伟大的解放者亚历山大二世与俄罗斯的自由
2017-10-21蒋华志
摘 要: 2011年3月3日,俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫在圣彼得堡举行的“伟大的改革和俄罗斯的现代化国际研讨会上的讲话”,充分肯定了沙皇亚历山大二世改革的伟大意义。梅德韦杰夫认为,亚历山大二世最大的贡献就在于在俄罗斯千年历史上,首次给予了俄罗斯人以自由。同时,梅德韦杰夫提出了俄罗斯在现代化过程中应该注意的五大问题:自由不能推迟;政治转型应该理性、渐进和毫不动摇;不容忍、极端主义和恐怖主义的极端表现将仍然是自由发展的敌人;国家不是发展的目的,而是发展的工具;国家是活的有机体,必须给予社会自我组织的机会。
关键词: 亚历山大二世;伟大的改革;自由;梅德韦杰夫
【中图分类号】 K512 【文献标识码】 A【文章编号】 2236-1879(2017)20-0283-01
正确的历史观给人以教益,正确的历史观可以避免人们犯同样的错误。相反,错误的历史观一定会让人误入歧途,错误的历史观一定会重复前人曾经犯过的错误。
从彼得大帝开始,俄罗斯就开启了现代化的历程。但是,俄罗斯300多年的现代化的历程,有太多的悲剧与曲折。
在俄罗斯历史上有许多著名的统治者。无疑,亚历山大二世是一个伟大的统治者之一。他最伟大的贡献是开启了俄罗斯自由之门。遗憾的是,他开启的自由之门被后来的激进主义所打断。特别是布尔什维克的暴政,彻底扼杀了俄罗斯的自由。在布尔什维克暴政下,前苏联各族人民经历了俄罗斯历史上和人类历史上最黑暗的篇章。俄罗斯的自由荡然无存。前俄罗斯各族人民毫无人权和自由可言。正是布尔什维克的暴政构成了苏联帝国解体的最深沉的原因。
今天,俄罗斯人依然在为自由而奋斗。在俄罗斯人为自由奋斗的今天,人们更不应该忘记开启了俄罗斯自由之门的伟大的解放者亚历山大二世。
2011年3月3日,俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫在纪念俄罗斯废除农奴制150周年举行的研讨会上的讲话具有十分重要的意义。为自由奋斗的各国人民应该认真阅读这篇文献。自由是可贵的——这就是梅德韦杰夫要表达的核心思想。因为自由是人类发自内心的永恒的呼唤和追求。
俄罗斯总统梅德韦杰夫:下午好!
我很高兴地欢迎这个专门讨论俄罗斯十九世纪伟大改革的国际会议的与会者和嘉宾。
如果今天我们不认为这些改革是我们历史的一个组成部分,这将是令人惊讶的。对于所有相信现代俄罗斯进步的人来说,仔细审查是科学和所有参与政治的人的绝对优先事项。他们的详细研究对于我们的经济和整个社会的现代化进程至关重要。
伟大的改革是这次大会和我们早些时候听到的演讲的主题。还有更多的关于伟大的改革的信息。伟大的改革开始于废除农奴制。我们国家今天和今年都在庆祝这个事件150周年。亚历山大二世皇帝在圣彼得堡签署了“解放宣言”。我刚刚把它拿在手里。这是一个绝对独特的文件,包括内容,努力程度以及对我们国家的重要性。
圣彼得堡是一个特殊的城市。彼得大帝将它定位为一个变革的城市。此后,圣彼得堡一直是我们国家与欧洲和睦相处的象征。
在十九世纪,当俄罗斯站在十字路口的时候,在欧洲国家正在形成的时候,就在这里开展了广泛的转型和经济变革,欧洲国家已经有一些已经完成或还有待改革。这是当时的必须。
俄罗斯也需要改变,成为与欧洲共享价值的先进国家。在这个时期,这个关键的选择是对发展的选择。它开始于废除农奴制,几个世纪以来,这些奴隶制破坏了数百万俄罗斯人民的人权和尊严。寻求人身自由使他们成为俄罗斯帝国的完全的成员,行使主动权并发表意见。
今天我们正在继续改进我们的民主制度,这些制度仍然非常不完善,我们正试图改变我们的经济,改变我们的政治制度。事实上,我们正在继续150年前制定的历程。
