Explain The Social Structure Of 1800's Russia

The social structure of 1800’s Russia was a rigid hierarchy. According to the 1879 census 82% of the population were peasants, 4% was the working class, 1.5% were the middle classes, and 12.5% were the upper classes. The peasants were small farmers that used outdated methods. They were mostly former serfs that were freed in the 1861 serf emancipation under Alexander II. This “freedom” was accompanied by a land redistribution that hurt more than helped because most of the land went to the nobles and former masters that charged high rents to the new peasants that needed the land. Above this class was the working class which were the factory workers, artisans, and soldiers. This also included the Cossacks that were people of east Slavic origins
It went into the continents of Europe and Asia. Western Russia is made up of steppes which are grasslands. The Ural Mountains are the dividing factor for Europe and Asia; they also divide the East European Lowland from the West Siberian Plain. Another mountain range, the Caucasus, were present in the southeast. Eastern Russia is the Central Siberian Plateau and even more east is more mountains. Siberia is plainly north Asia, and it was a place political prisoners were sent because of its bitter coldness and isolation from society. There is access to all oceans and major waterways; the north is the Arctic Sea, the east is the Pacific Ocean, and St. Petersburg has an outlet to the Baltic Sea which leads to the Atlantic Ocean. The most important river is the Volga because it flows into the Caspian Sea and is close to the majority of the population, but there are rivers in Siberia that are longer and larger but are not near any people therefore less important. Lake Baikal is the world’s largest fresh lake and it is in southern Siberia. The political center of this vast empire is Moscow in central European
Russia went from having 26 kilometers of railroad in 1840 to having 50,000 kilometers by the end of the century. This greatly helped the economy by encouraging trade and offering cheap transportation. They also aided the spread of knowledge, creating a more educated peasant class. Even so, the largest demand for the railroads came from merchants, entrepreneurs, and the elite. In the 1880’s the Transcaucasian Railway, which connects the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea and the Trans-Caspian Railway, which follows the Silk Road, were built. Construction for the Trans-Siberian Railroad also began in 1891 but not finished until the 20th century. There were few other technological or scientific advancements because Russia was behind the rest of Europe. The Russian people were of multiple ethnicities that include the people of Siberia, the Volga region, the Far East, and the Northern Caucasians. These were ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Finno-Ugric peoples, Tartars, Baltic peoples, Southwestern Slavic peoples, and Germanic-speaking peoples. Most of these peoples were absorbed into the empire through 19th century Russian colonies in neighboring territories. Many Christian people also fled to Russia in order to not be ruled by the Muslim Turkish