The content of Alexander's education reform 2. Positive results of the reform

Very different from all previous Russian 19th century reforms(and even more so from 18th century reforms).

1. Peasant reform of Alexander. On February 19, 1861, the abolition of serfdom. The reforms, of course, were spontaneous and unfinished. However, all the peasants became free. Not all of them were ready for this, and many simply could not find themselves after their release. The only serious disadvantage of the reform was its implementation during the economic crisis. All other shortcomings were a matter of time. The main "advantage" was that the peasants were not just driven out into the street, but received plots of land for use with the right to purchase on credit.
2. In 1857 they were liquidated military settlements founded by Alexander I.
3. In 1863, a financial reform took place in order to modernize the financial structure of the state under the capitalist industrial type of state economy (according to the European model). Was created National Bank.
4. In the same year, the education reform took place ( University charter). The result was a global transformation in the structure of higher education. Universities have become more independent and similar to the current institutions of higher education.
5. In 1864, a Zemstvo reform(reform of local self-government, which gave more powers to local authorities).
6. The judicial reform of the same year also brought the structure of judicial institutions closer to the modern look.
7. 1870 - the year of the reform of urban self-government (gave impetus to the industrial development of cities).
8. In 1871, the education reform was finally completed. This time, Alexander took up secondary education not without the help of the Minister of Education Dmitry Tolstoy.
9. In 1874, a military reform was carried out. The reform was multi-structural and affected military education, technological issues, organizational issues, uniforms and many other nuances, such as the abolition of corporal punishment or the introduction of compulsory military service instead of recruitment and military settlements.

reforms Alexander II in the 60s-70s of the 19th century they became really “ Great Reforms”, although not all were completed. Nevertheless, the Russian Empire became in fact a state of law. In addition, these changes resolved many social and economic problems in society and made it possible for the normal development of industry in the country.

In 1880, Alexander II began to develop the Constitution of the Russian Empire, but did not have time to complete it due to death.

Death of Alexander II.

Many historians of the Soviet era describe the general discontent of the people Alexander's domestic politicsII. In fact, this information is greatly exaggerated. The fact is that in several multinational cities of the Russian Empire (primarily in Moscow and St. Petersburg), the radical "intelligentsia" decided to continue the activities of failed revolutionaries ( Decembrists).

Secret organizations began to form throughout the country. Some of them even had several cells in different cities. Most of these terrorist organizations were sponsored from abroad by supporters of the expansion of the Russian Empire, and there were enough of them in Europe.

Over the last 15 years of the reign of Alexander II, six assassination attempts were made on him. At least three recent assassination attempts were organized by a radical terrorist group " People's Will”, the ideas of which, in fact, were far from the popular will.

1. 1866 - a bullet whistled over Alexander's head in St. Petersburg.
2. 1867 - in Paris, a Polish terrorist fired, but hit a horse.
3. 1879 - in St. Petersburg, a terrorist shot four times at the emperor, but he had serious problems with shooting, because not a single bullet reached the target.
4. 1879 - "Narodnaya Volya" blew up a train car, but the emperor, by a lucky chance, moved to another train before that.
5. 1880 - the same individuals planted an explosive device in the Winter Palace, but Alexander did not have time before the explosion, as he was delayed due to a meeting with the Prince of Hesse.
6. On March 1, 1881, Rysakov, a Narodnaya Volya member, threw a bomb into the imperial carriage on Malaya Sadovaya in St. Petersburg. Alexander Nikolaevich was not injured, but the Cossack of his Life Guards was seriously wounded. Despite the requests of the guardsmen, the emperor jumped out of the carriage and bent over the wounded man, trying to help him. At this moment, another Narodnaya Volya Grinevitsky crept up to the emperor and threw a bomb at his feet. An hour later, the All-Russian Emperor died of wounds incompatible with life in the Winter Palace. Grinevitsky was killed immediately by his own bomb. In addition, the same wounded Life Guardsman and a passer-by, a 14-year-old boy from a butcher shop, died as a result of the assassination attempt. Another 17 people were injured.

