Which statement best explains how Peter the great and Catherine the great expanded their power at the expense of Russias serfs

Answer 1

Both Peter the Great and Catherine the Great expanded their power at the expense of Russia's serfs through various means.

Peter the Great implemented a series of reforms aimed at modernizing Russia and strengthening the central government. One of his key actions was the creation of the Table of Ranks, which established a hierarchy based on service to the state rather than noble birth, allowing non-nobles to attain higher positions in the government and military. This meant that serfs who served the state could be rewarded with upward mobility.

Peter also implemented a policy called "soul taxation," which required all serfs to pay a tax based on their number of male workers. This encouraged landowners to increase the number of serfs they had in order to pay lower taxes, which in turn expanded the supply of labor and strengthened the Russian economy. However, this further entrenched the institution of serfdom and tied serfs even more closely to the land and their landlords.

Catherine the Great continued Peter's policies and further expanded her power at the expense of the serfs. She enacted the Charter to the Nobility in 1785, which granted nobles greater control over their serfs, including the right to punish them. This gave more power and autonomy to the nobility, further oppressing the serfs and solidifying their status as a dependent labor force.

Catherine also encouraged the expansion of large estates, consolidating smaller landholdings into larger ones owned by the nobility. This resulted in further land privatization and concentration of power in the hands of the few. The serfs working on these estates had even fewer chances for social mobility and were subjected to harsher treatment.

In summary, both Peter the Great and Catherine the Great expanded their power at the expense of Russia's serfs by implementing policies that further entrenched serfdom, tied serfs to the land and their landlords, and granted more control to the nobility.