Russian society was strongly hierarchical. Czar’s political, religious, and social structures came into play when Russia’s legal code enforced the hierarchy. It defined position and status toward the Russian population and restricted the ability to move upward and downward between classed. This social hierarchy was often seen as visual propaganda as seen on the Russian wedding cake (seen right).
In this picture, it is exemplified as the upper class is propped by the labor classes below them. The lower classes are usually kept in check, religion and the threat of violence. The peasantry and the working class actually made up more than four-fifths of the Russian population while Russia’s educated and professional middle classed were smaller compared to Western countries such as Britain or France. According to an 1897 census, the Russian population were categorized into four different categories:
Russia’s Middle Class worked both for the state or the private sector as a small business owner or trained professionals. They were seen as educated, worldly, and receptive to liberal, democratic, and reformist ideas.
The largest social class was the Peasants. They worked on small plots of land using old farming methods. Farming was a difficult business because it was dependent on the soil, the weather, and luck. Most peasants cleared, ploughed, and sowed the land by hand without the benefit of machinery or fertilizers. There was little or no formal education so the majority of them were illiterate. They had small understanding about government, politics, and economics.
Beyond all of the issues of class and status, Russian society was deeply patriarchal. The men were the dominant figures in the community, workplace, and the government. It was actually law at the time where husbands were given almost unlimited power to make decisions within the family. Wives were expected to obey their husbands. Married women needed their husbands’ permission to take a job, apply for government permits, or even attain a higher education. If a man died then his male children inherited most of his property while his wife and daughters only obtained a small share.
In this picture, it is exemplified as the upper class is propped by the labor classes below them. The lower classes are usually kept in check, religion and the threat of violence. The peasantry and the working class actually made up more than four-fifths of the Russian population while Russia’s educated and professional middle classed were smaller compared to Western countries such as Britain or France. According to an 1897 census, the Russian population were categorized into four different categories:
- The Upper Class which included royalty, nobility, and higher clergy
- The Middle Class which included merchants, bureaucrats, and working professionals
- The Working Class which included factory workers, artisans, soldiers, and sailors
- The Peasants which included landed and landless farmers
Russia’s Middle Class worked both for the state or the private sector as a small business owner or trained professionals. They were seen as educated, worldly, and receptive to liberal, democratic, and reformist ideas.
The largest social class was the Peasants. They worked on small plots of land using old farming methods. Farming was a difficult business because it was dependent on the soil, the weather, and luck. Most peasants cleared, ploughed, and sowed the land by hand without the benefit of machinery or fertilizers. There was little or no formal education so the majority of them were illiterate. They had small understanding about government, politics, and economics.
Beyond all of the issues of class and status, Russian society was deeply patriarchal. The men were the dominant figures in the community, workplace, and the government. It was actually law at the time where husbands were given almost unlimited power to make decisions within the family. Wives were expected to obey their husbands. Married women needed their husbands’ permission to take a job, apply for government permits, or even attain a higher education. If a man died then his male children inherited most of his property while his wife and daughters only obtained a small share.