Serfdom

The Foundation

      By the late 17th century, serfdom had been well entrenched in Russian society.  The law codes of 1649 put the status of serfs as slaves in legal concrete. Serfs were attached to estates and landlord's could buy and sell them at a whim. These arrangements were now hereditary. Obedience could also be forced upon the serfs through physical punishment, forming more of a parallel with other forms of slavery all over the world. The Russian Orthodox church doubled down on this approach by claiming that all Russians owed the Tsar loyalty not out of fear, but through conscience. A moral obligation to obey the Emperor and his subordinates- the Boyar's and clergy- was demanded. While social issues were aplenty through these repressive tactics, the approach served the Russian military well. 

The Serf Soldier

     Serfs were well accustomed to inhumane conditions. They were, in fact, slaves to their landlord's. They could not move freely and could even be beaten to death by their overseer's. They lived in rural squalor, often in extremely close proximity to their animals. Sickness was rampant and medicine was non-existent. Conditions of these magnitudes created some of the most rugged soldier's in history. These soldiers possessed indomitable peasant courage, stamina and endurance. They could march for days on end and withstand brutal cold. The terrible treatment they received from their superiors lessened any fear they may have had of the enemy. Officer's held no qualms with savagely beating their own soldiers. This callousness was well displayed on the skin of a Cossack soldier named Yemelyan Pugachev, who because of this barbarity would desert the army and eventually lead a daring rebellion that came close to taking the city of Kazan. While these methods were exceedingly brutal, overall order was maintained. While the Russian military would incur frightening casualties, the army would continue on. Bravery was a commodity never in short supply. The human cost of all of this was staggering. When serfs were volunteered by their noble landlords for service to the Tsar, both they and their families viewed this as a death sentence. Funerals were held and for good reason, as casualties not only from battle but from disease were always high. Few ever returned home. Those who did were broken and mutilated men, hardly useful to the community. When one campaign was over, the surviving men were simply sent to other fronts for offensive or defensive purposes. If one was so lucky to return home in one piece, mentally and physically, he returned knowing nothing of his family for over 20 years. 

Sources

Simkin, John. "Russian Serfs." Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational Publishers Ltd., 1 Sept. 1997. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. 

Boeck, Brian. "Serfdom in Russia." Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 29 Apr. 2015

Holodny, Elena. "Russia's Chief Justice Advocates A Return To Serfdom." Business Insider. 30 Sept. 2014. Web. 1 Apr. 2015.