Russia and the Abolition of Slavery Part I

Lecture  by Dr. Michelle DenBeste, California State University, Fresno

Notes by Marsha Ingrao

Timeline modified from Wikipedia

1682 Peter the Great begins reign

1725 Peter the Great dies;  Catherine I begins reign

1727  Catherine I dies; Peter II begins reign

1730  Peter II dies Anna Ivanovna begins reign
1740  Anna dies; Elizabeth, daughter of Peter I becomes Empress

1761 Elizabeth dies; Peter III begins reign

1762 Catherine II the Great begins reign

1796 Catherine dies

Even today some date abolition of slavery to 1762.    Russia too big to exert much control before 1863. 

Life in the 17th Century

Law code of 1649 consolidated slaves and peasants into serfs and prevented them from moving around.   It happened because of the military system.  The officers were noblemen so they were paid through land and peasants land wasn't good so farmers worked for a while then moved.  Serfs were more hunter or gathers, and didn't care at first that their movement was constrained.  In western Europe there was a dual or mutual obligation. There weren't any laws, or central government.  Feudalism implied a contract.  Noblemen were obliged to take care of the higher ups, but they weren't obligated to protect the serfs from marauding invaders.  In 15th centuries the government has no control over anything.  Invaders from the north became the ruling class. In those early times people who did something for the government became a noble.  Estate owners were the military and were away serving the tsar.  Their service granted them the right to own serfs.

In the village there was an older man who was the justice.  Most village houses had some garden behind the house, and the serfs could fish, graze the animals.  About 7% of the serfs had none of this because they were household serfs, mostly the women, or skilled artisans.

Life in the 18th Century 

Peter I, the Great

Peter I, the Great, abolishes noble service.  Peter orders everyone to cut of their beards, he dresses more European.  However, he needs serfs for his army.  They had levies every year from 1705 conscripting serfs to serve in the army for life.  The townspeople had a funeral for those who were prescripted into service.  The families of the serfs that went into the service were freed.  When  Russia started loosing in war they had to change the system.  Peter I the Great decreed that army would be paid in salaries, and cost was met through taxation and conscription.  

By mid and late 18th centuries the was a battle between the state and nobles over serfs, but nobles won.  Tsars couldn't really control the nobles because if they tried, the nobles killed them.  So the Tsars controlled the taxes.  Most nobles weren't living the way they wanted to.  They were trying to win government jobs.  They were always spending too much money on the backs of the serfs who were being taxed to death.  The state would have preferred that the nobles be subservient to the state.  Most nobles were not directly involved in the oversight of the estate day to day.  The nobles left everything to the serfs.  So the serfs on a day to day basis are left alone, so they went about their lives as though they were not a serfs.  They did not try to make vast improvements on the  land.  Most peasants live in villages within multiple family units.  The estate owner has a house somewhere else.  

Catherine II, the Great

Catherine the Great was determined to get rid of serfdom but it didn't happen.


I took these notes at the Scholar Series sponsored by Tulare County Office of Education and the San Joaquin Valley Council for the Social Studies.  I am neither an expert nor a student of Russian history.  To help me understand as I rewrote my notes, I referred often to Wikipedia, and Google Images.    

More resources:

Dr. DenBeste's Power Point

http://russianhistoryblog.org/
Article about Catherine the Great on my other website, tchistorygal.com