[LoisHunt]

The Russian peasants were at the point of a gun under their nobles, constantly. They were slaves. Horrible things like cannibalism happened in Russia when conditions were really bad. Meanwhile, all of the noble families would each keep many houses in states of constant readiness for their turning up to live there, fires burning, larders full, fully staffed with domestic servants. It was an enormous drain on productivity in Russia. Crippling Communism came on top of crippling serfdom.

Also, under Napoleon, the Russians would have had the rule of law, the Napoleonic code being unquestionably more just than what was practiced as law in Russia which was slavery for the peansants.

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

What an interesting viewpoint you have. Presumably, then, since the Russian Tzar's emancipation of the serfs preceeded America's emancipation of her slaves you believe we could have done with a bit of Napoleonic freedom from the barrel of a gun? Line a few thousand of us Americans up against a wall. A whiff of grapeshot and--poof--freedom and right-thinking takes root in the hearts and minds of the survivors.

It's true. Irony is dead. I mourn it's passing....

[Goetz_von_Berlichingen]

Does your view of Russian history under Tsarist rule come exclusively from Communist propaganda, or do you have independent verification? If Russians were in such misery under the old system, how can you explain the fact that there is NO mention of ANY Russian collaboration with the invading French army in 1812. Contrast that to WW II. The Germans were welcomed with open arms when they first arrived, and could have easily assembled several army corps of disaffected Russians, had the Wehrmacht not been hamstrung by Hitler's idiotic racial policies.

I recall reading recently, perhaps in one of Peter Drucker's books, that the economic position of Russia in 1913 was comparable to America's at the same time. Unfortunately, Soviet Agitprop has been functioning effectively in the U.S. for many decades. Even among conservatives.