Serfdom in Russia lack of primogeniture, and the high turnover and mobility from estate to estate. The Tsar's aunt Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna played a powerful role backstage in the years 1855 to 1861. Using her close relationship with her nephew Alexander II, she supported and guided his desire for emancipation, and helped mobilize the support of key advisors. In 1861 Alexander II freed all serfs in a major agrarian reform, stimulated in part by his view that "it is better to liberate the peasants from above" than to wait until they won their freedom by risings "from below". Serfdom was abolished in
Capital punishment in Kazakhstan Kazakhstan sentenced mass-murderer Ruslan Kulikbayev to death for terrorism after he was convicted of killing ten people (including 8 policemen) in a shooting attack against police officers in Almaty. Kulikbayev is currently the only person under a sentence of death in Kazakhstan. Capital punishment in Kazakhstan Capital punishment in Kazakhstan has been abolished for ordinary crimes, but is still permitted for crimes occurring in special circumstances (such as war crimes). Kazakhstan, Russia, and Belarus are the only European countries which have not abolished capital punishment for all crimes (Russia retains it in law, but has "de-facto" abolished it through a