Historical significance of the Great Reforms by Aleksandr II

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25370863
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: History of Europe and America
• Research Institution: Okayama University
• Principal Investigator: Yoshida Hiroshi 岡山大学, 社会文化科学研究科, 准教授 (70250397)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 農奴解放 / ロシア / アレクサンドル2世

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Among several reforms, which consist “the Great Reforms” by Aleksandr II, this research focuses on the abolition of serfdom, using such archival materials as the collections of Aleksandr II and Konstantin Nikolaevich of the State Archive of the Russian Federation. I came to the following conclusions. First, the Abolition of Serfdom in Russia is the result of many reforms concerning the serfdom since the beginning of the 19th century. Second, though Crimean War seriously damaged the national treasury, it didn’t make the Emperor decide the abolition of the serfdom. Third, the final decision to realize the plan of the abolition of serfdom was made around the summer of 1858.

Free Research Field

人文学