History of serfdom process, referred to as "second serfdom" or "export-led serfdom", persisted until the mid-19th century and became very repressive and substantially limited serfs' rights. Before the 1861 abolition of serfdom in Russia, a landowner's estate was often measured by the number of "souls" he owned, a practice made famous by Gogol's 1842 novel "Dead Souls". Many of these countries abolished serfdom during the Napoleonic invasions of the early 19th century. Serfdom remained in force in most of Russia until the Emancipation reform of 1861, enacted on February 19, 1861, though in the Russian-controlled Baltic provinces it had been abolished at the
1861 in New Zealand 1861 in New Zealand The following lists events that happened during 1861 in New Zealand. A ceasefire is reached in the First Taranaki War, with British efforts to defeat Māori disaffected over land purchases having largely failed. Prosperity comes to the south with the onset of the Central Otago Gold Rush. Within a year the population of the Tuapeka goldfields is twice that of Dunedin. The general election of 1860–61 concludes on 28 March having begun on 12 December the previous year. The 3rd Parliament commences. The first National Rifle Shooting Championships is held. This is the oldest national championships