.

G. use of corporal punishment.

1. Distribute in 2 columns the terms related to the history of Russia

Before 1861(I) and after 1861(II):

A). quitrent
B). ransom
IN). recruiting kits
G). segments
D). class court
E). temporarily liable
AND). jury trial
Z). universal conscription
AND). corvee
TO). striped
L). zemstvos

1 . What caused the need for liberal reforms in the 60-70s of the 19th century:

A. strengthening of the monarchy.

B. the removal of landlord guardianship from the peasants.

V. terrorist activities of the populists.

G. pressure from foreign states.

1. The education reform included:

A. prohibition of women's education

B. introduction of university autonomy

C. the introduction of restrictions on the admission of peasant children to the gymnasium

D. opening of research institutes

3. The military reform of 1874 organized by D.A. Milyutin assumed:

A. the transition from compulsory military service to a professional army.

B. transition from recruitment to universal military service.

B. increase in the size of the armed forces.

G. tougher discipline.

4. Judicial reform did NOT provide for:

A. the creation of a magistrate's court.

B. trial by jury.

B. preservation of the volost court.

G. use of corporal punishment.

1. Distribute in 2 columns the terms related to the history of Russia

Before 1861(I) and after 1861(II):

A). quitrent
B). ransom
IN). recruiting kits
G). segments
D). class court
E). temporarily liable
AND). jury trial
Z). universal conscription
AND). corvee
TO). striped
L). zemstvos

1 . What caused the need for liberal reforms in the 60-70s of the 19th century:

A. strengthening of the monarchy.

B. the removal of landlord guardianship from the peasants.

V. terrorist activities of the populists.

G. pressure from foreign states.

2. The education reform provided for:

A. prohibition of women's education

B. introduction of university autonomy

C. the introduction of restrictions on the admission of peasant children to the gymnasium

D. opening of research institutes

3. The military reform of 1874 organized by D.A. Milyutin assumed:

A. the transition from compulsory military service to a professional army.

B. transition from recruitment to universal military service.

B. increase in the size of the armed forces.

G. tougher discipline.

4. Judicial reform did NOT provide for:

A. the creation of a magistrate's court.

B. trial by jury.

B. preservation of the volost court.

G. use of corporal punishment.

5. Distribute in 2 columns the terms related to the history of Russia

Before 1861(I) and after 1861(II):

A). quitrent
B). ransom
IN). recruiting kits
G). segments
D). class court
E). temporarily liable
AND). jury trial
Z). universal conscription
AND). corvee
TO). striped
L). zemstvos

1 . What caused the need for liberal reforms in the 60-70s of the 19th century:

A. strengthening of the monarchy.

B. the removal of landlord guardianship from the peasants.

V. terrorist activities of the populists.

G. pressure from foreign states.

2. The education reform provided for:

A. prohibition of women's education

B. introduction of university autonomy

C. the introduction of restrictions on the admission of peasant children to the gymnasium

D. opening of research institutes

3. The military reform of 1874 organized by D.A. Milyutin assumed:

A. the transition from compulsory military service to a professional army.

B. transition from recruitment to universal military service.

B. increase in the size of the armed forces.

G. tougher discipline.

4. Judicial reform did NOT provide for:

A. the creation of a magistrate's court.

B. trial by jury.

B. preservation of the volost court.

G. use of corporal punishment

Slides captions:

Great reforms of Alexander II

Alexander II emperor since 1855 S. Platonov: “... Emperor Alexander II will forever have the name of the great reformer who brought the Russian people hitherto unknown benefits of citizenship”

“Swift, just and merciful judgment” Senate world courts general Non-classicalness Publicity and publicity Independence Trial by jury

Leading lawyers of the country N.A. Budkovsky, K. P. Pobedonostsev, D. A. Rovinsky, N. I. Stoyanovskiy and others. the best achievements of the then science and judicial practice in the advanced countries of Europe.

Jury trial

Judicial Reform Justice of the Peace The Court of Appeal was the Court of Appeal, but it heard disputes about punishment and could not review the decision of the jury. The Judicial Chamber also considered cases of malfeasance of high-ranking officials. The Senate remained the highest court. The king could not change the sentence. He could only forgive.

“In the strength of the army is the strength of Russia” Minister of War D.A. Milyutin Elimination of recruitment kits Reduction of active service to 6-7 years All-class army Charter on military service of 1874 Military theory Training of soldiers

Military reforms - the main goal of which was to eliminate the ineffective and already outlived recruiting system for recruiting recruits and create a mass army of the European type by attracting "most of the population" to military service. The most important part of his program was the reorganization of the highest military administration and the creation of territorial bodies in the form of military districts (the whole of Russia was divided into 15 districts). A restructuring of military education was carried out, the main element of which was the creation of cadet schools with a two-year term of study. Much has been done to re-equip the Russian army and equip it with new technical means. All Milyutin's undertakings were carried out in line with the liberal reforms of Alexander II, during whose reign he was considered one of the most influential ministers. Milyutin belonged to the circle of the liberal bureaucracy, grouped around Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich

Military Reform Officer General Staff. Corporal punishment was abolished in the army, the life and training of soldiers improved. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the army was re-equipped with Berdan rifled guns and rifles. New statutes were introduced. Personnel training was carried out in cadet and military schools and academies.

Education Regulatory documents: University charter (1863) - election of officials, guardianship weakened, independence in the choice of subjects, teaching structures, funding Regulations on primary public schools (1864) - primary school: 3 years, paid all-class, classical, incl. female Orientation of education - secular By the 80s: primary schools -22,700 students -1,140,915 number of students - 8,193 expenses -6,158,155 rubles

Education reform Students celebrate Tatyana's Day. At the local school

Questions to reinforce: What was the progressive significance of judicial reform? What has changed in the picking system Russian army? What are the results of the reform in education?

Thus, Emperor Alexander II was justly awarded the “title” of the Tsar-Liberator: he freed not only the peasants, but the personality of the Russian people in general, put it in conditions of independent existence and development.

The reign of Alexander II was marked by political reforms, which, without exaggeration, became crucial for Russian Empire.

The need for such political transformations was caused by the difficult situation of Russia, in connection with the defeat in the Crimean War, the presence of serfdom, which hindered the development of the state's economy.

The list of major reforms includes:

1. Peasant.
2. Financial.
3. Reforming the system of local self-government.
4. Reorganization of the judiciary.
5. military reforms.

Positive results of the reform

The most significant is the peasant reform, which in 1861 opened the list of reforms and abolished serfdom. The acquisition of personal freedom and the opportunity to rent land plots contributed to labor market development. Peasants acquired the right to freely choose a profession. The land was transferred to the use of the community, and all rights have local self-government.

The essence of the zemstvo reform (1864) was that the solution of issues of the local economy, the collection of taxes, the approval of the budget was transferred to the elected district and provincial councils. These select institutions were to provide and develop primary education, medical and veterinary services. A natural continuation of the reform of local self-government is the urban one, which replaced the estate administrations of the cities, elected by the dumas. The advantages of reforming the Zemstvo can be considered raising the level of education by opening a huge number of zemstvo schools. The healthcare system has improved significantly. The construction of large numbers of zemstvo hospitals and schools led to the formation of a "third element" of doctors, teachers, and agronomists. In addition, the creation of infrastructure in the nearest settlements, the construction of roads, medical institutions, schools contributed to the accelerated development of industry.

The beginning of the educational reform was laid by the emperor already in the first years of his reign. The reform affected not only the university environment, but also affected average level education. In addition to classical gymnasiums, real schools became widespread in the sixties of the 19th century. The new rules made it possible for peasant children to receive education. The created system of women's education provided women with wide access to education. New law about the press lowered the level of censorship.

Judicial reform, which provides for the creation of a system of courts of the world and common courts, ensured more efficient judiciary. The introduction of jury trials, the publicity and publicity of court hearings with the participation of lawyers, the independence of judges had a strong influence on progress in public life and the entire political system.

Holding military reform, which lasted from 1861 to 1874, ended with a charter on universal military duty, completely changing the order of conscription to military service. Now, instead of a recruiting set, military service applies to all estates. Corporal punishment was abolished in the army, military settlements were abolished, and people of all classes were admitted to the established military gymnasiums and cadet schools.