当然,我们不应该在改革后立即理想化这种情况,但这是他们的预期目的。这些改革促进了社会流动,促进了城市人口的增长,鼓励了向资本主义经济管理过渡,最终为俄罗斯的经济进步与发展,国内市场和工业增長的演变铺平了道路。
土地改革紧随其后的是城乡改革,改变了地方政府的结构。这一切对我们今天的国家来说仍然是非常重要的。
法庭诉讼发生重大变化。俄罗斯在其1000年的历史上首次见证了有争议的行动,陪审团,治安法官和法律辩护的审判。
公共教育改革使所有社会阶层都能接受教育。当时大学也获得了一定程度的自主权。到当时为止,欧洲最严格的审查制度变得不那么严厉。
瓦西里·克柳切夫斯基(Vasily Klyuchevsky)写道,在1861年2月19日以前的几个世纪里,俄罗斯没有任何具有重大意义的法律,同样决定了我们生活中各种各样领域的发展。显然,整个国家一直在等待这些变革。俄罗斯最好的人民为这些改革而奋斗,并得到了被称为“解放者”的亚历山大二世皇帝的支持和执行。伟大的改革对他来说肯定是一个巨大的挑战,也是一个特别勇敢的行为。我们不能忘记这一点。
请记住,凯瑟琳大帝和亚历山大一世都意识到有必要废除农奴制,农奴制实际上是奴隶制。尼古拉一世在农业问题上建立了九个秘密委员会,多次宣布要释放农民,给他们所有的土地。但是,这些坚决的统治者最终都没有勇气从上面进行革命。
正是亚历山大二世命令将俄罗斯从不公正、古老和不人道的秩序中解放出来。正如任何承诺进行根本性改变的人一样,他感到气馁。他因为种种原因而气馁。有些人诉诸于在这种情况下常常使用的论据,即国家会分崩离析,最终会变得混乱。最引人注意的是,人民还没有为自由做好准备,他们不会赞赏,也不会知道什么与此有关——基本上说,他们就是不需要自由。
像任何改革者一样,他很少听到感激之情。他的一位同时代人说过:“无论皇帝做了什么,他的一切行动都遇到了批评和迫不及待的要求。”但是,作为一个伟大的改革者,亚历山大二世知道俄罗斯必须与其他欧洲国家保持同等水准。他明白,俄罗斯需要自由,渴望自由。我想引用他的话,我以前已经说过:“我太确定了我们任何人能够阻止我的神圣事业。”
因此,在俄羅斯,农奴制的奴隶制被废除,早于包括美国在内的其他许多国家。当然,当时在民主方面还没有明确的理解,也没有建立一个成熟的公民社会的需要,对这些概念的态度在这个时期是不同的。但最重要的是做出了选择。自由成为俄罗斯整整一千年历史上第一次的价值。这是至关重要的。给我们带来自由的那个人为自由而献身。
对政治和社会转型的思考应该理性和循序渐进,但要坚定不移。对我们国家发生的事情的争议可能永远不会结束。这是人类探究的本质,是历史研究的本质。但问题仍然存在。在几十年之后,在我们国家中,自由的意愿如何结束于布尔什维克专政呢?谁对这个专政承担更大的责任:那些徘徊在改革之中的或延迟改革的人们,或者反过来,那些在这个非常困难的局面中匆忙从事的人们呢?亚历山大三世统治的反弹还是俄罗斯第一个议会过分的激进主义是不可避免的呢?最后,十月革命和随之而来的古拉格是不可避免的吗?有人认为,我国20世纪的惨剧是自由注入不成功的结果,认为伟大改革不适合我国人民的怀疑者是对的。
我持不同的看法。亚历山大二世继承了一个主要政治制度是农奴制和军事的和官僚指挥链的国家。他看到在帝国明显强大背后这些机构的弱点和无效性——我们总是知道如何给人留下印象。经济效率低下,与发展目标不符的社会结构威胁到国家即将崩溃。
亚历山大二世和他的支持者抛弃了陈规陋习,虽然这是非常困难的,但并指明了俄罗斯未来的道路。这是他们最大的成就。这条路很长、很困难,我们不能说到今天已经完成了。但是,自由、正义和随后的经济繁荣从来没有快速而容易地向世界任何国家传播。
我希望二十一世纪的俄罗斯能够看到十九世纪改革派的正确和远见。
