Social Structure


This cartoon shows the strong separation of classes in imperial Russia. Social structure is one of the most important themes in imperial Russia. The pyramid represents numbers: the majority of the population is at the bottom.
HEIRARCHY IS SHOWN: fixed, rigid, ranked according to authority. Opposite of western idea of social mobility.

Intended audience: lower class- specifically peasants, urban workers, proletariats. Work with hands as a pose to the intelligentsia, that work with their hands.
Peasants lived in rural areas, but revolutions took place in cities.

Intended message: to make peasants and proletarians question this structure. While they do the work, the upper class takes things. DEMAND CHANGE. Showed OPPOSITION to Tsardom, which was believed to keep Russia a backwards nation. This separation was one of the main causes of the Russian Revolution, specifically in result of the growing middle class.


by: Greta Hiestand