Alexander II Research Paper

In a span of forty-four years, Anton Chekhov, witnessed the rule of three Tsars i.e. Alexander II, Alexander III, and Nicholas II. The reign of these Romanovs was bombarded by numerous dilemmas such as wide peasant unrest, revolutionary agitation, anarchic disorders, and even of industrialisation. Along with their obligations to ‘remedy’ the social ills affecting such a massive and heterogeneous empire, they were also battling to preserve their unlimited power.
Tsar Alexander II, ascended the throne in 1855 and came to be called by contemporary historians as the ‘Tsar Liberator’ after passing the emancipation ukase in 1861. However, this statute meant to remedy Russia’s backwardness, only reduced the land available to the peasants and increased their dependence toward the nobles. There were still redemption payments to consider and some still have to use the nobility’s land to earn money (Fordham and Smith). Moreover, the newly emancipated peasants are even more strained by the fiscal demands placed upon them. Along with this damage to
In the first decade of his reign he aimed at curbing the forces of sedition by augmenting the power of autocratic state. He introduced a new instrument of control and repression, which came to be known as Okhrana, that took over the duties undertaken by the Third Section and whose primary used was to serve as secret police that targets the educated: newspaper editors, teachers, university professors and students. In 1899, as a form of rewards to the nobles who remained loyal to the regime and to reinforce traditional social structures in Russia once more, Alexander III introduced the ‘Land Captains’. These are the people who were given power to exercise substantial administrative (especially tax collection), judicial and police authority over peasants in the