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204 A Herzen Reader 3. This is from a response published in The Moscow Gazette on April 5, 1863. 4. The Liberal Palmerston was at that time prime minister. 5. Rudolf von Gneist (1816–1895) was a jurist, legal reformer, and political theorist.  56  The Bell, No. 166, June 20, 1863. Herzen was well informed on activities in the Russian provinces; he saw the hand of some organization other than Land and Liberty in the appearance of a fake proclamation from the tsar to the serfs, and he felt a duty to criticize the ideological position and tactics of any group who, supposedly in Alexander II’s name, summoned peasants to confiscate private and government-held lands. This kind of deception became an even more widespread tactic by the end of the 1860s. Despite Herzen’s stand, Valuev believed that the manifesto was the work of “Herzen and Company” (Let 3:503).  The Volga Manifesto and Russia in a State of Siege [1863] Here is the text of a manifesto that was distributed in villages along the banks of the Volga.1 We are taking it from a printed copy. By the grace of God, We, Alexander the Second, etc. In Our unceasing concern for the well-being of all Our subjects, We, by an edict of the 19th of February 1861, acknowledged the desirability of removing the bonds of serfdom from the rural population of the Russia that has been entrusted to Us by God. Yielding to the entreaties of the landowners, We, however heavily it weighed on our royal heart, ordered all serfs to remain in complete subservience to their former owners for a period of two years, that is, until the 19th of February of the current year, 1863. Now, having called upon the Almighty for aid, We declare in this manifesto the complete freedom of all of Our subjects, no matter to which rank or status they belonged. Henceforth freedom to believe and practice one’s faith will be the right of every person. To all former serfs, both private and state, We give a fixed amount of land without any payment for it either to the landowners or to the state, for their full, inalienable, hereditary use. The Volga Manifesto and Russia in a State of Siege 205 Relying on the loyalty of our people and recognizing the benefit to the country of abolishing Our army, We, from this day forward and forever, free Our beloved subjects from every kind of recruiting and military obligations; for that reason, We are ordering the soldiers in Our army to return to their native regions. The payment of poll tax for the purpose of maintaining such a vast army, from the day this Manifesto is published onward, is abolished. We command that all soldiers returning from service, as well as all house serfs, factory workers, and urban dwellers be given without any charge an allotment of land from the public holdings of our vast empire. In every region,2 as in every town, the people will choose four people who enjoy their confidence, who, after meeting in a district center, will choose in common the district representative and other district authorities, four from each district; in the provincial capital, they will choose a provincial representative and other provincial authorities . Deputies from every province, summoned to Moscow, will compose the State Council, which, with Our assistance, will govern the entire Russian land. That is Our royal will. Anyone who declares the contrary and does not fulfill this Our royal will is Our enemy. We trust that the devotion of the people will protect Our throne from the attacks of ill-intentioned people who do not justify Our royal trust. We command all Our subjects to believe only Our royal words. If troops, deceived by their commanders, if generals, governors, and intermediaries dare to oppose with force this manifesto, then each person should rise up to defend the freedom given by Me, and, not sparing your life, enter into battle with all who dare to oppose this Our will. May the Almighty Lord bless our undertakings! God is with us! Come to your senses, heathens, and submit, for God is with us! Issued in Moscow, on the thirty-first day of March, in the one thousand eight hundred and sixty-third year since the birth of Christ, and the ninth year of Our reign. In the original copy signed by HRH3 Alexander Printed in St. Petersburg...

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