Alexander II issued a document of emancipation for the Russian serfs in 1861. In it, he stipulates that the nobility agreed, for the benefit of their country, to release the serfs from their status at the end of a two year reconstruction period. After serfdom is abolished, the nobles are required to give their former serfs land so that they may continue to earn a living.
This document echoed the Enlightenment principles of the former reformist monarchs.… Read the rest here