SUMMARY:

The article argues that the status and conditions of Russian peasants before the abolition of serfdom were more fluid than is usually held. The author maintains that serfdom-based agriculture sustained a considerable rate of economic growth before 1861. A more nuanced look into the institution of serfdom reveals the complex economic and legal relationships in the preemancipation Russian Empire and the need to escape classical simplified definitions of serfdom. The author also asserts that the abolition of serfdom in 1861 did not have an immediate effect. Important constraints on peasant labor persisted well after that date, albeit less severe than before. These vestiges of serfdom did not hamper escalated economic growth. The author thus concludes that economic growth can occur without democracy and full rights, even under a system of coerced labor.