How far had Alexander II fulfilled the hopes of reformers in Russia by 1881?

Zemstva andDuma as an element that had fulfilled the hopes of reformers. Zemstvawere to be elected bodies, chosen through a democratic system of'electoral colleges'. Those would be separate for Church, townspeople,nobles and the peasantry however it would be mainly dominated by thenobles. Zemstva proved to be a valuable part of loval government .They were particularly effective in poor relief, extending educationand welfare however, although this system might be seen as essentiallydemocratic, its institutions were permeated by centre-government. Theyhad no control over taxes and the 'provincial governors' had controlover appointments of officials. Such system favoured those who sat onthem and was in a direct control of the Tsar's government. This way,local government reform failed to fulfill the hopes of reformers whocounted on the establishment of the National Assembly.Westerners hoped that Alexander II's Emancipation Act would finallybreak down the social structure in Russia. This did not occur.Although Alexander II in theory emancipated 40 mln of serfs, theystill had to pay 'redemption fees' for another 49 years with 6% ofinterest rate. They right to civil rights and travel was largelyrestricted by mirs who, other than that, often gave the peasants landfor price 90% over its market value. Emancipation Act also failed toimprove economy in Russia. In 1880 only 50% of the serfs were able toproduce surplus. Many serfs refused to pay for the land that hadbelonged to them for generations. Evidently, in introducing theEmancipation Act, Alexander II failed to fulfill the hopes of bettereconomy in Russia.Conversely, some may argue that judiciary reform introduced byAlexander II was a good deal of democracy based on Western system ofjustice. Russians were given full civil legal rights and opportunityto hire a lawyer. Proceedings were exercised orally, witnessed andconsulted. Proceedings were also allowed to be reported inpress(particularly in 'Russian courier') and political prisoners weretreated much fairer that at times of Nicholas I's repression. Suchsystem has been described by Wartman as the wake of 'Russian legalconsciousness'. Indeed, judiciary reform can be regarded as verysuccessfull in fulfilling the hopes of reformers.Overall, Alexander II had fulfilled the hopes of reformers to acertain extent. Had he been a real 'tsar-reformer' he would havepushed the reforms ever further to establishing the National Assembly.He raised the expectations of reformers and the actions of hisgovernment were often descirbed as 'what government gave away with onehand, it took back with the other' (Saunders).  However, his reformswere a big step towards democracy.