Peter the Great and Catherine the Great both utilized serfs as a means to consolidate their power by reinforcing a system of social hierarchy and control that allowed them to maintain a strong centralized authority.
Peter the Great implemented reforms that increased the burden on serfs, tying them more closely to the land and making them more dependent on the nobility, which in turn strengthened the loyalty of the nobility to the tsar. By doing this, he ensured that the nobility had a vested interest in supporting his rule, as their power and wealth were directly linked to the productivity and subservience of serfs.
Catherine the Great continued this trend by further solidifying the serfdom system through policies that expanded the rights of landowners over their serfs. She also sought to legitimize her authority by promoting the idea of enlightened absolutism, wherein she portrayed herself as a benevolent ruler while maintaining the existing social order, which relied heavily on serfdom. By keeping serfs in a subjugated position, she could count on the nobility's support, thus solidifying her own power.
In summary, both Peter and Catherine effectively used serfdom to bolster their authority by ensuring that the nobility relied on and controlled serfs, which in turn stabilized their regimes.
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