Alexander II's Great Reforms Beyond Emancipation

The Romanov Dynasty: Rise, Power, and Bloody End — Fexingo History · May 12, 2026 · 7m · transcript

In the wake of the Emancipation Reform of 1861, Tsar Alexander II embarked on a sweeping transformation of the Russian Empire that extended far beyond freeing the serfs. This episode explores the breadth of the Great Reforms: the establishment of the zemstvo system of local self-government, the judicial reform that introduced trial by jury and an independent judiciary, the military reforms of Dmitry Milyutin that modernized the army, and the relaxation of censorship in education and publishing. Along the way, we examine the contradictions of reform from above—how these changes, while…