今天我们正在继续完善民主制度,这些制度仍然非常不完善。我们正试图改变我们的经济,改变我们的政治制度。事实上,我们正在继续150年前制定的历程。我想提请你们注意这样一个事实:有关我们国家的特殊方式或事实证明最可行的、长久的思想的苏维埃实验不是幻想,而是一种正常的、人道主义秩序的概念——这是由亚历山大二世设想的。从历史的角度来看,亚历山大二世是正确的,而不是尼古拉一世和斯大林。
这个遥远的时代的经验依然与我们的实际工作有关。我想列举一些我今天认为重要的原则。在某种程度上,这是150年前处理经验的一部分。
首先,自由不能推迟到后来,我们不能害怕自由的个人不足以利用个人自由。那条路通向死胡同。
第二,政治和社会转型应该理性、渐进和毫不动摇。
第三,不容忍、极端主义和恐怖主义的极端表现将仍然是自由发展的敌人。记住,对我们国家而言,这是一个巨大的问题,恐怖主义事实上似乎与大改革同时出现。
第四,我们必须明确,国家不是发展的目的,而是发展的工具。只有全社会参与这些过程才能产生所期望的积极效果,只有在这种情况下,我们才有机会取得成功。
第五,我们必须记住,国家是活的有机体,而不是复制当今流行思想的机器。通过拧紧螺丝不能让国家团结在一起。另外,很明显的是,过分苛刻的政策和过度的控制通常不会导致善战胜恶,或参照现代现实,不会导致对腐败的胜利而是促使腐败成长,不会导致治理的进化而是导致治理的退化。因此,必须给予社会自我组织的机会。
同事们,
伟大改革的创始人和亚历山大二世并不是仅仅考虑未来,而是创造了未来,这是最大的挑战。实际的政治总是比最美丽的理论更难。但他们认为,这些改革可以在没有动荡或暴力的情况下实施,可以将落后的封建俄国变成一个现代和自由的国家。
现代化和进步的目标一直是增强社会、国际关系和日常生活中的自由,确保每个个体生命和基本权利与自由始终受到国家的保护。
免于恐惧、屈辱、贫穷、和疾病的自由,所有人的自由—— 这是我认为的发展的目标。这不仅仅是漂亮的修辞。这是每个理性的和现代的人所期望的。不同的话可以用来表达这一点,但这就是我们每天的想法。
我们将在明年庆祝俄罗斯国家1150周年,至少如果你赞同这个事实的传统观点的话。我想告知你们,今天我已经签署了关于组织庆祝活动的行政命令。
我们国家已经存在了11个多世纪。这个国家有很多不同的形式。它的政府,政治制度,战略目标和生活方式都在不断变化。我们的历史是非常动荡和戏剧性的,我们当然可以通过研究来了解很多。但我希望在过去的150年中,我们已经逐渐意识到最重要的是:自由总是比没有自由更好。
谢谢大家。
President ofRussia Dmitry Medvedev:Good afternoon,
I am happy to welcome all the participants and guests of this international conference devoted to the great 19th century reforms in Russia.
It would be surprising if today we did not perceive these reforms as an integral part of our history. Their careful scrutiny is an absolute priority for science and for all those involved in politics, for all who believe in the progress of modern Russia. Their detailed study is essential for the modernisation processes unfolding in our economy and in our society as a whole.
