Overview
Although Peter the Great introduced many Western ideas to Russia, he promoted the system of serfdom that formed the economic basis of Russian power. English law had ended serfdom in the 1600's. Serfdom was also greatly diminished in France by 1789, when the French Revolution began. But serfdom in Russia continued into the 1800's. It was only in 1861, under Russian czar Alexander II, that serfdom ended in Russia.