Cons of the reforms of Alexander II

Despite the positive effect of the introduction of reforms relating to almost all aspects of life in Russia in the sixties and seventies of the XIX century, they were not without shortcomings and significant miscalculations. The implementation of the peasant reform did not give the peasants the main thing - the land. The enslaving conditions for the purchase of land for most of the former serfs were predatory and contributed to a sharp stratification of the village communities. Zemstvo reform is considered bourgeois in spirit and character. However, the presence at the meetings mainly of representatives top management society allowed ignore the interests of the lower classes. The voting procedure, when farmers and peasants vote separately, provided the landlords with significant advantages. Zemstvos were limited in obtaining political rights.

The disadvantage of the most progressive judicial reform can be called opportunity to delay proceedings with the help of the judicial bureaucracy, and the development of bribery undermined the credibility of the judiciary. The bulk of court cases were considered in the judicial chamber, consisting of representatives of the upper classes, which worsened the legal status of other classes.

Difficulties in solving urban problems arose due to the lack of funds necessary for their implementation. An increase in the number of employees in government agencies, the police, and other state structures required a large number funds, and financing was carried out, including at the expense of part of the city budget revenues. The positive results of reforming the education system in Russia were reduced due to the fact that the tuition fee system did not allow children from the lower strata of the population to receive secondary and higher education.

The results of the reforms of Alexander II

The main achievement of the complex of reforms carried out in the 19th century by Emperor Alexander II is the huge and cultural upsurge in the development of civil society in Russia. The country began an active development of the economy. Objective conditions have been created for the establishment of capitalism as the main formation. The elimination of the landlords' monopoly on peasant labor, the activation of the labor market, made it possible to overcome the economic crisis. The new judiciary gave the courts political independence. The implementation of the Zemstvo reform contributed to the introduction of self-government, the development of education, medicine, industry, and the development of different parts of the country.

Personality of Emperor Alexander II. Emperor Alexander was born on April 18, 1818 in Moscow. He is the first child in the family of Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, who at the end of 1825 became Emperor Nicholas I. At the same time, his seven-year-old son Alexander was proclaimed heir to the throne by a special manifesto.

Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky, a writer, one of the most educated people of that time, was appointed as the tsarevich's mentor. He made for a high-born ward a special curriculum, the fundamental principle of which Zhukovsky defined as education for virtue. The tasks of education and upbringing were closely intertwined.

Twice a year, examinations were held for the heir, in which he invariably showed good results. After one of them, Emperor Nicholas I wrote to Zhukovsky: I am pleased to tell you that I did not expect to find such successes in my son. Everything goes smoothly with him, everything he knows. - knows well, thanks to your way of teaching and the jealousy of the teachers.

The most important part of the heir's education was his trips around the country. In the spring of 1837, accompanied by V. A. Zhukovsky, Alexander traveled around Russia for more than 6 months. Railways did not yet exist, and the heir had to travel on steamboats and horses, overcoming great distances.

The future tsar not only met local officials, visited ancient temples, museums, historical and natural sights, but also willingly visited the homes of ordinary people and listened attentively to their stories about the joys and sorrows of their life.

At the age of 19, Alexander Nikolayevich was fluent in five languages ​​(Russian, German, French, Polish and English), and also had extensive knowledge of history, mathematics, physics, natural history, geography, statistics, jurisprudence, political economy and the Law of God. In addition, he had a good knowledge of military sciences.

He was distinguished by a broad outlook, refined manners and kindness of character. He made the most favorable impression on those who happened to meet him both in Russia and abroad.

As Tsarevich, Alexander Nikolaevich repeatedly traveled abroad.

During the longest such trip, from May 1838 to June 1839, he visited Prussia, Sweden, Denmark, Bavaria, Austria, Holland, Italy, England and other principalities and kingdoms. Alexander Nikolaevich got acquainted with the political methods of management various countries, visited parliaments, he was everywhere received with the greatest reverence. Pope Gregory XVI in his honor even ordered to specially illuminate the dome of St. Peter's Cathedral.

In April 1841, the marriage of Alexander Nikolaevich and Princess Maria of Hesse-Darmstadt took place in St. Petersburg, who by that time had converted to Orthodoxy and took the name Maria Alexandrovna.

From the beginning of the 1840s. Nicholas I introduces his son to business government controlled. He takes part in the work of the State Council. Committee of Ministers, Finance Committee. During the tsar's absences from the capital, the tsarevich was entrusted with the responsibility of making decisions on current affairs. From the end of the 1840s. Alexander Nikolaevich was appointed chairman of several committees that discussed the most important issues of state life, including the question of improving the situation of serfs. In 1849, Alexander Nikolaevich received the post of commander of the guard and head of all military educational institutions in Russia.

By the time of his accession to the throne, Alexander II was a man of mature years, possessing extensive knowledge of various areas who had a fairly deep understanding of the complex mechanics of public administration. He was on the throne from 1855 to 1881.

Abolition of serfdom. Manifesto February 19, 1861

Alexander II took the reins of government at a difficult historical moment. The Crimean War was going on, events in theatrical operations were unfolding not in favor of Russia, the situation inside the country became tense, finances were upset. It was necessary to end the costly, unsuccessful war for Russia as soon as possible.

In the first year of the reign of Alexander I, the main attention was paid to the solution of precisely this problem. After the end of the war, the government faced internal problems. Alexander II very soon became convinced that it was impossible to govern the country in the old way, that a thorough restructuring of the entire cumbersome state building was required, that reforms were required almost everywhere.

Already at the first report presented by the Minister of the Interior, which spoke about the many problems of the country and the difficulties of resolving them, the king wrote: I read with great interest and thank you, especially for the frank presentation of all the shortcomings, which, with God's help and with general zeal, every year will be corrected.

A special place in this series of pressing problems was occupied by the problem of serf relations. Speaking in 1856 to the Moscow nobility, the tsar loudly declared the need to abolish serfdom: It is better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait for the time when it will automatically begin to be abolished from below.

This path turned out to be difficult and long. Only five years later serfdom receded into the realm of history. During this time, a huge preparatory work. Various kinds of commissions were established at the state and local levels, considering the legal, financial and administrative aspects of the coming social restructuring.

The tsar wanted the future great act of emancipation of the peasantry to reflect the will of the whole nation. However, a significant part of the nobility did not want change. Alexander II decided to turn the dark page with a single act of will national history. To do this, he had enough forces and means. And yet he tried to do it in such a way that the first estate, which meant so much to the monarchy and empire, remained satisfied with the changes. He hoped that the nobility itself would realize the inevitability of future changes. That is why the solution of the problem of serfdom required such a long preparatory period. The expected transformations affected, to one degree or another, all aspects of the social life of the vast Russian Empire.

The project for the abolition of serfdom was drawn up by a special commission convened by the tsar at the beginning of 1859. It included senior government officials and well-known public figures. By the end of 1860, a plan for the liberation of the peasants from serfdom was developed. In February 1861, the emperor signed the Manifesto announcing the abolition of serfdom. It was a great and beneficial measure.

Serfdom by 1861 was not preserved everywhere in the country. However, in the most populated and agriculturally developed provinces of European Russia, it existed. This zone ran in the north along the St. Petersburg-Vologda line (approximately the 60th parallel), and in the south it was limited by the Don River (approximately the 45th parallel). In the east, the border of this region was marked by the Volga River, and in the west, the state border of the Russian Empire. More than half of the population of Russia lived in this vast geographical square, and it was here that the fortress foundations were especially strong.

In other parts of the country, there was either no serfdom at all (the north of European Russia, Siberia, the Baltic states), or an insignificant part of the tillers lived in the fortress.

The complexity of the problem being solved was that the land in most cases belonged to the landowners. To pass a law stating that farmers from such and such a date are considered legally free meant depriving them of their means of subsistence. Therefore, it was necessary not only to give freedom to 25% of the peasants (it was precisely such a part that experienced the hardships of personal lack of freedom by that time), but also to provide them with economic conditions for their future life.

