Odnodvortsy and free cultivators Odnodvortsy under serfdom were people from low-ranking military service who were given, as a reward for service, not an estate, but a small plot of land, usually one yard, without serfs. Personally, they were free, had

Free cultivators

Free cultivators Free cultivators are a special category of free peasants created during the reign of Alexander I. Upon his accession to the throne, Alexander I discovered a desire to alleviate the situation of the serfs. The most important measure in this regard was

Free cultivators

Free cultivators

FREE GRAIN TILLERS FREE GRAIN TILLERS - in Russia, peasants freed (with land) from serfdom according to the Decree of 1803 on the basis of a voluntary agreement with the landowners.

Large legal dictionary. - M.: Infra-M. A. Ya. Sukharev, V. E. Krutskikh, A. Ya. Sukharev. 2003 .

See what "FREE PLAIN PLAINERS" are in other dictionaries:

In Russia, peasants were freed from serfdom with the land according to the Decree of 1803, on the basis of a voluntary agreement with the landowners. K ser. 19th century 151 thousand male souls were released... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Peasants freed from serfdom to the land according to the Decree of 1803, on the basis of a voluntary agreement with the landowners. By the middle of the 19th century. 151 thousand male souls were released. Source: Encyclopedia Fatherland ... Russian history

In Russia, peasants were freed from serfdom with the land according to the Decree of 1803, on the basis of a voluntary agreement with the landowners. By the middle of the 19th century. 151 thousand male souls were released. * * * FREE TILLERS FREE TILLERS in... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (or Free Plowmen) category of the peasantry in Russia in the 19th century. History In official documents, former privately owned peasants who were freed from serfdom on the basis of a decree of 20 ... Wikipedia were called free cultivators in official documents.

See Free Farmers... Soviet historical encyclopedia

free cultivators- in Russia, peasants freed (with land) from serfdom according to the Decree of 1803 on the basis of a voluntary agreement with the landowners ... Large legal dictionary

FREE BREEDERS- in Russia, peasants freed from serfdom with the land according to the Decree of 1803 on the basis of a voluntary agreement with the landowners. The landowners were given the right to free the peasants and provide them with land. The decree did not have much... ...

Under serfdom, ONE-HOUSEHOLDERS were people who came from low-ranking military service and were endowed as a reward for service not with an estate, but with a small plot of land, usually one yard, without serfs. Personally, they were free, had... ... Encyclopedia of Russian life of the 19th century

FREE PEOPLE- 1) people free personally and from state taxes; the state protected their personal safety, but did not recognize any rights for them; “in the monuments of the Moscow state, the word “free” corresponded to the word “free”” (13). 2) See… … Russian statehood in terms. 9th – early 20th century

Russia in the nineteenth century had to resolve two important key issues. They had been on the agenda since the beginning of the century and concerned serfdom and autocracy.

Decisions of the Russian Tsar

He made a number of attempts to somehow resolve the peasant issue that had become urgent. This, of course, concerned primarily the decrees of 1801 and 1803. The first made it possible, on an equal basis with other classes, to buy land as a property, thereby destroying the existing monopoly of the nobility on the ownership of this real estate. The second, which went down in history as the “Decree on Free Plowmen,” was intended to determine the procedure for the emancipation or release of peasants along with the land. The latter were obliged to pay the landowners a ransom in installments, thereby also receiving ownership of the land plot.

To be fair, it should be noted that only a few were able to take advantage of this decree. At the same time, this measure did not in any way affect the existing system of serfdom.

Over the years, many options have been proposed to solve this rather complex but pressing issue. Projects for the liberation of peasants were proposed by Mordvinov and Arakcheev, Guryev and Kankrin.

Peasant question

Despite the fact that since 1801, burghers, merchants and state peasants were allowed to buy or sell uninhabited lands, the current situation in Russia was quite explosive. Every year it worsened. And serfdom became less and less effective. Moreover, such a state of the peasants caused grumbling not only among themselves. Representatives of other classes were also dissatisfied. However, they nevertheless did not dare to abolish the tsarist government: the nobility, being a privileged class, considered the main support of the emperor, categorically did not agree with such radical changes. Therefore, the tsar had to compromise, maneuvering between the desires of the elite and the needs of the economy.

