Although the majority of the characters in Leo Tolstoy's important novel Anna Karenina are nobility, the reforms implemented by Tsar Alexander II for the lower classes had profound effects on theirs. The period of his rule was an era of change for the Russian people because many of his reforms had a direct impact on society. Some of these reforms included changes to the organization of Russian social classes, educational and agricultural reforms, and a huge increase in urbanization (Riasanovsky 24-27). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayAlexander II profoundly influenced the daily lives of his subjects and the lives of Russians in the generations following his fall from power. Perhaps his most important reform of Russian society was the liberation of serfs in 1861. Serfdom was a form of slavery established in the early days of Russian feudal agriculture. Serfs would be tied to the land and owned by the landowner. This was a long-standing practice in Russia, but serf revolts were imminent when Alexander II came to the throne. He worked for their freedom as soon as he came to power and after six years of hard work his Emancipation Act was signed. When they were finally freed, some remained and worked on the farms as before but with greater freedom of mobility while others moved to the cities (Eklof 19-28). This abolition of serfdom had many effects on the Russian nobility. In Anna Karenina, Levin and his friend Sviyazhsky get into a heated argument about the authority they should have as landowners over the muzhik, the new workforce that formed after the emancipation of the serfs (Bradley 143). Their arguments focus primarily on issues of education for newly freed people and how much control they should be subject to, considering that these workers were no longer legally under their control. The debate on education was in fact rooted in a reality dear to Tolstoy's heart. He was personally responsible for opening schools for the peasants and attempting to increase literacy through the lower classes as best he could (Suder). This idea of ​​educating the peasants is discussed between Levin and Sviyazhsky with Sviyazhsky supporting their education and Levin supporting the status quo. “In Europe, rational agriculture works because farmers are educated; which means that here the peasants must be educated, that's all... To educate the peasants three things are needed: schools, schools and schools” (336). Levin opposes these arguments and offers a different point of view. “How will schools help farmers improve their material well-being?” Levin asks Sviyazhsky. “You say that school, education, will give them new needs. Even worse, because they will not be able to satisfy them” (337). Throughout the novel, Tolstoy makes it clear to the reader that this was a time of agricultural reform. There was a decrease in the labor force for agriculture, as many freed serfs went to the cities, so the policies that were in place during the feudal days had to be completely reinvented (Lewis 776). Europe was reforming its systems and moving away from the feudal idea towards a more modern system that gave way to broader industrialization. The Russian people weren't entirely on board with changing their traditional agricultural practices, especially making them more European, but they knew something had to be done. With this mentality, the agricultural system was renewed and re-established in order to leave room for industrialization andcontinue without serfs (Geyer 128). Let us look again to Levin to understand how Tolstoy incorporates these social changes into the novel. Levin, a farm owner, passionately expresses his views on how agriculture should be structured and how farmers should be controlled. After the day with Sviyazhsky, he mentally reviews their conversations and has some interesting insights. He thinks about it himself: You say that our agriculture doesn't work because the farmers hate all improvements and that they must be introduced by the authorities. Now, if agriculture didn't work at all without these improvements, you'd be right; but it works, and it works only here... Let's try to consider the workforce not as an ideal workforce but as the Russian muzhik with his instincts, and organize our agriculture accordingly. (338)Levin's insights show us that he prefers a more personal approach to farming. He wants a united Russian workforce, though not necessarily a return to serfdom. He feels that men should care about their jobs, just like the old man he and Sviyazhsky met together. Levin makes these ideas more apparent when he decides to actually go out and work with his farmers in the fields. Just as the old man is an active landowner, Levin is a very active farm owner. Levin goes into detail about his work with his peasants and at one point describes the personal aspect of joining their work:…He [Levin] had taken a scythe from a peasant and began to mow. He enjoyed the work so much that he began mowing several times; he had mowed the entire lawn in front of the house and since the spring of that year he had made a plan: to spend the whole day mowing with the farmers. (247-248)This passage truly shows how much not only country life means to Levin, but how much the life he leads honors his truest intentions. He respects the muzhiks and works alongside them, realizing his belief that farming should be a personal experience and that farm owners like him should have a larger role than simply being an authority figure for the muzhiks. The latest aspect of change in Russian society was the rapid pace at which people moved from the countryside to the city. Urbanization occurred at unprecedented rates at the time; a disturbing statement considering that life in the city was significantly more expensive than in the country and the lower-middle classes were extremely poor (Lewis 776). The newly freed servants had no opportunity to settle in the countryside, they did not earn money, they simply fled to a better life in the city as soon as their emancipation was decreed. This led to vast overcrowding in Russian cities, St. Petersburg and Moscow. The cities, which had been inhabited mainly by nobles, were flooded by crowds of peasants and members of the emerging middle class, which caused a culture shock and led to many new ways of thinking for the new Russians residing in the cities. Many were disgusted by the idea of ​​cities being taken over by ordinary people, but there were some who had completely new ideas on how to solve the problem. During this period, new ways of thinking and new philosophies developed, largely due to the rapid rate of urbanization (Walicki 86). Tolstoy once again uses Levin as a tool to share his personal beliefs about urbanization and the focus on city versus country. Levin is, of course, a country landowner who does well outside the society of city life. Levin has no regrets about the way he lives his life, but he realizes that others, including the family of his beloved Kitty.