Lauren Donnelly, The Aftermath of the Emancipation

On February 19, 1861, Alexander II of Russia signed the edict that declared the emancipation of serfs, disrupting the lives of the Russian peasants economically, politically, legally, and socially.  Tolstoy addressed the effect the emancipation had on the peasants in his book, Anna Karenina.  One of the main characters, Levin, thought to himself in regards to the emancipation, “The question of how things will settle down is the only important question in the whole of Russia (299).” 

There were different views held concerning how to make the emancipation of serfdom work.  Sviayazhsky, a Marshal of Nobility in Anna Karenina, believed that educating the peasants would remedy the poor economic situations (307).  Through schooling, peasant ignorance would decline and an understanding of the terms of the emancipation would occur. Between 1864 and 1890 it was the peasants rather than the educated elites who were the driving force behind the progress in literacy[1].

Levin thought that a collaboration between the peasants and landowners would help create a better working estate (309).  Tolstoy portrayed an example of this when Levin stopped at a peasant’s house on the way to Sviyazhsky and saw how well the peasants worked together (295).  Unfortunately, this was not the typical scenario of how the emancipation affected the peasants.  Through redemption payments and general taxes, many peasants accumulated large arrears.  The peasant would become indebted to the land resulting in a difficult time ever paying off their arrears.  It was a great accomplishment for a satisfactory relationship to occur between the peasants and the landowners since many of the peasants intensely despised the landowners.  Many of the peasants believed that Alexander II had granted the peasants the land but that the landowners were obstructing that truth from them.

When peasants learned that they had received their juridical freedom but would have to pay for the land they believed rightfully theirs, many felt that they had been duped[2].  The peasants reacted strongly against the terms of the emancipation through rebellions of violence and defiance against authority.  The peasant commune attempted to impose the new laws onto the villages but the established customary law prevailed, which resulted in a setback for the purpose of the emancipation.

The emancipation of serfdom in Russia greatly impacted the peasant society.  Advancements were made in the educational system.  Economic conditions of the peasants varied but were influenced by the emancipation terms.  The peasants reacted against the terms in rebellions and acts of defiance.  Russia as a whole went into upheaval.