Sudebnik

The Sudebnik was introduced by Ivan III in 1497 to replace the Russkaya Pravda.  It established a judicial structure and outlined duties, expanded the list of punishable offenses, and regulated legal fees.  The Sudebnik also introduced forms of capital punishment such as flagellation and the death penalty. 

The new law code further protected the noble classes and oppressed the peasants.  The peasants were saddled with greater restrictions on mobility and harsher punishments for any offenses and finalized the peasants' dependency on the Russian state.  Unfortunately for the peasants, the Sudebnik was only the beginning.  As time passed, the Russian government continued to restrict the peasants more and more.  Russian landowners eventually gained full ownership of the serfs, not only was it considered a criminal offense for a serf to leave their land, but their landlords had the right to sell them, arrange marriages, and break up families.  In effect, the serfs had become slaves in the imperial rule of Russia.