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Up from Serfdom: My Childhood and Youth in Russia, 1804-1824
“It was the arbitrary nature of the serfholder’s power that weighed on serfs like Nikitenko, for as they discovered, even the most benevolent patron could turn overnight into an overbearing tyrant. In that respect, serfdom and slavery were the same.” —Peter Kolchin, from the foreword
Aleksandr Nikitenko, descended from once-free Cossacks, was born into serfdom in provincial Russia in 1804. One of 300,000 serfs owned by Count Sheremetev, Nikitenko as a teenager became fiercely determined to gain his freedom. In this memorable and moving book, here translated into English for the first time, Nikitenko recollects the details of his childhood and youth in servitude as well as the six-year struggle that at last delivered him into freedom in 1824. Among the very few autobiographies ever written by an ex-serf, Up from Serfdom provides a unique portrait of serfdom in nineteenth-century Russia and a profoundly clear sense of what such bondage meant to the people, the culture, and the nation.
Rising to eminence as a professor at St. Petersburg University, former serf Nikitenko set about writing his autobiography in 1851, relying on his own diaries (begun at the age of fourteen and maintained throughout his life), his father’s correspondence and documents, and the stories that his parents and grandparents told as he was growing up. He recalls his town, his schooling, his masters and mistresses, and the utter capriciousness of a serf’s existence, illustrated most vividly by his father’s lurching path from comfort to destitution to prison to rehabilitation. Nikitenko’s description of the tragedy, despair, unpredictability, and astounding luck of his youth is a compelling human story that brings to life as never before the experiences of the serf in Russia in the early 1800s.
Aleksandr Nikitenko, descended from once-free Cossacks, was born into serfdom in provincial Russia in 1804. One of 300,000 serfs owned by Count Sheremetev, Nikitenko as a teenager became fiercely determined to gain his freedom. In this memorable and moving book, here translated into English for the first time, Nikitenko recollects the details of his childhood and youth in servitude as well as the six-year struggle that at last delivered him into freedom in 1824. Among the very few autobiographies ever written by an ex-serf, Up from Serfdom provides a unique portrait of serfdom in nineteenth-century Russia and a profoundly clear sense of what such bondage meant to the people, the culture, and the nation.
Rising to eminence as a professor at St. Petersburg University, former serf Nikitenko set about writing his autobiography in 1851, relying on his own diaries (begun at the age of fourteen and maintained throughout his life), his father’s correspondence and documents, and the stories that his parents and grandparents told as he was growing up. He recalls his town, his schooling, his masters and mistresses, and the utter capriciousness of a serf’s existence, illustrated most vividly by his father’s lurching path from comfort to destitution to prison to rehabilitation. Nikitenko’s description of the tragedy, despair, unpredictability, and astounding luck of his youth is a compelling human story that brings to life as never before the experiences of the serf in Russia in the early 1800s.
228 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 3, 2022
A wealth of historical detail in a largely disorganized narrative that ends too soon, giving a fascinating insight in the life of an educated Russian serf. The edition I read had a well-researched introduction that explains Russian serfdom and contrasts it with American antebellum slavery.
Father was a musician and played the psaltery very well…. He collected a group of absentminded virtuosos and somehow managed to get them and their instruments to work harmoniously…. Ivan, a one-armed French horn player; Bibik, a violinist and conductor; and another violinist, Trofim. For the prize of prunes and gingerbread Trofim was alway ready to strum a song that, for some reason, I loved so much: “On the Bridge, the Bridge, on the Kalinovo Bridge.” The group also had bassoonists, flutists, and cymbalists. If your mouth wasn’t busy blowing your instrument, you sang along with two or three other songsters. The rest of the crowd harmonized with them. Thus, in the small room serving as our parlor, dining room, and foyer, proper concerts were performed. Most often, and always to my indescribable delight, they played “Ring the Victory Bells.”
Father was a musician and played the psaltery very well…. He collected a group of absentminded virtuosos and somehow managed to get them and their instruments to work harmoniously…. Ivan, a one-armed French horn player; Bibik, a violinist and conductor; and another violinist, Trofim. For the prize of prunes and gingerbread Trofim was alway ready to strum a song that, for some reason, I loved so much: “On the Bridge, the Bridge, on the Kalinovo Bridge.” The group also had bassoonists, flutists, and cymbalists. If your mouth wasn’t busy blowing your instrument, you sang along with two or three other songsters. The rest of the crowd harmonized with them. Thus, in the small room serving as our parlor, dining room, and foyer, proper concerts were performed. Most often, and always to my indescribable delight, they played “Ring the Victory Bells.”
March 28, 2018
Written in an engaging prose layered with stunning imagery and sympathetic passion, the tale of Nikitenko's journey from serfdom to freedom is an incredible story and a fascinating look into everyday life of the lower echelons of Russian society in the early nineteenth century. Nikitenko, his family, and friends all become engaging characters, who support the reader through any occasional lulls in action. The honesty and wisdom with which Nikitenko tells his story is engaging and inspiring.
January 31, 2023
3.5
a fascinating (and at times, quite beautiful) account of a russian serf's struggle for freedom. i really liked this! nikitenko is a skilled writer, and stories from those actually in serfdom are exceedingly rare to come by.
a fascinating (and at times, quite beautiful) account of a russian serf's struggle for freedom. i really liked this! nikitenko is a skilled writer, and stories from those actually in serfdom are exceedingly rare to come by.
May 15, 2023
Eminently readable, Nikitenko’s account of his early life and struggle for freedom is an insightful snapshot into early 19th century Russia.
8/10
8/10
April 10, 2020
I've never read a book from the other side of the fence in Russian history. Nikitenko is a strikingly lyrical author and he paints a good picture for the mind. I thought Up from Serfdom was going to be more heartbreaking and violence, it was not but it still did a good job of showing the dark side of serfdom.
April 6, 2017
at first I thought this would be a heartbreaking memoir. about a third of the way through I wasn't sure who I disliked more, the masters of the serfs or the author. but by half way I accepted him and enjoyed the memoir immensely.
it is a unique look at a world that is as foreign to me as slavery or sweatshop work, but equally awful. how humans can do such things to their own species will never stop amazing and disgusting me.
a worthy read for discovering the time and place, 19th century rural Russia.
it is a unique look at a world that is as foreign to me as slavery or sweatshop work, but equally awful. how humans can do such things to their own species will never stop amazing and disgusting me.
a worthy read for discovering the time and place, 19th century rural Russia.
January 9, 2008
There are not many firsthand accounts of serf life in Imperial Russia and this is one that should not be missed. It show that even in the most stratified class system, there is room for hope and there is room for change as long as you know the right peoplecatch a few breaks. It takes place not long before serfdom was abolished in Russia and offers some insight into why people are drawn to certain political schemes that seem hardly comprehensible to the rest of us.
November 5, 2009
I didn't really like this book. Nikitenko seems unaware of those that suffer around him and instead focuses on the suffering of himself and his father. Also, when he got out of serfdom, he did not help other serfs. That irritates me.
November 5, 2011
Have read worse books in my Russian History class, but I just really wasn't that impressed with this one! The story is very interesting, but I don't think I want to spend a few hours reading it in depth.
February 6, 2013
It was probably a bit downplayed as it was written after he had received his freedom and was working for the state but it did give some interesting insight into the life of a Russian serf and the Russian class system a few hundred years ago (which had existed for hundreds of years before).
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews