Alexander II faced several major problems during his reign, largely stemming from the negative implications of Russia’s system of serfdom that stifled economic and industrial growth, as well as Russia’s outdated and ineffective military that limited Russia’s presence in Europe and demonstrated her lacking industrial sector. Alexander was shown to be a keen reformer and managed to effectively tackle these problems, with his emancipation of the serfs, followed by his overseeing of successful economic and military reforms.

Arguably the greatest problem that faced Russia in 1855 was the outdated and feudal – like system of serfdom which lagged far behind the social infrastructures of other major European nations. This system, in which over 23 million serfs were forced to work for their food and keep under private landowners, Nobles, and the state, was both economically inefficient (as Russia required a free labour force for industry and internal markets to grow) and attracted rising opposition to the Tsarist autocratic rule. For these reasons, Alexander decided to emancipate the serfs in an attempt to quell unrest and bring Russia “up to date”, famously stating: “It is better to abolish serfdom from above than to await the time when it will begin to abolish itself from below”. This shows that Alexander II saw the threat of grievances among the serfs with the ruling administration and wished to protect his own position from threatening opposition. This desire for self-preservation limited the success of the serfdom reform, as Alexander’s “Emancipation of the Serfs” sought to maintain the favour of the wealthy private land owners and Nobles, and so failed to fully appease the serfs, with millions burdened with a crippling redemption tax through buying land from landlords, as well as the cost of holdings being 134% of the market price to enable landlords to profiteer. This maintained the perpetual suppression of the serfs as a class in society, which in turn led to further grievances with the administration of Russia (647 cases of rioting in the first few months of reform), and continued the slow growth of Russia’s domestic industry and economy. Alexander’s lacking reform can also be seen to have contributed to his assassination in 1881, as the Tsar’s stubbornness to fully liberate and integrate the serfs into a liberal society only spurred groups such as The People’s Will on in opposition to Russia’s autocratic rule.

Having said this, Alexander’s Emancipation of the Serfs was a step in the right direction and so certainly held some success in tackling the problem of serfdom. In theory, the Serfs were set free and granted the privileges that they had previously been disallowed: to own land, travel and find their own work instead of being tied to a particular piece of land which entailed what can be seen as slave – labour. This made many of the Serfs happy and grateful to the Tsar, however the majority were soon to realise that they remained trapped by circumstance of the emancipation; an old Serf dictum backs this up: “We are yours but the land is ours”. From this, it is clear that Alexander II achieved limited success in solving the problem of Serfdom and Serf unrest, as the emancipation benefitted the Nobles and land owners to the detriment of the many millions of Serfs, maintaining slow economic growth and provoking the further opposition to Alexander II’s autocratic rule that culminated with his assassination.

Another key problem that Alexander II faced was Russia’s out-dated military that he had inherited - a hallmark of Russia’s technological and industrial backwardness. Following a humiliating defeat in the Crimean War of 1856, Alexander soon realised that he had to reform the military in order for Russia to protect herself in future. Alexander saw that industrialisation was the answer to Russia’s lacking military might, and his freedom of the serfs was partly aimed at creating a large labour pool to fill the growing industrial sector that was essential to modernise the military. Under Alexander, industrial production was greatly increased, with 16 times the previous coal production and a ten-fold increase in steel production; a dramatic progression that enabled Alexander II’s Russia to advance its industrial and military status. Furthermore, Alexander’s appointment of Miliutin to minister of war in 1861 launched a series of reforms such as proper training for officers, re-arming soldiers with more modern weapons, and construction of strategic railways. These reforms produced a more efficient and professional Russian military, with its improved effectiveness being evidenced in its victory against Turkey in the 1877 Russo – Turkish war. Russia’s participation in the Congress of Berlin in 1878 further supports the argument that Alexander II was effective in solving the problem of Russia’s weak and dated military, and elevating the nation’s power and status to rival her industrial European counterparts.

Just as Russia’s military had been, her economic infrastructure was dated and ill – equipped to enable economic growth. Although the emancipation of the serfs did not result in significant economic growth, Alexander II did oversee effective financial reforms, implemented by his Minister of Finance, Reutern. The the creation of a unified treasury, a public budget and a system of Government excise by 1863 did help to modernise the Russian economy, however did not improve the Russian Government’s finances, with one third of her annual expenditure used to pay off debt. This was the result of failed attempts to stabilise Russia’s currency and showed that Alexander still had to make more reforms in order for Russia’s economy to flourish. On the other hand, Reutern did achieve success with railway construction, financed by credit institutions. This increase in Russia’s rail system linked ports, towns and cities to grain producing areas, thus increasing the capacity and efficiency of Russia’s exports, as well as advancing military engineering. This Government intervention played a key role in Russia’s economic boom during Alexander II’s reign and, despite initial failure, the country’s economy had benefited greatly from Alexander’s reforms by 1881 and beyond, evident in Russia being the largest exporter of cereals in the world by the end of the 19th century. Therefore, Alexander’s economic reforms were very effective in tackling the previously stagnant economy that he had inherited from his father Nicholas I.

In conclusion, it is clear that Alexander II was very effective in solving the problems that he faced during his reign, most significantly abolishing serfdom and thus enabling industrial, military and to some extent economic growth and reform. Alexander’s reforms in industry and military effectively revived Russia’s status as a major European power and, together with ostensibly successful economic reforms, modernised Russia’s trade and military infrastructures, leading to far greater economic growth and capability as a nation.