Russia Under the Old Regime, Part 3

Question 1: Describe the zemsky sobor.

Answer 1: The zemsky sobor was the Russian Parliament in the 16th and 17th centuries, a panel of individuals with authority second only to that of the tsar. As the tsar’s rule was absolute, however, the sobor was usually a panel of glorified yes-men, but they also played brief but important roles in their history. During the Time of Troubles, it was the sobor that elected two tsars, Boris Godunov, whose reign was brief, and Michael Romanov, who began a dynasty that lasted 300 years. The sobor also aided during the early rule of Michael, when his rule was still tenuous. However, following the consolidation of the Romanovs’ power, the sobor was gradually marginalized into virtual nothingness. A new sobor would appear briefly in 1922, four years after the assassination of Tsar Nicholas II to name a successor, but the rise of the Bolsheviks voided their authority, and Nicholas II died the last true tsar of Russia.

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Question 2: Discuss the Time of Troubles.

Answer 2: The Time of Troubles was a tumultuous, 15-year period during the Tsardom of Russia. It began in 1598 with the death of Tsar Feodor I, the last of the Rurik Dynasty, and ended in 1613 with the rise of Michael, the first of the Romanov Dynasty that ruled Russia for over 300 years until its collapse to revolution in 1917. Assassinations plagued the period. The Time of Troubles began with a vacant throne when Feodor died without a proper heir. His closest advisor and successor, Boris Godunov, was elected by a zemsky sobor, but his reign was plagued by famine and disorder; he died in 1605. His son and successor, Feodor II, was assassinated merely a few months later, only to be followed by a series of impostors and claimants to the throne, who were likewise ill-fated. Following an occupation by Polish-Lithuanian forces, the Tsardom sank dangerously close to utter destruction, but a patriotic uprising drove the invaders out, and Michael Romanov was elected tsar by a zemsky sobor shortly afterward in 1613.

Question 3: Discuss the abolition of serfdom in Russia.

Answer 3: Serfdom was abolished in Russia by the Emancipation Reform of 1861, an important liberal reform by Tsar Alexander II. Over 23 million peasants were granted their freedom as a result of the reform. In addition to the abolition of serfdom, peasants were also granted the right to marry without consent, own property, and own businesses. As the granting of land to the peasants left the landowners without laborers, freed peasants were obligated to the landowners for two years after the reform was passed, and major landowners received portions of land that they could charge people for passage through. Alexander II’s decision to free the serfs was consistent with some of his liberal leanings, but also indicative of his realization of serfdom’s unpopularity, and he feared that a continuation of the modified slavery system would eventually spark a successful revolution.

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