Explain why many Russians were dissatisfied with the decree emancipating the serfs in 1861

higher redemption fees which to many seemed unfair. Furthermore, even if the amount of land the peasants were given was the same as they’d previously worked on,  it was often not enough to live off once other benefits were taken away. This included collecting firewood, grazing their cattle on pasture land and protection from landlords in times of hardship, and so manual labour without these advantages was to many worse than being serfs. Secondly another problem which arose after emancipation to the peasants was the Mir. As the Mir was set up by the local nobility, they could often take the best land for themselves. They were also able to set the prices of land much higher than their market value, sometimes up to 90% more, resulting in further increased payments for peasants. This meant that some peasants either had to rent land as they couldn’t afford the redemption payments set by the Mir, or carry on working for their old masters and give them half the crops they grew. Due to the financial problems caused by the Mir, some peasants were even eventually forced to sell out to the kulaks who became yet another source of resentment.  Despite the problems the Mir had however most peasants were tied to it. Because of the strict rules regarding the distribution of land, peasants could not have full rights over their land as each male child born in the town was entitled to its own property. This meant peasants were economically and legally tied to their commune, and therefore also restricted their travel. Passports were only issued by the Mir and were severely restricted. It was a very conservative system which largely stood in the way of modernising effects emancipation was supposed to have and industrialisation which required a more mobile workforce. As well as the Mir, another problem was the average amount of land granted to peasants prevented them from using modern farming methods, which emancipation was supposed to cause. The most fertile regions saw the biggest loss of peasant land, and so technical backwardness continued until 1817. Only 50% of peasants were able to produce a surplus, meaning problems such as famine had not been stopped. These things contributed to overall lack of agriculture development. Apart from peasants, emancipation also caused distress for landowners. Not only had they lost free labour, but the increased payments led to peasant uprisings. Over 647 riots occurred after the decree, meaning the following years were difficult as well as dangerous for landowners and nobility. The majority of money that redemption payments were supposed to provide was actually spent paying off debt, and so by 1905 one third of the land landowners had previously owned was sold for money. Many landowners actually decided to move towns, and resented the government for their loss of property. Overall there were many reasons why a lot of Russians were dissatisfied with emancipation, the main ones relating to the vast payments peasants had to make. The decree actually had a lot of the reverse effects that were attended, and it was neither successful or satisfied the Russian people.