Question 1
Questions 1–3 refer to the passage below:
“Main Terms of Emancipation, 1861: Serfs were made free of their landlords. Ex-serfs were then allowed to:
Own property
Buy land assigned to them from their previous owner’s estates
Marry according to their choice
Trade freely
Sue in courts
Vote in local elections
Impressive though these freedoms first looked, it soon became apparent that they had come at a heavy price for the peasants. It was not they, but the landlords, who were the beneficiaries. This should not surprise us: after, it had been the dvoriane who had drafted the emancipation proposals. The compensation that the landowners received was far in advance of the market value of their property. They were also entitled to decide which part of their holdings they would give up. Unsurprisingly, they kept the best land for themselves. The serfs got the leftovers. The data shows that the landlords retained two-thirds of the land while the peasants received only one-third. So limited was the supply of affordable quality land to the peasants that they were reduced to buying narrow strips that proved difficult to maintain and which yielded little food or profit.
Moreover, while the landowners were granted financial compensation for what they gave up, the peasants had to pay for their new property. Since they had no savings, they were advanced 100 per cent mortgages, 80 per cent provided by the State bank and the remaining 20 by the landlords. This appeared a generous offer, but as in any loan transaction the catch was in the repayments. The peasants found themselves saddled with redemption payments that became a lifelong burden that then had to be handed on to their children.”
Michael Lynch, “The Emancipation of the Russian Serfs, 1861: A Charter of Freedom or an Act of Betrayal,” History Review, no. 47 (December 2003)
The events described in the passage above occurred during the reign of
A Alexander II
B Alexander III
C Nicholas I
D Nicholas II