The authorities were also concerned about the future position of the nobility, whose representatives were the main owners of land. (Among the landowners there were also representatives of other classes - merchants, bourgeoisie, peasantry, but at that time they owned about 10% of the total land fund, which was in the hands of private individuals.) The well-being of the first, noble, estate, which gave the country the main part of the officer corps and bureaucracy , was directly related to the position of the peasantry.

Starting to develop reformative measures, the government sought, on the one hand, to provide freedom to the black-haired (simple) peasants, to provide them with the necessary minimum for independent existence, and on the other hand, to protect the interests of the nobility.

On February 19, 1861, on the sixth anniversary of his accession to the throne, together with the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom, the monarch approved several legislative acts that constituted the Regulations on peasants emerging from serfdom. From that day on, serfdom was abolished, and the peasants were given the title of free rural inhabitants. Their legal affiliation with the landowner was liquidated once and for all. The manifesto and new laws were published and read in churches throughout Russia.

Peasants received personal freedom and the right to freely dispose of their property. Police power, which until then belonged to the landowners, passed to the bodies of rural communities. Judicial powers were partially transferred to the volost courts elected by the peasants, and partially to justices of the peace.

The landowners retained the right to all the land that belonged to them, but they were obliged to provide the peasants with the estate settlement (land near the peasant farmstead), as well as the field allotment (agricultural land outside the settlements) for permanent use.

For the use of the land received, the peasants had to either work off its value on the lands of the landowner, or pay dues (in money or products). The size of the estate and field allotment was determined by special charters, for the preparation of which a period of two years was allotted. The peasants were given the right to buy out the estate and, by agreement with the landowner, the field plot.

Peasants who redeemed their allotments were called peasant proprietors, and those who did not do this were called temporarily liable.

The peasants who had left the guardianship of the landlords were now obliged to unite in rural societies and decide all the affairs of their local government at rural gatherings. The decisions of such meetings were to be carried out by village elders, who were elected for three years.

Rural societies located in the same area constituted a peasant volost, the affairs of which were in charge of meetings of village elders and special elected representatives from rural societies.

At the volost gathering, the volost foreman was elected. He performed not only administrative (management), but also police functions.

Such were the general features of peasant self-government, which was established after the fall of serfdom.

The government believed that over time, all the land provided, according to the reform, to the peasantry, would become the full property of the peasants.

Most of the peasants did not have the means to pay the landowner the entire amount due, so the state contributed money for them. This money was considered debt. The peasants had to pay off their land debts with small annual payments, called redemption payments. It was assumed that the final settlement of the peasants for the land would be completed within 49 years.

The redemption payments were paid annually in aggregate by the rural society, and the peasant did not have the right to abandon the allotment and change his place of residence. It was necessary to obtain the consent of the village meeting for this. Such consent was given with great difficulty, since payments were a common duty. This was called mutual responsibility.

Of course, the reforms carried out did not satisfy many. The landlords were losing free labor, and although they retained leverage of financial influence, in the long term they were losing their influence on the peasants. The peasants were not satisfied that they received the land not for free, but for a ransom that had to be paid for many years.

Riots even arose in some regions, because a rumor spread that the real royal charter, where supposedly the land was transferred to the peasantry without any redemption, was hidden by bars. The events in the village of Bezdna in the Kazan province and in the village of Kandeevka became famous Penza province, where the peasants expelled all civil servants and established their own, correct, power. In these villages, things came to bloody clashes between the peasants and the troops.

On the whole, however, an event of great historical significance occurred without serious social upheavals. Despite the imperfection of the reform of 1861, the state managed to solve a difficult historical task - to eliminate the humiliating serfdom and open the way to an intensive social transformation of the country.

Zemstvo, city, judicial and military reforms. Changing the education system

The elimination of serfdom radically changed the whole nature of public life in Russia, and the authorities faced the task of restructuring it. With the Manifesto of February 19, 1861, a period of transformation began, later called the era of great reforms.

In January 1864 the Emperor approved the Regulations on Zemstvo Institutions. According to this Regulation, persons of all classes who owned land or other immovable property within the uyezds, as well as rural peasant societies, were granted the right to participate in economic management through elected councillors, who constituted the uyezd and provincial zemstvo assemblies, convened several times a year. For everyday activities, district and provincial zemstvo councils were elected.

Zemstvos took over the care of all local needs: the construction and maintenance of roads, the provision of food for the population, education, and medical care. To solve these problems, funds were needed, and local governments received the right to establish zemstvo dues (taxes).

Zemstvo self-government was introduced gradually. It was first established at the beginning of 1865 in the Samara province. Until the end of that year, similar institutions were introduced in 17 provinces. By 1881 Zemstvo already existed in 33 provinces of European Russia.

A few years after the opening of the zemstvos, cities also received the right of broad self-government. In 1870, Alexander II approved the City Regulations, by virtue of which the city dumas, formed from elected vowels from the city estates, and the city councils elected by these dumas, began to be in charge of the same affairs in the cities that the zemstvos were engaged in in the countryside.

Participation in the choice of city council members was provided to representatives of all classes who had real estate (house, land) in a given city or were engaged in any trading business. Bodies of city self-government were endowed with the right to introduce city fees (taxes).

Another important reform of Tsar Alexander II was the transformation of the judiciary. The old court was secret, cases in it were handled in a clerical way, the accused were often not even called to court, often the investigation was carried out both clumsily and biasedly. Cases dragged on for a long time, and judicial red tape caused general discontent.

In November 1864, the tsar approved a new Judicial Charter, designed to create a fast, right, equal and open court. From now on, the judicial system corresponded to the most modern world standards. A jury trial and the institution of sworn attorneys (lawyers) were introduced.

The reign of Alexander II was marked by military reform. On January 1, 1874, a decree was signed on the introduction of universal military service.

For more than 100 years, the upper classes in Russia have been exempted from compulsory military duty. Its entire burden lay mainly on the peasantry, among whom the annual recruitment sets were held. Shaved were separated from the family for many years and returned home already in advanced years, since the service life was 25 years.

The decree on the introduction of universal military service said: The cause of defending the Fatherland is the common cause of the people and the sacred duty of every Russian subject.

Since 1874, all young people who have reached the age of 21 began to be called up to serve military service. There were also incentives for this. Released from service marital status(the only son in the family), the service life was reduced depending on the level of education of the future warrior, and some categories of the population, such as teachers, were not drafted into the army at all. Service life was now 6 years in the army, 7 years in the navy.

During the reign of Alexander II, great changes took place. In the field of education. New higher educational institutions were opened. In 1863, the University Charter was approved, which granted higher educational institutions broad autonomy. All questions of internal management now passed from the official trustee to the council, elected from among the teachers. Not only changes in current teaching, but the entire internal organization of university life was concentrated in the hands of the university itself, headed by an elected rector.

In 1864, a new School Charter was approved, according to which gymnasiums and real schools were introduced in the country.

Gymnasiums taught mainly humanities and foreign languages, including Latin and Greek. They prepared students for university entrance. In real schools, preference was given to natural science disciplines. Schools oriented graduates to enter higher technical institutions. Both gymnasiums and real schools gave children a completed secondary education.

Under Alexander II received wide development primary (two- and four-year) school education for children from low-income families, mainly peasants.

In just 26 years of his reign, the number of various kinds of schools, gymnasiums and colleges increased many times over. In 1880, the number of educational institutions exceeded 23 thousand (about 1.5 million students), while in 1861 the number of educational institutions of various profiles did not reach 5 thousand.

Alexander 2 went down in history as a reformer tsar. It was he who made a huge number of transformations in the country, significantly changing the position of Russia on the world stage. The activities of the king were given conflicting assessments: some considered him almost a saint, while others sincerely wished for the death of the monarch. A number of assassination attempts were made on him, each time Alexander was saved by a real miracle. But at sixty-two, he was killed by a bomb thrown at his feet. The tragic death of the emperor stirred up Russia and gave rise to a number of prohibitions and a departure from the liberal course that Alexander led. The reform of Alexander 2, associated with the abolition of serfdom, the modernization of the judicial system, educational reforms - all this went down in history as the largest changes in Russian society.

