The Emancipation of the Serfs

Emancipation of the serfs was either the single most momentous piece of social legislation in the history of russia, or it was not worth the paper it was printed on. The czar sat down and signed an emancipation decree dated february nineteenth, 18 61. There would be a two year transition period to ease every one into this new legal arrangement. While each individual now had legal freedom, the social and economic relations of production often changed very little.