All participants in the crime were captured (only 6 people) and sentenced to death. Just on this day, Alexander II was going to approve the draft constitution, but it did not work out.

Unfortunately, the entire "Narodnaya Volya" could not be identified and liquidated. A little later, this organization broke away " Terrorist faction", one of the members of which was the elder brother IN AND. Lenin .

After the death of Alexander II, his second son Alexander Alexandrovich ascended the throne (

The economic process and the further development of social life in Russia were seriously hampered by the low educational level of the population and the lack of a system of mass training of specialists. In 1864 a new provision was introduced about elementary public schools, according to which the state, church and society (zemstvos and cities) were to jointly educate the people. In the same year it was approved charter of gymnasiums, proclaiming the availability of secondary education for all classes and religions. Adopted the year before university charter, which returned autonomy to universities: the election of the rector, deans, professors was introduced; the university council received the right to independently decide all scientific, educational, administrative and financial issues. The results were not long in coming: by 1870 there were 17,700 elementary schools of all kinds, with about 600,000 students enrolled; the number of university students increased by 1.5 times. It was, of course, not enough, but incomparably more than in the pre-reform period. The internal unity and liberal orientation of the entire complex of reforms 60s - 70s allowed Russia to take an important step towards bourgeois monarchy and introduce new legal principles into the functioning of the state mechanism; gave an impetus to the formation of civil society, caused a social and cultural upsurge in the country. These are the undoubted achievements and positive results of the reforms of Alexander II.

Military reforms (60s - 70s)

By revising military reform one should take into account its dependence not only on the socio-economic situation in the country, but also on the realities of the international situation of those years. Second half of the 19th century characterized by the formation of relatively stable military coalitions, which increased the threat of war and led to a rapid buildup of the military potential of all powers. Emerging in the middle of the XIX century. the decomposition of the state system of Russia was reflected in the state of the army. The unrest in the army was clearly revealed, there were cases of revolutionary actions, there was a decline in military discipline. The first changes were made in the army already in the late 50s and early 60s. Military settlements were finally abolished.

FROM 1862 A gradual reform of local military administration was begun on the basis of the creation of military districts. A new system of military administration was being created, eliminating excessive centralization and facilitating the rapid deployment of the army in case of war. The Military Ministry and the General Staff were reorganized.

AT 1865 began to be carried out military judicial reform. Its foundations were built on the principles of openness and competitiveness of the military court, on the rejection of the vicious system of corporal punishment. Three courts have been established: regimental, military district and chief military courts, which duplicated the main links of the general judicial system of Russia.

The development of the army largely depended on the availability of a well-trained officer corps. In the mid-1960s, more than half of the officers had no education at all. It was necessary to resolve two important issues: significantly improve the training of officers and open access to officer ranks not only for nobles and non-commissioned officers who had served, but also for representatives of other classes. For this purpose, military and cadet schools were created with a short period of study - 2 years, in which people who graduated from secondary educational institutions were admitted.

On January 1, 1874, the charter on military service was approved. The entire male population over the age of 21 was subject to conscription. For the army, basically, a 6-year term of active service and a 9-year stay in the reserve were established (for the fleet - 7 and 3). Numerous benefits have been established. The only son of the parents, the only breadwinner in the family, some national minorities, etc. were exempted from active service. The new system made it possible to have a relatively small army in peacetime and significant reserves in case of war. The army has become modern - in structure, weapons, and education.

Introduction.

Personality of Alexander II.

military reform.

university reform.

censorship reform.

The value of the reforms.

Conclusion.

List of used literature.

Introduction.

By the middle of the XIX century. the lag of Russia in the economic and socio-political spheres, from the advanced capitalist countries, was clearly expressed. A number of international events revealed a significant weakening of the Russian state in the foreign policy field. This was fully denounced by the Crimean War (1853-1856), which revealed all the internal inconsistency of our fatherland, and our former way of life. And as a result, the need to carry out a complete transformation of many spheres of public life appeared.

