Serfdom in Russia
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In tsarist Russia, the term serf meant an unfree peasant who, unlike a slave, originally could be sold only together with the land to which they were "attached". However, this had stopped being a requ
A Peasant Leaving His Landlord on Yuriev Day, painting by Sergei V. Ivanov
Darya Saltykova punishing one of her serfs
Vengeance of Serfs. Engraving by Charles Michel Geoffroy, 1845
Punishment with a knout
Alexander II of Russia
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Alexander II was Emperor of Russia, King of Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 2 March 1855 until his assassination on 13 March 1881. He is also known as Alexander the Liberator because of his his
Serfdom in Russia
…slavery in Russia, kholopstvo, was ended by Peter I in 1723, serfdom (Russian: крепостное право, romanized: krepostnoye pravo) was abolished only by Alexander II's emancipation reform of 1861; nevertheless, in times past, the state allowed peasants to sue for release from serfdom under certain conditions, and…
Formal portrait, c. 1874
Grand Duke Alexander Nikolayevich, by Franz Krüger, 1830
Procession of Alexander II into Dormition Cathedral from the Red Porch during his coronation
The coronation of Emperor Alexander II and Empress Maria Alexandrovna on 26 August/7 September 1856 at the Dormition Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, painting by Mihály Zichy. The painting depicts the moment when the Emperor crowned the Empress.