** Russia Russian serfdom serfs








Russian Serfdom: Historical Development


Figure 1.--Images of Russian serfs are almost entirely drawings and paintings. We see some photogographic images of the serfs but only after they were emancipated by Alexander II (1861). We can find no information on this photograph, but it looks to have been taken in the late-19th century. Notice the children working in the field. The serfs were freed, but they were also deeply endebted meaning that their financial well being was not radically changed.

Serfdom, the Russian form of feudalism, played a major role in Russian life through the 19th century when it was abolished and the aftermath into the 20th century. Serfdom as in the West, was not the original status of the Russian and Ukranian peasantry. Serfdom developed in Western Europe after the demise of the Roman Empire. After the fall of the Roman Empire in Europe the lack of a central authority gave rise to local lords exercising control. In return for protection the peasants gave their allegiance to the local lords giving rise to the feudal system. The feudal system was not slavery. Peasants were not owned by the lord and had legal rights. They could, for example, own property. Serfdom is the Russian form of feudalism. The feudal system was still widespread in Western Europe as late as the 16th century, but was seriously declining by the 17th century, except in Eastern Europe, especially the absolutist Tsarist Empire. . In areas east of the Rhine, the history of serfdom was different, especially areas as far east as Russia. In Russia and the Ukraine, enserfment was one of the results Mongol invasions (13th century). The Russians commonly refer to the Mongols as the Tartars because it was the artars tghat ruled what is now Russian and Ukraine in the wake of the Mongol invasions. The ruthless Mongols left large numbers of peasants homeless. Many gravitated to the lands of powerful Russian nobels which offered them land and protection. At this time the feudal system and serfdom was well established in Western Europe with a legal bsis and the coersive power of the state. This was not the situation in he East. But the peasantry had few of the economic opportunities developing in the West as a result of the quickening of the economy as the mediveal era and fedualim began to transition to the modern world. It is at this time that the Tsarist regime and landlords began to develop the same legal system that has enfirced serfdom in the West. As a result, the Russian peasantry geadually came to be controlled by landowner suported by the coersive power of the Tsarist state (16th century). It was vital for the landowner to bind the peasant to the land and turn him into a serf. His land had no value with out workers. And once legally bound to the land, the landowner was in a position to exploit the peasantry because the serf had lost any barganing power. This allowed the land owner to exctract a greater proportion of the wealth created. Eventualy serf status became hereditary (mid-17th century). Russian nobles demanded ever increasing shares of the crops. This ever increasing exploitation of the serfs reduced them by the end of the 17th century had so impoverished Russian serfs that they were forced to relinquish many of their former rights, reducing them to a situation scarcely different from slavery. Landowners could even sell serfs to other landowners. This could be individuls or whole fasmilies. Historins believe that about half the 40 million Russian and Ukranian peasantry had been reduced to serf status (19th century). Most worked the greet estates, mostly owned by the aristocracy. The Tsar and religious orders also owned estates. Feudalism was dealt a death blow in Western Europe by French Revolution and Napoleon. The conservstive reaction thst followed Napoleon's defeat allow vesiges of serfdom ro continue in The Austrian Empre. Russia was one of the few areas of Europe not conquered by Napoleon. In fact, Russia's defeat of the invading French Grand Army allowed serfdom to continue in force throughout the Tsarist Empire. Russia in the Napoleonic Wars proved to be the dominsnt power in Europe (1812). The Crimean War (1844-46) sg=hocked mahny Russians. It was clear that a bckward serf-bassed agricultural power could not compete with the rising industrial powers. Tsar Alexander II finally abolished serfdom (1861). Tghe serfs were not, however, granted land. For many serfs exploitation by land lords continued until the Russian Revolution.