The reign of Emperor Alexander II (1855-1881) was marked by a number of "great reforms" that significantly advanced Russian life. Of these transformations, the most important are: the liberation of the peasants, in 1861 and the publication of the "regulations on the organization of the peasants", the granting to the subjects in 1864 of a public, right, speedy, gracious and native court for all, zemstvo and city self-government, the publication in 1874 of the charter of military service, mandatory for all classes of the state, the establishment of a number of universities, the opening of women's gymnasiums and pro-gymnasiums, and the improvement of communications.

The activities of Alexander II ceased due to his death on March 1, 1881 at the hands of the killers, but in history the name “Liberator” was assigned to him.

Personality of AlexanderII.

Alexander Nikolaevich, the eldest son of Emperor Nicholas I and his wife Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, ascended the throne on February 18, 1855. He was crowned on August 26, 1856 in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.

The accession of Alexander II to the throne took place under very difficult circumstances. According to the dying Emperor Nicholas I, Alexander II received "a command not in good order", and the first years of the reign of the new sovereign were devoted to the elimination of the Eastern War and the difficult orders of the Nicholas time. Society, dissatisfied with the despotic and bureaucratic rule of Nicholas I, was looking for reasons for the failure of his foreign policy. Peasant uprisings became more frequent. The radicals stepped up their activities. All this could not help but force the new owner of the Winter Palace to think about the course of his domestic policy.

With regard to foreign policy, the new autocrat showed himself to be a follower of the "principles of the Holy Alliance", which led the policy of the emperors Alexander II and Nicholas I. Thus, Europe had the right to consider Alexander the direct successor to his father's policy and an adherent of the obsolete principles of the Congress of Vienna. However, the practice of Alexander II and his new government showed significant differences from the previous regime. There was a breath of gentleness and tolerance, characteristic of the temperament of the new monarch.

But, since the accession of Alexander Nikolaevich to the throne took place during the Crimean War, where Russia had to deal with the combined forces of almost all the main European states, and the war took on an unfavorable turn for the country. The new emperor, despite his peacefulness, which was known even in Europe, showed a strong determination to continue the fight and achieve an honorable peace.

Which was almost impossible, because, although the Russian army numbered more than 1 million people at the beginning of hostilities, its technical equipment left much to be desired. The smooth-bore guns in service were inferior to the rifled weapons of the Western European armies, and the artillery was also outdated. The Russian fleet was predominantly sailing, while the navies of Europe were dominated by ships with steam engines. There were also no well-established communications, which led to a shortage of ammunition, food and cannon fodder. All these points indicate that the Russian army was initially unable to wage war with Europe on an equal footing. Nevertheless, the heroism of the Russian people in this war is amazing. The steadfastness and courage of the Russian troops, while defending Sevastopol, caused enthusiastic surprise even from the enemies; the names of Kornilov, Nakhimov and others were covered with unfading glory. The fall of Sevastopol, however, did not bring significant benefits to the enemy.

On the other hand, the Russians were to some extent rewarded with success in Asia Minor: Kars - this impregnable fortress, reinforced by the British - was taken on November 16 by General Muravyov with all his numerous garrison. This success gave Russia the opportunity to show its readiness for peace. The allies, also weary of the war, were willing to enter into negotiations, which began through the court of Vienna.

As a result, at the end of March 1856, the Treaty of Paris was signed. Russia did not suffer significant territorial losses. But she was given a humiliating condition on the so-called "neutralization" of the Black Sea. Russia was forbidden to have naval forces, military arsenals and fortresses in this water basin, which dealt a significant blow to the security of the southern borders. The role of Russia in the Balkans and the Middle East was reduced to nothing.

The Peace of Paris concluded on March 18, 1856, although it was unfavorable for Russia, was nevertheless honorable for her in view of such numerous and strong opponents as France, Austria, England, Prussia, Sardinia and Turkey. However, its disadvantageous side - the limitation of the naval forces of Russia on the Black Sea - was eliminated during the life of Alexander II by a statement on October 19, 1870.

