Tsar Alexander II freed the serfs in Russia in 1861.
No, Catherine the Great did not free the serfs in Russia during her reign.
No, Catherine the Great did not free the serfs during her reign as Empress of Russia.
Yes, he did, although the serfs weren't happy with the "freedom" they got and the landowners weren't happy with how they got it. Alexander II was assassinated, but it wasn't necessarily because of freeing the serfs.
Catherine the Great ended serfdom in Russia by issuing a manifesto in 1767 that allowed landowners to free their serfs voluntarily. This was followed by further reforms in 1785 that granted serfs more rights and protections.
A complete revolution was needed to free the serfs of Russia. However, that freedom did not last long and ended up being worse for them.
Tsar Alexander II "freed" the serfs in 1861, which sounded well and good but they weren't truly freed. In order to provide the "freed" serfs with land to work and live on, the Russian government took land from the owners, paid them for it then turned it over to village collectives called mirs. The serfs were part of the mir and were required to repay the Russian government over a 49 year period. The "free" serfs could not leave the land until the government was fully paid. Neither the landowners nor the serfs were happy with the situation. Alexander II was later assassinated in 1881.
Catherine the Great's decision to free the serfs in Russia during her reign had a significant impact on the social and economic landscape. The emancipation of the serfs led to increased social mobility and improved living conditions for many peasants. However, it also caused economic challenges for the nobility who relied on serf labor for their estates. Overall, the decision contributed to the modernization of Russia's economy and society.
set serfs free and gave them land
No, Catherine the Great did not free the serfs during her reign.
Tsar Alexander II "freed" the serfs. He didn't free them entirely though. Serfs were bound to the land they worked on rather to the owners of the land. Alexander II had the Russian government buy some land from the owners and gave the land to the "freed" serfs in collective in each village. The serf remained bond to the land until he repaid the government the money it had paid to the owners over a 49 year period of time. A serf could leave the land but would have no land to work.
The last countries to free serfs (as opposed to slaves) were Tibet and Bhutan, in 1959. The last serfs freed in Europe were in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1918. Please see the link below.