Not all serfs experienced the same conditions in Russia. Nonetheless, the conditions which serfs had to live in were not anything I would like to experience. Housing for serfs were not favorable. It consisted of a very confined hut not quite adequate for an entire family. The floors consisted of dirt and the hut lacked any foundation

In the late eighteenth century some serfs relied on lumbering, fishing, and hunting and trapping when the agricultural conditions were poor. This became more popular in the northern provinces, especially in the Baltic provinces during the 1830’s. The other regions of Russia generally relied on the traditional ways of living. They had a difficult time adjusting to the northern way of life.

Russia had a further addition to the labor force. Factory work had played a substantial role in the Russian economy. These factories hired peasants and furthermore, occupied a great deal of serfs. Some of these serfs had been runaways and had unknown masters to claim them. Some serfs were compelled by their owners to work in industry. For example, in 1804 there was an estimated seventy-three percent of forced workers in the factories. However, by 1860 the numbers declined and there was approximately forty-four percent of forced labor (Blum, p.324). Distilleries, beet sugar mills, potash and saltpetre works are some of the common plants. These factories predominately consisted of serfs doing compulsory labor. Serfs received wages in cash, that is, low wages or cash and kind. Yet, these wages had been viewed by some as higher than other parts of Europe. Some serfs were badly treated in factories and some worked harder than hired workers (Blum, p.318). In spite of the fact that this may seem as though serfs had a not too bad life, these estimates did not include the mining, metallurgical and agricultural industries. These industries had been the truly terrible ones where forcible labor was a problem. The nobles that utilized serf labor were extremely productive and successful in the beet sugar and distilling industries. This had been responsible for the start of technical improvements in these industries, which were part of the most significant part of Russian factory production (Blum, p.325).

Some topics in this essay:
Russia Nonetheless, Grand Army, Russia Nature, Little Russia, Russia Difficulties, Finances Russia, Siberia Marriages, Courts Justice, Svod Zakonov, Russia Russian, nineteenth century, vuinich p13, seventeenth century, question treatment serfs, wages cash, production blum, serf owners, non-house serfs, labor blum, beet sugar, middle nineteenth century, treatment serfs justified, hoch p109,