But, most importantly, the disadvantages of this treaty were atoned for by the good of peace itself, which made it possible to turn all attention to internal reforms, the urgency of which became obvious.

The shock that Russia experienced from the defeat in the Crimean War forced the government to embark on socio-political transformations. As mentioned above, the Crimean War exposed all the internal ulcers of our fatherland. In society, dissatisfaction was rising from the growing understanding of the backwardness of the Russian state from the more advanced Western European countries. Not only the progressively thinking part of the nobility and the intelligentsia formed from raznochintsy, but also representatives of your administration, even Emperors Alexander II, and at one time Nicholas I and Catherine II felt the need for change.

Another reason that caused a social movement was popular unrest. The dissatisfaction of the working people was evidenced by the actions of various sections of the population: privately owned peasants, the urban poor, working people, and military settlers. Although in the first half of the 19th century, popular uprisings did not have such a massive scale as in the 17th-18th centuries, they nevertheless stimulated the formation of an anti-serfdom ideology, forced the government to intensify repressions, gradually mitigate the most odious aspects of serfdom and create an ideological justification for the socio-political existing in Russia. building.

In the social movement in the second half of the 19th century, a delimitation of three ideological directions began: radical, liberal and conservative.

Conservatism in Russia was based on theories proving the invincibility of autocracy and serfdom. At the beginning of the 19th century, Karamzin wrote about the need to preserve the wise autocracy, which, in his opinion, "founded and resurrected Russia." The performance of the Decembrists activated conservative social thought.

The theory of official nationality, created by the conservative, Minister of Public Education, Count S.S. Uvarov, and consisting of three principles: autocracy, Orthodoxy, nationality, caused sharp criticism of the liberal-minded part of society. The speech of P.Ya.Chadaev, who wrote "Philosophical Letters" with criticism of autocracy, serfdom and all official ideology, received the greatest fame. In his opinion, Russia, cut off from the West, was ossified in its moral-religious, Orthodox dogmas and was in dead stagnation. He saw the salvation of Russia in the unification of the countries of Christian civilization into a new community that would ensure the spiritual freedom of all peoples.

Letter from P.Ya. Chaadaev served as an impetus for the formation in the early 1840s of two internally heterogeneous ideological currents - Westerners and Slavophiles. Both those and others believed that the fate of Russia was not as deplorable as Chaadaev predicted, but considered it necessary to abolish serfdom and limit the power of the monarch. These currents were characterized by different approaches to assessing the past and forecasting the future of Russia. According to Berdyaev, the meaning of the controversy between them was “... should Russia be the West or the East, should we follow the path of Peter or return to pre-Petrine Russia.”

The controversy between Westerners and Slavophiles in many respects contributed to the formation of liberal and revolutionary-democratic trends. One of the leaders of the first was T.N. Granovsky, who criticized the feudal nature of the Nikolaev regime, advocated reforms in social and political life. The revolutionary-democratic movement was represented by V.G. Belinsky, A.I. Herzen, N.P. Ogarev, as well as the Petrashevites - members of the circle of M.V. Butashevich-Petrashevsky. Petrashevsky, Herzen and Belinsky introduced the Russian public to the ideas of the utopian socialists. The defeat of the revolution in Europe (1848-1849) led Herzen to the idea of ​​a special path for Russia to socialism, since the collective principle in the form of a peasant community was firmly rooted in the Russian people.

The last high-profile clash between the Nikolaev regime and the opposition was the case of the Petrashevists in 1849. Butashevich-Petrashevsky, were followers of C. Fourier, that is, supporters of the reorganization of society on the basis of the organization of phalanster communes. The participants of Petrashevsky's "Fridays" discussed the most important issues of Russian life (Slavic, problems of the judiciary, censorship), talked about the need to abolish serfdom, introduce freedom of printing, introduce openness and competitiveness in court, and discussed literary novelties. Among the Petrashevites were officials, military men, writers (including M.E. Saltykov, F.M. Dostoevsky).

