Reforms 60 70 years judicial reform. The era of great reforms in Russia (60s of the XIX century). Reform of administration of zemstvos and cities

Judicial reform. When preparing the Peasant Reform, its authors understood the inevitability of all-round reforms. Therefore, almost simultaneously with the preparation of the liberation of the peasants, projects of other transformations are being developed, including judicial reform. The need to reform the entire judiciary was clear to liberals and conservatives alike. The structure of the judiciary was extremely cumbersome. In addition to class courts for the burghers, nobles and state peasants there were military, commercial, conscientious and others. The plurality of judicial bodies was combined with a lack of clarity in determining their competence. There were cases when a case started from one court was transferred to another, where the proceedings began again. With the complexity of the procedural requirements, some cases were resolved not for years, but for decades. The proceedings were in writing. The court was supposed to make its decision after reviewing the evidence. But not the members of the court, but the law determined which evidence should be given preference, and which should not be trusted at all (the system of formal evidence). The same procedural requirements were to be observed both in cases of serious crimes and in the consideration of a misdemeanor. Under these conditions, bribery flourished.

Thus, the entire judicial system was to be reformed. Initially, the reform was prepared in the II department of its own e. and. in. office under the direction of Mr. D.N. Bludov. The count himself was not a liberal. But Tsar Alexander II and his younger brother led. book. Konstantin Nikolayevich well understood the need for reform. And the business of preparing the reform was transferred to the State Chancellery.

The actual leader of the work at this stage was S.I. Zarudny. Not only officials were involved in the development of the project. Specialists were invited as consultants - both theoretical scientists and practitioners, up to the ranks of the police. As a result of the work, by April 1862 the reform project was ready. Rather, it was three projects. Separately, changes in criminal and civil proceedings, as well as the reorganization of the judiciary, were considered. Approximately at the same time, the draft of the II branch on the organization of the world court was also ready. All four documents, after discussion in the State Council, were signed by Alexander II on November 20, 1864, marking the beginning of the judicial reform.

Litigation was divided into two stages: investigation and trial. The investigation remained in writing. The trial became oral. The principle of competitiveness of the parties was introduced. The defendant received the right to defense. The system of formal proofs was abolished. Now the judges, on the basis of inner conviction, ruled on the guilt or innocence of the defendant (it was no longer possible to "leave in suspicion"). The court became public. Courtroom doors were opened to the public, and court reports began to be printed in newspapers. All innovations inevitably had to simplify and speed up the passage of the case through the court. However, the application of the new principles of judiciary was not possible within the framework of the old system of judicial institutions.

The fundamental principles of the new judiciary were the independence of the court from the administration and all-classes. The independence of the judiciary was ensured by removing court cases from the jurisdiction of the police and other administrative bodies. In addition, crown judges were appointed to office for life. The removal of judges from office was allowed only by decision of the criminal court. Thus, the principle of irremovability of judges was implemented. Along with crown judges, criminal cases in district courts were considered by jurors. Very often peasants became jurors.

The overwhelming majority of jurors who were legally illiterate ruled only on the guilt or innocence of the defendant. If the defendant was found not guilty, the decision was enforced in the courtroom. Perhaps the most striking example of this is the acquittal of V.I. Zasulich. A member of the populist group, Vera Zasulich, wounded the St. Petersburg mayor F.F. Trepov, wanting to avenge the massacre of her comrade, and was acquitted by a jury.

In addition to the trial by jury, the institutions of the prosecutor's office and the legal profession ensured the competitiveness of the process. The institution of the prosecutor's office existed in Russia before. However, the prosecutor's office supervised the activities of the administrative apparatus. The authors of the judicial reform abandoned general supervision in order to concentrate the forces of the prosecutor's office to supervise the court and the investigation and maintain state prosecution.

The institution of advocacy was absolutely new for Russia. Realizing the need for competent protection of the interests of subjects in court, Nicholas I was still categorically against the introduction of the bar: "While I reign, Russia does not need lawyers, we will live without them." Such a sharp rejection of the legal profession is explained by the role that lawyers played in the revolution in France.

The authors of the reform approached the issue of advocacy differently. As soon as the process became adversarial, and the litigants received the right to protection, it was necessary to create special institutions to implement the new rules for conducting the process. A lawyer (attorney at law) was a representative, defender of the interests of one of the parties in the trial. For the client, one of the guarantees of the observance of his interests in court was the relative independence of the bar, the other was the high professional and moral requirements for the applicant for the position of attorney at law.

One of the advantages of the new judicial system was a significant reduction in the number of courts. Judicial bodies are built according to the significance of the criminal cases under consideration. For minor cases, world justice was established. All other cases, not limited either by the gravity of the crime or by the cost of a civil suit, were dealt with in general judicial institutions.

The World Court was also an innovation. The magistrates' courts considered cases that could end in reconciliation of the parties or the imposition of a small fine. Justices of the peace were elected. The election of judges, the simplicity of the trial, the absence of red tape - all this aroused the confidence of the population. Misdemeanors that had previously gone unpunished (petty harassment, fraud, theft) began to be considered by world justice.

Speaking about the merits of the reform, its shortcomings should also be noted. One of the serious shortcomings of the reform was the stage-by-stage implementation. As a result, the implementation of the reform dragged on for 35 years, officially ending in 1899. The reform, while creating an all-estate court, did not liquidate the volost court, which was the lowest instance for the peasants. And yet, despite a number of shortcomings, the judicial reform was the most consistent of all carried out in the 1960s and 1970s. 19th century transformations.

Along with criminal and civil justice, the military is also being reformed. The military judicial charter of 1867 became part of both the judicial and military reform.

military reform. The beginning of the military reform of the 60-70s. 19th century usually associated with the most obedient report of the Minister of War D.A. Milyutin on January 15, 1862. The shortcomings of the system of recruitment, training, and material and technical supply of troops that existed in Russia were most acutely manifested during the years of the Crimean War. It was necessary to overcome the backwardness of the country's military system. At the same time, the task was to reduce military spending. Therefore, one of the main tasks of the military reform was to reduce the size of the army in peacetime, with the possibility of a significant increase in time of war. The solution to the problem was the introduction of universal military service in 1874. All men aged 21–40 were required to complete active military service. The term of service in the army was set at six years, in the navy - seven years. This time was enough to develop the soldiers' skills in handling weapons and behavior in military operations. After the end of the term of active military service, the soldier was enrolled in the reserve (in the army - nine years, in the navy - three years). The law provided for the possibility of reducing the service life.

In addition to changing the terms of service in the army, and even before this change, the personnel training system was restructured. In 1863–1866 closed cadet corps were transformed into military gymnasiums. With the establishment of cadet schools, access to officer ranks was open to non-nobles. As for working with the privates, literacy became mandatory. Handshaking was prohibited. Cruel corporal punishment with whips, gauntlets, branding, etc. were abolished. In parallel with the change in the methods of training soldiers, the rearmament of the army was also going on. Since 1867, rifled guns have been adopted. Somewhat later, infantry, cavalry and Cossack troops are equipped with a Berdan rifle.

Conducted under the direction of D.A. Milyutin's reforms met with opposition in a certain part of the generals. However, their effectiveness was proven during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878.

Zemstvo reform. On January 1, 1864, Alexander II signed the "Regulations on provincial and district zemstvo institutions." Zemstvo reform began. According to the "Regulations" in 1865-1876. zemstvos were created in 34 provinces of European Russia. The question of the need for reform was raised by the emperor himself as early as March 1859. It was obvious that the Peasant Reform would cause changes in the administrative apparatus. In connection with the preparation of the transformation of local authorities, the emperor ordered to discuss the need to provide economic management in the county with greater independence.

The reform project was developed by a commission formed in the Ministry of Internal Affairs chaired by N.A. Milyutin. The project proceeded from the idea that if every person is free to dispose of his own economy, then society should also be given the opportunity to dispose of the public economy. The range of affairs of zemstvo institutions was primarily limited to economic issues. Moreover, the zemstvos were forbidden to intrude into the competence of government bodies.

According to the law, zemstvo institutions were built on the principles of electivity and classlessness. However, the election of members of zemstvo institutions (zemstvo vowels) was carried out in three curiae: landowners, urban residents, and rural inhabitants. According to the law, half of the zemstvo vowels were elected by the first (noble) curia. The administrative body of local self-government was the zemstvo assembly, which elected members of the zemstvo council (executive body) for three years. The control of the administration over the activities of zemstvo institutions was carried out using the procedure for approving members of the administrations in positions. The budget was formed at the expense of taxes established by the zemstvo itself. At the same time, zemstvo vowels did not receive remuneration for their service.

urban reform. The city reform was carried out in 1870. The city government replaced the six-member City Duma. It was in charge of the administrative and economic affairs of the city: improvement, public education (mainly in the "economic" sense), health care, public charity, care for the development of trade and industry, credit, etc. City self-government bodies, like zemstvo institutions, were built on principles of election and non-association.

In addition to collecting state duties (this duty was assigned to zemstvo institutions by the government), local self-government dealt with a wide range of issues. Zemstvo institutions were engaged in studying the property status of the population and the level of economic development of individual regions. Zemstvos built roads and bridges. Much attention was paid to veterinary medicine and agronomy. Huge work to help the starving peasants fell on the zemstvos in lean years. But, perhaps, the main activities of the zemstvos were public health and education.

The reforms also affected education and the press. The “Charter of the Gymnasium” and the “Regulations on Public Schools” were published, which regulated primary education. In fact, an accessible all-class education was introduced. Along with the state schools, zemstvo, parochial, Sunday and private schools arose. Gymnasiums were divided into classical (based on the humanities) and real (dominated by "natural" subjects). They accepted children of all classes capable of paying tuition fees. New university statutes appeared, returning the autonomy to the universities, which was abolished by Nicholas I.

The "Temporary Rules" on the press abolished preliminary censorship for a number of printed publications: books intended for the wealthy and educated part of society, as well as central periodicals.

These reforms, in fact, brought Russia closer to the European socio-political model of the bourgeois monarchy. The initiators of the reforms were some government officials, the "liberal bureaucracy". Minister of the Interior M.T. Loris-Melikov even developed constitutional proposals. But the assassination of Emperor Alexander II by Narodnaya Volya debunked liberal illusions in society and changed the general direction of the government's course.

Obliged to deal with local economic affairs, zemstvos often intruded into the competence of government bodies. There were not enough teachers in the schools founded by the zemstvos. Teachers' seminaries were organized for the purpose of training personnel. And of course, the zemstvos intruded into the prerogative of the Ministry of Public Education. There are many examples of this kind. This led to a confrontation between government bodies and local self-government. The matter was complicated by the fact that the zemstvos became the base of the liberal opposition to the autocracy. So in the 80's and 90's. 19th century the government introduces a number of restrictions on the activities of zemstvo and city self-government.

populist movement. In the summer of 1861, a secret organization "Land and Freedom" was formed in St. Petersburg. It included N.A. and A.A. Serno-Solov'evich, A.A. Sleptsov, V.S. Kurochkin and others. Its program document was the proclamation "What the people need." Clarifying the understanding of the goals of the struggle, the members of the organization put forward demands: endowing the peasants necessary quantity land with a reduction in redemption payments, the preservation of communal land ownership, the introduction of local self-government and nationwide popular representation. The Petersburg circle established ties with student communities of higher educational institutions capitals and other cities. The expulsions of participants in student unrest in the autumn of 1861 contributed to the expansion of ties with the province. The circle was also connected with Russian political emigrants (the editorial office of Kolokol in London).

In 1862 the composition of the central St. Petersburg circle changed. It included N.I. Utin, N.S. Kurochkin and others. At the same time, the name of the circle (“Land and Freedom”) was approved. Expecting a new upsurge in the peasant movement in 1863 (the deadline for the introduction of statutory charters), the landowners developed plans for a military-peasant revolution. The victory of the peasant uprising seemed certain if the army supported the rebels. The program of the organization has undergone a serious revision. It was assumed that as a result of the revolution, all the land would be transferred to the peasantry, the communal principles of self-government would extend to the cities. Both local and central governments were to be elected. A republican form of government should be established in Russia, class advantages should be abolished, equal rights for women and men should be introduced.

In 1863 the organization had fourteen branches. The Moscow branch alone numbered about 400 people. An underground printing house was set up, where two issues of "Freedom" were printed. However, instead of the expected rise, the peasant movement is on the decline. At the end of the year, Land and Freedom entered a period of ideological crisis. And in March 1864 the organization self-liquidated.