Judicial Reform (1864)

The judicial reform of Alexander 2 was a turning point in Russian office work. The courts were now divided into two parts: the local court dealt with the affairs of the townspeople and peasants, and the district court dealt with more serious crimes. A jury was introduced, whose members could belong to any class. His powers included the consideration of serious crimes. Discrimination was abolished: absolutely everyone was equal before the judiciary. Decisions were not made secretly, it was impossible to change the judge if for some reason he did not suit the participants in the process. The rules were the same for everyone and could not change during the meeting. In addition, the administrative division of the country also changed: now the empire was divided into districts.

The judicial reform of Alexander 2 deprived the emperor himself of real power in the courts, the only thing he could do was pardon a nobleman who was threatened with confiscation of property.

Zemstvo reform (1864)

The next after the abolition of serfdom was the zemstvo reform of Alexander 2. A new local self-government body was introduced - the zemstvo, whose members were elected by vote (representatives of all estates gained access to it). The zemstvos themselves were subdivided into administrative (zemstvo assemblies) and executive (zemstvo councils) bodies. Only rich people could be elected to zemstvo assemblies, and representatives of each property class had their own elections. Later, participants in zemstvo assemblies appointed a chairman and a certain number of members of zemstvo councils.

This reform of Alexander 2 made it possible to create local authorities, whose powers included the solution of local issues. Such changes made it possible to significantly improve the life of all segments of the population, to give more independence to the provinces and counties, but there were also disadvantages. Metamorphoses implied the forced collection of money from the population for the implementation of all the functions of the zemstvos. So the zemstvo reform of Alexander 2 allowed the new local authorities to appoint taxes and duties themselves.

Abolition of serfdom (1861)

The great reform of Alexander II was a response to the growing social tension in the country. The question of the abolition of serfdom has been standing for a very long time, but all previous monarchs constantly ignored it, oppressing the peasants more and more. There was a constant danger of rebellions, the kings understood that if the whole peasantry rises, then no one will be able to resist it. This is what caused Alexander's strong-willed decision.

On February 19, 1861, the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom saw the light. But everything was not so simple: the reform of Alexander 2 turned out to be controversial. The table will tell about it in more detail.

The peasant reform of Alexander 2 can be briefly described as follows: the formal emancipation of the peasants, but the preservation of their dependence on the landowners in reality.

Military reform (1857)

As part of the universal conscription in Russia, military settlements were created - a kind of camp, where part of the day the peasants performed their duties on the ground, and the rest of the time they were drilled by the commanders. First of all, the reform of Alexander 2 eliminated these settlements.

Changes were also made in the field of military service: an exact number of conscripts was appointed annually, and all persons over 21 years of age drew lots, which determined who would go to serve. Of course, there were certain benefits: they did not take away the only breadwinner, the only son, or the one whose older brother served in the army. Military education shortened the term of service in the army, which varied depending on the unit.

The reform of Alexander 2 also affected administration: military districts were created, each of which was in charge of a local governor-general. The army received new weapons, railway troops were created. A prisoner now, if he did not go over to the side of the enemy, was considered a victim and received monetary compensation for the time he spent in captivity.

The great reform of Alexander 2 made it possible to create a strong, albeit small, army, in the reserve of which there was a huge number of people. Technical modernization and revision of the command had a positive effect on the combat readiness of the troops.

Education reform (1864)

And education was not spared by the reform of Alexander 2. The table will tell you more about all the innovations.

Censorship (1857)

The reform of Alexander 2 also affected periodicals. The state has always controlled what writers wrote, but with the introduction of the reform, the situation changed dramatically: now works that were more than a certain number of pages were not censored. Scientific works and government publications were generally not subject to censorship.

Urban reform (1870)

It became a logical continuation of the zemstvo. The urban reform of Alexander 2 can be briefly described as follows: the introduction of self-government in cities. Now all power was transferred to city councils and councils, which were already answerable to higher officials. Only wealthy people could apply for a place in self-government bodies.

Conclusion

After Peter the Great, not a single tsar carried out as many transformations in Russia as Alexander 2. His contribution to the development of the country is truly invaluable. The reforms of Alexander 2 changed the state, stuck in the Middle Ages, initiating new page in the history of Russia.

Introduction

Chapter 1. Alexander II

1.1 short biography

Chapter 2. Liberal Reforms

2.3 Conciliators

2.4 Allotments and duties

2.7 Zemstvo reform

2.8 Urban reform

2.11 Military reform

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Target:to get acquainted with the personality of Emperor Alexander II, who stands in the general row with emperors like Peter I, Catherine the Great, who continues their great undertakings.

task, which I set myself to link the reforms of the 60-70s of the XIX century with the reforms modern Russia, to understand for themselves what conditions are necessary for the successful solution of reforms.

Subjectmy study of the life, fate and reforms of Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov - Emperor Alexander II.

The bourgeois reforms of the 60-70s of the XIX century, carried out in Russia, have not lost their relevanceand in our days. Today's Russia, as well as Russia in the second half of the 19th century, faces a choice of path. Where to develop? How to develop?

Three revolutions took place in Russia in the 20th century alone:

1905 - 1907 - First revolution

History has shown that almost all revolutions end in bloody, immoral civil wars.

Therefore, a reformist path of development is always preferable to a revolutionary one.

Having understood the reforms of the 60-70s of the XIX century, it is much better to understand the reforms of modern Russia.

Alexander II entered the history of Russia as an emperor who, from talking about reforms, was the first to embark on the path of their practical implementation.

If Catherine II and Alexander I only talked about reforms, then Alexander II began to put them into practice.

reform alexander emperor peasant

Peter I (first Russian emperor) turned Russia over, Catherine II continued the undertakings of Peter, and Alexander II completed the formation of the Great Power.

The fate of Alexander II proved that it is impossible to carry out more than one reform in Russia without paying for it with blood.

Reforms in Russia are a hard lot:

Mikhail Mikhailovich Speransky - the largest Russian reformer of the early 19th century, was exiled to the city of Perm for preparing a project for the state reorganization of Russia.

Sergei Yulievich Witte - Minister of Finance and head of government, who spoke about the need for reforms in the country in late XIX century, - removed from office.

Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin - head of government, reformer Agriculture Russia, was killed in 1911.

Conclusion: all reformers lost, if not their lives, then their fate.

Chapter 1. Alexander II

1.1 Brief biography

Alexander II - the son of the king, the pupil of the poet.

Alexander Nikolaevich Romanov, the first-born of the grand-ducal family - Nikolai Pavlovich and Alexandra Feodorovna - was born on Easter week on April 17, 1818 in Moscow, in the Kremlin and was baptized in the Miracle Monastery.

Poet V.A. Zhukovsky, who was then a teacher of the Russian language under the Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna, responded to family joy with significant lines:

May he meet an age full of honor!

Yes, there will be a glorious participant!

Yes, on a high line will not forget

The holiest of titles: human.

Zhukovsky, seeing how the plan he had drawn up was crumbling, gradually departed from education and went abroad for a long time. But he fell in love with a frisky and sympathetic boy, and correspondence between them did not stop. "Dominate not by force, but by order," the poet of the future tsar instructed, "the true power of the sovereign is not in the number of his soldiers, but in the prosperity of the people ... Love your people: without love king for the people there is no love of the people for the king.

Alexander grew up healthy and cheerful. He swam and shot well, studied successfully, although the teachers noticed in him a lack of perseverance in achieving the goal. Faced with difficulties, he often fell into apathy. He was highly impressionable. The lessons of Zhukovsky sunk deep into his soul. But his father had no less influence on him. He feared him and admired him. At the age of 18, clearly not on merit, the prince received the rank of major general. He still did not comprehend military affairs to the same extent as Nikolai (an excellent military engineer). But he knew the tinsel of parades, reviews and divorces to the smallest detail and selflessly loved. All his life, two principles fought in his soul - the humane, instilled by Zhukovsky, and the militaristic, inherited from his father. In this respect, he resembled Alexander I.

The future tsar will forever remember his trip to Russia in 1837. Zhukovsky accompanied him. For seven months they visited 30 provinces. In Siberia, they met with the Decembrists. In Vyatka, the exiled Herzen told them about the wealth of the local region. Upon his return, the heir asked to mitigate the fate of the Decembrists. Then Herzen was transferred to Vladimir.