These are the problems that Alexander II inherited from his parent, Emperor Nicholas I of All Russia. A number of transformations were required from the new autocrat, but so far no definite government programs or promises of reforms have come from him.

One might think that at first there was no program, because the difficulties of wartime did not give Alexander the opportunity to look around and concentrate on internal affairs.

Only after the end of the war did Alexander find it appropriate to place in the manifesto on March 19, 1856 on the conclusion of peace a significant phrase regarding Russia: “Let its internal improvement be affirmed and improved; let truth and mercy reign in her courts; let the striving for enlightenment and all useful activity develop everywhere and with renewed vigor...”. These words contained, as it were, a promise of internal renewal, the need for which was felt equally by both the government and society.

Simultaneously with this manifesto, in the same March 1856, the sovereign, receiving representatives of the Moscow nobility in Moscow, gave them a short but very important speech on serfdom. He explained that he had no intention "now" to abolish serfdom, but acknowledged that "the existing order of soul ownership cannot remain unchanged." In the expression of the sovereign, "it is better to begin to destroy serfdom from above than to wait for the time when it will begin to abolish itself from below." Therefore, Alexander invited the nobles "to think about how to bring all this into execution."

After the March statements, there could no longer be any doubt that the emperor was ready to embark on the path of transformation. Only their program was unclear; unknown, remained those beginnings on which the abolition of the serfdom was supposed to be. Despite such uncertainty, the rise in public mood was unusual, and the coronation of the sovereign (August 1856) turned into a bright holiday for our public. The “enlightened goodness” of the sovereign, who replaced the recent severity of power with “unforgettable words: cancel, forgive, return,” aroused delight. The sovereign's determination to reform - to "feats more in line with the demands of the century" than "the thunder of weapons" - aroused the brightest hopes. In Russian society, an unstoppable work of thought began, aimed at one or another resolution of the fundamental issue of that time - the abolition of serfdom.

THE GREAT REFORMS OF ALEXANDERII

military reform.

The defeat in the Crimean War demonstrated that the Russian army is not able to effectively ensure the country's security. This made military reform necessary. The first step towards it was the liquidation in 1855 of military settlements.

In 1861-1874 a series of military reforms were carried out.

In 1874, a charter on universal military service was issued, which radically changed the order of replenishment of troops. Under Peter the Great, all classes were involved in military service. According to the laws of the 18th century, the nobility was gradually freed from military service, and recruitment became the fate of not just the lower strata of the population, but the poorest of them, since those who were richer could pay off by hiring a recruit for themselves. This form of military service placed a heavy burden on the shoulders of the poor, because the service life at that time was 25 years, that is, the breadwinners, leaving the house, left it for almost a lifetime, peasant farms were ruined with all the ensuing consequences.

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, although 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, as well as 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.

The military education system has undergone major changes. Instead of closed cadet corps, military gymnasiums were created, the graduates of which received not only a military, but also a good general education. Special military training was carried out in higher cadet schools.

Thus, we can conclude that the new system involved not only the military training of soldiers, but at the same time a number of activities were carried out for the purpose of education, this was especially noticeable during the management of the War Ministry by Count D. A. Malyutin.

University reform

Although formally, in the first years of the reign of Alexander II, the university charter of 1835 continued to operate, which did not give students much freedom, in practice the life of universities was changing rapidly.
Volunteers freely came to lectures, student organizations arose that held gatherings and published their own newspapers. But in 1861 the government, in an attempt to quell student unrest, abolished student government and eliminated benefits for poor students. This caused massive student riots.
In St. Petersburg, 300 students were sent to the fortress - however, for a day or two. In Moscow, the police organized the beating of students by the common people, spreading the rumor that the "gentlemen" were rioting, demanding the restoration of serfdom.
Alarmed, Alexander II dismissed the newly appointed Minister of Education, Admiral E.V. Putyatin. The new liberal minister A.V. Golovnin prepared a draft university charter.
After a heated discussion in the press, the charter was approved by the State Council - in June 1863.
Universities were granted broad autonomy. The police had no right to enter their territory - there were their own guards and a university court consisting of three professors.
The councils of the university and faculties, which included all professors, freely elected the rector and deans, awarded academic titles, opened new departments, distributed funds among departments and faculties. Universities had their own censorship. They received foreign literature without going through customs. The number of professors and teachers has increased, their salaries have been doubled.
Golovnin provided for the creation of student organizations and the representation of students in university self-government, but the State Council excluded these proposals from the charter.

