Context: Rasputin's Russia
A map of Russia at the time of Rasputin's birth.
Russia at the time of Rasputin's birth was a chaotic and new time for the Empire and its peoples.
At the beginning of the early 19th century, Russia was seen as incredibly backwards by the rest of Europe, and it struggled in a number of ways to remain relevant on the global scene. Western Europe far outpaced Russia in terms of both social justice and economic strength; Russia had still firmly embraced pseudo-feudal serf structures which both rendered the average Russian far less independent than the average European, while at the same time limiting the amount of economic independence and growth that was possible for the country. The Russian empire was crippled by its primitivity in comparison to Western Europe, and as such sought to "catch up" to Europe as quickly as possible. There were a number of ways the Empire went around this.
Under the rule of Aleksandr II, who ruled Russia from 1855 until his assassination in 1881, the Russian Empire enacted a number of reforms that were intended to put Russia on the same lofty pedestal as the rest of Western Europe. Most of these reforms were enacted in the late 1850's to the 1870's, in large part in response to the Crimean War, in which Russia was overwhelmingly defeated by a coalition of the Ottoman Empire, the French, and the British.
One of the first responses to the defeat of the Crimean War was the reorganization of the Russian army and navy in 1858. Both entities became much more regimented in nature and were given much more rigorous training standards. In addition, compulsory military service was enacted for both the army and the navy in 1874, which served as one of the first steps to equalize the formerly divided classes of Russia. Under the new compulsory service law, all men, regardless of being rich or poor, serf or royal, were forced to enter into military service, which not only helped to break down the existing social barrier, but also increased the popularity of the upper class in the eyes of the lower class. Since even the high and mighty had to do the same duty as the serfs, the serfs gained a greater deal of respect for the upper class.
The second major reform was the elimination of serfdom in 1861. Under the new emancipation laws, serfs were no longer bound to a piece of land to work. They could now own their own property, own their own business, decide their own vocation, marry who they wanted without permission - in fact, it made them honorary citizens of the Russian Empire. The reform, at the time of its implementation, made Aleksandr II hugely popular in the eyes of the former serfs; the tsar pushed very hard for the rights of all serfs, at the opposition of many other members of Russian nobility, and was later given the title "Aleksandr the Liberator."
Unfortunately, the serf reform didn't do everything it intended to do. There were a number of problems with the enforcement of the reform, mostly attributed to the machinations of local lords, especially in Eastern Russia. Former lords and landowners were reluctant to give up their property and free labor, and so made it difficult for former serfs to get land. They placed heavy taxes on the purchase of land from former landowners, making it extremely difficult for the new citizens to purchase land. Taxes on the newly purchased land were so high that many of the new landowners had to sell their land almost immediately in order to pay their taxes, which left them nothing to work with. In addition, in parts of Eastern Russia, the land was not sold privately to citizens, but was instead placed under communal ownership, not individual ownership. This meant that those who worked their parcel of land were unable to sell it in order to move to the large cities, which were growing considerably in Western Russia all the while.
More unfortunately for the citizens of Russia, after Aleksandr II's assassination, his son Aleksandr III was far more conservative than his father. Under direction of the Russian Orthodox Church, he reversed many of the decisions his father made; although he did not reinstitute serfdom, he placed much of the power back into the hands of the former land owners, and weakened the powers of the zemstvo, which were communal organizations of citizens similar to counties of America. In addition, he appointed officials known as zemskiye nachalniki, or land captains, who answered directly to the crown and oversaw the governance of land, both noble and citizen. This considerably weakened the powers of both the minor nobility and the citizens, while giving the crown further control over the Russian land estates, especially in the East. By the time Rasputin was an adult, his Russia was fractured, corrupt, and inefficient, but still believed itself to be "better off" than it was before because of its military and economic reforms.
At the beginning of the early 19th century, Russia was seen as incredibly backwards by the rest of Europe, and it struggled in a number of ways to remain relevant on the global scene. Western Europe far outpaced Russia in terms of both social justice and economic strength; Russia had still firmly embraced pseudo-feudal serf structures which both rendered the average Russian far less independent than the average European, while at the same time limiting the amount of economic independence and growth that was possible for the country. The Russian empire was crippled by its primitivity in comparison to Western Europe, and as such sought to "catch up" to Europe as quickly as possible. There were a number of ways the Empire went around this.
Under the rule of Aleksandr II, who ruled Russia from 1855 until his assassination in 1881, the Russian Empire enacted a number of reforms that were intended to put Russia on the same lofty pedestal as the rest of Western Europe. Most of these reforms were enacted in the late 1850's to the 1870's, in large part in response to the Crimean War, in which Russia was overwhelmingly defeated by a coalition of the Ottoman Empire, the French, and the British.
One of the first responses to the defeat of the Crimean War was the reorganization of the Russian army and navy in 1858. Both entities became much more regimented in nature and were given much more rigorous training standards. In addition, compulsory military service was enacted for both the army and the navy in 1874, which served as one of the first steps to equalize the formerly divided classes of Russia. Under the new compulsory service law, all men, regardless of being rich or poor, serf or royal, were forced to enter into military service, which not only helped to break down the existing social barrier, but also increased the popularity of the upper class in the eyes of the lower class. Since even the high and mighty had to do the same duty as the serfs, the serfs gained a greater deal of respect for the upper class.
The second major reform was the elimination of serfdom in 1861. Under the new emancipation laws, serfs were no longer bound to a piece of land to work. They could now own their own property, own their own business, decide their own vocation, marry who they wanted without permission - in fact, it made them honorary citizens of the Russian Empire. The reform, at the time of its implementation, made Aleksandr II hugely popular in the eyes of the former serfs; the tsar pushed very hard for the rights of all serfs, at the opposition of many other members of Russian nobility, and was later given the title "Aleksandr the Liberator."
Unfortunately, the serf reform didn't do everything it intended to do. There were a number of problems with the enforcement of the reform, mostly attributed to the machinations of local lords, especially in Eastern Russia. Former lords and landowners were reluctant to give up their property and free labor, and so made it difficult for former serfs to get land. They placed heavy taxes on the purchase of land from former landowners, making it extremely difficult for the new citizens to purchase land. Taxes on the newly purchased land were so high that many of the new landowners had to sell their land almost immediately in order to pay their taxes, which left them nothing to work with. In addition, in parts of Eastern Russia, the land was not sold privately to citizens, but was instead placed under communal ownership, not individual ownership. This meant that those who worked their parcel of land were unable to sell it in order to move to the large cities, which were growing considerably in Western Russia all the while.
More unfortunately for the citizens of Russia, after Aleksandr II's assassination, his son Aleksandr III was far more conservative than his father. Under direction of the Russian Orthodox Church, he reversed many of the decisions his father made; although he did not reinstitute serfdom, he placed much of the power back into the hands of the former land owners, and weakened the powers of the zemstvo, which were communal organizations of citizens similar to counties of America. In addition, he appointed officials known as zemskiye nachalniki, or land captains, who answered directly to the crown and oversaw the governance of land, both noble and citizen. This considerably weakened the powers of both the minor nobility and the citizens, while giving the crown further control over the Russian land estates, especially in the East. By the time Rasputin was an adult, his Russia was fractured, corrupt, and inefficient, but still believed itself to be "better off" than it was before because of its military and economic reforms.