Social Condition of Russia in 1855

• There was a strict social hierarchy with the Tsar at the top with the landowning nobility.
• The majority of the population were serfs and half of them were property of the landowners.
• Serfs could be bought and sold, needed permission to marry and they could be beaten and conscripted.
• The other half belonged to the state and lived in mirs (village communes) controlled by the village elders.
• There were some skilled workers (urban artisans), manufacturers and merchants but there was only a tiny middle class.
• Class was based on birth and social mobility was limited by law.
• Bizarrely, serfs, urban workers and tradesmen paid taxes but nobles and the clergy didn’t.
• The Russian Empire was incredibly diverse with about 55% of the population being Russian, 22% Ukrainian, 8% Polish and then there were other nationalities such as Jews, Finns and Germans.