The success of this reform can be judged on how it was received. Peasant revolts increased; the peasants still had to pay taxes; landowners lost their ‘bank mortgages’ (the serfs), and the limitations of the reform sparked revolutionary activity. Of course, it cannot be ignored that the peasants were ecstatic at their new found freedom from their masters. Ultimately, however, this reform was a failure in that it caused more revolt that it suppressed – the aim was defeated.
It was not just the serfs that were to see reform; the army was in need of major change. The Russian defeat in the Crimean War highlighted just how unfit the men were. The Tsar reacted by suspending recruitment in 1856, abolishing military colonies, making every man over 20 liable to conscription, and reducing the length of service to a maximum of 20 years. The training and discipline of soldiers was also made more humane and efficient; corporal punishment was additionally removed. Of course, whether this was an example of a true liberator at work is debatable; although it appears that the average Russian man was given more freedom in terms of conscription and dedication to the army, he was still required to partake in 20 years military service. However, the main argument in favour of Alexander being a liberator here is that it was made more humane. This set the men free from the confinement of horrific conditions, and the oppression of the officers, and they were generally freer to get on with their lives.
The law reforms were needed after the injustice between the rich and the poor was highlighted by the existing system. The poor were presumed guilty; there were no juries or lawyers; and the judges were heavily influenced by the police. There was a clear need for reform; this came, although slowly, in November 1864. Juries were introduced into criminal cases; a hierarchy of courts was set up, judges were paid more, and courts were now open to the public. Again, it appears that the Tsar was removing the existing inequalities in the legal system and thus freeing the poor from the bounds of the unfair law. In the short term, there was a new found freedom of expression and the reforms opened up new career opportunities for the educated people of Russia. However, the Tsar went on to remove political cases from the jurisdiction of the courts, and the police were still able to arrest anyone they so wished. The peasants did feel a new sense of freedom; in this respect, it was a success, however, the flaws in the reform do go some way to negative such success.
Arguably the most controversial reform was that of education. Private schools had been growing in Russia rapidly, but there was a common fear that these taught dangerous subjects such as history and literacy. In 1863, new regulations allowed private schools on the condition that there was a common curriculum of ‘accepted’ subjects, such as religion and reading. This led to a great improvement in the general literacy of Russia, with the zemstva running almost half of all primary schools by 1914. Although such major reforms did improve the intelligence of the young people of Russia, pupils still had to pay for the gymnasia that gave entry to universities, inspectors could order changes to the curriculum, and, most crucially, students began to develop their own ideas of the future of Russia, which led to student riots in St Petersburg in 1861. Nonetheless, the poor were eventually exempted from university fees, thus confirming a new sense of freedom of thinking and of education.
Overall, the most ‘liberating’ reform of Alexander II was education. Although the emancipation of the serfs was vital in securing freedom for the poor, the fact that the education reforms allowed students to gain an insight into how other countries were being led – thus forming their own opinion of how Russia should be led – ultimately gave them the freedom that would destroy the Tsar. His reforms may have been liberating; but they either took too long to actually implement or had major flaws that somewhat shadowed what Alexander II was attempting to do.