Show RUSSIAN emancipation DAY THIS day march 8 3 14 lithe the anniversary of the enci emancipation pation of russian serfs by the czar alexander 11 II in 1863 it is ie the greatest event recorded in history in a country the political condition of which to is so chaotic it is little wonder that with unlimited despotism on one side there should be unlimited insurrectionary tendencies on the other in early days the killing of princes was quite common in russia the peasants in those times could however move from one cone estate to another and had a certain measure of freedom perhaps it was with arview a view of preventing the assassins tion of men of rank that at the close of the century an ukase was issued binding the be peasants to that particular estate on which they then resided this was virtually a system of slavery little better if any than that at one time existing in the united states it lasted in russia until alexander it II issued his imperial manifesto on march 3 1861 emancipating the serfs to take effect two years later at al though the nobles opposed the edict it carried into effect with little disturbance the legislation on emancipation acknowledged the inherent right of the freemen to own a certain portion of land each serf in addition to being declared free was endowed with from five to twenty to its fertility and with a house and orchard attached for this he had to pays pay a certain tax to the government for a number of years of course the landowners were also so compensated by the government the land laws of russia strange to may aay are among the best beat existing in any country in europe in fact every farmer in russia is a land and house owner but tradesmen laborers and wage workers in general generally are the most wretched on earth |