Land and Freedom was not the only underground organization. Independently of it, many small circles operated, the members of which also advocated the socialist future of Russia. However, some of these circles considered the priority not political, but economic transformations. Such was the circle of N.V. that arose in 1863 in Moscow. Ishutin. It was considered quite possible to convince the people of the advantages of socialist economic methods. But even within the circle, such views were not supported by everyone. And in 1865 the Ad group was organized. One of the members of this group, D.V. Karakozov, under the influence of talk of regicide, in 1866 made an unsuccessful attempt on Alexander II. The terrorist was executed, and the circle was destroyed.

Thus, with all the shades in understanding the goal of the struggle, the representatives of the radical direction agreed on the main thing - a social revolution is needed. It was also recognized that the peasantry is the main driving force of the revolution, and the community is a ready-made cell of the future society. These ideas will also be inherited by the Narodniks. At the same time, disagreements emerged on the question of how to achieve the goal. In disputes about the methods of preparation and conduct of the "social revolution" in the late 60s - early 70s. 19th century several directions of revolutionary populism are taking shape.

In the mid 60s. 19th century the theory of anarchism M.A. Bakunin. The stateless structure of society after the revolution was conceived by the author of anarchism not as the absence of any power. In place of the state, a federation of self-governing communities arose. The revolution in Russia, according to M.A. Bakunin, it's easy to ignite. After all, the Russian peasant is a revolutionary at heart. The duty of a revolutionary is only to inform the people of the beginning of the revolt.

A slightly different tactic of struggle was proposed by P.L. Lavrov. In his opinion, the intelligentsia is the leader of the masses in the struggle for social justice. Not considering the people ready for rebellion, he offered to prepare them for the perception of the ideas of socialism. The means of such training was to be systematic propaganda.

The ideologist of the third direction is usually called P.N. Tkachev. He believed that tsarism had no roots in the economic life of the people, did not embody the interests of any class, "hangs in the air." Therefore, the enemy of the intelligentsia is only the state power. Therefore, it is necessary to overthrow this power. However, in his opinion, a pre-created organization of conspirators should have started a social revolution. Further, everything "will happen by itself", since the people are "revolutionaries by instinct."

Ideas M.A. Bakunin were widely used in circles of the intelligentsia in the early 1870s. Under the influence of these ideas, in the summer of 1874 a mass "going to the people" began (hence the name of the populists). Hundreds of people went to the village to enter the peasant mass and prepare a general uprising in the shortest possible time. But the peasants turned out to be unprepared for an immediate revolt and often betrayed the populists to the authorities.

The experience of "going to the people" significantly undermined faith in the theory that the peasantry was ready for revolution. Another conclusion also suggested itself: they say, the enthusiasm of the participants in the first wave of "going to the people" did not bring positive results also because their activities were not coordinated by anyone, therefore, an organization capable of leading the movement is needed. Since 1876, such an organization has become "Land and Freedom". In order to prepare for a general popular uprising, the landlords moved on to organizing permanent settlements in the countryside. In order to propagate their ideas in word and deed, they got jobs as paramedics, teachers, zemstvo employees, etc. And again the populists are convinced of the unpreparedness of the people for the revolution. Among them, the belief in the need to fight for political freedoms is increasingly spreading. Disagreements over tactics lead in August 1879 to a split in Land and Freedom into two independent organizations. "Black redistribution" tried to continue propaganda in the village. Narodnaya Volya became a terrorist organization.

Terror as a method of fighting the government was also used by the landlords. The first victims of terror were government officials (St. Petersburg mayor, chief of gendarmes, etc.). In April 1879, another attempt was made on the emperor. Alexander II was shot by A.K. Solovyov. None of the five bullets even wounded the king.

This attempt opens the “hunt” of the Narodnaya Volya for the tsar, which lasted almost two years. The fact is that the attempt preceded the appearance of the "death sentence" to Alexander II, issued by the Executive Committee " People's Will". Unsuccessful assassination attempts followed one after another. Some of them cost the lives of dozens of people (an explosion in the Winter Palace, produced by S.N. Khalturin). The sentence was carried out only on the fifth attempt on March 1, 1881.

Arrests of the main figures of the "Narodnaya Volya" began on the eve of the regicide. After March 1, the main forces of the organization were defeated. Six March Firsts (A.I. Zhelyabov, S.L. Perovskaya, N.I. Kibalchich, T.M. Mikhailov, N.I. Rysakov, G.M. Gelfman) were sentenced to death. On April 3, five Narodnaya Volya members were hanged (G.M. Gelfman was pregnant, and her death penalty was commuted to imprisonment).

Previously, neither mass arrests nor high-profile trials were an obstacle to the expansion of the Narodniks' activities. However, March 1 once again showed the unpreparedness of the peasants for the revolution. The ideas of the Narodniks about a social revolution, the main driving force of which would be the peasantry, failed. As a result, populism is transformed from a revolutionary into a liberal movement.

Content

Introduction

2. Reforms in the field of public relations (zemstvo, city, judicial, financial, public education)

Conclusion

Bibliography

Introduction

Reforms of the 60-70s nineteenth century associated with the name of Emperor Alexander II (1855-1881) In the conditions of the Russian autocratic system, the sovereign played a decisive role.

The era of reforms of the 60-70s of the XIX century was really great, because the autocracy for the first time took a step towards society, and society supported the authorities. This is one of the reasons for the success of the reforms of Alexander II. Another reason is the complex nature of the reforms that affected all aspects of the life of Russian society. Particularly significant was the reform to free the peasants from serfdom. The reform of 1861 satisfied the most important economic interests of the landlords and freed the Russian peasantry from slavery. Subsequent liberal reforms of the 1860s - 1870s in social and economic sphere were closely connected with the peasant reform.

1. Prerequisites for the liberal reforms of Alexander II

liberal Zemstvo reform political

At the beginning of the 19th century, Russia remained the only European power that retained a feudal-serf economy and an absolute monarchy. The efficiency of the Russian economy was an order of magnitude lower than in developed European countries. By the middle of the XIX century. Russia's lagging behind the Western countries, which have made a huge leap in their development, has not decreased, but increased. By this time, there were practically no joint-stock companies and banks in Russia, without which a large capitalist economy could not develop. But serfdom continued to be the main brake on the path of bourgeois development. This was fully demonstrated by the Crimean War (1853-1856), which ended in the defeat of tsarism.

The defeat in the Crimean War revealed many internal shortcomings of the Russian state. A direct consequence of the economic and military autocratic-serf policy was the decline in the living standards of the people, stagnation in the economy. The discontent of the people grew, it became obvious that it was impossible to live like this any longer. Social conflicts intensified. The peasantry more and more actively rose to fight for their liberation. It fought for the complete abolition of serfdom, for freedom and land. Thousands of peasants rushed south, to the Crimea, “for freedom,” as a rumor spread that there they were handing out land to those who wished and freed them from serfdom.

Most of the landlords were against the liberation of the peasants, as this meant the end of the unconditional rule of the noble class. But the most far-sighted representatives of this class understood the need for reform. The advanced part of them, the so-called liberals, began to openly criticize the backwardness of Russia, the dominance and abuses of officials. They were especially afraid of the threat of revolution. In order to prevent it, to preserve the dominant position of the landowners in the country, they proposed some transformations. They advocated the abolition of serfdom from above. The liberation of the peasants, according to their plan, should take place in such a way that the landowners suffered the least, and the peasants had to pay a large ransom for their personal liberation. After such a "liberation" the peasants would remain in complete economic dependence on the landowner.

Under these conditions, the tsarist government was forced to begin preparations for the abolition of serfdom, the most important reform of that time.

In the historical literature, there are two opinions about the reasons for the abolition of serfdom. According to the first of them, by the middle of the 19th century, the serf economy was still far from having exhausted its possibilities and the actions against the government were very weak. Neither economic nor social catastrophe threatened Russia, but by retaining serfdom, it could drop out of the ranks of the great powers. According to the second, the labor productivity of the serfs began to decline, as the landowners wanted to produce more products and thereby undermined the strength of the peasant economy. Many landlords tried to introduce new farming systems, apply the latest technology, purchase improved varieties, thoroughbred cattle. Such measures led them to ruin, and, accordingly, to increased exploitation of the peasants.

After the death of Nicholas I, his eldest son Alexander II (1855 - 1881), who was well prepared for state activity, ascended the royal throne. For several years he participated in the work of the Peasant Committee and, being a realist, he was fully aware of the need for change.

Alexander II, who was inclined towards the abolition of serfdom with the provision of a certain economic independence to the peasants, i.e. land, went to an extraordinary measure. Instead of the previously practiced departmental committees engaged in upholding local interests, a non-departmental body was created - Editorial Commissions, directly subordinate to the tsar. They included radical officials, as well as independent experts from the landowners.

The commissions took into account the opinion of the provincial committees. An innovation was publicity in the work of the commissions: the results of their work were regularly inquired about by the highest officials of the state and leaders of the nobility. In addition, in their work, the commissions relied on scientifically substantiated economic calculations. The results of the work of the commissions were reflected in the Tsar's Manifesto of February 19, 1861, which announced the abolition of serfdom in Russia. The reform was a compromise that took into account the interests of the peasants, different groups landowners and authorities.

Under the new law, the serfdom of the landlords over the peasants was abolished forever, and the peasants were recognized as free without any redemption in favor of the landowners. At the same time, the land on which the peasants lived and worked was recognized as the property of the landowners. The peasants were freed with the fact that the landlords would provide them with their estate settlement and a certain amount of field land and other lands (field allotment) for use. But the peasants for the estate and field plots had to serve in favor of the landlords duties in money or work. Therefore, until the conclusion of redemption transactions, the peasants were considered "temporarily liable" and had to serve, as before, corvée or pay dues. The final stage in the liberation of peasants from serfdom was the redemption of land. Up to 80% of the ransom amount was paid to the landowners by the state. The loan was issued to the landowner in profitable interest-bearing papers and was credited to the peasants as government debt. The peasants became debtors of the state, repaying for 49 years with a payment of 6% the amount of the ransom. Thus, during this time, the peasant had to pay up to 300% of the "loan" granted to him.

The centralized redemption of peasant allotments by the state solved a number of important economic and social problems. The government credit provided the landowners with a guaranteed payment of the ransom and saved them from a direct confrontation with the peasants. The ransom turned out to be, in addition, an operation that was also beneficial to the state. The landlords managed to carry out land management in such a way that the peasants were cut off part of the land that they cultivated for themselves before the reform. All this laid the foundation for the impoverishment and landlessness of the peasantry. Thus the great deed of the abolition of serfdom was accomplished.

The liberation of the peasants significantly changed all the foundations of Russian state and social life. It created a new populous social class in the central and southern regions of Russia. And the government was supposed to manage it. The peasant reform entailed the transformation of all aspects of the state and public life. A number of measures were envisaged to restructure local government, the judiciary, education and, later, the army.

2. Reforms in the field of public relations

Zemskaya

Urban

Judicial

Military

Financial

public education

After the abolition of serfdom, when millions of peasants ceased to be the property of the landlords, the question arose of a reform of administration, of introducing law and order into administrative activity, with particular urgency.

The zemstvo reform of 1864 was introduced locally “to ensure the zemstvo benefits and needs” and provided for the creation of elected authorities on the scale of the province and county - zemstvo institutions (zemstvos), elected for a period of three years. According to the law, the zemstvos were not only elected, but also all-estate bodies: they included representatives of the nobility, the bourgeoisie and the peasantry. But in fact, the dominant position in the zemstvos was occupied by the landowners. In this way, the government wanted to reward the nobles for their loss of landlord power. Zemstvos did not have any political significance and dealt exclusively with economic and cultural issues on the territory of the county and province. They were in charge of the construction of local roads, markets, local industry, prison, health care, public education, fire insurance, etc. Previously, only government officials dealt with these issues. Although the activities of the zemstvos were controlled by the governors, the majority of local figures worked selflessly and brought a lot of benefits in their provinces.

The city reform of 1870 replaced the estate city Dumas of Catherine's time with elected bodies of city self-government, elected on the basis of a qualifying electoral law. City Dumas, which have administrative functions, and city councils, endowed with executive powers, became the bodies of city self-government. The number of members of city councils depended on the number of city residents.

The city government consisted of several members and the mayor. Their competence included: the external improvement of cities, the organization of markets, the care of local trade and industry, health care and education.

Judicial Reform of 1864 One of the most important reforms of this time was the reform of the court. The pre-reform court was class-based (that is, each class had its own separate court) and behind the scenes (court sessions took place behind closed doors, the defendants had no defenders). The court was completely dependent on the administration.

The flagrant abuses in the court, which led to the fall of the authority of the supreme power, the growth of public dissatisfaction with the court, forced the government to reform the court.

