What does the expression «to hold someone in hedgehog gloves» mean?

This expression appeared in Russian as early as the 18th century, when the proverb “Ежовыми рукавицами да за мягкое тело приниматься” (“Yezhovymi rukavitsami da za myagkoye telo prinimatsya” or "to hold a soft body with hedgehog gloves") was common. It became firmly established in the 19th century. For example, Vladimir Dahl's collection mentions a similar proverb: "Ежовая голица учить мастерица” (“Yezhovaya golitsa uchit' masteritsa” or "A hedgehog glove is a master at teaching"). Both refer to special work gloves – ‘golitsy’ – designed to protect against injury. They were so thick that one could easily pick up a hedgehog with them.

In Gogol's novel ‘Dead Souls’, the characters reflect on the fate of purchased peasants: "Is it necessary for them to be forever before Chichikov's eyes, for him to keep them in hedgehog gloves, to reprimand them for every little thing and not just relying on someone else, but personally, where necessary, to give them a slap in the face and a slap on the back of the head?"

This expression received a second lease of life in the 20th century, when cartoonist Boris Yefimov used it in a caricature of Nikolai Yezhov, the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs, titled: “Стальные ежовы рукавицы” (“Stalnye yezhoy rukavitsy” or "Hedgehog’s gloves of steel").  In it, he was depicted wearing gloves resembling a hedgehog's "fur coat".

An English equivalent would be: “To hold on a tight rein.”