Page "History of Russia" Paragraph 83

When Alexander II came to the throne in 1855, desire for reform was widespread.

The most pressing problem which confronted the Government was that of serfdom.

In 1859, there were 23 million serfs ( total population of Russia 67. 1 Million ).

Alexander II made up his own mind to abolish serfdom from above rather than wait for it to be abolished from below through revolution.

The emancipation of the serfs in 1861 was the single most important event in 19th-century Russian history.

It was the beginning of the end for the landed aristocracy's monopoly of power.

Emancipation brought a supply of free labor to the cities, industry was stimulated, and the middle class grew in number and influence.

The freed peasants had to buy land, allotted to them, from the landowners with the state assistance.

The Government issued special bonds to the landowners for the land that they had lost, and collected a special tax from the peasants, called redemption payments, at a rate of 5 % of the total cost of allotted land yearly.

All the land turned over to the peasants was owned collectively by the mir, the village community, which divided the land among the peasants and supervised the various holdings.