Every subject of the Russian Empire had an official, legal place in society marked by his or her social estate, or soslovie. This book looks at the many ways that soslovie affected individual lives, and traces its legislation and administration from the early eighteenth through to the early twentieth century.

Contents ; Preface and Acknowledgments ; Introduction ; Chapter 1: The Meaning of Soslovie ; Chapter 2: Legal Standards and Administrative Reality: Local Interests and ; Central Ideals in the 18th Century ; Chapter 3: The Freedom to Choose and the Right to Refuse ; Chapter 4: Communities and Individuals: Soslovie Societies and their Members ; Chapter 5: The Death and Life of Sosloviia in the Post-Reform Empire ; Chapter 6: The Evolution of Collective Responsibility ; Chapter 7: Soslovie in Context: Life Stories ; Conclusion ; Appendix: Archival Sources ; Selected Bibliography ; Notes ; Index

"The resulting work does not so much recast our understanding of imperial Russia as greatly enrich and deepen it....[E]xpansive treatment..."--Valerie A. Kivelson, Slavic Review "Bristling with all manner of fascinating detail, For the Common Good and Their Own Well-Being is the most original and significant study of the soslovie system for a generation .[T]his will surely stand as a landmark in the field, just as it will spur others on to further exploration of the meanings of Russian social boundaries."--Simon Dixon, Slavonic & East European Review "Smith clearly demonstrates that the soslovie system remained at once both vital and obsolete."--Steven L. Hoch, Canadian-American Slavic Studies "Alison Smith's book can provide a good entry point for historians in other fields to get a hands-on feel for Russian society and its fluidity and successfully controverts tired stereotypes of absolutism, social rigidity, and backwardness. It is a serious, archivally driven investigation of hundreds of specific cases of individuals changing soslovie"--Journal of Modern History "[W]ell-written...[Smith] uses successive legal structures, judicial decisions, and bureaucratic analyses and rulings to examine both the legal structures and, on a more anecdotal level, the reality for those Russians who sought to change their place of residence or occupational level. Researchers and advanced students of Russian history will undoubtedly find this a useful study..."--CHOICE "Smith's book is an original, thought-provoking, multifaceted exploration of the estate system, and as such it has much to offer any reader interested in imperial Russia."--The Russian Review "In order to understand the impact of soslovie in people's lives, Smith strategically focuses on those who moved across estate lines, an approach that allows her to examine the legal, administrative, financial, and, remarkably, emotional ramifications of soslovie and soslovie-crossing for all parties concerned."--Slavic Review

Selling point: New understanding of a major part of imperial Russian social structures Selling point: Use of virtually untouched archival sources Selling point: Attention to women in a subject that has often been seen as something associated with men Selling point: Attention to understudied parts of imperial Russian society-particularly its urban inhabitants

Selling point: New understanding of a major part of imperial Russian social structures Selling point: Use of virtually untouched archival sources Selling point: Attention to women in a subject that has often been seen as something associated with men Selling point: Attention to understudied parts of imperial Russian society-particularly its urban inhabitants