The judicial reform proclaimed the independence of the court from the administration: the judge was appointed by the government, but could be removed from office only by court. The preliminary investigation was carried out by judicial investigators who were not subordinate to the police. An all-estate court was introduced, that is, one for the entire population. The court became public: representatives of the press and the public could attend court sessions. An adversarial process was introduced: the prosecution was supported by the prosecutor, the defense - by a lawyer (sworn attorney).

However, the vestiges of serfdom also remained in court: a special court for peasants was preserved, which dealt with cases of petty offenses and civil claims between peasants. In addition, corporal punishment by court, which was canceled for other classes, was also preserved for them.

The entire judicial system was divided into two parts: general and local.

World justice belonged to the local. The justice of the peace, as a rule, was elected from among the local nobles. The competence of justices of the peace included the consideration of civil cases on claims in the amount of not more than 500 rubles, as well as petty criminal cases on claims, the punishment for which did not exceed 3 months in prison or 300 rubles. fine.

The general justice included a system of courts, the first link of which was the district courts. The entire territory of the country was divided into districts, in each of which a district court was established. It consisted of three professional judges (one of them is the presiding judge). The most complex criminal cases were heard by a panel of judges and twelve jurors. The assessors rendered their decision separately and it was called a verdict. When reaching a verdict, the jury had to choose one of three formulas: guilty, not guilty, or guilty but deserving of leniency. The judges pronounced the verdict on the basis of the verdict handed down by the jurors. The verdict, adopted with the participation of jurors, could be appealed only in the event of newly discovered circumstances.

The next judicial instance in this system was the Judicial Chambers. They consisted of two departments: criminal and civil. Cases in them were decided by a board of three people with the participation of class representatives, which were the provincial or district marshals of the nobility, the mayor and the volost foreman. The Trial Chambers considered appeals against decisions and judgments of district courts (made without the participation of jurors).

The highest court was the Senate. He considered cases within his competence, as well as complaints against sentences and decisions of lower courts.

To resolve especially important cases (state crimes), the Supreme Criminal Court was created by the highest command.

The reform of 1864 also formed investigative bodies, established the prosecutor's office, which consisted of district courts, judicial chambers and the Senate. Prosecutors supervised the investigation, acted as prosecutors at the trial, monitored the execution of sentences. The advocacy was also envisaged.

Military reforms in 1874. The defeat in the Crimean War showed that the army needed a radical reorganization. The aggravation of class contradictions in the country, the complexity of the international situation, the growth of the army in other states, and finally, the new conditions for the conduct of war and new equipment forced the tsarist government to undertake a radical reform of the recruitment of the army. The abolition of serfdom created the conditions for the creation of a larger, mass army. In the 60s, on the initiative of the Minister of War D. A. Milyutin, military reforms began. The reform of 1874 was of the greatest importance, according to which universal military service was introduced: all men who had reached the age of 21, fit for military service, had to serve military service. In the infantry, the service life was set at 6 years, followed by enrollment in the reserve for 9 years. In the fleet, the service lasted 7 years and 3 years in the reserve. This made it possible to significantly increase the army during the war. For those who had an education, reduced terms of service were established. Improved training of troops and officer training. The army began to be equipped with modern types of weapons, a steam navy was created. Along with the changes, much in the army remained the same: the command staff remained noble, the drill and assault of officers, the disenfranchisement of soldiers were preserved.

Financial Reforms of 1863 The military expenses caused by the Crimean War and the redemption operation undertaken by the government forced the government to go beyond the limits of the ordinary budget. Government revenues were not enough to cover the costs; loans were needed to pay annual deficits. The government was faced with the task of streamlining the state economy in order to restore balance in the budget and raise the rate of paper money. Some financial reforms have been undertaken. A definite and precise procedure for compiling annual estimates of receipts and expenditures for all departments has been established. The newly transformed state control had to monitor the correct execution of estimates. The class orientation of the government's financial policy was not changed. The main burden of taxes and fees still lay on the taxable population. The old capitation tax for peasants, philistines, and artisans, introduced by Peter the Great, has been preserved. Privileged estates (nobility, clergy, merchants) were exempted from it. Thus, greater correctness of financial management was achieved and greater order was established in the conduct of the state economy. But the balance of the budget was not achieved. More than 50% of the expenditures in the state budget went to the maintenance of the army and the administrative apparatus, up to 35% - to pay interest on public debts, issue subsidies, etc. Expenses for public education and medicine amounted to less than 0.1% of the state budget.

To increase state revenues, a number of measures were taken, of which the most remarkable is the abolition of wine leases that have existed since the time of Catherine II. The old order was that individuals bought from the government the right to sell wine in a certain district for a certain amount. According to the new order established under Alexander II, any private person could sell wine, but all the wine that went on sale was subject to an “excise tax” (a special tax in favor of the treasury). Tobacco, salt and sugar were subject to the same excise duty. Some customs duties have been increased. The main means to improve the economic life of the country and the state economy was considered the construction of a network of railways. Not being able to build roads with state funds, the government attracted private individuals and foreign capital to this work on very favorable terms. Despite the fact that many unscrupulous businessmen rushed to railway construction, exploiting the treasury and roads for their own profit, the railway network (20 thousand miles) was built in a short time and had a huge impact on the development of Russian industry and trade. In connection with the construction of roads, our foreign vacation has increased tenfold; the import of goods into Russia increased almost in the same way. The number of commercial and industrial enterprises, factories and plants has increased markedly. Credit institutions appeared - banks, headed by

State Bank (1860). Russia began to lose the character of a patriarchal landowning state. Freed from serfdom and other restrictions, people's labor found application in various branches of industry created by the new conditions of social life.

The reform of public education. Preparations for the reform of primary and secondary education lasted three years. On June 14, 1864, the "Regulations on Primary Public Schools" was published. Under this provision, both public organizations and private individuals were allowed to open primary schools, but under the control of district and provincial school councils. The program included teaching reading, writing, the law of God, the four rules of arithmetic and church singing. In post-reform Russia, there were three types of primary schools: ministerial (established by the Ministry of Public Education), zemstvo (under zemstvos) and parochial.

On November 19, 1864, a new charter for gymnasiums was approved. The bourgeois principle of formal equality of estates was introduced into it, but due to high fees, education was actually available mainly to people from the propertied classes. Gymnasiums were divided into classical (humanitarian education, the study of classical languages; after them - admission to the university without exams) and real (reinforced study of mathematics and natural science, admission after them to higher technical educational institutions).

Simultaneously with the reform of the men's secondary school, there were measures in the field of women's education. Until the time of Emperor Alexander II, only institutions and private pensions existed for girls; they were educated almost exclusively by noblewomen. On November 10, 1862, the charter of women's gymnasiums was approved - a significant step in the matter of education. In the 70s, the foundation was laid for higher education for women, a number of women's courses were opened in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Kazan. The "Bestuzhev" higher courses in St. Petersburg, which provided the most thorough education, were especially famous.

The government began the reform of higher education in 1861 under the direct influence of student unrest. On June 18, 1863, a new charter was approved, according to which the professorial corporation received self-government. The council of professors at each university elected all university officials and managed the economy of the university. Students were treated as individual visitors not entitled to a corporate device; outsiders were not allowed to attend lectures at all. This situation of students gave them frequent reasons for displeasure and "student riots", which were one of the frequent and sad phenomena of that era.

Educational reforms played their part in training personnel for young Russian capitalism.

3. Socio-political consequences of the reforms and their assessment in the historical literature

The reforms of Alexander II were really great in terms of the depth of the changes that they carried out in the social, economic and political system.

Most of the scholars who studied and analyzed the reforms, as a rule, were dissatisfied with their half-heartedness and inconsistency. This view is inherent in the left wing of the Russian intelligentsia, which traditionally constituted its majority. But reform is not revolution. And therefore, assessing the socio-economic reforms, we can only say that they opened the way for the gradual and rather slow development of Russia along the capitalist path.

The reforms were unequal in terms of the impact they had on the development of Russian statehood. In some cases, from the point of view of contemporaries, they were not radical enough, other reforms, from the point of view of the government, were too revolutionary and it took the adoption of a number of regulations to “correct” them somewhat.

The peasant reform of 1861 did not become the starting point for accelerating the economic development of Russia. It did not help Russian society and the state to adequately respond to the challenge of the time - to quickly move from feudalism to capitalism. Growing into capitalism turned out to be very painful for Russia and was accompanied by a revolutionary upheaval. However, the transition to capitalism at a faster pace would be even more painful for Russia.

Zemstvo reform did not form a coherent and centralized system, did not create a body that leads and coordinates the work of all zemstvos. The government strongly opposed this. But, it should be noted that in the post-reform decades, the position of the peasants is clearly improving. Largely thanks to the zemstvos, at least in the field of health care and education. For the first time in the history of Russia, the peasantry received qualified medical care. The result of this was a rapid increase in the population, primarily rural. The zemstvos contributed to education, to its development, zemstvo schools were opened, a veterinary service was established and, as a result, the situation in animal husbandry was improved, and statistics were organized.

The city reform was close to the Zemstvo one. Therefore, the creation of new self-government bodies contributed to the formation of socio-political and cultural life, helped the commercial and industrial development of Russian cities.

Judicial reform normally changed the judiciary, procedural and partly substantive law Russian Empire. The principles proclaimed in the judicial statutes were bourgeois in nature: the judiciary was separated from the legislative, executive, administrative, the principle of independence and irremovability of judges; the principle of equality of all before the law; an all-estate court is introduced; the advocacy was established; introduced the institution of jurors; introduced the principles of oral, publicity, adversarial legal proceedings; the presumption of innocence was proclaimed.

The reforms of the 1960s and 1970s affected all areas of military affairs. The result of the reform was a harmonious and clear organization of both central and local government. The apparatus was reduced, clerical correspondence decreased. The main drawback of the military command and control system was excessive centralization, which made it impossible for the local authorities to show any independence and initiative in resolving even minor issues. The reform of military educational institutions made it possible to eliminate the shortage of officers and raise the level of their training. However, education was bought mainly by people from the nobility. For representatives of other classes, access to military schools was difficult. However, the proportion of non-nobles in such establishments was constantly growing.

The reforms of the 60s still did not solve the main issue of the reorganization of the army, its ability to quickly deploy in case of war. In general, military reforms were progressive in nature and contributed to the strengthening and improvement of the army's combat capability.

After the Crimean War, it was necessary to look for ways to accelerate economic growth and eliminate Russia's technical backwardness. The main result of the redemption operation was the transition of the bulk of the former serfs to the position of peasant owners.

The increase in the tax burden that fell on the peasant led to a weakening of the reproductive potential of agriculture in the central regions of Russia. Beginning in the 1980s, the government was forced to radically change its approach to the redemption operation and recognize the need to compare the amount of payments not with the cost of peasant duties to the landowner before the abolition of serfdom, but with the real paying capacity of the peasants.

The deposit interest reduction operation was one of the government's failed experiments. In the financial sector, the budget reform carried out in the 60s XIX years century, for the first time in a finished form, the principles of rational organization of the budget process and management of the budget economy were embodied. The budget reform was supplemented by a number of innovations in taxation. The main of them was the introduction of an excise tax system for drinking and the abolition of wine farming.

The decisive role in the industrial upsurge of the second half of the 1960s and early 1970s was played by relatively favorable foreign economic conditions and measures of direct state support for enterprises in the basic industries and railway construction. As a result, during the years of the reign of Alexander II, one of the world's largest railway networks was created in Russia.

Also, the customs policy was radically changed in order to obtain from Western European countries the goods necessary for industry and transport, primarily metallurgy and engineering products.

By the mid-1970s, a relative budgetary equilibrium had been achieved.

Deeper and more radical than the financial ones were the reforms of the 1960s in the field of public education and the press, which became inevitable. Industry, transport, agriculture, trade needed qualified specialists no less than the state and administrative apparatus.

The leading place in the education system was occupied by universities. They were the focus of science and at the same time, from the middle of the 19th century, the center of the revolutionary movement. Due to the fact that tuition at universities was paid, those who studied were much more interested in the revolution than in studies. However, it must be said that the role of fees should not be overestimated, since the proportion of students from low-income strata of the population was higher at Russian universities than anywhere else in Europe.

Conclusion

The reforms carried out by Alexander II were a serious political step, which made it possible to significantly accelerate the pace of Russia's economic development and take the first steps towards the democratization of the political life of society. However, these decisions were half-hearted both for objective reasons (the impossibility of instant introduction of developed capitalist forms into the economy and politics) and for subjective reasons (fear of weakening autocratic power).

The bourgeois reforms of the 1960s and 1970s could not be decisive and consistent because the ruling class was the feudal nobility, which had little interest in bourgeois transformations and in their replacement.

