Russian Empire · 1855-1881

Russia frees its serfs

After defeat in the Crimean War, Tsar Alexander II frees more than 20 million serfs in 1861. Students explore what serfdom was, why the tsar acted, why many peasants were disappointed, and why the "Tsar Liberator" was assassinated.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1861 to AD 1867
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

After defeat in the Crimean War, Tsar Alexander II frees more than 20 million serfs in 1861. Students explore what serfdom was, why the tsar acted, why many peasants were disappointed, and why the "Tsar Liberator" was assassinated.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain what serfdom was and why Alexander II ended it in 1861.
  • Describe the terms of emancipation and why many peasants were disappointed.
  • Compare the emancipation of Russia's serfs with the end of slavery in the United States.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1861

The largest country

Open the map in 1861 and zoom out over the Russian Empire. From which sea to which ocean does it stretch? Where do you think most of its people lived?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1861

Two capitals

Zoom in on western Russia and find St Petersburg and Moscow. Turn on Cities and drag to 1900. How big had Moscow become?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1867

Russian America

Type "Why did Russia sell Alaska?" in Ask the atlas and watch where the map goes. How far is Alaska from St Petersburg?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Serfs were bound to the land and to their lord. How was serfdom like slavery, and how was it different?
  2. Why might losing the Crimean War convince a tsar that Russia needed big reforms?
  3. Alexander II said it was better to end serfdom from above than to wait for it to end from below. What did he mean?
  4. Freed peasants had to pay for their land for 49 years. Were they really free?
  5. Alexander II made big reforms but was killed by revolutionaries. Why might reform make some people want even more change?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Catherine the Great in Rule History, including her 1773 round on Pugachev's peasant revolt. She tightened serfdom; her great-grandson Alexander II ended it. Discuss: what had changed in Russia between 1773 and 1861?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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