C. Russia was ruled by kings and queens called tzars.They had much control over their people. They ruled with the help of a few rich families. But a tzar could take away their land if he or she wished to do so. Any coal, iron or minerals found on their land belonged to the tzar. So did any trees that could be used in building ships. By the late 1700s nobles increased their power over the peasants. The peasants had always been tied to the land they worked. By the 1700s they were tied to the landowners. They could be bought and sold. when Catherine || was the tzar of Russia, she wrote, "Landowners do whatever seems good to them on their estates except sentence people to death."