Year 1803: “Decree on free cultivators”

It had very important ideological significance for Russia. After all, for the first time in history, it approved the possibility of freeing peasants along with their land in retaliation for a ransom. It was this provision that became the main component of the subsequent reform of 1861. Adopted on February 20, 1803, the “Decree on Free Plowmen” provided for the opportunity for peasants to free themselves either individually or as entire villages, with a mandatory land allotment. For their will, they had to pay a ransom or fulfill duties. If the peasants did not fulfill their obligations, they were returned to the landowner. The class that received freedom in this way was called free. However, they went down in history as free farmers. Since 1848, they began to be called And it was they who became the main driving force in the development of the open spaces and resources of Siberia.

Implementation of the decree

By the mid-nineteenth century, almost one hundred and fifty thousand male peasants had been freed under this law. At the same time, historians believe that the results of the “Decree on Free Plowmen,” which was in force in Russia for more than half a century, were very small.

Having passed into a special class, the “free cultivators” now received and could dispose of their own land. They could bear duties exclusively in favor of the Russian state. However, according to statistics, during the entire reign of Alexander, less than half a percent of the total number of serfs passed into their category.

For example, from 1804 to 1805 in the Ostsee region, although peasants-farmers were granted personal freedom, they still had to bear duties for the plots of landowners' land put at their disposal: both corvée and quitrent. Moreover, free cultivators were not exempt from recruitment.

Prerequisites

In addition to the above reasons, another very specific event became the reason for the publication of the “Decree on Free Plowmen”. Count Sergei Rumyantsev, known for his radical views, expressed a desire to free some of his serfs along with the land. At the same time, he put forward a condition: the peasants had to pay for their own plots. It was with this request that Count Rumyantsev turned to the emperor so that he would allow him to legitimize the deal.

This incident became the prerequisite for Alexander to issue the notorious decree, after which free cultivators appeared in Russia.

Points of the decree

Ten points were added to the law, according to which:

1. The landowner could free his peasants along with the land. At the same time, he had to personally negotiate with his serf about the terms of the ransom and his expected obligations.
2. The obligations around which the parties agreed were passed on by inheritance.
3. If the peasant did not fulfill them, then he and his family and land had to return to dependence on the landowner.
4. Liberated serfs were to be called free.
5. Free farmers had the right to move to another class: to become artisans or traders, etc.
6. Both freedmen and state peasants were obliged to pay taxes to the state. At the same time, they had to perform recruiting duties.
7. The tiller had to be tried in the same institution as the state peasant.
8. Released serfs, having fulfilled their duties to the landowners, could freely dispose of their land allotment. They could also move to live in other provinces, notifying the Treasury Chamber in advance.
9. Free farmers received state rights.
10. If the peasant’s land or he himself were mortgaged, then, at the request of the former owner, he himself took over this debt with the permission of the creditor.

It must be said that the landowner could not take advantage of the acquired right, so the decree was solely advisory in nature, and not mandatory.

Under serfdom, ONE-HOUSEHOLDERS were people from low-ranking military service who were endowed as a reward for service not with an estate, but with a small plot of land, usually one yard, without serfs. Personally, they were free, they even had the right to acquire peasants, but on the same basis as serfs they paid a tax - the POLL TAX. Most often they cultivated their land themselves. " Generally speaking, in our country it is still difficult to distinguish a peasant from a peasant- Turgenev writes in the story “The Ovsyanikov’s One-Palace”, - His farm is almost worse than a peasant’s, the calves don’t come out of the buckwheat, the horses are barely alive, the harness is rope" Described in Ovsyanikov’s story “ was an exception to the general rule, although he was not considered a rich man ».

The father of the hero of another story by Turgenev - Nedopyuskin " came out of the same palace and only after forty years of service achieved nobility ».

Free from serfdom, just like the single-palace dwellers, were also small landowners - FREE, or FREE, GRAIN PLAINERS. According to a decree of 1803, a serf peasant could buy his freedom and purchase a small plot of land. Occasionally, as a special favor, the landowner himself released him, giving him land.

In “The History of the Village of Goryukhina” by Pushkin, the Sivka River separates the landowner Goryukhino from the possessions of the Karachevskys, free cultivators - “ restless neighbors, known for the violent cruelty of their morals" In Tolstoy's "War and Peace" by Andrei Bolkonsky " one of his estates of three hundred souls of peasants and free cultivators was listed (this was one of the first examples in Russia) ».

