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
Indians in Russia Indians in Russia There is a small community of Indians in Russia which includes Indian expatriates in Russia, as well as Russian citizens of Indian origin or descent. Indian presence in Russia dates back to the 17th century, when Astrakhan, a trading-port in the delta of the Volga River by the Caspian Sea, was incorporated into Moscow state. By then, Indian traders had reached as far as Isfahan in Persia, Kizlyar in the North Caucasus and Astrakhan in Russia. The first Indians from Sindh and Multan arrived in Russian Astrakhan in 1615. In 1624, a special trading post for Indian