Laura Hargadon, Estate Life Pre and Post Emancipation

The Russian Country Estate started to come into existence around the mid-eighteenth century, in an attempt to reproduce the elaborate country houses of the European elite.  This however was not what the Russian nobility succeeded in creating, but they instead produced an institution very different from that of the European elite. The country estate survived through the emancipation of the serfs in 1861, but soon after fell into economic decline, having a lot to do with the change that took place after emancipation. By looking at specific aspects of the country estate life, both before and after emancipation, such as education, noble careers, social activities, types of serf/servants in the household, as well as the interaction that existed between the nobility and the peasants that worked for them, the reader is able to see how the estate life changed after emancipation for the people that lived there.  Many of these different aspects can be seen clearly in Anna Karenina, which I have used to show what the country estate was like after emancipation.

The education of the noble elite started in the household at a young age.  Children would often be taught by governesses or tutors, and then eventually separate from the opposite sex for further education.  For boys, before the emancipation of the serfs, they would often enroll in cadet corps or military training schools, such as Vronsky did, where they would prepare for their careers in the military.  After emancipation, while some men continued to enter into military training, others chose a different route, that of the university.  Girls also received formal schooling, but his was very different from the boys.  Both before and after emancipation, girls would be taught social skills, and how to run their own households later in life.

Both for men and for women, the education they received was preparation for the careers that they would have as adults.  Before emancipation, men would often enter into military careers, such as Vronsky did, but after emancipation men often entered into different fields or chose to stay closer to their estates.  For women, both before and after emancipation, their careers continued to be in the home, managing the daily affairs that it entailed, however after emancipation, many women took more control in regards to the care of their children.  The way that Kitty takes control as soon as she arrives on Levin’s estate clearly shows the view that women had in regards to how they should behave and what their duties entailed on the estate.

While a lot of time for the nobility was spent in their daily work, they also made time for social activities.  They spent time visiting friends, or paying a call, such as the people who visit Anna and Vronsky are doing, as well as those who visit Kitty and Levin.  For men, a lot of their free time was also spent hunting, a very enjoyable sport for men at that time.  This can be seen when Levin goes out hunting with Oblonsky, and then again with Oblonsky and Veslovsky.  Serf theatre was also an activity that the very wealthy nobles enjoyed.  They could enjoy performances including ballets, vaudeville, and European and Russian plays, all totally or almost totally created by the serfs on their estates.  Two of these activities, paying calls and hunting, involved serfs little or not at all, therefore emancipation did not have an effect on them.  Serf theatre however, greatly involved serfs, and so after emancipation, it was stopped or instead composed of freed peasants.

The types of servants in the house, as well as how the nobility acted toward them also had a large effect on how life was lead on the country estate.  Before emancipation, many of these serfs worked with the nobility, at times having a close relationship, such as Levin does with his maid Agatha.  This however did not change with emancipation, because usually most of the household workers stayed on after emancipation, simply as hired help.  The other workers that could often be found on the estate include the steward, maids, cooks, governesses, as well as the outside workers, and the relationship that existed between these workers and the nobility often depended on the nobility themselves, and how they felt about the serfs or servants in their homes.

In short, the country estate was an institution like no other in Russia.  The effect that emancipation had on this institution changed its existence forever, eventually being one of the causal factors for its ending.  By looking at different aspects of the country estate, the reader is able to see the large effect that emancipation had on the estate and the type of control that was lost when the serfs were emancipated.