What did Russia Abolish?: Negotiating Slavery and Serfdom in the Lead-Up to the 1861 Reform in Imperial Russia.

• In Event: Abolished, Manipulated, Marginalized: Serfdom and Slavery in Politics and Memory in Eastern Europe

Abstract

This paper traces how the Russian public and reformers drafting the 1861 reform feared that the soon-to-be abolished institution known as krepostnoe pravo might be defined as slavery rather than serfdom. In response, they shaped not only discourse but also the structure of the reform itself. As intended, the legacy of these developments proved to be lasting, shaping our understanding of what was abolished in 1861 to this day.

Author

• Stanislav Mohylnyi, U of Bonn (Germany)