The age of great reforms, which is the theme of this conference and the presentations we heard earlier and of which there are more to come, began with the abolition of serfdom. Our country is marking the 150th anniversary of this event today and in the course of this year. Emperor Alexander II signed the Emancipation Manifesto in St Petersburg. I have just held it in my hands. It is an absolutely unique document both in terms of its content, the amount of effort involved in adopting it and its importance for our country.
St Petersburg is a special city. Peter the Great established it as a city of change. Since then St Petersburg has been a symbol of rapprochement between our country and Europe.
In the 19th century, when Russia stood at the crossroads, extensive transformations and economic changes were launched here just as they were taking shape in European countries, where some of them had already been completed or were still to come. This was an imperative of the time.
Russia also needed to change, to become an advanced country that shares values with Europe. This crucial choice, a choice for development and freedom was made in that period. It began with the abolition of serfdom, which had for centuries undermined the human rights and dignity of millions of Russian people. Finding personal freedom enabled them to become full-fledged subjects of the Russian Empire, to exercise their initiative and to express their opinions.
Of course, we should not idealise the situation immediately following the reforms, but that was their intended purpose. The reforms contributed to social mobility, promoted the growth of the urban population, encouraged the transition to capitalist forms of economic management and, ultimately, paved the way for Russia's economic progress and development, the evolution of the domestic market and industrial growth.
The land reform was followed by rural and urban reforms, which changed the structure of local government. All this remains extremely important for our country today.
Major changes occurred in court proceedings. For the first time in its 1000-year history, Russia saw the establishment of contested action, trial by jury, magistrate court and legal defence.
The public education reform made education accessible for all social classes. Universities also received some degree of autonomy at that time. Censorship, which up to that moment had been among the most stringent in Europe, became less severe.
Vasily Klyuchevsky wrote that in the course of the centuries preceding February 19, 1861 Russia had had no law of such monumental importance, one that determined to an equal extent the development of a wide variety of spheres in our lives. It is obvious that the entire country had been waiting for these transformations. The best minds in Russia fought for these reforms and they were supported and carried out by Emperor Alexander II, who has been rightly called the Liberator. The great reforms were certainly an enormous challenge for him and an exceptionally courageous act. We must not forget this.
Bear in mind that Catherine the Great and Alexander I had both been conscious of the need to abolish serfdom, which was in effect slavery. Emperor Nicholas I established nine secret committees on agrarian issues, repeatedly declared that he wanted to free the peasants and give them the land they had worked. But ultimately none of these resolute rulers had the courage to carry out the revolution from above.
It became the destiny of Alexander II to liberate Russia from the unjust, archaic and inhuman order. As it happens with any person who undertakes to carry out fundamental changes, he was discouraged. He was discouraged by many and for various reasons. Some resorted to the arguments always used in such cases, that the country would fall apart, that it would descend into chaos and most notably, that the people were not ready for freedom, that they wouldnt appreciate it and wouldnt know what to do with it – basically, that they simply didnt need freedom.
Like any reformer, he rarely heard words of gratitude. One of his contemporaries said: “Whatever the Emperor did, all his actions met with criticism and impatient demands.” But as a great reformer, Alexander II knew that Russia must stand on a par with other European states. He understood that Russia needed freedom, that it yearned for freedom. I would like to quote his words, which I think have already sounded earlier: “I am too certain of our sacred cause for anyone to be able to stop me.”
Thus the slavery of serfdom was abolished in Russia — and earlier than in many other countries, including the United States. Of course, at the time there was no clear understanding of democracy or of the need to establish a mature civil society, and the attitude towards these concepts was different at that period. But most importantly, the choice was made. Freedom became a value for the first time in the entire 1000-year history of Russia. That is crucial. And the man who brought us freedom gave his life for it.
Disputes about what happened to our country later will probably never end. This is the essence of human inquiry, the essence of historical research. But the questions will remain. How could it happen that in our country the desire for freedom ended with the Bolshevik dictatorship several decades later Who bears greater responsibility for this dictatorship: those who lingered with the reforms and postponed them or, conversely, those who acted too hastily and tried to achieve too much in a very difficult situation Was the backlash of the Alexander III reign or the excessive radicalism of the first Russian parliaments inevitable Finally, was the October Revolution unavoidable with the gulags that followed Some believe that our countrys tragic 20th century history was the result of an unsuccessful freedom injection and that the sceptics who believed the great reforms were not suitable for the people of our country had been right.