Dependence on foreign capital hindered Russia's economic and political independence in the international arena, and feudal vestiges in the economy did not allow achieving a modern level of labor productivity and democratic relations between business owners and workers. The main socio-economic issue - about the land - was not resolved in favor of the most numerous layer of producers - the peasants. The robbed and ruined masses of the peasantry poured into the cities, sharpening to the extreme the contradictions between labor and capital. A revolutionary situation arose. The slogan of abolishing landlordism became the slogan of the three Russian revolutions that followed.

However, no matter how one evaluates the reforms of the 1860s and 1870s, it is obvious that they were a significant step towards social development. Their totality marked the transition of Russian society to a new quality, and once this process had begun, it could not be reversed.

The abolition of serfdom posed new serious problems for the authorities. For centuries, the serf system determined the organization of the system of administration and legal proceedings in Russia, the principles of recruiting the army, etc. The collapse of this system dictated the need for further reforms.

Zemstvo and city reforms

The abolition of serfdom created many empty places in the previously existing system of local government, because. this latter was closely connected with serfdom. So, before each landowner in his estate was for his peasants the personification of power. And in the county and provincial administration, most of the posts since the time of Catherine II were filled at the choice of the nobility and from among its representatives. After the abolition of serfdom, the whole system collapsed. And without that, the local economy was extremely neglected. Medical assistance in the village was practically non-existent. Epidemics claimed thousands of lives. The peasants did not know the elementary rules of hygiene. Public education could not get out of its infancy. Individual landowners who maintained schools for their peasants closed them immediately after the abolition of serfdom. Nobody cared about country roads. Thus, it was urgent to find a way out of this intolerable situation, given that the state treasury was exhausted, and the government could not raise the local economy on its own. Therefore, it was decided to meet the needs of the liberal public (especially from the non-Chernozem provinces), which petitioned for the introduction of local all-estate self-government.

These ideas were expressed by N.A. Milyutin in a note addressed to the emperor. Once approved by the latter, they became the guiding principles of the reform. These principles were expressed in the formula: to give local self-government as much confidence as possible, as much independence as possible, and as much unity as possible.

On January 1, 1864, the law on zemstvo self-government was approved. Zemstvo reform began, during which a system of local self-government bodies was created in Russia at two territorial levels - in the county and the province. The administrative bodies of the zemstvos were county and provincial zemstvo assemblies, and the executive bodies were county and provincial zemstvo councils. Zemstvo elections were held every three years. In each county, three electoral congresses (curia) were created to elect deputies of the county zemstvo assembly. The first curia (private landowners) included persons, regardless of class, who had at least 200-800 dessiatins. land (the land qualification for different counties was not the same). To the second (rural societies) - elected from volost gatherings. The third curia (city voters) included city owners with a certain property qualification. Each of the congresses elected a certain equal number of vowels (for a period of three years). District zemstvo assemblies elected provincial zemstvo councillors. To fulfill their tasks, the zemstvos received the right to impose a special tax on the population.

As a rule, nobles predominated in zemstvo assemblies. Despite conflicts with liberal landlords, the autocracy considered the local nobility to be its main support. Therefore, district leaders of the nobility automatically (by position) became chairmen of county assemblies, and provincial leaders became chairmen of provincial assemblies. Zemstvo was introduced only in 34 provinces of European Russia. He was not in Siberia and in the Arkhangelsk province, because. there were no landlords. Zemstvos were not introduced in the Don Cossack Region, in the Astrakhan and Orenburg provinces, where Cossack self-government existed.

The functions of the zemstvos were quite diverse. They were in charge of the local economy (construction and maintenance of local roads, etc.), public education, medicine, and statistics. However, they could deal with all these matters only within their county or province. Zemstvo had no right not only to solve any problems of a national nature, but even to put them up for discussion. Moreover, the provincial zemstvos were forbidden to communicate with each other and coordinate their activities even in such matters as the fight against hunger, epidemics, and the loss of livestock.

Milyutin did not insist on expanding the competence of the zemstvos, but he believed that in their field of activity they should enjoy complete autonomy and independence from local administrative authorities, reporting only to the Senate, and that the governors should be given only the right to oversee the legality of their actions.

The shortcomings of the zemstvo reform were obvious: the incompleteness of the structure of the zemstvo bodies (the absence of a higher central body), the artificial creation of a numerical advantage for the landed nobility, and the limited scope of activities. At the same time, this reform was of great importance. The very fact of the appearance in Russia of a system of self-government, radically different from the dominant bureaucratic system, was important. The electivity of the zemstvo bodies, their relative independence from bureaucratic structures made it possible to expect that these bodies, for all their shortcomings, would proceed from the interests of the local population and bring real benefits to them. These hopes were generally justified. Soon after the creation of zemstvos, Russia was covered with a network of zemstvo schools and hospitals.

With the advent of the Zemstvo, the balance of power in the provinces began to change. Previously, all affairs in the counties were handled by government officials, together with the landowners. Now that a network of schools has unfolded. hospitals and statistical bureaus, a “third element” appeared, as zemstvo doctors, teachers, agronomists, and statisticians began to be called. Many representatives of the rural intelligentsia showed high standards of service to the people. They were trusted by peasants, councils listened to their advice. Government officials have watched the rise of the "third element" with concern.

As soon as they were born, the zemstvos met with an extremely hostile attitude towards them from all government bodies - central and local, they soon lost a significant part of their already small powers, which led to the fact that many worthy figures of the zemstvo movement cooled off towards it and left the zemstvo administrations and assemblies.

According to the law, the Zemstvos were purely economic organizations. But soon they began to play an important political role. In those years, the most enlightened and humane landowners usually went to the zemstvo service. They became vowels of zemstvo assemblies, members and chairmen of administrations. They stood at the origins of the zemstvo liberal movement. And the representatives of the "third element" were attracted to the left, democratic, currents of social thought. Hope arose in society for further steps in the radical reorganization of the state system in Russia. Liberal activists, who sincerely welcomed the reform, consoled themselves with the dream of "crowning the building" - the creation of an all-Russian representative body on the basis of the Zemstvo, which would be an advance towards a constitutional monarchy. But the government took a completely different path. As it turned out later, in 1864 she gave the maximum of self-government, which she considered possible. Government policy towards the Zemstvo in the second half of the 1860s - 1870s. aimed at depriving him of any independence. The governors received the right to refuse to approve any person elected by the Zemstvo; even greater rights were given to them in relation to "employees" - zemstvo doctors, teachers, statisticians: on the slightest occasion they were not only expelled from the zemstvo, but also sent outside the province. In addition, the governor became the censor of all printed publications zemstvos - reports, journals of meetings, statistical studies. The central and local authorities purposefully stifled any initiative of the zemstvos, rooted out any encroachment on their independent activity. In the event of conflict situations, the government did not stop before the dissolution of zemstvo assemblies, the exile of their members and other punitive measures.

As a result, instead of moving forward towards representative government, the authorities stubbornly backed away, trying to include the zemstvo bodies in the bureaucratic system. This fettered the activities of zemstvos and undermined their authority. Nevertheless, the zemstvos managed to achieve serious success in their specific work, especially in the field of public education and medicine. But they were never destined to become full-fledged self-government bodies and serve as the basis for building a constitutional order.

On similar grounds, in 1870 it was published City position(Law on City Government Reform). Improvement issues (lighting, heating, water supply, cleaning, transport, construction of city driveways, embankments, bridges, etc.) were subject to the guardianship of city dumas and councils, as well as the management of school, medical and charitable affairs, care for the development of trade and industry. Compulsory expenses for the maintenance of the fire department, police, prisons, barracks were assigned to the City Dumas (these expenses absorbed from 20 to 60% of the city budget). The city position eliminated the class principle in the formation of city self-government bodies, replacing it with a property qualification. The elections to the city duma were attended by males who had reached the age of 25 in three electoral congresses (curia) (small, medium and large taxpayers) with equal total amounts of city tax payments. Each curia elected 1/3 of the members of the City Duma. Along with private individuals, departments, companies, monasteries, etc., who paid fees to the city budget, received the right to vote. Workers who did not pay taxes to the city did not participate in the elections. The number of dumas was established taking into account the population from 30 to 72 vowels, in Moscow - 180, in St. Petersburg - 250. The mayor, his friend (deputy) and the council were elected by the duma. The mayor headed both the Duma and the Council, coordinating their activities. The supervisory body for the observance of the rule of law in the activities of city self-government was the Provincial Presence for City Affairs (under the chairmanship of the governor).

Within the limits of their competence, the City Dumas had relative independence and self-sufficiency. They spent great job for the improvement and development of cities, but in the social movement they were not as noticeable as the zemstvos. This was due to the long-standing political inertia of the merchants and the business class.

Judicial reform

In 1864, a judicial reform was also carried out, which radically transformed the structure of the Russian court and the entire process of legal proceedings. The former courts existed without any significant changes since the time of Catherine II, although the need for judicial reform was recognized by Alexander I. opportunities for abuse and lawlessness). The defendant was not always informed of even all the grounds on which the charges brought against him were based. The verdict was passed on the totality of the system of formal evidence, and not on the inner conviction of the judge. The judges themselves often had not only no legal education, but none at all.

It was possible to take up the reform only after the abolition of serfdom, which forced the abandonment of the principle of class and the change of the conservative Minister of Justice, Count. V.N. Panin. The author of the judicial reform was a longtime supporter of changes in this area, State Secretary of the State Council (one of the few who spoke in the State Assembly in 1861 for the approval of the peasant reform) Sergei Ivanovich Zarudny. In 1862, the emperor approved the main provisions of the judicial reform developed by him: 1) the absence of estates of the court, 2) the equality of all citizens before the law, 3) the complete independence of the court from the administration (which was guaranteed by the irremovability of judges), 4) the careful selection of judicial personnel and their sufficient material support.

The old class courts were abolished. Instead of them, a world court and a crown court were created - two systems independent of each other, which were united only by subordination to one supreme judicial body - the Senate. The magistrate's court with a simplified procedure was introduced in the counties to deal with cases of minor offenses and civil cases with a minor claim (for the first time this category of cases was separated from the general mass). More serious cases were dealt with in the crown court, which had two instances: the district court and the judicial chamber. In case of violation of the lawful order of legal proceedings, the decisions of these bodies could be appealed to the Senate.

From the old courts, which conducted business in a purely bureaucratic manner, the new ones differed primarily in that they were public, i.e. open to the public and press. In addition, the judicial procedure was based on an adversarial process, during which the accusation was formulated, substantiated and supported by the prosecutor, and the interests of the defendant were defended by a lawyer from among the sworn lawyers. The prosecutor and the lawyer had to find out all the circumstances of the case, interrogating witnesses, analyzing material evidence, etc. After listening to the judicial debate, their verdict in the case (“guilty”, “not guilty”, “guilty, but deserves leniency”) was passed by jurors (12 people), who were chosen by lot from representatives of all classes. Based on the verdict, the crown court (represented by the chairman and two members of the court) pronounced a sentence. Only in case of a clear violation of procedural norms (non-hearing by the court of one of the parties, non-summoning of witnesses, etc.), the parties could, having filed a cassation appeal, transfer the case (civil - from the court chamber, criminal - from the district court) to the Senate, which, in the event confirmation of violations, transferred the case without consideration to another court, or to the same, but in a different composition. A feature of the reform was that both the investigators who prepared the case for trial and the judges who led the entire judicial procedure, although they were appointed by the government, were irremovable for the entire term of their powers. In other words, as a result of the reform, it was supposed to create a court as independent as possible and protect it from extraneous influences, primarily from pressure from the administration. At the same time, cases of state and certain judicial crimes, as well as cases of the press, were withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the jury.

The world court, whose task was to provide the Russian people with a court “quick, right and merciful,” consisted of one person. The magistrate was elected by the zemstvo assemblies or city dumas for three years. The government could not by its power remove him from office (as well as the judges of the district crown court). The task of the magistrate's court was to reconcile the guilty, and if the parties were unwilling, the judge was given considerable scope in imposing punishment - depending not on any external formal data, but on his inner conviction. The introduction of magistrates' courts significantly relieved the crown courts from the mass of petty cases.

Yet the judicial reform of 1864 remained unfinished. To resolve conflicts among the peasantry, the estate volost court was retained. This was partly due to the fact that peasant legal concepts were very different from general civil ones. A magistrate with a "Code of Laws" would often be powerless to judge the peasants. The volost court, which consisted of peasants, judged on the basis of the customs existing in the area. But he was too exposed to the influence of the wealthy upper classes of the village and all sorts of bosses. The volost court and the mediator had the right to award corporal punishment. This shameful phenomenon existed in Russia until 1904. There was a separate church court for the clergy (for specifically church matters).

