ABSTRACT
The history of the Russian peasantry forms a vital part of Russian social history in general, because of the size of the class and its long, largely separate culture. Popular religion, the impact of the imposition of serfdom, basic agricultural methods, the importance of village organization and the communal culture that went with it-all have centered attention on the peasant class. While important work on Russian peasants deals with developments prior to the 19th century, including major episodes of peasant rebellion like the Pugachev rising of the 18th century, historians have particularly focused on conditions prior to the emancipation of the serfs (1861) and then on the complex patterns of continuity and change in peasant life from that point onward.