Free farmers under serfdom were not exempt from conscription. In Nekrasov’s poem “The Forgotten Village,” a free farmer fell in love with the serf girl Natasha, but the chief steward prevents the marriage; they are waiting for the master. Meanwhile " a free tiller became a soldier. / And Natasha herself is no longer raving about the wedding..."Another tragedy of the era of serfdom...

A serf peasant set free by a landowner was called a FREEDMAN. In Turgenev’s story “Lgov,” the hunter Vladimir, a former master’s valet, was introduced, who was released by the master. He lived " without a penny of cash, without a constant occupation, he just ate manna from heaven ».

The main character of Turgenev’s other story “Crimson Water” is Fog, “ freed man of the count ».

With the abolition of serfdom, the concepts of “single lord” and “free tiller”, as well as “freedman”, became a thing of the past forever.

Custody and bail

In a number of cases, the government could transfer the noble estate into guardianship.

Escheated ESTATES were transferred to guardianship, that is, those left after the death of the owner and due to the lack of heirs without the owner, as well as ruined estates, brought by the owners to collapse. In Fonvizin's "Minor" for inhumane treatment of peasants“Prostakova’s estate is placed under guardianship - an extremely rare and uncharacteristic case.

Repetilov in “Woe from Wit” repents to Chatsky that he is in “ guardianship taken by decree“- this means that his ruined estate was taken under state supervision.

Guardianship was appointed in cases where the owners of the estate were minors, incompetent, etc. Local nobles were appointed as guardians, who in this case received 5% of the income from the property as payment.

When Gogol's old-world landowners died, their heir brought the estate to the point where it was taken into trusteeship. " Wise guardianship (from one former assessor and some kind of staff captain in a faded uniform) transferred all the chickens and all the eggs in a short time.”

The task of guardianship under serfdom was to provide all possible support for noble land ownership; ruined estates often went into the treasury and were sold at auction, but never became the property of the serfs who lived in them.

The PLEDGE of estates became widespread among landowners at the beginning of the 19th century - together with serfs. It’s very useful to figure out what it was.

Owners could obtain a cash loan from various types of credit institutions using their estates or part of them as collateral. The business seemed tempting: without initially losing anything, the landowner received a sum of money that he could use for his own needs and even for commercial transactions. However, for the loan every year, until its expiration, the credit institution had to pay a considerable percentage.

If the interest was not paid and the loan was not repaid at the end of the term, the estate was appropriated by the credit institution and sold by it at auction (that is, public auction). The amount contributed by the buyer replenished the budget of the credit institution, while the landowner, who lost his estate, remained ruined. Such a fate, as we know, befell Ranevskaya in Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard.

The right to issue interest-bearing loans secured by real estate was also granted to the BOARDS OF GUARDIANS. There were two of these - at the St. Petersburg and Moscow educational homes. Although these houses were called imperial, that is, under the protection of the state, the treasury did not release money to them. Orphanages, which housed hundreds of orphans, existed through private charity, royalties from lotteries and theatrical performances, sales of playing cards, etc. But the main source of income for orphanages was loan operations.

The squandered landowner Muromsky in Pushkin's "The Peasant Young Lady" was considered a man not stupid, for he was the first of the landowners of his province to think of mortgaging his estate into the Council of Trustees: a move that seemed extremely complex and bold at that time ».

Gradually, this type of pledge became commonplace among landowners. Pierre Bezukhov (War and Peace by L. Tolstoy) paid interest on mortgages to the Council (guardianship) of about 80 thousand on all estates. We read about the pledge of landowners' estates to pawnshops and guardianship councils in many works of Russian classics: in Pushkin's "Eugene Onegin", Gogol's "The Stroller", L. Tolstoy's "Youth", in a number of Ostrovsky's comedies.

Things are bad for the Kirsanovs (“Fathers and Sons” by Turgenev), but here “ the board of trustees threatens and demands immediate and arrear-free payment of interest ».

To remortgage the estate meant mortgaging it anew, before the expiration of the first mortgage, when the estate had to be redeemed, that is, the amount received as collateral should be paid with all interest - this was very hefty money. With the second mortgage, credit institutions significantly, usually doubled, increased the annual percentage of the contribution, that is, they placed the pledgor in extremely unfavorable conditions. But the landowner had no choice: he no longer had the funds to buy out the estate or other mortgaged property. It goes without saying that the weight of the second pledge fell with all its force on the serfs, who were exploited beyond measure.