In addition, soon after the start of the implementation of the judicial reform, largely under the influence of the unprecedented scope of terrorism, the authorities began to subordinate the courts to the dominating bureaucratic system. In the second half of the 1860s - 1870s, the publicity of court sessions and their coverage in the press were significantly limited; the dependence of judicial officials on the local administration increased: they were ordered to unquestioningly “submit to the lawful demands” of the provincial authorities. The principle of irremovability was also undermined: instead of investigators, “acting” investigators were increasingly appointed, to whom the principle of irremovability did not apply. Innovations relating to political cases were especially characteristic : the investigation of these cases began to be conducted not by investigators, but by gendarmes; legal proceedings were carried out not by jury trials, but by the Special Presence of the Governing Senate, created specifically for this purpose.Since the end of the 1870s, a significant part of political cases began to be considered by military courts.

And yet, it can be said without hesitation that judicial reform was the most radical and consistent of all the Great Reforms of the 1860s.

Military reforms

In 1861, General Dmitry Alekseevich Milyutin was appointed Minister of War. Given the lessons of the Crimean War, he spent in the 1860s - I half. 1870s a series of military reforms. One of the main tasks of the military reforms was to reduce the size of the army in peacetime and create the possibility for a significant increase in it in wartime. This was achieved by reducing the non-combat element (non-combatant, local and auxiliary troops) and introducing in 1874 (under the influence of the successful actions of the Prussian army in the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871) universal military service, which replaced the pre-reform recruitment. Military service extended to the entire male population, aged 21-40, without distinction of class. For the ground forces, a 6-year term of active service and 9 years in the reserve were established; for the fleet - 7 years of active service and 3 years in reserve. Then those liable for military service were transferred as warriors to the State Militia, where those released from conscription were also enrolled. In peacetime, no more than 25 - 30% of total number conscripts. A significant part of the recruits were exempted from service on family benefits (the only son of the parents, the only breadwinner in the family, etc.), due to physical unsuitability, according to the occupation (doctors, veterinarians, pharmacists, educators and teachers); the rest drew lots. Representatives of the peoples of the North and Central Asia, some peoples of the Caucasus, the Urals and Siberia (Muslims). Under special conditions, the Cossacks served in the military. Terms of service were reduced depending on education. If the educated person entered active service voluntarily (volunteer), then the term of service was further reduced by half. Under this condition, conscripts who had a secondary education served only seven months, and a higher education - three. These benefits have become an additional incentive for the dissemination of education. In the course of Milyutin's reforms, the conditions of service for the lower ranks (soldiers) were significantly changed: corporal punishment was abolished (punishment with rods was left only for the category of "penalized"); improved food, uniforms and barracks; strict measures have been taken to stop the beatings of soldiers; the systematic training of soldiers in literacy was introduced (in company schools). The abolition of recruitment, along with the abolition of serfdom, significantly increased the popularity of Alexander II among the peasantry.

At the same time, a well-ordered, strictly centralized structure was created to streamline the military command and control system. In 1862 - 1864 Russia was divided into 15 military districts directly subordinate to the War Ministry. In 1865, the General Staff was established - the central body for command and control of troops. The transformations in the field of military education were also of great importance: instead of closed cadet corps military gymnasiums were established, close in program to a secondary school (gymnasium) and opening the way to any higher educational institution. Those who wished to continue their military education entered the institutes established in the 1860s. specialized cadet schools - artillery, cavalry, military engineering. An important feature of these schools was their all-class nature, which opened access to the officer corps to persons of non-noble origin. Higher military education was given by the academy - the General Staff. artillery, military medical, naval, etc. The army was re-equipped (the first rifled breech-loading guns, Berdan rifles, etc.).

Military reforms met with strong opposition from conservative circles of the generals and society; The main opponent of the reforms was Field Marshal Prince. A.I. Baryatinsky. Military "authorities" criticized the reforms for their bureaucratic nature, belittling the role of the commanding staff, overthrowing the age-old foundations of the Russian army.

The results and significance of the reforms of the 1860s - 1870s.

The reforms of the 1960s and 1970s are a major phenomenon in the history of Russia. New, modern self-government bodies and courts contributed to the growth of the country's productive forces, the development of civil consciousness of the population, the spread of education, and the improvement of the quality of life. Russia joined the pan-European process of creating advanced, civilized forms of statehood based on the self-activity of the population and its will. But these were only the first steps. The remnants of serfdom were strong in local government, and many noble privileges remained intact. The reforms of the 1960s and 1970s did not affect the upper levels of power. The autocracy and the police system, inherited from past eras, were preserved.

wiki.304.ru / History of Russia. Dmitry Alkhazashvili.

Topic study plan

1. Reasons for reforms in the 1960s and 1970s 19th century
2. Reforms of local self-government.
a) Zemstvo reform
b) Urban reform
3. Judicial reform.
4. Reforms of the education system.
a) School reform.
b) University reform
5. Military reform.

Reforms of Alexander II (1855 - 1881) Peasant (1861) Zemskaya (1864) City (1870) Judicial (1864) Military (1874) Education (1863-1)

Reforms of Alexander II
(1855 - 1881)
Peasant (1861)
Zemskaya (1864)
Urban (1870)
Judicial (1864)
Military (1874)
In the area of
enlightenment (1863-1864)

*Historians of the 19th – early 20th centuries. rated these reforms as great (K.D. Kavelin, V.O. Klyuchevsky, G.A. Dzhanshiev). *Soviet historians considered them unfinished

*Historians of the 19th – early 20th centuries.
rated these reforms as great
(K.D. Kavelin, V.O. Klyuchevsky, G.A. Dzhanshiev).
*Soviet historians considered them
incomplete and
half-hearted
(M.N. Pokrovsky, N.M. Druzhinina, V.P.
Volobuev).

Name
Peasant
(1861)
Zemskaya (1864)
Urban (1870
G.)
Judicial (1864
G.)
Military (1874)
In the area of
enlightenment
(1863-1864)
Content
reforms
Their meaning
Them
limitations

Peasant Reform: Manifesto and Regulations February 19, 1861

Results
peasant
reforms
Worn unfinished
character,
gave rise to social
antagonisms
(contradictions)
opened the way
to development
bourgeois relations
in Russia
"Will"
without land
6

reforms
Their meaning
Krestyansk turning point,
aya (1861) line between
feudalism and
capitalism. Created
conditions for
statements
capitalist
way of life as
dominant.
Their shortcomings
Saved
feudal
vestiges;
peasants are not
received land in
complete
own,
should be
pay a ransom
lost part
earth (segments).

Local government reform

In 1864, the “Regulations
about zemstvo institutions. In counties
and provinces created bodies
local government -
zemstvos.

Zemstvo reform (1864). “Regulations on provincial and district zemstvo institutions”

The content of the reform
Creation of provincial and district
zemstvos -
elected bodies of local self-government
in the countryside
Functions of zemstvos
Maintenance of local schools, hospitals;
construction of local roads;
organization of agricultural statistics, etc.
9

10. Dictionary

Zemstvos are elected
local authorities
self-government
deciding economic
local questions.

11. Zemstvo reform (1864). “Regulations on provincial and district zemstvo institutions”

The structure of zemstvo institutions
Zemstvo administration
Zemstvo Assembly
executive agency
elected
for 3 years
governing body
in vowels
(vowels - elected members
zemstvo assemblies and city dumas)
were elected
population
on a census basis
by class
sign,
11
met annually

12. Zemstvo reform

In the zemstvo, including in its permanent bodies
(upravah) representatives of all estates worked together.
But the leading role was nevertheless played by the nobles, who looked at
"male" vowels from top to bottom. And peasants often
treated participation in the work of the zemstvo as a duty and
were elected to the vowels of the debtors.
Zemstvo Assembly in
provinces. Engraving by
drawing by K. A. Trutovsky.

13.

Curia - ranks, on
shared by voters
on property and
social signs in
pre-revolutionary Russia
elections.

14. Zemstvo reform

1 vowel (deputy) for landowning and peasant
curias was elected from every 3 thousand peasant allotments.
According to the city curia - from the owners of property,
equal in value to the same amount of land.
?
How many votes of the peasants was equal to the voice of the landowner,
having 800 dess., if the shower allotment was 4 dess.?
In this case, 1 vote of the landowner = 200 votes of the peasants.
Why, when creating Zemstvo bodies, it was not provided
equal suffrage for peasants,
townspeople and landowners?
Because in this case the educated minority
would have been "drowned" in the illiterate ignorant peasant masses.

15. Zemstvo reform

Zemstvo assemblies met once a year:
county - for 10 days, provincial - for 20 days.
The estate composition of the zemstvo assemblies
nobles
Merchants
Peasants
Other
county zemstvo
41,7
10,4
38,4
9,5
Provincial Zemstvo
74,2
10,9
10,6
4,3
?
Why among the provincial vowels the share of peasants
was noticeably lower than among the county?
The peasants were not ready to deal with distant
from their daily needs by provincial affairs.
And getting to the provincial town was far and expensive.

16. Zemstvo reform

Zemstvo assembly in the province. Engraving after a drawing by K. A. Trutovsky.
Zemstvos received the right to invite
the work of specialists in certain industries
households - teachers, doctors, agronomists -
zemstvo employees
Zemstvos were introduced at the county level and
provinces
Zemstvos decide not only local
economic affairs, but also actively
get involved in the political struggle

17.

Your comments.
Zemstvos.
Moscow nobleman Kireev
wrote about zemstvos:
“We, the nobles, are vowels; merchants,
tradesmen, clergy
consonants, the peasants are voiceless.
Explain what you wanted to say
author?

18. Electoral system in Russia

Principles
electoral
systems
Universal
Equal
direct
Only men
curia,
property
qualification
Multistage

19. Zemstvo reform

Zemstvo assembly in the province.
Engraving after a drawing by K.A. Trutovsky.
1865
?
What groups are divided into
Zemstvo vowels in the figure
K. Trutovsky?
Zemstvos were engaged
exclusively
economic
questions:
road construction,
fire fighting,
agronomic
helping the peasants
creation
food
stocks in case
crop failure
content
schools and hospitals.
For this purpose they gathered
land taxes.

20.

Off-road in the Tver province.
Country doctor.
Hood. I.I. Tvorozhnikov.
Thanks to
zemstvo doctors
villager
first received
qualified
medical assistance.
The local doctor was
station wagon:
therapist, surgeon,
dentist
obstetrician.
Sometimes operations
had to do
in a peasant's hut.

21. Zemstvo reform

A special role among the zemstvo
employees were played by teachers.
?
In what do you think
was this role?
Zemsky teacher not only
taught children arithmetic
and literacy, but was often
The arrival of the teacher in the village.
and the only literate
Hood. A. Stepanov.
man in the village.
Thanks to this, the teacher became for the peasants
bearer of knowledge and new ideas.
It was among the zemstvo teachers that there were especially many
liberal and democratically minded people.

22. Zemstvo reform

Lesson in the Zemstvo school
Penza province. 1890s
?
What, judging by the photo,
distinguished the zemstvo school
from government or
parochial?
In 1865–1880
in Russia there were 12 thousand.
rural zemstvo schools, and
in 1913 - 28 thousand.
Zemstvo teachers taught
over 2 million literacy
peasant children, incl.
girls.
True, initial
training has not been
compulsory.
Studying programs
worked out
Ministry
enlightenment.

23. Zemstvo reform (1864). “Regulations on provincial and district zemstvo institutions”

contributed to the development
Meaning
education,
healthcare,
local improvement;
became centers
liberal social movement
introduced initially in 35 provinces
(by 1914 they operated in 43 out of 78 provinces)
Limitation
volost zemstvos were not created
acted under the control of the administration
(governors and ministries of the interior)
23

24.

reforms
Zemskaya
(1864)
Their meaning
Around Zemstvos
grouped
the most energetic
democratic
intelligentsia.
The activity was
aimed to
improvement
the masses of the people.
Their shortcomings
class
elections;
limited circle
questions
solved
zemstvos.

25. Urban Reform

City reform began to be prepared in 1862, but because of the assassination attempt
on Alexander II, its implementation was delayed.
The city regulation was adopted in 1870.
The highest body of city self-government
remained the City Council.
Elections were held in three curiae.
Curia were formed on the basis of a property qualification.
A list of voters was compiled in descending order of the amount of paid
them city taxes.
Each curia paid 1/3 of taxes.
The first curia was the richest and smallest,
the third is the poorest and most numerous.
What do you think: city elections were held
on an all-estate or non-estate basis?
?

