Social estates in the Russian Empire

Social estates in the Russian Empire were denoted by the term soslovie (sosloviye). They were introduced in 18th-19th centuries to approximately match the European estate of the realm. The terms "сословие", "состояние", "сословное состояние" (in the meaning of the civil/legal estate) were used interchangeably. The four basic estates (nobility, clergy, peasantry, and urban dwellers, with a special treatment of inorodtsy) were subdivided further.

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