In addition to parades and balls, Alexander had another hobby, purely sports, which in a strange way influenced events in the country. He passionately loved hunting and, of course, could not pass by the "Notes of a Hunter" by I.S. Turgenev. Subsequently, he said that the book convinced him of the need to abolish serfdom.

He carried out the abolition of serfdom and then carried out a number of reforms (zemstvo, judicial, military, etc.). After the Polish uprising of 1863-64, he switched to a reactionary internal political course. From the end of the 70s. increased repression against the revolutionaries. In the reign of Alexander II, the annexation of the territories of the Caucasus (1864), Kazakhstan (1865), most of the Middle East to Russia was completed. Asia (1865-81). In order to strengthen influence in the Balkans and help the national liberation movement Slavic peoples Russia participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-78. For life Academician Andrey Sakharov - doctor historical sciences, professor, director of the Institute of Russian History, speaking about the fate of Alexander II the following: "The main tragedy of the Russian autocracy lies in the fact that it could not reform itself. In order to go further along the path of reform, it was necessary to destroy itself - Alexander II understood this."

Assassination attempts and murder

Several assassination attempts were made on Alexander II: D.V. Karakozov, Polish emigrant A. Berezovsky May 25, 1867 in Paris, A.K. Solovyov April 2, 1879 in St. Petersburg. On August 26, 1879, the Executive Committee of the People's Will decided to assassinate Alexander II (an attempt to blow up the imperial train near Moscow on November 19, 1879, an explosion in the Winter Palace carried out by S.N. Khalturin on February 5, 1880). For the protection of public order and the fight against revolutionary movement The Supreme Administrative Commission was created. But nothing could prevent his violent death. On March 1, 1881, Alexander II was mortally wounded on the embankment of the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg by a bomb thrown by I.I. Grinevitsky. He died just on the day when he decided to set in motion the constitutional project of M.T. Loris-Melikova, telling her sons Alexander (the future emperor) and Vladimir: "I do not hide from myself that we are following the path of the constitution."

1.2 The need for reform

Serfdom in Russia existed much longer than in other countries of Europe, and carried the most cruel and ugly features of slavish coercion and violence. The question of the abolition of serfdom was raised by Russian educators N. Novikov and A. Radishchev back in the 18th century, under Catherine II. The Decembrists also invariably emphasized the need to abolish serfdom in all their program documents.

With the end Crimean War a new period began in the history of Russia. It was called the era of Liberation and the Great Reforms. In the minds of contemporaries and descendants, she was firmly connected with the name of Emperor Alexander II.

Chapter 2. Liberal Reforms

February 19, 1861 - The abolition of serfdom. The emperor signed the "General Regulations on the Peasants Emerging from Serfdom" and a manifesto, according to which the serfs received personal freedom. Domestic historians express different opinions about the reasons for the abolition of serfdom. Most of them believe that the economic factor was decisive: the crisis of the serf economic system due to the disinterest of the serfs in the result of their labor.

This factor did not contribute to the increase in the productivity of landlord farms. Another group of supporters highlights the landowners' reasons for the abolition of serfdom: Russia's humiliating defeat in the Crimean War and the authorities' desire to avoid social misfortunes.

For the first time, the need for a radical peasant reform was officially announced by Alexander II in a speech by representatives of the Moscow nobility on March 30, 1856, a few days after the conclusion of the Paris Peace: "The existing order of soul ownership cannot remain unchanged. It is better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait for that time, when it itself begins to be canceled from below.

Prominent figures stood at the origins of the abolition of serfdom:

Milyutin Nikolai Alekseevich, who actually led the preparation of the Peasant Reform of 1861.

Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich was one of the most prominent figures in the history of the reign of Alexander II. Konstantin Nikolayevich played an outstanding role in the preparation and implementation of the peasant reform.

Under pressure from the Grand Duke, the Secret Committee, with great difficulty, decided to start preparing measures "to improve the life of the landlord peasants." In accordance with it, the reform was carried out in three stages: "preparatory", when a policy of easing serfdom is carried out, "transitional period" and "final", when the peasants become completely free (without the provision of land). Ideas for the liberation of peasants with land for ransom, which he defended Grand Duke, obviously did not find a response from the majority of the members of the committee, and Konstantin Nikolayevich gained a reputation as a "muzhikophila" in bureaucratic and noble circles.

Cherkassky Vladimir Alexandrovich (1824-1878). Since the 1840s advocated the liberation of the peasants. Participant in the preparation of the peasant reform of 1861

Rostovtsev Yakov Ivanovich (1803 / 04-60), One of the leaders in the preparation of the peasant reform of 1861, chairman of the editorial commission; his program for the abolition of serfdom formed the basis of the Provisions of February 19, 1861.

In the autumn of 1857, the nobility of the Lithuanian provinces, under pressure from Governor General V.I. Nazimova stated that it agreed to free the peasants from personal serfdom, but on the condition that all the land be preserved. Immediately, the emperor signed a rescript (a rescript - an act of the monarch in the form of a specific instruction to a minister or any other person) addressed to Nazimov, who were instructed to form provincial committees in each of the three provinces (Vilna, Kovno and Grodno) to prepare proposals for the arrangement of the life of the peasants .

2.2 The main provisions of the peasant reform

The conditions for the release of peasants emerging from serfdom were set out in the Regulations of February 19, 1861. Since the publication of the reform documents, the former serf, previously considered the property of his master, received not only the opportunity to freely dispose of his personality (personal freedom was provided free of charge), but also acquired a number of other personal and property rights. Free rural inhabitants could conclude various transactions, bring suits, engage in trade and crafts, own movable and immovable property, marry without the consent of the landowner, enter "general educational institutions". From now on, the peasant became a legal entity in civil, administrative and criminal cases.

Former landowners, peasants, were included in the taxable estates and had to bear state and zemstvo duties. Until January 1, 1887, the peasants paid a poll tax, before the introduction of universal military service.

2.3 Conciliators

CONCILIATOR, executive in Russia during the period of the peasant reform of 1861. Appointed from among the nobility to approve charters and resolve disputes between peasants and landowners. Possessed judicial and administrative power.

If at the initial stage of preparing the reform, the government intended to entrust its practical implementation to the local nobility in the person of the provincial committees, then later meeting with the furious, uncompromising position of the landlords, the ruling circles were forced to create an institution of peace mediators - special representatives for the implementation of the reform on the ground.

The main function of the peace mediators was to promote an agreement between the peasants and the landowners and to draw up the so-called "statutory letters", which accurately determined the size of the allotment received by the peasants, the location and peasant duties. Statutory letters were to be put into effect no later than two years after the publication of the "Provisions of the Reform".

Peace mediators approved village elders and volost foremen, could cancel the decisions of peasant gatherings, considered complaints against landowners, peasant administration bodies, imposed penalties, acted as notaries when concluding acts of landowners with temporarily liable peasants.

In the lists of world mediators one could meet representatives of famous noble families, outstanding figures of Russian culture, science, education: L.N. Tolstoy and his brother Sergei, K.D. Kavelin, N.I. Pirogov, Samarin brothers, physiologist I.M. Sechenov, biologist K.I. Timiryazev and many others.

2.4 Allotments and duties

The central element of the reform was the question of land. All land on the estate was recognized as the property of the landowner, including that which was at the disposal of the peasants. At the same time, in accordance with the reform document, the peasants must redeem their estate and allotment land from the landlords. Those who redeemed became peasant proprietors. Until the redemption of their allotments, the peasants had to continue to bear duties in the form of corvée or dues. Therefore, personally free peasants, bearing duties in favor of the former owner, were called "temporarily liable." According to the "Regulations of February 19", the temporarily obligated state of the peasants could last for 9 years. In fact, for many peasants it dragged on for 20 years.

When determining the size of the allotment, it is predominantly given to a voluntary agreement between the peasants and landowners, and since such an agreement most often could not be reached, the size of the allotment was determined by legislative means.

For these purposes, the entire territory of the country was divided into 3 bands: black earth, non-black earth and steppe. For the chernozem and non-chernozem belts, two norms were established - the highest and the lowest (the latter is 3 times lower than the highest). The highest norm for the chernozem strip was from 2 3?4 up to 6 acres, for non-chernozem - from 23 to 7 acres. In the steppe zone, only one statutory norm of allotment was established. These norms, as a rule, were lower than the old peasants' plots, which the peasants used before the reform, so the landowners, according to the legislation, received the right to cut off "extra" land from their former peasants.

