Ferdinand Bureau (ca. 1820-1893)
1859-1861 (ca)
[Russian countryside]
Salted paper printCEROS - Jean-Mathieu Martini / Serge PlantureuxBinoche et Giquello, épreuves choisies, 18 november 2010, lot no: 76
Twenty-five salted paper prints from glass and paper negatives in a bound folio album.
The mid 1850's were the first years a private journey in the countryside was possible. Tsar Alexander II, who succeeded Nicholas I in 1855, was a man of a liberal disposition, who saw no alternative but to implement change. Alexander initiated substantial reforms in education, the government, the judiciary, and the military. In 1861 he proclaimed the emancipation of about 20 million privately held serfs. Local commissions effected emancipation by giving land and freedom to the serfs. The land allotted to the peasants was bought from the owners with the State's assistance. The government issued bonds to the landowners for this purpose and collected redemption payments from the peasants at the rate of 5% of the total cost yearly.
Reforms of local government closely followed emancipation. In 1864 most local government in the European part of Russia was organized into provincial and district elected self-government (zemstvos), which were made up of representatives of all classes and were responsible for local schools, public health, roads, prisons, food supply, and other concerns.
In 1864 Alexander II implemented the great judicial reform. In major towns, it established courts with juries. In general, the judicial system functioned effectively, but the government lacked the finances and cultural influence to extend the court system to the villages, where traditional peasant justice continued to operate with minimal interference from provincial officials.
Avec l'avÞnement d'Alexandre II, la pays se dota de quelques routes que purent emprunter les photographes les plus audacieux. Les recherches sur Bureau sont en cours. Mme Barkhatova,
Rousskaya svetopis, perviy vek fotoiskousstva, lui consacre une courte notice page 362
LL/41098
