what was life like in russia under the czar (before the revolution)?

Answer 1

It all depends. For the peasants it was horrible. They were tied to the land of their landowner and were treated no better than slaves. They were the classic serfs. They had a short life span, suffered from disease, malnutrition and injuries, and the Orthodox Church did little to help them out.

For the nobility it was a good life. They had tons of land and money coming it, they had to do very little to maintain a high standard of living, they owned multiple houses and dressed well, and went to the opera and out of the country.

There was a growing middle class and they worked hard but received some limited benefits. It was a lot better than being a serf, which the bulk of the population was.

Answer 2

Russian peasants still lived much like serfs.