As a result of the reform, the peasants received 33.7 million acres of land, an average of 3.4 dess. Per capita. According to economists, to meet the minimum needs of the peasant economy, it was required: in the black earth provinces at least 5, and in the non-black earth - from 6 to 8 acres per capita. Thus, more than 9/10 of the former landlord peasants of the "Regulations of February 19, 1861" retained corvée as a form of feudal service, but it was significantly limited. For the highest, or decree, put on, the peasants had to work out 40 men's and 30 women's days a year (previously 135 days). did not receive this required norm.

2.5 Redemption and redemption transaction

After the conclusion of the redemption transaction, the peasants from the category of temporarily liable persons passed into the category of peasant owners. In order to protect the interests of the landlords, the developers of the reform proposed the following: for the allotment, the landowner must be paid such an amount that, if it is deposited in the bank, in the form of interest will give the owner the current quitrent. If the quitrent is 10 rubles, then with 6% bank interest, the amount is 166 rubles 66 kopecks. will give the landlord these 10 rubles a year. Thus, the redemption amount for the allotment was determined at 167 rubles. In this case, the market price of 1 des. Land in the central regions usually did not exceed 25 rubles, while its redemption cost the peasant 60 rubles. On average in the country, the ransom exceeded the price of land by one third. From this it followed that the price of the allotment was not directly related to the real price of the land, but it allowed the master to retain his former privileges. Having lost the peasants, the landlord actually kept the income from them.

The peasants, of course, could not immediately pay the landowner the entire redemption sum. Then the government went to meet the owners, organizing a "redemption operation", that is, acting as an intermediary between the landowners and their former peasants. The owner received a lump sum loan from the treasury in the amount of 88% of the redemption amount if the peasants received a full allotment, or 75% if the peasants received an incomplete allotment. Peasants had to pay for this amount, making annually for 49 years, until 1910, the so-called "redemption payments" in the amount of 6% of the redemption amount. It turned out that during this time the peasant had to pay almost

% of the loan granted. The former peasants had to pay the difference between the redemption sum and the redemption loan to the landowner - immediately or in installments. In cases where the redemption was made at the request of the landowner, without the consent of the peasants, the latter were exempted from additional payments.

The state carried out the reform without actually spending a single ruble on it. The total redemption amount for peasant plots was set at 867 million rubles, while the market price of this land in the 60s of the 19th century was about 650 million rubles. For 45 years, the former peasants managed to pay the treasury more than 1.5 billion rubles in redemption payments and still owed it. Having carried out the redemption operation, the state, at the expense of the peasants, also solved the problem of returning pre-reform debts from the landlords. The amount of landowners' debts to the treasury by the beginning of the reform was 425 million rubles, and this amount was deducted from the redemption loan received by the owners.

2.6 Peasant reaction to reform

The peasants, of course, did not expect such a release. The bewilderment with which they listened to the Manifesto was quickly replaced by murmuring and general indignation, as soon as they understood the main thing in the decree they had read: the land was recognized as the property of the landowners, and the peasants, until redemption, would continue to either pay dues or serve corvée. The peasants refused to believe what they heard, considered the published Manifesto to be a fake document, which was compiled by the landlords and officials who agreed with them, hiding the real tsar's will.

The government foresaw that the reform would cause disappointment and, perhaps, outright indignation among the peasantry. It is no coincidence that major-generals and adjutant wing, sent to the places, had the widest powers in the matter of pacifying all sorts of "unrest, disobedience or disobedience among the peasants." Disobedience and "anxiety" were not long in coming. Well-known publicist N.A. Serno-Solovyevich wrote in June 1861: “The same phenomena were repeated everywhere: the peasants refused to enter the corvée and pay dues to the landowners, brought changes in the elders and stewards appointed by the landowners, complained about the oppression from the landowners ... demanded a clear will.” In the spring of 1861, the peasant movement reached its greatest extent in the Kazan, Penza, Tambov, Saratov, Chernigov, Vilna, Kovno, and Smolensk provinces.

Large peasant uprisings took place in the villages of Bezdna in the Kazan province and Kandeevka in the Penza province. "Regulations on February 19" caused the peasants with. An abyss of bewilderment and protest. Not satisfied with the clarification of the landlords and priests, the peasants tried to find other interpreters. And such an interpreter was found. One of the local literate sectarian Anton Petrov, "subtracted" from the "Regulations" the following fantastic "true will": "to the landowner of the earth - mountains and valleys, ravines and roads and sand and reeds, not a twig for them in the forest. He will step over a step from his land - drive with a kind word, he will not obey, cut off his head, you will receive a reward from the king. Anton Petrov urged the peasants not to listen to the landlords and bosses, not to go to corvée, not to pay dues, to take bread from the barns of the lords.

The period of 1861-1863 is characterized by open peasant protests. But the peasant unrest reached its highest tension in the first months after the proclamation of the reform. The government succeeded in breaking the resistance of the peasantry and suppressing the spontaneous, scattered and unorganized peasant movement.

2.7 Historical meaning the abolition of serfdom

The peasant reform of 1861 was an outstanding milestone in the political, economic and social development Russia. The abolition of serfdom created the conditions for the establishment of capitalism in Russia, both in the city and in the countryside. These conditions primarily consisted in the personal liberation of 22 million landlord peasants, who made up a third of the country's population. The transfer of peasants for ransom meant the actual elimination of serf relations, the creation of a class of peasant proprietors in the countryside.

The abolition of serfdom also had a high moral significance. She put an end to serfdom forever. Former serfs, having received certain personal and property rights, became new citizens of Russia. In the political and social situation that developed in the post-reform period, the question of representative, constitutional forms of government, the movement towards a rule of law state, arose in a new way.

The reform of 1861 was the result of a complex compromise between the opposing interests of the state, landowners and peasants. The balancing government made numerous concessions to the landlords, but without them the peaceful liberation of the peasants would hardly have been possible. This explains the significant shortcomings of the reform, its half-heartedness, inconsistency, rather short chronological framework, quite fitting two post-reform decades. But even an imperfect reform was more acceptable to society than the peasant revolution, in which representatives of the radical movement called Russia.

Let us pay tribute to the group of reformers of that time, but we will single out one in particular - Alexander II. "One such great and noble reform as the emancipation of the peasants is enough to immortalize the monarch forever," one of the emperor's contemporaries said about him and about the reform. Not historians, Alexander II himself determined his place in history. A place unquestioned by anyone.

2.7 Zemstvo reform

On January 1, 1864, Alexander II approved the draft Regulations on provincial and district institutions. Zemstvo institutions were created as all-class elected bodies of local self-government. They consisted of administrative bodies - county and provincial zemstvo assemblies and executive - county and provincial zemstvo councils. Both were elected for a three-year term. Members of the zemstvo assemblies were called vowels, i.e. who had the right to vote.

How were local deputies elected? Vowels were elected at three electoral congresses by curiae. The first curia - county farmers - included owners of at least 200des. Land, regardless of those classes of ownership, as well as large owners who had real estate in rural areas worth at least 15 thousand rubles. The second curia - urban - was attended by the owners of urban industrial and commercial establishments with a turnover of at least 6 thousand rubles, merchants of the 1st and 2nd guilds, as well as owners of urban real estate. The third curia consisted of chairmen of rural societies. There was no property qualification for participation in the elections for this curia. However, this did not create any advantages for the peasants. The elections for the peasant curia were multistage. At first, rural societies sent representatives to volost meetings, which nominated "electors", and those in turn, at the county congress elected vowels. At each curial congress, a certain number of vowels were elected. As a result, the landowners received the majority of seats in the county zemstvo assemblies. In the provincial assemblies, the deputies of which, in turn, were elected at the district assemblies, the local nobility had an overwhelming reseeding.

Zemstvos were introduced gradually. By the end of the 70s, they were introduced only in 35 provinces of European Russia.

