Russian aristocracy

Russian aristocracy refers to the hereditary noble class that dominated Russian society from medieval times until the 1917 Revolution.

These families held vast estates, owned serfs until emancipation in 1861, and wielded political power through their proximity to the tsar.

The term evokes images of grand palaces, French-speaking nobles, and the extreme wealth inequality that fueled revolutionary sentiment: The Russian aristocracy lived in splendor while peasants starved.