Stein-Hardenberg reforms

The Stein-Hardenberg reforms, implemented in Russia between 1861 and 1881, were a series of modernizing efforts aimed at transforming the country’s social, political, and economic systems. Key reforms included the emancipation of serfs, which freed millions of peasants from serfdom and granted them land; judicial and administrative reforms to create a fairer legal system; and local government changes that introduced elected councils called zemstvos. These reforms aimed to modernize Russia, promote economic development, and reduce social tensions, laying groundwork for further modernization, though challenges and resistance persisted afterward.