World history moment: Czar Alexander II emancipates Russian serfs

World history moment: Czar Alexander II emancipates Russian serfs
World history moment: Czar Alexander II emancipates Russian serfs

World history moment: Czar Alexander II emancipates Russian serfs

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On February February 19, 1861 Czar Alexander II emancipated Russia’s serfs. Historian John Schmidt explains how it happened. PHOTO: Czar Alexander II of Russia (Wikimedia Commons)