Discussion aspects of the establishment and development of serfdom in russia (to the 160th anniversary of the peasant reform of 1861)

Abstract

In the article the discussion questions are considered, connected to implementing and developing of serfdom in Russia. There is the contest of the concept itself and main concepts, which differently explain reasons of implementing serfdom in Russia in the second half of XVI - the first half of XVII centuries. A significant attention is paid to the characteristic of serfdom estimating stages in Russia and specialties of this process, concluding why in Russia serfdom was estimated when in most European states it was either canceled or significantly softened. Further there are reasons of serfdom development in Russia in XVIII century in direction of maximum strengthening and depriving serfs of their remaining personal rights. There is a special attention on the role of Manifest of 1762 and Honorary Diploma to the Russian nobility of 1785, which freed nobles from compulsory service, and thus deprived the continued existence of serfdom of logical and moral justification. Exactly from this moment there starts changing of the managing course in direction of firstly softening, and then gradual cancellation of serfdom (Pavel I, Alexander I, Nicolas I). At the same time, there are reasons of failures of mentioned above Russian monarchs' attempts to cancel serfdom in the first half of XIX century. © 2021 International Network Center for Fundamental and Applied Research. All rights reserved.