26. Urban Reform

City government:
Urban
thought
(administrative
organ)
Voters
1st Curia
elects
city ​​head
Urban
council
(executive
organ)
Voters
2nd curia
Voters
3rd curia

27. Urban Reform

Samara
mayor
P.V. Alabin.
The head of the city government was
elected mayor.
In large cities, the mayor
usually chose a nobleman
or a wealthy guild merchant.
Like zemstvos, city dumas and councils
were in charge of exclusively local
landscaping:
paving and street lighting, maintenance
hospitals, almshouses, orphanages and
city ​​schools,
trade
and industry
water supply device
and urban transport.

28. City reform of 1870 – “City position”

essence
Creation of bodies in the cities,
similar to zemstvos
by function and structure
city ​​head
supervised
City government
elected
City Duma as part of vowels
were elected by the population on a non-estate basis
28

29.

reforms
Urban
(1870)
Their meaning
Contributed
wide
segments of the population to
management that
served as a prerequisite
to form in
Russian civil
society and legal
states.
Their shortcomings
Activity
urban
self-government
controlled
state.

30. Judicial reform

31. Judicial reform - 1864

Principles of legal proceedings
Zemstvo assembly in the province. Engraving after a drawing by K. A. Trutovsky.
no estate
- the court's decision
does not depend on
class
accessories
accused
Selectivity -
justice of the peace
and jurors
Glasnost - on
court sessions
could
be present
public, press
could report
trial
process
Competitiveness -
participation in court
prosecutor's process
(accusation) and
lawyer (protection)
Independence -
couldn't judge
influence
administration

32. Judicial reform of 1864

Basis for reform
Judicial Statutes
introduction of jury trial
32

33. Judicial reform of 1864

Basis for reform
Referee
appointed
Ministry
justice
(principle
irremovability of judges)
Judicial Statutes
court introduction
jurors
Sentencing
according
with the law
based on the jury's verdict
33

34. Judicial reform of 1864

jurors
are chosen
from representatives of all classes (!)
based on property qualification
12 people
Take out
verdict (decision)
about guilt, its degree
or the innocence of the defendant
34

35. Judicial reform

Judges received high
salary.
Guilt decision
the accused was taken out
jurors
after hearing
witnesses and arguments
prosecutor and lawyer.
Juror
could become Russian
citizen from 25 to 70 years old
(qualifications - property and
settlement).
The court's decision could be
appealed.

36. Judicial reform of 1864

Additional elements
holding
judicial reform
Were created:
special courts for military personnel
special courts for clergy
magistrates' courts
to deal with minor civil and criminal offenses
36

37. Judicial reform of 1864

The structure of the judiciary in Russia
Senate
supreme judicial and cassation
(cassation - appeal,
lower court judgment appeal)
organ
Judicial chambers
District courts
Advocate
prosecutor
12 jurors (qualification)
Justices of the Peace
courts to consider
the most important things
and appeals
(complaint, appeal for reconsideration)
to decisions of district courts
Courts of First Instance.
Handles complex criminal cases
and civil cases
petty criminal and civil cases
37

38. Judicial reform

Misdemeanors and civil litigation
(claim amount up to 500 rubles)
dealt with the World Court.
World judge
dealt with things alone
could impose a fine (up to 300 rubles),
arrest for up to 3 months or imprisonment
imprisonment for up to 1 year.
Such a trial was simple, quick and cheap.
World judge.
Modern drawing.

39. Judicial reform

Elected Justice of the Peace
zemstvos or city dumas from
number of persons over 25 years of age, with
not lower than secondary education
and judicial experience from three
years.
The justice of the peace should
own real estate
for 15 thousand rubles.
County Congress of Justices of the Peace
Chelyabinsk district.
Appeal decisions
justice of the peace could be on
county convention
world judges.

40. Judicial reform

Modern drawing.
Public Participation:
Participated in the process
12 non-professional
judges - jurors
assessors.
jurors
issued a verdict:
"guilty";
"guilty,
but deserves
indulgence";
"not guilty".
Based on the verdict, the judge
rendered a verdict.

41. Judicial reform

Jurors.
Drawing from the beginning of the 20th century.
?
What can be said
about the composition of the board
jurors, judging
by this picture?
jurors
were elected provincial
zemstvo assemblies
and city councils
based
property qualification,
without regard to class
accessories.

42. Judicial reform

Competitiveness:
In a criminal trial, the accusation
was supported by the prosecutor, and the defense
the defendant was carried out by a lawyer
(attorney at law).
In a jury where the verdict depended
not from professional lawyers,
the role of the lawyer was enormous.
Major Russian lawyers:
K.K. Arseniev, N.P. Karabchevsky,
A.F. Koni, F.N. Plevako, V.D. Spasovich.
Fedor Nikiforovich
Plevako
(1842–1908)
appears in court.

43. Judicial reform

Publicity:
Admission to court hearings
public.
Judicial reports published
in press. Newspapers have special
court reporters.
Portrait of a lawyer
Vladimir Danilovich
Spasovich.
Hood. I.E. Repin.
1891.
Lawyer V.D. Spasovich:
"To a certain extent we are knights of the word
alive, free, more free
now than in print, which will not be appeased
the most zealous ferocious chairmen,
because while the chairman thinks
stop you, the word has already galloped
three versts and you can't get him back."

44. Judicial reform of 1864

Meaning
judicial reform
Created the most advanced
in the then world judicial
system.
Big step
in the development of the principle
"separation of powers"
and democracy
Saving Items
bureaucratic arbitrariness:
punishment
administratively
etc.
preserved a number of vestiges of the past:
special courts.
44

45. Military reform of the 60s - 70s. 19th century

Immediate
push -
defeat
Russia
in the Crimean
war 1853-1856
45

46. ​​Directions of military reform

Directions
Military
educational
establishments
Universal
military
duty
Rearmament
army and
fleet
The result is a mass army of a modern type

47. Military reform

Milyutin D.A.,
military
minister,
initiator
reforms.

48. Military reform

Dmitry Alekseevich
Milyutin
(1816–1912),
war minister
in 1861–1881
The first step in military reform was
repeal in 1855
military settlements.
In 1861, on the initiative of the new military
Minister D.A. Milyutin
service life has been shortened
from 25 to 16 years old.
In 1863 the army was abolished
Physical punishment.
In 1867 was introduced
new military court charter,
based on general principles judicial
reforms (glasnost, competitiveness).

49. Military reform

In 1863, a reform was carried out
military education:
cadet corps converted
to military schools.
Military gymnasiums gave a broad general
education (Russian and foreign
languages, mathematics, physics,
natural science, history).
The teaching load has doubled
but physical and military
training has been reduced.
Dmitry Alekseevich
Milyutin
(1816–1912),
war minister
in 1861–1881

50. 1) The creation of military gymnasiums and schools for the nobility, cadet schools for all classes, the opening of the Military Law Academy (1867) and the Naval

1) Creation of military gymnasiums and
schools for the nobility,
cadet schools for all classes,
opening of the Military Legal
Academy (1867) and
Naval Academy (1877)

51. According to the new charters, the task was to teach the troops only what is necessary in the war (shooting, loose formation, sapper business), the time

According to the new charters,
the task is to teach the troops only that
necessary in war (shooting,
loose system, sapper business),
reduced time for combat
training, bodily
punishment.

52. Military reform

?
What should be the main measure?
in the course of military reform?
Recruitment cancellation.
?
non-commissioned officer
Russian army.
Hood. V.D. Polenov.
Fragment.
What were the disadvantages
recruiting system?
Inability to quickly increase the army
in wartime, the need to maintain
large army in peacetime.
Recruitment was suitable for serfs,
but not for free people.

53. Military reform

?
Wahmister
dragoon regiment.
1886
What could replace
recruiting system?
Universal conscription.
Introduction of universal conscription
in Russia with its vast territory
required the development of the road network.
Only in 1870 was a commission created
to discuss this issue,
and January 1, 1874
manifesto was published
on the replacement of recruitment duty
universal military service.

54. Military reform

All men were subject to the call
at the age of 21.
Service life was 6 years in the army
and 7 years in the Navy.
The only ones exempted from conscription
breadwinners and only sons.
?
"Listed."
Hood.
ON. Kovalevsky.
Russian soldier
1870s in full
hiking layout.
What was the principle
the basis of military reform:
omnipresence or incompetence?
Formally, the reform was classless,
but in fact estate
largely preserved.

55. Military reform

?
What did they show
remnants of estates
in the Russian army
after 1874?
That the officer
the corps remained
mostly noble,
rank and file -
peasant.
Portrait of a Lieutenant
life guards
Hussar regiment
Count G. Bobrinsky.
Hood. K.E. Makovsky.
Drummer
life guards
Pavlovsky regiment.
Hood. A. Detail.

56. Military reform

During the military reform
benefits have been established for
recruits who had an average
or higher education.
Graduated from the gymnasium served 2 years,
graduates of the university - 6 months.
In addition to the reduced service life
they had the right to live not in the barracks,
and in private apartments.
Volunteer
6th Klyastitsky
hussars

57. Smooth-bore weapons were replaced with rifled ones, cast-iron guns were replaced with steel ones, the Kh. Byrd rifle was adopted by the Russian army

Smoothbore weapons were replaced
rifled,
cast iron tools were replaced with
steel,
adopted by the Russian army
rifle H. Berdan (berdanka),
the construction of the steam fleet began.

58. Military reform

?
In what way do you think social groups military
reform caused discontent and what were his motives?
The conservative nobility was dissatisfied with the fact that
that people from other classes got the opportunity
become officers.
Some nobles resented the fact that they could be called
soldiers along with the peasants.
The merchants were especially dissatisfied,
previously not subject to recruitment duty.
Merchants even offered to take care of the disabled if
they will be allowed to pay off the draft.

59. Military reforms of the 60s - 70s. 19th century

The most important element of the reform is
replacement of the recruiting system
universal conscription
Compulsory military service
for men of all classes from 20 years old
(6 years in the army, 7 years in the navy)
followed by a reserve
There were benefits for people
having higher and secondary education
(rights of volunteers),
the clergy were released
and some other categories of the population
Meaning
creation of massive combat-ready armed forces;
increasing the country's defense capability
59

60.

Military reform of 1874
The meaning of the reform:
the creation of a mass army of modern
type,
raised the authority of military service,
blow to the social order.
Disadvantages of the reform:
miscalculations in the system of organization and
armament of the troops.

61. Education reforms

61

62. Education reforms

school reform
1864
Formation of a new structure of primary and secondary education
Public schools
county
3 years
learning
Parish
since 1884
parochial
schools
Progymnasium
Urban
4 years
learning
6 years
learning
3 years
learning
Elementary education
62

63. School reform (Secondary education)

For the children of nobles and merchants were intended
classical and real gymnasiums.
"Charter of gymnasiums and progymnasiums" November 19, 1864
Progymnasium.
Training period
4 years
classical gymnasium
7 class,
study period 7 years
Real gymnasium
7 class
Term of study 7 years
Cooked
for admission
to the gymnasium.
located
in county
cities.
In a programme
classical gymnasiums
ancient
and foreign languages
ancient history,
ancient literature.
In a programme
real gymnasiums
dominated
maths, physics
and others
technical subjects

64. School reform

In 1872, the period of study in classical gymnasiums was
increased to 8 years (7th grade became two years old),
and from 1875 they officially became 8-class.
Real gymnasiums retained a 7-year term of study
and in 1872 they were transformed into real schools.
If graduates of classical gymnasiums entered
to universities without exams, the realists had to
take exams in ancient languages.
Without exams, they entered only technical universities.
?
What caused these restrictions?
for graduates of real schools?
In the classical gymnasiums, the children of the nobility more often studied,
in real life - the children of merchants and commoners.

65. University reform

Andrey Vasilievich
Golovnin
(1821-1886),
Minister of Education
in 1861–1866
University reform has become
first after the abolition of serfdom
rights that was caused
student unrest.
New university charter
instead of the Nikolaev charter of 1835
was adopted June 18, 1863.
The initiator of the new charter was
Minister of Education A.V. Golovnin.
The universities were given autonomy.
University councils were created
and faculties that elected
rector and deans,
awarded academic titles
distributed funds
by departments and faculties.

66. University reform

Andrey Vasilievich
Golovnin
(1821-1886),
Minister of Education
in 1861–1866
Universities have their own
censorship, received foreign
literature without customs clearance.
Universities have
own court and protection,
the police had no access
on the territory of the universities.
Golovnin proposed to create student
organizations and get them involved in
university government, but
State Council rejected it
sentence.
?
Why was this proposal
excluded from the charter of universities?

