On February 19, 1861, Emperor Alexander II signed the Manifesto on granting serfs the rights of the state of free rural inhabitants and on the structure of their everyday life. Together with the Manifesto, 17 legislative acts were signed, on which the same hand was inscribed: "To be according to this." In the Manifesto, as was customary to appeal to the people, it was announced that the emperor had come to the idea of ​ ​ changing "the position of serfs for the best," seeing in this "lot, through the course of events, given to Us by the hand of Providence."