Fall of Rome (5th century AD)

One of the often asked questions in history is why Rome fell to the Barbarians. Perhaps the more appropriate question is why Rome endured for a millenium. No other society in history has such an enduring history of continual rule. The classic study addressing the fall of Rome was of course writton by Gibbon. The thrust of his analysis was that the demise of Rome was primarily due the advent of Christianity which he contends weakened the martial spirit of Rome. [Gibbon] Modern historians have developed a much more sophisticated assessment explaining the collapse of the Empire. It is an intreaging question of how the Roman Empire which was a vast political ediface which should have been able to support a powerful military. Yet the Imperial forces suffered major defeats at the hands of barbarians. One classical historian maintains that the answer was in the decline in civic values. Romans had come to expect services from the Empire and not to sacrifice themselves through military service. [Hanson]

Western Serfdom

Serfdom developed in Western Europe after the demise of the Roman Empire. With the fall of the Roman Empire in Europe the lack of a central authority gave rise to local lords exercising control. In return for protection the peasants gave their allegiance to the local lords giving rise to the feudal system. The feudal system was not slavery. Peasants were not owned by the lord and had legal rights. They could, for example, own property. Serfdom is the Russian form of feudalism. The feudal system was still widespread in Western Europe as late as the 16th century, but was seriously declining by the 17th century, except in Eastern Europe, especially the absolutist Tsarist Empire. . In areas east of the Rhine, the history of serfdom was different, especially areas as far east as Russia.

Early Phase

Historians note the begining development of serfdom among the Kievan Rus (11th century). It was not until the next century, howevfer, that you begin to see the uinhstiutution od serfdome to begin to take a more formal ppearance (12th century). Historians point to legal documents such as 'Russkaya Pravda', which note several degrees of peasant feudal dependency. It would be some time, however, before serfdom became the dominant relationship between the peasantry and land-owning aristocracy.

The Golden Horde

Feudal dependency had expanded and applied to a significant number of Russian/Ukranian peasants (13th century). Serfdom meaning bonding to the land and labor service to the lord was still not a widespread phenomenon. A major expansion of nonded labor in Russia and the Ukraine was one of the results Mongol invasions (13th century). The Russians commonly refer to the Mongols as the Tartars because it was the Tartars that ruled what is now Russian and Ukraine in the wake of the Mongol invasions. Genghis' grandson Batu defeated Russian and Polish armies, but after the death of Gengis retreated back to Asia (1227). On the way back from Eastern Eureope, Batu conquered Bulgaria, Wallachia, and Moldavia. He then formed an independent Mongol state on the lower Volga. This was essentially a division of the vast Mongol Empire which after Genghis' death increasingly focused on China. The Golden Horde was also known as the Empire of Kipchack. It was a khanate, theoretically owing aliegance to Mongol khan. The Golden Horde extracted tribute and was able to command military support from the Russians. The Goldern Horde by the 14th century had broken up into khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and the Crimea, although the chronology is not known with any precission. Soon after the fall of Byzantium to the Ottoman Turks, the Crimean khanate became subject to the Turks (1475). The Russians freed themnselves from subject people of the Golden Horde with Prince Dimitry's victory at Kulikovo (1480). Tsae Ivan the Terrible conquered Kazan (1552) and Astrakhan (1554). This was important because they dominated the lower Volga, an important trade route.

Enserfment of the Peasantry

The ruthless Mongols left large numbers of peasants homeless. Many gravitated to the lands of powerful Russian nobels which offered them land and protection. At this time the feudal system and serfdom was well established in Western Europe with a legal bsis and the coersive power of the state. This was not the situation in he East. But the peasantry had few of the economic opportunities developing in the West as a result of the quickening of the economy as the mediveal era and fedualim began to transition to the modern world. It is at this time that the Tsarist regime and landlords began to develop the same legal system that has enforced serfdom in the West. The Russian peasantry geadually came to be controlled by landowner suported by the coersive power of the Tsarist state (16th century). It was vital for the landowner to bind the peasant to the land and turn him into a serf. His land had no value with out workers. And once legally bound to the land, the landowner was in a position to exploit the peasantry because the serf had lost any barganing power. This allowed the land owner to exctract a greater proportion of the wealth created. Eventualy serf status became hereditary (mid-17th century). Russian nobles demanded ever increasing shares of the crops. This ever increasing exploitation of the serfs reduced them (end of the 17th century) had so impoverished Russian serfs that they were forced to relinquish many of their former rights, reducing them to a situation scarcely different from slavery. Landowners could even sell serfs to other landowners. This could be individuls or whole fasmilies. Historins believe that about half the 40 million Russian and Ukranian peasantry had been reduced to serf status (19th century). Most worked the greet estates, mostly owned by the aristocracy. The Tsar and religious orders also owned estates.

