Fascinating and easy to remember facts from history: The Russian serfs were officially emancipated in 1861. Slaves in the USA (the Confederate bits) were not all officially emancipated until 1865. It took two years from the original Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 to take full effect. The overall effect in improving the lives and living standards of the ex-serfs and ex-slaves was minimal of course, because instead of toiling away and receiving a small living allowance or free food and lodgings, they were forced to hand over most of their farming income in rent to the same old landowners and ended up in much the same position. But there you go. Strange to think that Russia was (briefly) more "advanced" than the USA was.