Chichikov’s entire scam involving the purchase of dead souls is based on the right to mortgage one’s own peasants, that is, to receive a loan secured by serf souls.

If valuables (movable property) were pledged to a pawnshop pending redemption in kind, then, of course, lands and peasants were pledged according to officially executed documents confirmed by local authorities, indicating that the pledge actually existed.

From time to time, the state undertook REVISIONS - censuses of the country's serf population, primarily with the goal of establishing the number of males suitable for recruits. Therefore, not all serfs, but only male peasants were called “REVISION SOUL”.

From 1719 to 1850, ten revisions were carried out. Information about serfs was recorded on special sheets - REVISION TALES. Henceforth, before the new revision, the revision souls were legally considered to exist; It was unthinkable to organize a daily accounting of the serf population. Thus, dead or runaway peasants were officially considered to be in existence, and landowners were obliged to pay a tax for them - the POLL TAX.

Chichikov took advantage of these circumstances, buying dead souls from landowners as if they were alive in order to mortgage the estate with imaginary peasants to the Guardian Council and receive a tidy sum of money. The deal was also profitable for the landowner: having received Chichikov at least a small amount for a non-existent peasant, he at the same time got rid of the need to pay a poll tax to the treasury for him. Of course, Chichikov tried to buy a dead soul cheaper, and the landowner tried to sell it at a higher price - hence the persistent bargaining for souls.

When legally purchasing and mortgaging living souls, the pawnbroker received an amount based on the real price of living peasants, and was obliged to annually pay the required interest for each mortgaged soul until the redemption period.

Chichikov did not intend to do this. Having pledged the dead souls as if they were alive, he wanted to get a loan for them and escape with capital made up of the difference between the cost of the audit soul and the amount paid for it to the landowner. He didn’t even think about any interest, much less a ransom.

There was only one difficulty: Chichikov did not have land, and the nobleman could only buy peasants without land “ON WITHDRAWAL,” that is, with relocation to new places. And the peasants could only be mortgaged with land. Therefore, Chichikov planned to buy land in one of the uninhabited steppe provinces - Kherson or Tauride (Crimea). This was quite realistic: it was known that the government, interested in settling desert lands in the south of Russia, sold them to any nobleman who wanted it for almost nothing. No one was embarrassed that Chichikov was supposedly going to transfer only men to new places, without their families. Such a deal could only take place until 1833, when a law appeared prohibiting the sale of peasants “with separation from the family.”

The immorality of Chichikov’s scam also lay in the fact that he intended to place fictitious peasants not just anywhere, but in the Guardian Council, which was in charge of the care of widows and orphans. It was for their maintenance that the money received from collateral transactions was used. Thus, Chichikov hoped to profit from the grief and tears of the disadvantaged, already half-starved and poorly dressed.

Noble self-government

The nobles of the districts and provinces united into NOBLE SOCIETIES, which enjoyed SELF-GOVERNMENT. Every three years, the nobles of the district and the entire province gathered for district and provincial elections, at which they elected leaders of the nobility, judges, police officers and other elected officials. Judge Lyapkin-Tyapkin in “The Inspector General” introduces himself to Khlestakov: “ In eight hundred and sixteen he was elected for a three-year term by the will of the nobility... »

The most authoritative and wealthy landowners were elected LEADERS OF THE NOBILITY. This position was quite troublesome, but prestigious. The leader was obliged, without bringing the matter to court, to resolve conflicts between local nobles and to calm the restless. The provincial leader was the governor's closest adviser and support, although sometimes quarrels occurred between them, as in Turgenev's Fathers and Sons.

The position of leader required certain expenses for travel and receptions. Count Ilya Rostov emerged from the leaders of the district nobility, since this post was associated with “ too much expense" In Turgenev’s story “Two Landowners,” General Khvalynsky plays “ the role is quite significant, but, due to stinginess, he refuses the honorary title ».

At the same time, other landowners longed to become leaders. This is the hero of Gogol’s “Carriage” Chertokutsky: “ In the last election, he gave the nobility a wonderful dinner, at which he announced that if only he was elected leader, he would put the nobles on the best footing ».

