How to Abolish Serftom

In 18 56, alexander addressed the nobility in moscow and told them, we have to do it. He said, my intention is to abolish serftom. This announcement understandably caused an uproar amongst the nobility. So at the beginning, these deliberations commenced in secret, closed doors. But freeing the serfs could not be done entirely in secret, behind closed doors. Opinion was going to have to be solicited. And so at the end of 18 57, a memo went out to provincial governors asking them to make suggestions how to best implement emancipation in their own districts. Every possible proposal had defenders and critics who spent five years trying to come up with a plan that would both satisfy