Russian Peasants Vs. Royalty

The royal families of Russia lived extravagantly by today's standards, and their wealth contrasted strongly with the poverty of the peasants.

The gap between the wealthy and the poor is an issue in many areas of the world today. In tsarist Russia, the gap between the classes was huge, with a handful of aristocrats in command of vast wealth, while the majority of the Russian populace toiled on estates as peasant serfs.

One example of the massive divide between upper class and lower class Russia can be seen in existing housing built before the 20th century. The Russian royal places, with their silk wallpaper, parquet floors, marble stairways, and priceless paintings represent the wealth of past Russian nobility. Open-air museums, however, capture the layout of peasant houses and outhouses. These dwellings were characterized by cramped quarters and unsanitary conditions.

The Russian Revolution of 1917, as well as the end of the Romanovs, were part of the revolt against the wealth divide, as well the result of other issues Russia was facing during this pivotal moment in history. Poverty still reigned, and wealth was now controlled by the hands of leading Soviets, but members of the nobility fled if they weren't killed. Lower class families were allotted small spaces in fine houses, royal riches were deemed "property of the state," and Russia entered a new era that redefined notions of class structure.