Serfin’ USA

Day 185 of A Year of War and Peace

In today’s chapter Russia’s nobility gathers at the Sloboda Palace. They’re all dressed up in their nice noble uniforms. The grandfathers are decorated in the style of Catherine, the fathers in the style of Paul, and the new generation, naturally, just how Alexander likes it. The purpose of their gathering, so nicely suited, is to listen to the Emperor’s manifesto and then to decide how best to raise troops to fight the Emperor’s war against Napoleon.

This is a difficult chapter for contemporaries to read because what is meant by “raise troops” is really little more than the nobility deciding how many of their serfs they will force to fight in the war. Even characters we love, like Pierre, freely offer up these serfs as if they were nothing more than horses to be traded. There is no consultation with the serfs. There is no freedom of choice.

Those nobles better be careful. They have such a nice life. It’d be a shame if a revolution were to ruin it.

DAILY MEDITATION