In 1864 Odessa University was founded. In 1869, the University of Warsaw was opened, which was closed in 1831. However, now it was not a Polish, but a Russian educational institution.
In the 1860-1870s. Women's higher education also appeared in Russia. Women were not allowed in universities. Meanwhile, they played a significant role in the social movement of the 1860s. and fought hard for the right to education.
In 1869-1870. Higher Women's Courses opened in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kyiv. The Higher Women's Courses, founded by Professor V.I. Guerrier in 1872 in Moscow and by Professor K.N. Bestuzhev-Ryumin in 1878 in St. Petersburg, acquired the greatest fame.

Until the reign of Alexander II, there were only institutes and private boarding schools, in which mostly noblewomen studied. Since the late 1950s, women's gymnasiums have appeared for all classes. In parallel, women's diocesan schools began to open. After some time, the issue of higher education for women was successfully resolved. Great strides were also made in terms of elementary or public education. But, despite the efforts, public literacy in the era of reforms was still at a low level.

censorship reform

The softening of the censorship oppression took place already in the first months of the reign of Alexander II. In 1857, a commission was created under the Ministry of Internal Affairs to develop a new censorship charter. By 1861, Russian journals were relatively free to discuss the most important issues of public life, which just a few years earlier would have been unthinkable.
Nevertheless, the seal caused a clear distrust of the king and his entourage. After the abolition of serfdom, in connection with the harsh speeches of Sovremennik, Russkoe Slovo, and other radical publications, government policy tightened. On the basis of the Provisional Rules on the Press of 1862, several well-known metropolitan magazines were closed.
In 1865, a censorship reform was carried out. The public showed keen interest in changing the legislation on the press, which was explained not only by the constant demands for openness and freedom of speech. The old system, which required pre-screening of all printed matter, prevented normal profit-oriented journalism and made it impossible to publish daily newspapers that reported breaking news and were intended for the mass reader.
The development of the censorship reform was carried out by the commission of D. A. Obolensky, which completely rejected any proposals of public figures. From among the Slavophiles, who were zealous champions of freedom of speech, came the project of I. S. Aksakov, the first paragraph of which read: “Freedom of the printed word is an inalienable right of every subject of the Russian Empire, without distinction of rank and status.” Obolensky considered Aksakov's proposals stupid and wrote to their author, his old acquaintance: "Nonsense is more clearly expressed in paragraphs."
The government did not dare to completely abolish preliminary censorship, but introduced, initially only for the metropolitan press, punitive censorship. In practice, this meant that periodicals could be published without being reviewed by censors, but if the printed articles contained reprehensible materials, then monetary fines and administrative penalties were imposed on the editor and publisher. In certain cases, the periodical publication could be closed or temporarily suspended. Punitive censorship made it possible for the dynamic development of newspapers and magazines, but doomed their employees to strict self-censorship.

The value of the reforms.

The reorganizations carried out were progressive in nature. They began to lay the foundation for the evolutionary path of the country's development. Russia, to a certain extent, approached the advanced for that time European socio-political model. The first step was taken to expand the significance of the public in the life of the country and turn Russia into a bourgeois monarchy.

However, the process of modernization of Russia had a specific character. First of all, it was caused by the traditional suppression of the Russian bourgeoisie and the political passivity of the masses. The speeches of the radicals (the sixties and revolutionary populists) only initiated the conservative forces, frightened the liberals and delayed the reformist aspirations of the government.

