Most slaves were treated like serfs and servants. All other citizens are serfs or slaves. Below them were three classes approximating serfs or slaves. The emancipation of the serfs pleased neither the serfs nor the nobles. Lesser peasant families would work for the dominant clan as tenants or serfs. The lower gentry farmed and lived slightly better than the few serfs they had. State serfs were emancipated in 1866. The nobility was too weak to oppose the emancipation of the serfs. Spartan serfs, Helots, could win freedom through bravery in battle. The 1861 Emancipation Manifesto affected only the privately owned serfs. As the Russian monarchy contributed to the degradation of the serfs, peasant anger ran high. Russian landowners eventually gained almost unlimited ownership over Russian serfs. Voltaire outwardly supported emancipation of the serfs. The unrest spurred constant revolt among Church serfs. The owners were compensated through taxes on the freed serfs.