The commemorative medal is dedicated to the most important reform of the state, which was conducted by Emperor Alexander II — the abolition of serfdom.

Alexander II signed “Manifesto on the Abolition of Serfdom” and “General Statute Concerning Peasants Leaving Serf Dependence” on February 19, 1861. These documents regulated the personal emancipation of the peasants and the conditions of their redemption of the land. Peasants were no longer considered serfs, and their houses and all movable property became their property. However, the land itself remained the property of the landlords, who gave the peasants the use of allotments on the condition that they worked off the base service. The working hours ranged from 30 days per year for women between the ages of 17 and 50 and up to 40 days for men between 18 and 55.

If the peasants did not want to work hard, they could buy their land from the property owner. In that case, the peasant paid 20 percent of the land value to the property owner, and the government paid the remaining 80 percent. The peasant had to pay the money back to the state within 49 years at 5.6 percent per annum. According to the original plan of the reform, the full transfer of land to the peasants should have been completed by 1932. However, since January 1, 1907, thanks to the agrarian reform of Pyotr Stolypin, the redemption payments were abolished.