In 1888 Stepniak, the Russian
author and reformer, declared that emancipation had utterly failed to
realize the ardent expectations of its advocates and promoters, had
failed to improve the material condition of the former serfs, who on the
whole were worse off than before emancipation. The same assertion has
been made with respect to the emancipation of slaves in the United
States, but in neither case does the objection invalidate the historical
significance of an act that formally liberated millions of human beings
from hereditary and legalized bondage.
In the two views here presented, the subject of the emancipation in
Russia is considered in various aspects. Andrew D. White's account,
being that of an American scholar and diplomatist familiar with the
history and people of Russia through his residence at St. Petersburg, is
of peculiar value, embodying the most intelligent foreign judgment.
White's synopsis covers the entire subject of the serf system from its
beginning to its overthrow.
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