Government reforms of Alexander II of Russia

"Great Reform" and "Great Reforms" redirect here. For British reform sometimes called the "Great Reform", see Reform Act 1832.
His Imperial Majesty Alexander II

The government reforms imposed by Tsar Alexander II of Russia, often called the Great Reforms (Russian: Великие реформы, romanized: Velikie reformy) by historians, were a series of major social, political, legal and governmental reforms in the Russian Empire carried out in the 1860s.

By far the most important was the Emancipation reform of 1861 which freed the 23 million serfs from an inferior legal and social status, and helped them buy farmland. Many other reforms took place, including the:

  • relaxation of censorship of the media
  • Judicial reform of Alexander II
  • modernization of the army and navy
  • zemstva and other innovations in local government
  • educational innovations including the expansion and reform of universities, elementary schools and secondary schools
  • reform of the Russian Orthodox Church
  • economic modernization impacting banking, railways, mining, manufacturing
  • emancipation of the peasants in Poland
  • improved the status of Jews.

By 1865 reaction began, and some reforms were cut back. After the tsar's assassination in 1881, his successor Alexander III reversed many reforms.