The initiators of the reforms were some of the highest government officials, the so-called "liberal bureaucracy". This explained the illogicality, incompleteness and limitations of most of the reforms.

The logical continuation of the reforms of the 60-70s of the XIX century could be the adoption of moderate constitutional proposals developed in January 1881 by the Minister of the Interior, Count M.T. Loris-Melikov. They assumed the development of local self-government, the involvement of representatives of zemstvos and cities (with an advisory vote) in the discussion of national problems. However, the assassination of Emperor Alexander II by Narodnaya Volya on March 1, 1881 changed the general direction of the government's course.

Conclusion.

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. We examined the main transformations and reforms carried out by Alexander II. The main reform of his reign - the liberation of the peasants - radically changed the order that existed before, and entailed all other reforms.

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 the martyr's wreath.

Bibliography:

“A manual on the history of the Fatherland for applicants to universities.” / edited by A.S. Orlov, A.Yu. Polunov and Yu.A. - Moscow: Prostor Publishing House, 1994.

"History of Russia from antiquity to the present day." / edited by M.N. Zuev. - Moscow: "Higher School", 1998.

"Russian history". Textbook - 2nd ed., revised. And additional / edited by A.S. Orlov, V.A. Georgiev, N.G. Georgiev, T.A. Sivokhina. - Moscow: Ed. "Prospect" 2003.

History of the Fatherland: Encyclopedic Dictionary / Comp. B.Yu. Ivanov, V.M. Karev, E.I. Kuksina and others. - M .: "Great Russian Encyclopedia", 1999.

"Encyclopedic Dictionary", F.A. Brockhaus, I.A. Efron, Ed. "Russian word", OCR Palek, 1998.

Educational reform of Alexander II

The need to change the system of school and university education in the Russian Empire has been brewing for a long time. This was understood by the emperor, and his entourage, and the intellectual elite of society. Therefore, specially created commissions were engaged in the development of reform projects for university and secondary education for several years. The education reform was carried out by the emperor in two stages - in 1863 (higher) and 1871 (secondary)

Founding Documents

Emperor's actions

Creation of educational institutions

Results of the reforms

Reforms of AlexanderII

1 Land reform

In 1857, by decree of Alexander II, a secret committee on the peasant question began to work, the main task of which was the abolition of serfdom with the obligatory allocation of land to the peasants. On February 19, 1861, he signed a number of laws. There was a manifesto and a provision on granting freedom to the peasants. The peasants received personal freedom, but the land remained the property of the landowners, and while allotments were allotted, the peasants in the position of "temporarily liable" bore duties in favor of the landowners.

2 Abolition of corporal punishment

By decree of April 17, 1863 (on the sovereign's birthday), they were abolished. The new law abolished gauntlets, cat whips, branding, but temporarily retained the rod. Completely freed from corporal punishment were: a) women; b) clerics and their children; c) teachers of public schools; d) those who completed the course in county and agricultural, and, moreover, in secondary and higher educational institutions; e) peasants holding public office by election.

3 Zemstvo and city reforms

The principle of the Zemstvo reform carried out in 1864 consisted in electivity and lack of estates. In the provinces and districts of Central Russia and part of Ukraine, zemstvos were established as local governments. The right to elect to county assemblies is enjoyed by: a) local landowners who are not peasants; b) local peasants; c) residents of the county town. The assembly gives orders, controls, the council puts into effect the resolutions of the meetings. The “City Regulations” (June 16, 1870) gave the population of cities local self-government, with the right to manage their city economy and promote the development of education in their cities.

