Slavery in Russia Slavery in Russia Slavery in Russia was officially abolished in 1723, when Peter the Great converted household slaves to serfs. In 2013, Global Slavery Index reported that unsatisfactory living conditions of migrant workers who for a number of reasons can not obtain work permits in Russia but continue to work in the country illegally and for minimum wage. In Kievan Rus' and Muscovy, legal systems usually referred to slaves as "kholopy". A kholop's master had unlimited power over his life: he could kill him, sell him, or use him as payment upon a debt. The master, however, had responsibility before
What Was Before how we choose to tell stories." What Was Before What Was Before () is a 2010 novel by the German writer Martin Mosebach. Through a series of vignettes, it tells the story of a man from the affluent suburbs of Frankfurt, who is asked by his girlfriend what his life was like before they met. An English translation by Kári Driscoll was published in 2014. "Publishers Weekly" wrote: "Mosebach's charming, exuberant narrator is not be trusted, and the novel calls into question our notions of memory. Mosebach's writing is florid, tinged with a biting wit. ... Irreverent, playful, and intricate,