Changes

Peter's reign saw even great controls imposed on the serfs. Peter gave the Boyers and the landowning class more powers over the serfs. Peter passed laws that formalized the rights of the landowners about the serfs and as a result, the unfree class became ever more dependent on their masters. Peter gave estate-owners new powers, including a requirement that no serf could leave his master’s lands without their written permission. He also placed new financial burdens on the serfs. The tax system that was established by Peter was one that was very oppressive on the poor and the serfs. The Tsar who owned extensive estates created a class of state-serfs or state-peasants. They had more freedoms than the average serf and they paid their rent and dues directly to the state. Despite his reputation as a modernizer, the Tsar helped to strengthen the feudal order in his country and reinforced the institution of serfdom that had fall into abeyance in western Europe in the Middle Ages .<ref>Anisimov, p 115</ref>.