Welcome to Russian History Retail, episode 286 of the Volga, Part 2.

Last time we interviewed Professor Paul Robinson, author of the book Russian Liberalism.

Today we continue our story about the mighty Volga River.

Now that the Russians had control of the Volga River and the surrounding regions,

it was time to give out land grants to the nobility.

Note that I didn't say the Russian people as this wasn't a case.

The czar technically owned the land and only he could give it to those he chose.

The principle was that the land granted was also done so temporarily,

although many kept the land as an ancestral heritage.

It was also given when military service was part of the deal.

The question, of course, that had to be raised is, who would work the land?

Well, sure, wouldn't be the nobles.

Peasants would live and work on the land,

whether growing crops or tending to farm animals.

They would then pay the landowner a fee to continue.

This was a very meager existence, leading many to leave their homes and shop for better

opportunities.

Oftentimes the landowners, landowners, never visited their property, making controlling

the peasants difficult if not impossible.

The government would devise a solution with the law code of 1649.

This was when the institution of Serfdom was codified.

While the restrictions on the peasants' movement were in place before the mid-17th century,

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