Part 1: Chapter 1 Summary and Analysis

The Tsar was the ruler of the Russian empire, an empire so vast that its Eastern borders had daybreak as night was falling on the Western border. The Tsar, or Emperor, controlled one sixth of the earth's land and had one hundred thirty million subjects of different nationalities. There were Slavs, Balts, Jews, Germans, Georgians, Armenians, Uzbeks and Tartars who lived in cities, towns, villages and rural areas. The lands suffered six months of severe winter every year. Most of these people, more than three-fourths, were peasants and even though they were free, they were not wealthy. They suffered from drought and famine and had to find food to eat somewhere. Many of them resorted to begging from the wealthy and found many of the coins they received ended up with the tax collector.

If the peasants complained about...