I hold a different view. Alexander II had inherited a country whose major political institutions were serfdom and the military and bureaucratic chain of command. He saw the weakness and futility of these institutions behind the apparent might of the empire – and we always knew how to make an impression. Inefficient economy and a social structure that was incompatible with development goals threatened an imminent collapse of the country.
Alexander II and his supporters abandoned conventions, although it was extremely difficult, and showed Russia the path into the future. This is their greatest achievement. This path was long and very difficult, and we cannot say that it has been completed to this day. But freedom, justice, and the subsequent economic prosperity never came quickly and easily to any nation in the world.
I hope that 21st century Russia will bear witness to the rightness and far-sightedness of the 19th century reformers.
Today we are continuing to improve our democratic institutions, which are still very imperfect, trying to change our economy and to transform our political system. In fact, we are continuing the course that was laid 150 years ago. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that it's not the fantasy about our nations special way or the Soviet experiment that turned out be the most viable, long-lived ideas, but the concept of a normal, humane order which was conceived by Alexander II. And ultimately, from the historical perspective he was right, and not Nicholas I or Stalin.
The experience of that distant age remains relevant to our practical efforts. I would like to name a few principles that I consider important today. In a way, this is part of processing the experience of 150 years ago.
First of all, freedom cannot be postponed until later and we must not be afraid that a free individual may make an inadequate use of a personal freedom. That path leads to a dead end.
Second, political and social transformations should be thought out, rational and gradual but unfaltering.
Third, intolerance, extremism and terrorism as its extreme manifestation will remain the enemies of free development. Bear in mind that terrorism, which is a huge problem for our country, in fact, appeared as a phenomenon almost simultaneously with the great reforms.
Fourth, we must be clear that the state is not the purpose of development but a development tool. Only the involvement of all of society in these processes can give the desired positive effect, and only in this case do we stand a chance of success.
Fifth, we must remember that the nation is a living organism and not a machine for replicating the prevailing ideas of the day. It cannot be kept together by tightened screws. It is also clear that excessively harsh policies and an excess of control usually do not lead to the triumph of good over evil, or with reference to modern reality, to a victory over corruption but to its growth, not to the evolution of governance but to its degradation. It is therefore essential to give society opportunities for self-organisation.
Colleagues,
The authors of the great reforms and Alexander II did not just think about the future but created it, and that is the biggest challenge. Practical politics is always more difficult than the most beautiful theories. But they believed that the reforms could be implemented without turmoil or violence, that it was possible to transform the backward and feudal Russia into a modern and free country.
The aim of modernisation and progress has always been to enhance freedom in society, in international relations and in everyday life, to ensure that each individual life and fundamental rights and freedoms are always protected by the state.
Freedom from fear, from humiliation, from poverty, from disease, freedom for all – that is the aim of development as I see it. This is not just high rhetoric. This is what every reasonable and modern person expects. Different words can be used to express this but this is what we think about every day.
We will celebrate the 1150th anniversary of Russian statehood next year, at least if you subscribe to the conventional point of view on this fact. I would like to inform you that today I have signed an executive order on the organisation of events for the celebration.
Our state, our country has existed for over 11 centuries. This state took very different forms. Its government, political regime, strategic goals and way of life have all changed through the ages. Our history was very turbulent and dramatic, and we can certainly understand a great deal by studying it. But I hope that in the last 150 years we have come to realise the most important thing: that freedom is always better than its absence. Thank you.
資料来源:http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/10506
作者简介:蒋华志,1963年9月,男,汉族,四川苍溪人。历史学硕士、乐山师范学院马克思主义学院副教授。研究方向:中国近现代史、国际关系史、英语教学方法。四川省乐山市 乐山师范学院 614004