It was not only the social aspects of Russia which were suffering, the agricultural Industry was at an all time low, with only 50% of all the farm production sold as surface goods. This low output of goods crippled the Russian economy, and as a result many Nobles were facing Bankruptcy. This was mainly yet again because of the Crimean War, as a lot the farm workers went off to war and did not return home again. Other industries were also suffering, which was highlighted with the lack of weapon and equipment production for the War. There were several small industries, but as there were not as many workers in the cities as needed, they remained small and inefficient. Because there was an absence of a middle class, all of the industries were owned by the Nobles, and so as many of them were facing bankruptcy they started to take their money out of the factories.
One of the last major problems facing Alexander 2nd as Tsar was the lack of efficient communication. This does not only mean the postal service, but also the state of the railway lines and amount of trains that were running. As they were in a poor, rundown condition, it meant that people could not travel around Russia as easily as they would have liked, and also that it would have been harder to rule the country if he could not hear about the problems in different areas quickly.
Tsar Alexander 2nd tried to deal with the problems with industry by heavily promoting the idea that there was more money to be made working in cities rather than in the country. This did work, as there was a great increase in urbanisation, but unfortunately because of poor working conditions, and low wages the amount of workers soon heavily decreased. The workers were often paid in clothes or food, instead of money, and many had to result in living on the factory floors, because they could not afford to stay anywhere else. The conditions in which they suffered could not be opposed, because strikes were prohibited, and there were often heavy fines if employee’s work was not up to a certain standard. There was not much done to improve farming, and so there remained a low agricultural output. Because of these unsuccessful, or none existent, improvements to the economy, there still was still an absence of middle class, leaving only the nobles and the peasants, which seemed to divide the country enormously.
The problem with communication was largely improved, by the construction of many railway tracks and trains. The overall mileage was increased from 660 at the beginning of his reign, to 14,000 by the end. These new railways not only allowed people in Russia to travel more easily, but also allowed goods to, which meant that more trade could take place. This new trade dramatically boosted the Russian economy, by the capital from Western countries, which now found it easy to get into to Russia.
The major problems in the army, which were apparent during the Crimean war were seriously investigated, and improvement were made. Firstly the sentence of military service was reduced from 25 years to 15 years, and although Nobles and merchants were still able to avoid conscription, they had to pay a special compensation tax instead. This was slowly changed by the conscription act of 1874, which stated that all able boded men had to serve 6 years in the army, and 9 years in the reserve. The treatment of soldiers was also looked at, and flogging was now only allowed in disciplinary battalions.
Lastly Alexander 2nd made a dramatic change by Emancipation of the Serfs, which showed how he was trying to improve Russia, not only for the Nobles, but also for the Serfs and Peasants. This mainly occurred because of the amount of unrest in peasants at the time, and so to stop them from rebelling the Tsar decided that it was a lot safer if he abolished Serfdom altogether. Although the Serfs were now finally free, they lives were still heavily controlled, by the Nobles, but it was still al lot better than before. It also took 40 years before the Serfs were really free, this is mainly because the Nobles and Landowners did not want to get rid of the Serfs, because they were cheap and easily controlled workers. As the Nobles were the ones that the Tsar relied on to bring in the capital and also to help police the state, Tsar Alexander did not want to make any brash and regrettable decisions, which would make the situation even worse. Therefore Alexander had to make a certain amount of compromises to make the situation appealing to both sides. The Landowners were given a payment as compensation for the loss of their workers, and the Serfs were finally given their freedom. The peasants were now allowed to marry who they wished, used the law courts, granted ownership of their houses and the plots around those houses on which they had worked on and more. Although they were now free, they still had to pay Redemption Payments to the Landowners, which were often more than they had to pay as Serfs. The Landowners also often changed the amount the Serfs had to pay, whenever they were short on money, and of course there was nothing the Peasants could do to oppose this.
After looking at all the changes which the Tsar Alexander 2nd needed to make at the beginning of his reign, and which ones he actually completed it is clear to see that he did try to improve life from people in Russia. His action was successful in the short term, because it stop rebellions, and convinced people that he was going to make a dramatic difference, and improvement to how they lived their lives. His actions did not succeed in the long term, mainly because he was such a firm believer in Autocratic ruling, and so did not want to give up a threaten his power in any way. After Alexander 2nd died in 1881, it is clear to see that not much really changed. The Duma, which was the government set up, was abolished, and so there was still no middle class. The peasants were still in a great sense of unrest, because although they were technically given their freedom, they were still controlled and tied to the land by the landowners. Because of all this, the industries, both urban and rural, did not improve, and so there was still a very backwards economy, which even the construction of new railways could not fix. In conclusion it is clear to see that Tsar Alexander 2nd did confront and try and mend the problems facing Russia, but as there was great unrest in Russia, the problems had to be dealt with quickly. There for he was successful in the short term, but although it was a stepping- stone in the right direction, it was not so successful in the long term.