4 Judicial reform

After the act of February 19 returned their civil rights to the multimillion population, the former landlord (patrimonial) court lost its meaning, and it had to be replaced by a state court, fair, general and the same for all. Previously, the "Basic Principles" of the upcoming judicial reform were worked out and published for general information in order to provoke a comprehensive and free discussion of them. The judicial statutes were promulgated on November 20, 1864 and marked the beginning of a new court in Russia. The main features of the new court:

1. Judicial power was separated from administrative and legislative.

2. In criminal cases, the judiciary is separated from the accusatory (prosecutor's supervision).

3. The court took place publicly, with open doors, accessible to anyone.

4. The trial took place orally, through direct questioning and exchange of opinions.

5. An adversarial process has been introduced (accusation and defense; comparison and indication of data for and against the accused). For this purpose, prosecutorial supervision (accusatory power) and the institution of sworn attorneys (defence; official advocacy) were established. A defense (advocacy) was created, which did not exist in the old courts.

6. Introduction of jurors. They could judge by conscience, by conviction.

7. To eliminate pressure from administrative authorities, the police were excluded from participation in the investigation of criminal cases; investigation was conducted by judicial investigators.

8. In order to better ensure the impartiality of the judicial investigation, the position of judicial investigators was declared irremovable; they were accountable for their actions to the Senate alone.

9. For petty cases, magistrates' courts have been established (without the participation of jurors).

Judicial institutions according to the judicial charters of 1864:

1. Lower instance: the World Court (for all estates) and the volost court (separately for peasants).

2. The highest instance: the Congress of Justices of the Peace (one per county): cases were transferred here on complaints against decisions of the world and volost courts.

1. Lower: District Court (one per province); consists of two departments: criminal and civil.

2. Higher: Judicial chamber (one for several provinces): cases on complaints against decisions of district courts were transferred here.

III. The crown of judicial institutions was the Senate, which examined complaints against decisions of world congresses and judicial chambers.

5 Military reform

The main event of the entire military reform is the Manifesto of 1874 on January 1 on universal military service. This made it possible to create a new type of army, which would not suffer from a lack of soldiers, but at the same time did not require huge amounts of money for maintenance. The recruitment system was abolished, every citizen of Russia over the age of 20 with no criminal record was required to serve in the army.

The term of service in most troops was 6 years. It was impossible to pay off military service or avoid it by any other method; in the event of war, the entire population who had undergone military training was mobilized. The division into districts made it possible to lay down cases that did not concern the entire state from the Minister of War and transfer them to the jurisdiction of the districts. The soldiers received new modern weapons that could compete with the weapons of the Western powers. Military factories were reconstructed and now they themselves could produce modern weapons and equipment.

6 Financial reform

In 1860, the State Bank was established, the farming system was abolished, which was replaced by excises (1863). Since 1862, the Minister of Finance has become the only responsible manager of budget revenues and expenditures; the budget was made public. An attempt was made to carry out a monetary reform (free exchange of credit notes for gold and silver at a fixed rate).

7 Education reforms

The “Regulations on Primary Public Schools” dated June 14, 1864, abolished the state-church monopoly on education. Now both public institutions and private individuals were allowed to open and maintain elementary schools under the control of the county and provincial school councils. The charter of the secondary school introduced the principle of equality of all classes and religions, but introduced fees. The University Charter (1863) granted the universities broad autonomy, and introduced the election of rectors and professors. The leadership of the educational institution was transferred to the Council of Professors, to which the students were subordinate. A harmonious system of education was created in Russia, which included primary, secondary and higher educational institutions.

8 Censorship reform

In May 1862, the censorship reform began, "provisional rules" were introduced, which in 1865 were replaced by a new censorship charter. According to the new charter, preliminary censorship for books of 10 or more printed sheets was abolished; editors and publishers could only be prosecuted in court. Periodical publications were also exempted from censorship by special permission and upon payment of a deposit of several thousand rubles, but they could be suspended administratively. Only government and scientific publications, as well as literature translated from a foreign language, could be published without censorship.

9 Consequences of the reforms

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 main reform of his reign - the liberation of the peasants - radically changed the order that existed before and entailed all other reforms. 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. Alexander Nikolayevich correctly understood the essence of his vocation in the memorable (1855-1861) years of his reign. He firmly held his post on the “stern of his native ship” during these difficult years of his voyage, rightfully deserving of an enviable epithet attached to his name. Liberator »