67. Reform in the field of public education

Changes in the education system
University charter
school charter
1863
1864
Autonomy
University Council established
Deciding all internal
questions
Rector election and
teachers
Restrictions lifted
for students
(their wrongdoings
considered
student court)
Gymnasiums
Classic
Prepared for
admission to
university
Real
Prepared for
admission to
higher
technical
educational
establishments

68. Women's education

Student.
Hood. ON THE. Yaroshenko.
In the 60s and 70s. appeared in Russia
women's higher education.
Women were not admitted to universities
but in 1869 the first
Higher women's courses.
The most popular courses are
open V.I. Guerrier in Moscow (1872)
and K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin
in Petersburg (1878)
On the courses Guerrier was only
verbal-historical faculty.
At Bestuzhev courses - mathematical
and verbal-historical department.
Studied in math
2/3 listeners.

69.

Education reforms
(1863-1864)
Significance of reforms:
expansion and improvement
education at all levels.
Disadvantages of the reforms:
inaccessibility of secondary and higher
education for all segments of the population.

70.

reforms
Their meaning
Their shortcomings
Judicial The most advanced in the then Preserved series
vestiges: special
(1864) The world's judicial system.
courts.
Miscalculations in the system
Military Establishment of a mass army
organizations and
(1874) modern type, raised
the authority of military service, armament of the troops.
blow to the social order.
Extension and
inaccessibility
AT
middle and higher
areas of improvement
education for
enlightenment of education at all levels.
all layers
eniya
population.
(1863-1864)

71. Results and significance of the reforms

brought
to a significant acceleration of the development of the country
brought Russia closer
to the level of the leading powers of the world
They were incomplete and incomplete.
In the 80s were replaced by counter-reforms of Alexander III
71

72. Significance of reforms

The advancement of the country along the path of capitalist development, along the path
Zemskoe
meeting
in the province.
by drawing
K.A. Democracy
Trutovsky.
transformation
feudal
MonarchyEngraving
into the bourgeois
and development
The reforms were a step away from
landed state to
legal
The reforms showed
that positive developments in
society can be achieved
not revolutions, but
transformations from above
in peaceful way

73. Summing up

?
What is the historical significance of the reforms of the 1960s and 1970s?
Thanks to the reforms of the 60-70s. many daily questions
lives were transferred from the jurisdiction of the bureaucracy
in the conduct of society in the face of zemstvos and city dumas;
the equality of Russian citizens before the law was established;
significantly increased the level of literacy of the population;
Universities got a greater degree of freedom
scientific and educational activities;
censorship for the central press and book publishing was softened;
the army began to be built on the basis of a classless universal military
duty, which corresponded to the principle of equality before the law and
allowed to create prepared reserves.

Alexander II before the coronation and in the first years of his reign.

Alexander II - Emperor of All Russia, the eldest son of Emperor Nikolai Pavlovich and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, was born in Moscow on April 17, 1818.

Naturally, great importance was given to the upbringing and education of the future monarch. His educators were General Merder (company commander at the school of guards ensigns, who had remarkable pedagogical abilities, “a meek disposition and a rare mind”), M. M. Speransky, E. F. Kankrin. No less significant was the influence of another mentor - the famous poet Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky, the head of his class studies. I would like to dwell in more detail on the education system of Zhukovsky, which provided not only general knowledge of the then accepted extensive set of subjects and four foreign languages, but also purely specialized knowledge: about the state, its laws, finances, foreign policy and formed a system of worldview. The basic principles of the upbringing of the Tsarevich looked like this:

Where I am? Nature, its laws. In this part of the program, natural science subjects are connected with the idea of ​​"God in nature".

Who am I? The doctrine of man, united by Christian doctrine.

What was I? History, sacred history.

What should I be? Private and public morality.

What am I meant for? Revelation religion, metaphysics, the concept of God and the immortality of the soul.

And at the end (and not at the beginning) law, social history, state economy, statistics arising from everything.

The acquired knowledge was reinforced by numerous travels. He was the first of the royal family to visit (in 1837) Siberia, and the result of this visit was to mitigate the fate of political exiles. Later, while in the Caucasus, the Tsarevich distinguished himself during the attack of the highlanders, for which he was awarded the Order of St. George 4th degree. In 1837, at the request of Nicholas I, he undertook a trip to Europe for educational purposes. He traveled to Switzerland, Austria, Italy and stayed for a long time in Berlin, Weimar, Munich, Vienna, Turin, Florence, Rome and Naples.

A major role in the life of Alexander II was played by a visit to Darmstadt, where he met Princess Maximilian-Wilhelmina-Augusta-Sophia-Maria (born July 27, 1824), the adopted daughter of Louis II, Duke of Hesse, who soon became the wife of the Tsarevich, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna.

From the age of 16, Alexander successfully took part in management affairs, first sporadically, and then systematically. At the age of 26 he became a "full general" and had a fairly professional military training. AT last years reign of Emperor Nicholas and during his travels he repeatedly replaced his father.

Alexander II ascended the throne on February 19, 1855 at the age of 36. He was to go down in history under the name of the Liberator. Already on the day of the coronation, August 26, the new manifesto of the sovereign was marked by a number of favors. Recruitment was suspended for three years, all state arrears, miscalculations, etc., were forgiven; various criminals were released, or at least the punishment was mitigated, including an amnesty for political prisoners - the surviving Decembrists, Petrashevites, participants in the Polish uprising of 1831; Recruitment of minor Jews was canceled, and recruitment between the latter was ordered to be carried out on a general basis; free travel abroad was allowed, etc. But all these measures were only the threshold of those global reforms that marked the reign of Alexander II.

During this period, the Crimean War was in full swing and took an unfavorable turn, where Russia had to deal with the combined forces of almost all the major European powers. Despite his peacefulness, which was also known in Europe, Alexander expressed his firm determination to continue the struggle and achieve peace, which was soon achieved. Representatives of seven states (Russia, France, Austria, England, Prussia, Sardinia and Turkey) gathered in Paris, and on March 18, 1856, a peace treaty was concluded. The peace of Paris, although not beneficial for Russia, was nevertheless honorable for her in view of such numerous and powerful opponents. However, its disadvantageous side - the limitation of Russian naval forces on the Black Sea - was eliminated during the life of Alexander II.

Reforms of the 60-70s under Alexander II.

The need for reform.

At the end of the Crimean War, many internal shortcomings were revealed Russian state. Changes were needed, and the country was looking forward to them. Then the emperor uttered the words that became for a long time the slogan of Russia: "Let her internal improvement be affirmed and improved; let truth and mercy reign in her courts; let the desire for enlightenment and all useful activity develop everywhere and with renewed vigor ..."

In the first place, of course, was the idea of ​​liberating the serfs. In his speech to representatives of the Moscow nobility, Alexander II said: "It is better to cancel it from above than to wait until it is itself canceled from below." There was no other way out, since every year the peasants expressed their dissatisfaction with the existing system more and more. The corvée form of exploitation of the peasant expanded, which caused crisis situations. First of all, the productivity of the labor of the serfs began to decline, as the landowners wanted to produce more products and thereby undermined the strength of the peasant economy. The most far-sighted landowners realized that forced labor was much inferior in productivity to hired labor (For example, a large landowner A.I. Koshelev wrote about this in his article “Hunting more than captivity” in 1847). But hiring workers required considerable expenses from the landowner at a time when serf labor was free. Many landowners tried to introduce new farming systems, apply the latest technology, purchase improved varieties of thoroughbred cattle, and so on. Unfortunately, such measures led them to ruin and, accordingly, to increased exploitation of the peasants. The debts of landowners' estates to credit institutions grew. Further development of the economy on the serf system was impossible. In addition, having existed in Russia much longer than in European countries, it has taken very harsh forms.

However, there is another point of view regarding this reform, according to which, by the middle of the 19th century, serfdom was still far from exhausting its capabilities and opposition to the government was very weak. Neither economic nor social catastrophe threatened Russia, but by retaining serfdom, it could drop out of the ranks of the great powers.

The peasant reform entailed the transformation of all aspects of state and public life. A number of measures were envisaged to restructure local government, the judiciary, education and, later, the army. These were really major changes, comparable only to the reforms of Peter I.

Abolition of serfdom.

On January 3, 1857, the first significant step was taken, which served as the beginning of the reform: the creation of the Secret Committee under the direct supervision and chairmanship of the emperor himself. It included: Prince Orlov, Count Lanskoy, Count Bludov, Minister of Finance Brock, Count V.F. Adlerberg, Prince V.A. Dolgorukov, Minister of State Property M.N. Muravyov, Prince P.P. Gagarin, Baron M. A. Korf and Ya. I. Rostovtsev. The purpose of the committee was designated as "discussion of measures to organize the life of the landlord peasants." Thus, the government tried to get initiative from the nobility in resolving this issue. The word "liberation" has not yet been spoken. But the committee acted very sluggishly. More precise actions began to be carried out later.

February 1858. The secret committee was renamed the “Main Committee on the Landlord Peasants Coming Out of Serfdom”, and a year later (March 4, 1859), Editorial Commissions were established under the committee, which reviewed the materials prepared by the provincial committees and drafted a law on the emancipation of the peasants. . There were two opinions here: the majority of the landlords proposed to free the peasants without land at all or with small allotments, while the liberal minority proposed to release them with land for redemption. At first, Alexander II shared the majority's point of view, but then he came to the conclusion that it was necessary to allocate land to the peasants. Historians usually associate such a decision with the strengthening of the peasant movement: the Tsar was afraid of a repetition of the “Pugachevism”. But no less important role was played by the presence in the government of an influential grouping, called the "liberal bureaucracy".

The draft "Regulations on the Peasants" was practically prepared at the end of August 1859, but for some time it was subject to minor corrections and clarifications. In October 1860, the Editorial Commissions, having completed their work, handed over the draft to the Main Committee, where it was discussed again and underwent further changes, but this time in favor of the landowners. On January 28, 1861, the project was submitted for consideration by the last instance - State Council, who accepted them with some changes, in the sense of reducing the size of the peasant allotment.

Finally, on February 19, 1861, the "Regulations on the peasants who emerged from serfdom", which included 17 legislative acts, were signed by Alexander II. On the same day, the manifesto “On the most merciful granting to serfs of the rights of the state of free rural inhabitants” followed, in which it was proclaimed the release of 22.6 million peasants from serfdom.

The "Regulations" applied to 45 provinces of European Russia, in which there were 112,000 landowners' estates. First of all, it was declared obligatory for the landowner to allocate his former peasants, in addition to the estate land, arable and haymaking in a certain amount. Secondly, it was declared obligatory for the peasants to accept the allotment and keep in their use, for the duties established in favor of the landowner, the secular land allotted to them during the first nine years (until February 19, 1870). After nine years, individual members of the community were given the right both to leave it and to refuse to use field lands and lands if they bought their estate; the society itself also receives the right not to accept for its use such plots that individual peasants refuse. Thirdly, with regard to the size of the peasant allotment and the payments associated with it, according to general rules, it is customary to base on voluntary agreements between landowners and peasants, for which purpose to conclude a charter charter through mediators established by the situation, their congresses and provincial presences for peasant affairs, and in western provinces - and special verification commissions.

The “Regulation”, however, was not limited to the rules for allocating land to the peasants for permanent use, but made it easier for them to buy the allotted plots into their property with the help of a state redemption operation, and the government gave the peasants a certain amount on credit for the land they acquired with payment by installments for 49 years and, giving this amount to the landowner in state interest-bearing papers, he took all further settlements with the peasants upon himself. Upon approval by the government of the redemption transaction, all obligatory relations between the peasants and the landowner were terminated, and the latter entered the category of peasant proprietors.

"Regulations" were gradually extended to the peasants of the palace, appanage, ascribed and state.

But as a result of this, the peasantry remained bound by the community, and the land allocated to it turned out to be clearly insufficient to meet the needs of an ever-growing population. The peasant remained completely dependent on the rural community (the former “world”), which, in turn, was completely controlled by the authorities; personal allotments were transferred to the ownership of peasant societies, which periodically redistributed them “equalizing”.

In the spring and summer of 1861, the peasants, who did not receive, as expected, "full freedom", organized many uprisings. Outrage was caused by such facts as, for example: for two years the peasants remained subordinate to the landowner, were obliged to pay dues and perform corvée, were deprived of a significant part of the land, and those allotments that were given to them as property had to be redeemed from the landowner. During 1861 there were 1860 peasant uprisings. Peasant performances in the village of Bezdna, Kazan province, are considered one of the largest. Subsequently, disappointment with the inconsistency of the reform was growing not only among former serfs: articles by A. Herzen and N. Ogarev in Kolokol, N. Chernyshevsky in Sovremennik.

Land reform.

After the peasant "Regulations" in a number of administrative reforms, one of the most important places is occupied, without any doubt, by the "Regulations on provincial and district zemstvo institutions", which was published on January 1, 1864.