The Cossacks

The Cossacks (kazaki) were a mixed ethnic group of skilled horsemen, but dominated by East Slavic people who formed independent, democratic, semi-military communities on the southern border lands of southern Ukraine and Russia and into the Caucauses and Siberia. Some would use the term predatory. They inhabited sparsely populated areas and islands in the lower Dnieper, Don, Terek, and Ural River basins. They were largekly formed by run-away serfs escaping the brutalities of Russian serfdom and the Tsarist regime turned the free peasantry into serfs and played an important role in the historical and cultural development of both Russia and Ukraine. They were the marvelously skilled horsemen of the Western Steppe. The lengends of the Cossacks claim that boys were taught to ride before they could walk. They like the Scotts were transformed from bitter foes to monarchial control, but were transfoirmed into the most fervent shock troops of the monarchy they once despised. They are perhaps best known for effectively harassing Napoleon's Grande Armée as it retreated from Moscow after the 1812 invasion. Napoleon called them 'a disgrace to the human race'. They are also remembered for their plundering of Jewish villages in the vicious Tsarist pogroms.

Economic and Political Impact

Russia and the Ukraine possess some of the most fertile agricultural lnd in the world. This was especially the case of the black earth areas. Serfdom was, however, not an efficent systrem. Not only was in wasteful in terms of human capital, but it was not efficient in agricultural production. The methods being used at he turn-of-the 20th century were little different than those of the 15th century when the serfdom sustem began to be established. Neither the serfs or the ariticratic landlords had any incentive to improve the land or cultivation methods. Compare this to the inovation and technological drive of American farmers. This did not occur in Russia because the serf system made labor so cheap that that there was no incentive for the lanndowners to invest in costly labor saving technologies. Serfdom did, however, prove a force for politcal stability. The aristocracy declined to challenge the Tsar as they need his support to continue the oppressiuon of the peasantry, after it was reduced to serfdom. And the Tsar supported the enserfment of the peasantry because the aristocracy was the principal pillar of the regime. Serfs for their part although exploited by the aristocratic landlords for the most part had lifelong tenancy on their plots which tended to create a conservsative attitude. The serfs took little part in uprisings. It was the Cossacks and nomads who rebelled and the urban proleterit by the 20th century that were the rebelious groups in Tsarist society (1905 and 1917). Only when the Soviet regime began seizing thir land did the peasantry resist.

French Revolution

Feudalism was dealt a death blow in Western Europe by French Revolution and Napoleon. The conservstive reaction thst followed Napoleon's defeat allow vestiges of serfdom to continue. This ws not in France. The conservative monarchs that ruled France after Napoleon made noo effiort to restore serfdom or take the land back from the French peasantry. The peasantry as a result became a very conservstive force in French politics. Trends in the East were different. The Austrian Empire cancelled many of the concessions made to the peasnatry before the Revolution. As a result the las jckerie (peasant rebellion) pccured in the Austrian Empire (1846). Russia was one of the few areas of Europe not conquered by Napoleon. In fact, Russia's defeat of the invading French Grand Army allowed serfdom to continue in force throughout the Tsarist Empire which aloing with the Austrian Empire dominted mostr of Eastern Europe.

Reassessment: Need to Reform

Russia in the Napoleonic Wars proved to be the dominant military power in Europe (1812). Even before mid-century, more and more Russians were reaching the cinclusion thst major reforms were needed. Russia was still largely an agricultural country, but the agriculturral sector was not perforing well which affected grain exports, Russiua's principal source of foreign exchange. [Serge] The Crimean War (1854-56) shocked many Russians. It was clear that a bckward serf-bassed agricultural power could not compete with the rising industrial powers. The Russians were faced with serious problems as they attempted to reform and catch up with Western industrial powers. The Crimean War left the country heavily indebted. This restricted the ability of the Tsarist regime to reform Russian society and the economy. Russia needed to industrulize, but with most of the economy ties up in agriculture and bonded labor, industruslization was limited. As the indebted Tsarist reime did not have thge fianical ability to promote industrialization.

