The "Potato Riots", were the mass anti-serfdom

Serfdom

Serfdom is the status of peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe and lasted to the mid-19th century...

 motion of udelnye krestyane (imperial peasant

Peasant

A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...

s; peasants in the personal property lands of the Russian imperial house) (1834) and state peasants (1840–44) in Russian Empire

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

. The reason for rebellion was forceful introduction of potato

Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...

 cultivation. The government selected the best fertile sections for potato from peasant lands. Authorities enforced brutal punishments for the nonfulfillment of the orders and assessed different requisitions. In 1834 unrest flared up in Vyatsky

Kirov Oblast

Kirov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Kirov. Population: -History:In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Vyatka remained a place of exile for opponents of the tsarist regime, including many prominent revolutionary figures.In 1920, a number of...

 and Vladimir

Vladimir Oblast

Vladimir Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Vladimir, which is located east of Moscow...

 provinces, but it reached its height among the state peasants in 1840-44. Riots appeared simultaneously and they were partly in response to Kiselev

Pavel Kiselyov

Count Pavel Dmitrievich Kiselyov or Kiseleff is generally regarded as the most brilliant Russian reformer during Nicholas I's generally conservative reign.- Early military career :...

 reforms of state villages (1837–41). In the provinces of Ural

Ural (region)

Ural is a geographical region located around the Ural Mountains, between the East European and West Siberian plains. It extends approximately from north to south, from the Arctic Ocean to the bend of Ural River near Orsk city. The boundary between Europe and Asia runs along the eastern side of...

 and the lower Volga Region

Volga Region

Volga Region is a historical region of Russia that encompasses the territories adjacent to the flow of Volga River. According to the flow of the river, it is usually classified into the Middle Volga Region and Lower Volga Region...

 more than 500,000 peasants rose up destroying sowings of potatoes, and thrashing officials. They arbitrarily re-elected wardens, and attacked punitive detachments with weapons. Together with the Russians in riots participated Mari population, also Chuvashes

Chuvash people

The Chuvash people are a Turkic ethnic group, native to an area stretching from the Volga Region to Siberia. Most of them live in Republic of Chuvashia and surrounding areas, although Chuvash communities may be found throughout all Russia.- Etymology :...

, Udmurt

Udmurt

Udmurt may refer to:*Udmurt people, people who speak the Udmurt language*Udmurt language, a Finno-Ugric language*Udmurt Republic, a federal republic of Russia*Udmurt Autonomous Oblast, an autonomous oblast of the Soviet Union...

s, Tatars

Tatars

Tatars are a Turkic speaking ethnic group , numbering roughly 7 million.The majority of Tatars live in the Russian Federation, with a population of around 5.5 million, about 2 million of which in the republic of Tatarstan.Significant minority populations are found in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan,...

, and Komi

Komi

The name Komi may refer to:*Komi Republic, a republic in Russia**Komi peoples**Komi language, languages of the Komi peoples *Komi, a short name for komidashi, a rule used in the board game Go...

. Government threw troops to the suppression of riots. In a number of places peasants were shot. Thousands of rebels were convicted, and exiled into Siberia

Siberia

Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...

or drafted as soldiers.