According to the regulation, non-estate elected bodies of local self-government - zemstvos - were introduced. They were elected by all estates for a three-year term and consisted of administrative bodies (county and provincial zemstvo assemblies) and executive bodies (county and provincial zemstvo councils). Elections to zemstvo administrative bodies - meetings of vowels (deputies) - were held on the basis of a property qualification, by curia. The first curia (landowners) consisted of owners of land from 200 to 800 acres or real estate worth from 15,000 rubles. The second curia (city) united the owners of urban industrial and commercial establishments with an annual turnover of at least 6,000 rubles and owners of real estate for at least 2,000 rubles. The elections for the third curia (rural peasant societies) were multistage. Zemstvo assemblies elected executive bodies - zemstvo councils - consisting of a chairman and several members.

Zemstvos were deprived of any political functions, their activities were limited mainly to solving local issues. They were responsible for public education, for public health, for the timely delivery of food, for the quality of roads, for insurance, for veterinary care, and much more.

All this required a lot of money, so the zemstvos were allowed to introduce new taxes, impose duties on the population, and form zemstvo capitals. With its full development, zemstvo activity was supposed to cover all aspects of local life. New forms of local self-government not only made it all-class, but also expanded the range of its powers. Self-government was so widespread that many were understood as a transition to a representative form of government, so the government soon became noticeable desire to keep the activities of zemstvos at the local level, and not allow zemstvo corporations to communicate with each other.

In the late 1970s, zemstvos were introduced into 35 out of 59 Russian provinces.

City reform (in continuation of the Zemstvo).

On June 16, 1870, the "City Regulations" were published, according to which elective self-government was introduced in 509 out of 1130 cities - city dumas elected for four years. The city duma (administrative body) elected its permanent executive body - the city government, which consisted of the mayor (also elected for four years) and several members. The mayor was simultaneously the chairman of both the city duma and the city government. City councils were under the control of government officials.

The right to elect and be elected to the city duma had the right only to residents with a property qualification (mainly owners of houses, commercial and industrial establishments, banks). The first electoral assembly included large taxpayers who contributed a third of city taxes, the second - smaller ones, paying another third of taxes, the third - all the rest. In the largest cities, the number of vowels (elected) averaged 5.6% of the population. Thus, the bulk of the urban population was excluded from participation in urban self-government.

The competence of city self-government was limited to solving purely economic issues (improvement of cities, construction of hospitals, schools, care for the development of trade, fire prevention measures, city taxation).

Judicial reform.

Among the reforms, one of the leading places undoubtedly belongs to the judicial reform. This deeply thought-out reform had a strong and direct influence on the entire system of state and public life. She introduced into it completely new, long-awaited principles - the complete separation of the judiciary from the administrative and accusatory, the publicity and openness of the court, the independence of judges, the advocacy and the adversarial procedure for legal proceedings.

The country was divided into 108 judicial districts.

The essence of judicial reform is as follows:

The court is made oral and public;

The power of the judiciary is separated from the prosecution and belongs to the courts without any participation of the administrative power;

The main form of legal proceedings is the adversarial process;

The case on the merits can be dealt with no more than in two instances. Two types of courts were introduced: world and general. The magistrate's courts, represented by a magistrate, tried criminal and civil cases, the damage in which did not exceed 500 rubles. Justices of the peace were elected by district zemstvo assemblies, approved by the Senate, and could be dismissed only at their own request or by court order. The general court consisted of three instances: the district court, the judicial chamber, the Senate. The district courts heard serious civil suits and criminal (juror) cases. The Trial Chambers heard appeals and were the court of first instance for political and state affairs. The Senate was the highest judicial instance and could cancel the decisions of the courts submitted for cassation.

In cases of crimes involving punishments, connected with the deprivation of all or some of the rights and advantages of the state, the determination of guilt is left to jurors, elected from local residents of all classes;

Eliminates clerical secrecy;

Both for intercession in cases and for the defense of defendants, there are sworn attorneys at the courts, who are under the supervision of special councils composed of the same corporation.

Judicial statutes extended to 44 provinces and were introduced into them for more than thirty years.

In 1863, a law was passed that abolished corporal punishment with gauntlets, whips, whips and brands on the verdicts of civil and military courts. Women were completely exempted from corporal punishment. But the rods were kept for the peasants (according to the verdicts of the volost courts), for the exiled, hard labor and penal soldiers.

military reform.

The military administration has also undergone transformations.

Already at the beginning of the reign, military settlements were destroyed. Degrading corporal punishment was abolished.

Particular attention was paid to raising the level of general education of army officers through the reform of military educational institutions. Military gymnasiums and cadet schools with a two-year term of study were created. They included persons of all classes.

In January 1874, all-class military service was proclaimed. The Supreme Manifesto on this occasion said: "Protection of the throne and the Fatherland is the sacred duty of every Russian subject ...". Under the new law, all young people who have reached the age of 21 are called up, but the government determines the required number of recruits every year, and draws only this number from the recruits (usually no more than 20-25% of recruits were called up for service). The call was not subject to the only son of the parents, the only breadwinner in the family, and also if the older brother of the recruit is serving or has served his service. Those enlisted in the service are listed in it: in the ground forces 15 years: 6 years in the ranks and 9 years in the reserve, in the navy - 7 years of active service and 3 years in the reserve. For those who have received primary education, the term of active service is reduced to 4 years, those who have graduated from a city school - up to 3 years, a gymnasium - up to one and a half years, and those who have higher education - up to six months.

Thus, the result of the reform was the creation of a small peacetime army with a significant trained reserve in case of war.

The system of military command and control has undergone fundamental changes in order to strengthen control over the locations of troops. The result of this revision was approved on August 6, 1864 "Regulations on the military district administrations." Based on this "Regulations", nine military districts were initially organized, and then (August 6, 1865) four more. In each district, a chief commander was appointed, appointed at the direct highest discretion, bearing the title of commander of the troops of the military district. This position may also be assigned to the local governor-general. In some districts, an assistant to the commander of the troops is also appointed.

By the end of the 19th century, the number of the Russian army was (per 130 million people): officers, doctors and officials - 47 thousand, lower ranks - 1 million 100 thousand. Then these figures declined and reached 742,000 people, while the military potential was maintained.

In the 60s, at the insistence of the Ministry of War, railways were built to the western and southern borders of Russia, and in 1870 railway troops appeared. During the 70s, the technical re-equipment of the army was basically completed.

Caring for the defenders of the Motherland was manifested in everything, even in small things. For example, for more than a hundred years (until the 80s of the XIX century), boots were sewn without distinction between the right and left legs. It was believed that during a combat alarm, a soldier had no time to think about which boot to wear, on which leg.

Special treatment was given to the prisoners. Soldiers who were taken prisoner and were not in the service of the enemy, upon returning home, received a salary from the state for the entire time they were in captivity. The prisoner was considered a victim. And those who distinguished themselves in battles were waiting for military awards. Orders of Russia were especially highly valued. They gave such privileges that they even changed the position of a person in society.

financial reforms.

One of the main means of raising the economic power of the country was considered to be the construction of a network of railways linking the central regions of the European part of Russia. In connection with it, foreign leave increased 10 times, and the import of goods almost also increased. The number of commercial and industrial enterprises increased markedly, as well as the number of factories and plants. Credit institutions appeared - banks, headed by the State Bank (1860).

It was at this time that the first coal-mining and metallurgical enterprises were created in Ukraine and oil-producing enterprises in Baku.

Reforms in the field of education.

Public education also attracted the attention of the king. Of particular importance in this regard was the publication of a new and general charter of Russian universities on July 18, 1863, in the development of which, on the initiative of the Minister of Education A. V. Golovkin, a special commission at the main board of schools, composed mainly of professors from St. Petersburg University, participated. The charter granted the universities a fairly broad autonomy: the election of the rector, deans, professors was introduced, the University Council received the right to independently resolve all scientific, educational, administrative and financial issues. And in connection with the development of universities, science began to develop at a rapid pace.

According to the Regulations on Primary Public Schools approved on June 14, 1864, the state, church and society (zemstvos and cities) were to jointly educate the people.

On November 19, 1864, a new regulation on gymnasiums appeared, which proclaimed equality in admission to all estates. But because of the high pay, it was available only to children of wealthy parents.

Attention was also paid to women's education. Already in the 60s, instead of the former closed women's institutions, open ones began to be arranged, with the admission of girls of all classes, and these new institutions were under the authority of the institutions of Empress Maria. Similar gymnasiums began to be approved by the Ministry of Public Education. In 1870, on May 24, a new Regulation on Women's Gymnasiums and Progymnasiums of the Ministry of Public Education was approved. The need for higher female education led to the establishment of pedagogical courses and higher female courses in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kyiv, Kazan and Odessa.

Reforms in the field of printing.

The reform of the press also had a profound and beneficial effect on the development of public consciousness.

In 1857, the government put the question of revising the censorship charter on the agenda. After the permission in 1858 to discuss in the press the problems of social life and the activities of the government, the number of periodicals (1860 - 230) and book titles (1860 -2058) increased sharply.

Already in 1862, the main department of censorship was closed and part of its duties was assigned to the Ministry of the Interior, and the other - directly to the Minister of Education.

On April 6, 1865, the “Temporary Rules on the Press” were approved, which exempted from preliminary censorship original works of at least ten pages, and translated works of at least twenty sheets, and some periodicals at the discretion of the Minister of the Interior. For periodicals, a large cash deposit was additionally required. Official and scientific publications were exempted from censorship.

The "Temporary Rules on the Press" operated practically unchanged for 40 years.

The assassination of the emperor.

Emperor Alexander II, who caused delight and surprise of enlightened people of the whole world, also met ill-wishers. Pursuing incomprehensible goals, the organizers created a number of attempts on the life of the sovereign, who was the pride and glory of Russia. On March 1, 1881, the sovereign, for whom a large population was ready to lay down his life, died a martyr's death from a villainous hand that threw an explosive projectile.

On this fateful day, Emperor Alexander II decided to make a divorce (the procedure for sending out daily guards for a shift). The path lay along a narrow street, made up of the garden of the Grand Duchess, fenced with a stone fence the height of a man and a lattice of the Catherine Canal. The terrain is very impassable, and if it is true that the sovereign chose it in view of the anonymous threats he received, then it is difficult to imagine why an ambush awaited him precisely on this path, except because they noticed a large, against the usual, number of police on it. Be that as it may, but when the sovereign's carriage reached the Theater Bridge, there was an explosion that broke open the back of the carriage, which immediately stopped. The sovereign emerged from it unharmed, but one of the escorts, galloping behind, and a sapper officer, walking along the sidewalk along the stone wall of the Mikhailovsky Garden, were mortally wounded by a thrown bomb. The sovereign's coachman, sensing trouble, turned to him from the goat: "Let's go, sovereign!" The chief of police, galloping behind, jumped out of the sleigh with the same request to go faster. But the emperor did not listen and took a few steps back: "I want to see my wounded." At this time, the crowd managed to stop a healthy kid who threw a bomb. The sovereign turned to him: “So it was you who wanted to kill me?” But he did not succeed in finishing, as the second bomb exploded in front of him, and he lowered himself with the words: “Help.” They rushed to him, lifted him up, put the chief of police in the sledge (who himself received 45 wounds from small fragments of the bomb, but not a single fatal one) and drove him away. A little over an hour later, at 3:35 pm, Tsar Alexander II died in the Winter Palace.

The eminent Russian philosopher V. V. Rozanov called the assassination of the emperor "a mixture of Madness and Meanness."

The political testament of Alexander II was destroyed. Alexander III, in the consciousness of his past delusions and in an effort to return to the ideal of the kings of Moscow, turned to the people with a manifesto, which affirmed the inviolability of autocratic power and the exclusive responsibility of the autocrat before God.

The Russian Empire thus returned to the old traditional paths on which it had once found glory and prosperity.

Significance of the reign of Alexander II in the history of Russia.

Alexander II left a deep mark on history, he managed to do what other autocrats were afraid to take on - the liberation of the peasants from serfdom. We enjoy the fruits of his reforms to this day.

The internal reforms of Alexander II are comparable in scale only to the reforms of Peter I. The reformer tsar made truly grandiose transformations without social cataclysms and fratricidal war.

With the abolition of serfdom, commercial and industrial activity "resurrected", a stream of workers poured into the cities, and new areas for entrepreneurship opened up. Old ties were restored between cities and counties and new ones were created.

The fall of serfdom, the equalization of all before the court, the creation of new liberal forms of social life led to the freedom of the individual. And the feeling of this freedom awakened the desire to develop it. Dreams were created about the establishment of new forms of family and social life.

During his reign, Russia firmly strengthened its relations with the European powers, and resolved numerous conflicts with neighboring countries.

The tragic death of the emperor greatly changed the further course of history, and it was this event that 35 years later led Russia to death, and Nicholas II to a martyr's wreath.