Tsarist Dilemma

One historian explains the dilema that the Tsarist regime faced. "To give the land (to the serfs) meant to ruin the nobility, and to give freedom without land meant to ruin the peasantry. The state treasury impoverished by the vast expenses of war, could not afford to indemnify either party. There lay the problem. Could the serfs made to pay for their freedom? Could the serf-owners be granted loans on the security of their estates? Would not twenty-two million slaves suddenly set free combine to take matters into their own hands." [Graham] Thae aristocratic landlords were fundamentally opposed to emancipation. The vland they owned had no value without people to work it. And only if those workers were serfs or landless peasants, could the landowners obtain most of the value of the hsrvest prooduced. A free peasantry with land as in France could become a conservative force supporting the Tsar, but this could only be accomplish by alienating the aristocracy which was the regime's primcipsl support.

Emancipation Reform (1861)

Tsar Alexander II was convinced that serfdom had to be abolished. He began to consider the possibility of bringing an end to serfdom in Russia. The land-owning aristocracy, an impoprtnt pillar of Tsarist rule, resisted. Alexander told a group of aristocrats in Moscow, "It is better to abolish serfdom from above than to wait for the time when it will begin to abolish itself from below." The Tsar finally acted, abolishing serfdom (1861). The serfs were not, however, granted land. For many serfs exploitation by landlords continued until the Russian Revolution. Alexander issued his Emancipation Manifesto. He proposed 17 legislative acts that would free the serfs. He announced that personal serfdom would be abolished and all peasants would be able to buy land from their landlords. The Imperial Government would buy the serfs' liberty. The money was advanced to the landlords and would be recovered from the peasants in 49 annual payments called 'redemption payments'. This was a huge step. Russia had a population of 67 million people, some 23 million of whom were serfs. This was a much bigger step than Lincoln's Emanicipation Proclamation issued at about the same time. Slaves were 13 percent of the United States population. [U.S. Census] Serfs were some 35 percent of the Russian population. They were owned by 103,000 landlords. The freed serfs had to cointnue working for the landlord for 2 years. American slaves were essentially liberated by the War. Where ever the Federal Army went the slaves were liberated. And even in the Deep South where the Federal Army did not yet penetrate, slavesbegan flocking to Federal lines in acts of self liberation. The border states were a little different, but had relatively few slaves. American slaves did not have to purchase their freedom like Russians serfs were required to do. The nobles kept nearly all the meadows and forests, had their debts paid by the state while the serfs paid some 35 percent over the market price for the small plots they kept. (This varied regionally.) The freed agrarian serfs received small plots, but they were deeply in debt. [Serge] And they were not given title to the land until compensation was fully paid.

Lingering Impact

Emancipation did not solve Russia's fundamental problems. The cindition of the serfs were not fundamentally changed. Some of the worse abuses were ended, but the serf'a basic economic condition was not radically changed. They had the promise of real land ownership, but only very small plots and were mired deeply in debt to acquire that. The landowners still benefitted from the lionshare of the production of their estates which meant that there was still no incentice for investing in more efficent farming methods that would have released increased production and help finance industruilization as well as release labor for industry. Maintaining inefficent methods in the all important gruculturl sector reduced the output of the economy at a time that other countries were not only industrialising but increasing agricultural output. More than anything, the Russians were poorly utikizing their human capital in sharp contrast to Western Eurioe, especially the Germans. It is not that Russia did not begin to industrislize. By the turn of the century, industrial growth was impressive, but had not matched German industry. Politically the relative stability in the countryside and supoport of the aristicracy allowed the sarist regime to maintain an absolutist system. This meant that any political opposition was illegal and grave rise to radical conspiratorial groups. Even middle-class Germans bcame involved because of the Tsarist regime's resistance to moderate democratic reforms. Untimately the most radical grouo, skilled in conspiratorial organization, the Bolsheviks, would seize power.

Sources

Graham, Stephen. Alexander II (1935).

Serge, Victor. From Serfdom to Proletarian Revolution (1930).

United States Census (1860).







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Created: January 9, 2002
Spell checked: November 26, 2002
Last updated: 6:06 AM 7/27/2018