In three to five sentences summarize the state of imperial russia prior to the revolution in 1917.

Much of Western Europe viewed Russia as an undeveloped, backwards society. The Russian Empire practiced serfdom—a form of feudalism in which landless peasants were forced to serve the landowning nobility—well into the nineteenth century. In contrast, the practice had disappeared in most of Western Europe by the end of the Middle Ages.

Explanation:

b) to encourage free trade

answer; ratification;