The action of the zemstvos from the very beginning was strictly limited by the narrow limits of the purely economic "uses and needs" of the given area: the arrangement and maintenance of local means of communication, zemstvo schools, hospitals, almshouses and shelters; care of local trade and industry; establishing a veterinary service; mutual insurance, local food security; construction of local roads and bridges; the maintenance of prisons and asylums for the insane, etc. Zemstvos did not have the right to engage in political activities. Violation of the scope of competence was punishable by law.

Significance of Zemstvo reform

Russian society met with satisfaction the creation of zemstvos.

K.D. Cavelin noted that "a huge event", "a significant significant phenomenon" among the transformations, that it would be a seed for the development of a "many-branched tree". History has proven the well-known liberal right. Zemstvo played a significant role in various areas of Russian life. Great is the contribution of the zemstvos to the concept of the cultural level of the Russian countryside, the spread of literacy among the peasants. By 1880, 12 thousand zemstvo schools had been created in the countryside, which were rightfully considered the best. No less noticeable is the importance of zemstvo activities for the development of health care in the European part of Russia. Zemstvo hospitals were opened for peasants, who had previously been practically deprived of any kind of medical care. Zemstvos assisted in the dissemination of agronomic knowledge in the countryside.

In Perm and Vyatka, the zemstvos were the first to acquire improved landowning implements, machines, and seeds, and developed the institution of agronomic overseers.

2.8 Urban reform

The zemstvo reform had a significant impact on the creation of a new system of city government. On June 16, 1870, Alexander II approved the draft of a new city regulation. City self-government was reformed on the same principles as the zemstvo. Elections to the city duma were also held in three electoral congresses, depending on the property qualification. The right to participate in elections, regardless of class, was given to the owners of immovable property taxed in favor of the city, as well as all persons paying commercial and industrial fees. Wage workers, the overwhelming majority of whom did not own real estate, as well as representatives of the educated part of the population: doctors, teachers, engineers, officials, who mostly did not have their own houses, but rented apartments, turned out to be deprived of the right to vote. This arrangement severely limited the number of voters. An average of 46 big cities voters accounted for 5.6% of the total population.

Elections to the Duma took place every four years. Elected at a council meeting executive agency public administration - the council and the mayor, who was simultaneously the chairman of both the executive and administrative.

The competence of urban self-government, like that of the Zemstvo, was limited to the narrow framework of purely economic issues: external improvement, the organization of markets and bazaars, care for local trade and industry, health care and education, and the adoption of sanitary and fire-fighting measures.

Significance of urban reform

The new bodies of city self-government played a significant role in the economic and cultural development of Russia. Successful Solution many problems largely depended on the people who were members of the dumas and headed these institutions. A whole era in the history of Moscow was the activity of Nikolai Aleksandrovich Alekseev, who was the mayor from 1855 to 1893. For 8 years, such magnificent buildings as the Moscow City Duma (in Soviet time there was a museum of V.I. Lenin), Upper trading rows (GUM building), electrification of the central part of the city began, the construction of a new water supply system was completed. The pinnacle of the selfless and selfless service of N.A. Alekseev was the donation of significant funds to the creation of a hospital for the mentally ill.

2.9 1864 Judicial reform

By the middle of the 19th century, perhaps, none of the organs of the state apparatus was in such a bad state as the judicial system.

I.S. Aksakov wrote in the 80s that at the mere recollection of the old court "the hair stands on end, the frost tears up the skin."

The new Judicial Statutes, introduced on November 20, 1864, proclaimed their aim to guarantee "a speedy, just and merciful trial, equal for all". The judicial reform was based on the principles that underlay the court of bourgeois states. Western Europe. Russia received a new court: all-class, public, competitive, independent of the administration. The old class courts, preserved from the time of Catherine II, were replaced by common judicial institutions for all subjects of the empire, no matter what class they belonged to: everyone was judged in the same courts, according to the same laws, under the same procedure legal proceedings. This was a decisive step forward.

The new legislation established two types of courts: world and general. The World Court considered petty deeds and offenses, minor civil cases, if the damage did not exceed 500 rubles. The highest authority in relation to the magistrate's court was the congress of magistrates of the given district. Justices of the peace were elected by district zemstvo assemblies and city dumas for 3 years from candidates who had a certain educational and property qualification.

General Court had three categories: district court, judicial chamber and the Senate. The District Court became the centerpiece of the new judicial system. The court included the chairman, his deputies, members of the court. Jurors - elected persons involved for a certain time to participate in the trial of court cases (12 people) - had to decide whether the accused was guilty or innocent, and the court determined the punishment. Political cases were excluded from the jurisdiction of the jury. Caution, as it turned out later, was not superfluous for the authorities.

Of great importance was the creation of the institution of sworn attorneys - the bar. The government, right up to the abolition of serfdom, had a negative attitude towards the idea of ​​establishing a legal profession in Russia according to the Western European model. “Who, who ruined France, if not lawyers,” Nicholas I exclaimed, “who were Mirabeau, Marat, Robespierre?! No ... as long as I reign, Russia does not need lawyers, we will live without them.” The son lived in a different era.

The role of lawyers immediately became quite prominent. "The Russian legal profession of the 60-70s, - according to the prominent lawyer V.D. Spasovich, - became the focus of judicial figures who could compete with any European celebrities ...". The names of prominent lawyers of that time D.V. Stasova, F.N. Plevako, P.A. All of Russia knew Alexandrov.

The Importance of Judicial Reform

The judicial reform was the most consistent and radical reform of Alexander II, however, it remained unfinished. The Senate was not reformed. Spiritual, military, commercial, foreign courts were left intact. The highest officials of the empire were judged by a special Supreme Criminal Court. The peasant volost court, established General provision February 19, 1861. The latter was partly explained by the fact that peasant legal concepts differed sharply from general civil ones. Therefore, the volost court judged, guided not by imperial laws, but on the basis of written customary law, local peasant customs.

Despite all these deviations, the new court differed sharply from the pre-reform court with its clerical secrecy and bribery, endless red tape through the authorities, the absence of a bar and the arbitrariness of the administration. The judicial reform of 1864 was undoubtedly of progressive significance, contributing to the development in society of a sense of legality and civic consciousness.

It is hard not to agree with the well-known publisher and journalist M.N. Katkov, who gave a succinct definition to the reform: "With the strengthening of the new legal proceedings, it becomes possible to live in Russia as in a civilized country."

2.10 Reforms in public education and the press

The reforms of the 60s in the field of education and the press were inextricably linked with those transformations that followed the peasant reform of 1861. Even in the course of the work of the Editorial Commissions, the opinion was expressed about the "urgent need to establish rural schools everywhere." The development of this issue took several years before, on June 14, 1864, Alexander II approved

"Regulations on Primary Public Schools".

In accordance with it, the right to open and maintain schools was granted to public institutions and private individuals with appropriate permission.

Primary schools were of several types - state, zemstvo, parochial, Sunday. The term of study in them did not exceed three years. Training course assumed the teaching of the following disciplines: the Law of God, reading, writing, the four rules of arithmetic and church singing. Teaching was to be carried out everywhere only in Russian.

In 1864, a new charter for gymnasiums was approved. He introduced the principle of equality of rights to education for everyone who had the opportunity to pay the established tuition fee in the secondary school: children of persons "of all classes, without distinction of rank and religion" could be admitted to the gymnasium. There were two types of gymnasiums - classical and real, with a seven-year term of study. In classical gymnasiums, preference was given to humanitarian training, the study of ancient languages; in real gymnasiums, mathematics and natural science had an advantage. Those who graduated from a classical gymnasium had the right to enter the university without exams, while graduating from a real gymnasium gave them the right to enter only higher technical educational institutions. In the early 1960s, women's education was also developed. In 1863, a new university charter was adopted, which restored university independence. The University Council received the right to independently decide all educational, scientific and administrative issues, to manage the entire inner life university. The charter provided for the election of the rector, deans and professors, followed by their approval by the Minister of Public Education. Students did not receive any corporate rights. Women were not allowed in universities.

The new law of university life was met positively, because, as the famous philologist F.I. Buslaev, "contributed to success in the sciences," and professors could "lecture calmly and without hindrance," not embarrassed by captious formalities, "without any fear of spy guardianship."

