How society was layered
People were grouped in estates: groups with their own duties and rights.
- Tsar: the ruler. The Romanov dynasty began with Mikhail in 1613.
- Boyars and the Church: old rich families and the clergy. Boyars sat in the Boyar Duma, the tsar's council.
- Service nobles (dvoryane): served the tsar in the army and got land for it.
- Townspeople (posad): merchants and craftsmen who paid taxes.
- Peasants: the biggest group. They farmed and paid the state and their lords.
The Law Code of 1649 (Sobornoye Ulozheniye)
In 1648 the Salt Riot in Moscow showed that people were angry about taxes and unfair officials. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich asked a Zemsky Sobor to prepare a new, complete set of laws. In 1649 it was approved and printed: the Sobornoye Ulozheniye. It stayed the main Russian law until the 1830s.
- Peasants: the “fixed years” for searching a runaway were cancelled. A runaway could be taken back at any time. Serfdom became hereditary: children of serfs were serfs too.
- Townspeople: tied to their town quarter (posad) so they could not leave without losing their place. The “white settlements” of nobles and church that paid no town tax were brought under taxes.
- Nobles were given strong rights over land and over their peasants.
- The Church: a special office controlled church courts and church land, and the law limited new land gifts to the Church.
- The tsar was described as the keeper of the order. Crimes against him were punished very heavily.
Zemsky Sobors: councils of the land
A Zemsky Sobor was a meeting called by the tsar. It had the Boyar Duma, church leaders and chosen people of the service nobles and townspeople. It did not have a vote like a modern parliament, but its advice counted.
- 1613: a Sobor chose Mikhail Romanov as tsar.
- 1649: a Sobor approved the Law Code.
- 1653: a Sobor agreed to take Left-Bank Ukraine under the tsar. This was the last full Sobor.
- 1684: the last small Sobor met.
After that, the tsar and his offices (called prikazy) decided alone.
Strengthening of autocracy and anger of the people
Autocracy means the tsar's power is not limited by any council or law above him. In the 1600s the tsar relied on the growing group of prikazy (offices) and service nobles, and less on the Boyar Duma and Sobors. The Church was also brought under the tsar when he removed Patriarch Nikon in 1666.
People did not always accept this: the Salt Riot (1648), the Copper Riot (1662), and the great revolt of the Cossack leader Stepan Razin (1670–71) all showed anger about taxes, serfdom and unfair rule.
Key formulas and definitions
- Estates (top to bottom): tsar → boyars and clergy → service nobles → townspeople → peasants
- 1649: Sobornoye Ulozheniye = serfdom becomes hereditary and unlimited; townspeople tied to their town
- Sobors: 1613 (tsar chosen), 1649 (law code), 1653 (Ukraine), 1684 (the last)
- More prikazy and fewer Sobors = stronger autocracy
Worked examples
1. How many years passed between the Sobor that chose the first Romanov and the Sobor that approved the Law Code?
1649 − 1613 = 36 years.
2. A peasant ran away in 1640 and was found in 1655. Under the 1649 code, could he be taken back?
Yes. The 1649 code cancelled the “fixed years” limit, so a runaway could be returned at any time.
3. Which groups were tied to a place by the 1649 code, and to what?
Peasants were tied to the land of their lord, and townspeople were tied to their town quarter (posad).
4. Explain why historians say autocracy became stronger in the 1600s.
Sobors met less and less, the last one in 1684. The tsar ruled with his own offices (prikazy) and service nobles, and in 1666 even the Church leader Nikon was removed. So fewer groups could limit the tsar.
Common mistakes
- Saying the 1649 code freed the peasants. It did the opposite: it made serfdom hereditary and unlimited.
- Thinking a Zemsky Sobor was a modern elected parliament. It was a council called by the tsar to advise.
- Mixing up the years: Sobor chose Mikhail in 1613, the code is 1649, last full Sobor 1653, last meeting 1684.
- Forgetting the townspeople: the code tied them to their town quarter too.