What was life like in Russia in the 1700s?

Question: What was life like in Russia in the 1700s!?

I need information about life in Russia during the 1700s!. I'm writing a novel that takes place during that time, and it's a bit hard to find my research!. So any websites, books, articles, ect!. would be very good!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

Life for the rich was fabulous - palaces, balls and jewels!.

For the poor - it was appalling!.
Most people were serfs (a form of slavery) even in the cities many were serfs, working not for money but for food and lodgings!.

One of the worst jobs was barge pulling
http://upload!.wikimedia!.org/wikipedia/en!.!.!.

I'd recommend reading Dostoyevskii and Tolstoi to get a real understanding of the country - the scale of the country and its psyche!.

I'd also look at modern Russian, Ukranian or Bylorussian villages, as the basic house has not changed that much - they are wooden, often made from split logs - with a central oven / heater on top of which the smallest children sleep!.
A good example of what a village looked like is at the start of the film Come & See (a fairly horrific war film)!.

Or this - search the website for images of Russian Villages, churches and manor houses
http://englishrussia!.com/!?p=1478#more-14!.!.!.

These are later - and more ornate than they would have been in the past, but they give you a flavour of what Russian villages look like!.
http://englishrussia!.com/!?p=424#more-424Www@QuestionHome@Com

Your're writing a novel about that time and don't know a thing about it!? Give it up and change the theme!.
But if you insist then visit History section in your local library as to begin!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

cold but hard to do anythingWww@QuestionHome@Com

FUN !Www@QuestionHome@Com