In an atmosphere of intensified liberal sentiments and general dissatisfaction with the state of the press, the "epoch of censorship terror" came to an end. Back in December 1855, the government of Alexander II ceased the activities of the Buturlinov Committee, and the most reactionary censors were removed. In 1857, the government created a committee to develop a new censorship charter. Finally, in 1856, a new charter was issued, which existed with some changes and additions until 1905.

The new law freed the capital's periodicals, books of 10 printed sheets for Russians and 20 printed sheets for translated publications from preliminary censorship.

Despite the well-known restrictions on the provincial press and popular literature, the new statute was nevertheless an undoubted step forward, having received support among journalistic book publishers.

2.11 Military reform

The lessons of the Crimean War, which revealed the military-technical backwardness of the Russian army, showed that the military machine of serf-owning Russia was clearly unable to withstand the advanced armies of the Western European states. A radical restructuring of the entire military system was necessary.

In 1861, 45-year-old General Dmitry Alekseevich Milyutin, brother of N.A., was appointed to the post of Minister of War. Milyutin, highly educated and military and statesman known for his liberal views. The personnel choice of Alexander II turned out to be spoiled.

Dmitry Alekseevich rose to the rank of professor at the Academy of the General Staff. Wrote a number of major works on military history, among them "Suvorov's Italian Campaign". In the late 1950s, he was appointed chief Caucasian army, participated in the development of the operation to capture Shamil, which served to end hostilities in this region. Having excellent theoretical training, the necessary combat experience and skills, and also possessing outstanding personal talents, D.A. Milyutin, like no one else, corresponded to the task: to reorganize military force Russia.

YES. Milyutin, first of all, achieved a reduction in the term of soldier's service from 25 to 16 years. Then, surrender to soldiers for crimes was prohibited, corporal punishment, which was widely used in the pre-reform army, was abolished, and literacy was introduced for soldiers. In 1864, he carried out a reform of the military administration based on the creation of military districts. The new leadership system eliminated excessive centralization and facilitated the rapid deployment of the army in the event of hostilities. Modernization took place at a fairly rapid pace to replace smooth-bore weapons, rifled weapons came. The sailing fleet was replaced by a steam one, new warships appeared: battleships, cruisers, battleships. However, the cardinal reorganization of military affairs required more radical measures, namely the introduction of a new system for recruiting the army - replacing the old recruitment with universal military service.

For the first time, the idea of ​​introducing universal military service in Russia, though in a veiled form, was expressed by D.A. Milyutin back in 1862 in the report of the emperor. There was no response. Meanwhile, the further growth of armaments and the development of military equipment in Europe, the strengthening of militaristic sentiments among the major powers of the continent left Russia practically no other choice. There were other reasons as well. The use of universal conscription could be effective only if military reservists were quickly mobilized, and this, in turn, required a developed system of communications. Such a system did not exist in Russia in the early 1960s. The growth of railway construction, the creation of a network railways by the beginning of the 70s, they made it possible to complete the military reform according to the European model. The Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871 also arrived "on time". Contemporaries were struck by the coherence and speed with which the Prussian army was mobilized. P.A. Valuev, who witnessed the victorious march of the Prussians on Paris, returned to Russia and, in a conversation with Milyukov, openly spoke in favor of the introduction of all-class military service.

It was no longer possible to delay. Developed by a commission led by D.A. Milyutin, the draft of the new military regulations, despite the tinny position of the reactionaries, nevertheless passed in the State Council and on January 1, 1874 was approved by Alexander II. According to the new military regulations, recruitment sets were canceled, and universal military service was introduced, which applied to the entire male population of the country who had reached the age of 20, regardless of estates. The term of active service in the infantry was set at 6 years and 9 years in the reserve, in the navy - 7 years of active service and 3 years in the reserve. Numerous benefits have been established. The terms of active service were reduced for those who received an education: for those who graduated from elementary school - up to three years, who graduated from a gymnasium - up to one and a half years, and graduates of higher educational institutions could serve only 6 months. With the introduction of the new military regulations, Russia got the opportunity to have world time relatively small army, and in the event of hostilities. By calling in a reserve supply, and sometimes a militia, to create a massive army with the necessary reserves.

Importance of military reform

The military reforms of 1861 - 1874 played an important role in increasing the combat effectiveness of the Russian army, which was convincingly demonstrated during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877 - 1878.

YES. Milyutin served as Minister of War for twenty years, having received, unlike other reformers, the opportunity not only to develop a reform, but also to put it into practice. He died in 1912, at the age of 96, perhaps the last of the glorious galaxy of Russian reformers of the 60s and 70s.

2.12 Significance of the reforms of 1860-1870

Political reforms 1860-1870 years became a worthy continuation of the largest reform of the century - the abolition of serfdom. The creation of modern self-government bodies, the European judiciary and the judiciary, the introduction of universal conscription, changes in the field of education and the press, the complexity of the development and implementation of all these reforms testified to the huge transformative potential aimed at the peaceful, evolutionary development of society and the state. No reform is born in a vacuum. The complex interaction and interweaving of liberal and protective principles in state policy - all this determined the nature of the transformations of the era of Alexander II. They cannot be crossed out or rewritten. For the connection of times is continuous, and our present in this sense is nothing but an expression of the past. Reading historical books is both fascinating and instructive.

Analyzing the reforms of Alexander II, it should be noted that not everything that was conceived in the early 1860s was brought to life. Many reforms remained unfinished. And yet they should be called truly "Great Reforms", which were of great importance for the subsequent development of all aspects of Russian life. In the history of Russia, it turned out that none of the reforms that were conceived and carried out in the country was brought comprehensively and consistently to its logical conclusion.

Reasons for the incompleteness of the reforms of the 60-70s of the XIX century

Alexander II started a good deed, but he did not have time to finish it, as he was killed. His son - Alexander III did not see the point in continuing the reforms, so he took the path of counter-reforms.

The incompleteness of the ongoing reforms, the misunderstanding of their significance by society, leads to what the reforms of the 60s and 70s of the 19th century led to - to the discontent of the society, which responded with terror.

And the misfortune of terror was that both governmental and revolutionary terror were equally destructive for the governmental state of society, taming people to blood, violence, the cheapness of human life.

Conclusion

Speaking about the reforms of the 60s - 70s of the XIX century carried out by Alexander II, we cannot but talk about the reforms of the 90s of the XX century, which were carried out after the collapse of the USSR, life shows that certain conditions are necessary for the successful implementation of reforms:

for the implementation of the reform, responsibility should be borne not only by the authorities, but by society, which should go in one bundle;

the unity of society is necessary, the unity of all political parties, of all democratic forces, and we also lack this unity;

in carrying out reforms, one must go to the end, not stopping halfway;

reforms must be proportionate to the individual. Alexander II, like M.S. Gorbachev and B.N. Yeltsin did not really understand the full depth and consequences of the reforms. After all, for a huge number of people, reforms, both then and today, were a disaster;

a strong politician should not be afraid of the strong next to him. Weak people are often chosen, as they are easy to control;

successful implementation of reforms requires a favorable domestic and international environment, which is not the case today either, as the situation has been aggravated by the economic crisis;

A dissatisfied society, tired of waiting for changes, crosses a certain line that previously held back the forces of habitual expectation.

And a sharp chain reaction begins in response to lack of rights, to blatant social insecurity, violation of individual rights, which lead to the power of the mob - ochlocracy.

As a result of this, everything moral, beautiful, creative, which constitutes the essence of uniqueness, perishes. human personality.

Bibliography

1. Butikov G.P. Museum - a monument "The Savior on Blood" publishing house St. Petersburg 1996

Vasilyeva L.N. "Wives of the Russian Crown", Atlantis XXI century, AST, Moscow, 1996.

Volobuev O.V. "History of Russia 1861-1917", Moscow, 1996.

Kaziev S.Sh. "History in diagrams and tables", LIST, Moscow 1998.

Lyutykh A.A. "Russian history for children and youth". - Moscow, RIPOL, 1996

Lyashenko Leonid "Alexander II, or history of three loneliness", Moscow, YOUNG GUARD, 2004.

Materials of the project of the 1st channel of television "Name of Russia" Alexander II

Ogonovskaya S.I. "History of Russia. A universal guide for schoolchildren and applicants", Yekaterinburg, U-FACTORIA, 2002

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