Free agriculturalists (russian: Во́льные хлебопа́шцы, Свободные хлебопашцы, literally, free ploughmen) were a category of

peasant A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...

s in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

in 19th century. This was the official reference to the

Russian serf The term ''serf'', in the sense of an unfree peasant of tsarist Russia, is the usual English-language translation of () which meant an unfree person who, unlike a slave, historically could be sold only with the land to which they were "attach ...

s freed from serfdom within the framework of the February 20, 1803 decree of

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of ...

"Указ об отпуске помещиками своих крестьян на волю по заключении условий, основанных на обоюдном согласии", informally known as the . As the title of the decree says, the serf were freed and endowed with land by the will on the serf owner under certain conditions: payment or obligations to carry out certain works. During the reign of Alexander I only about 7,300 male peasants (with families) or about 0.5% of serfs were freed.Семевский В. И. «Крестьянский вопрос в России в XVIII и первой половине XIX века», vol.1, St. Petersburg, 1888Бирюкович В. «Устройство быта свободных хлебопашцев», в сб. «Архив истории труда в России», 1921.

References

19th century in the Russian Empire Economy of the Russian Empire Society of the Russian Empire Reform in Russia {{russia-hist-stub