In Turgenev's play "Breakfast at the Leader's" the district leader of the nobility, Balagalayev, is depicted as a soft and indecisive man. He unsuccessfully tries to reconcile the nobles - brother and sister, who quarreled over the division of the inherited estate: “ ...I agreed to be a mediator between them,” he says, “because this, you understand, is my duty... »

The beginning of L. Tolstoy’s story “After the Ball” takes place “at a ball hosted by the provincial leader, a good-natured old man, a rich hospitable man and a chamberlain.”

The nobleman Alupkin in one of Turgenev’s stories slavishly says to the leader of the nobility: “ You are, so to speak, our second father ».

The leader of the nobility was obliged to worry about the imaginary dignity of the noble class. In this capacity, the leader is mentioned in Chekhov’s story “My Life”: he turns to the governor for help in order to force the nobleman Poloznev, who has taken the path of simple labor activity, “ change your behavior ».

NOBLERY ELECTIONS became an event in the dull life of district and provincial landowners, the subject of their worries and discussions. In the poem “Winter. What should we do in the village? I meet..." Pushkin calls " talking about close elections ».

The election of the provincial leader of the nobility is described in L. Tolstoy’s story “The Two Hussars” and is especially detailed and colorful in the sixth part of “Anna Karenina”.

Lermontov gives a satirical figure of the district leader of the nobility in the poem “Tambov Treasurer”:

But the district leader,

All hidden in a tie, a tailcoat down to the toes,

Treble, mustache and dull eyes.

In "Anna Karenina" Sviyazhsky " was an exemplary leader of the nobility and always wore a cap with a cockade and a red band on the road" The irony is also noticeable here: Tolstoy notes the weakness of the nobles’ elected representatives to the external attributes of their power.

Peasant reform

In Russian classical literature, there are almost exclusively LANDSCAPE PEASANTS, which were discussed above. But there were other categories of peasants, sometimes mentioned in passing by the classics. To complete the picture, you should get to know them.

STATE, or STATE, peasants. They were considered personally free, lived on state-owned lands, and carried out duties in favor of the state. They were led by special managers appointed by the government.

SPECIFIC PEASANTS. They belonged to the royal family, paid quitrents, and carried out state duties.

ECONOMIC PEASANTS until 1764 belonged to monasteries and churches, then these lands were allocated to special economies that passed to the state, to which the peasants bore duties, remaining relatively free. Subsequently merged with the state peasants.

POSSESSIONAL PEASANTS belonged to private industrial enterprises and were used as factory workers.

The abolition of serfdom in 1861 affected all categories of peasants to one degree or another, but we will only talk about how it affected the landowner peasants, who made up the most numerous category (23 million), described in detail in Russian classical literature.

In general, the abolition of serfdom on February 19, 1861 took into account primarily the interests of large landowners. Although the peasant became personally free and could no longer be bought or sold, he was obliged to buy back his land plot from the landowner. At the same time, he received not the same plot of land that he cultivated, but one that was greatly reduced in favor of the landowner and at a price that significantly exceeded its actual value. When allocating plots, the landowner left the poorest, most infertile land to the peasants.

To draw up statutory charters, that is, documents regulating relations between landowners and peasants after the reform of 1861, PEACE MEDIATORS were appointed from among the local nobles. Much in the fate of the peasants depended on the personal qualities of these intermediaries, their objectivity and goodwill. Among the world mediators there were also liberal people inclined to a fair solution. Such were Konstantin Levin in L. Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina” and Versilov in Dostoevsky’s “The Teenager,” and the good-natured Nikolai Petrovich Kirsanov in Turgenev’s “Fathers and Sons” apparently also possessed these qualities.

In the interests of the landowners, the peasants had to pay them a lump sum of 20-25% of the value of the field plot. The rest was initially paid by the treasury, so that the peasant would repay this loan over 49 years, in installments, at 6% annually.

A peasant who did not contribute 20-25% to the landowner was considered TEMPORARILY OBLIGED and continued to work for the former owner as SHARECROPPING, as corvée, or quitrent, now came to be called. Seven men - the heroes of Nekrasov's poem "Who Lives Well in Rus'" - were named temporarily obliged. In 1883, the category of temporarily obligated people was abolished: by this time, the peasants had to pay the ransom to the landowner in full or lose their allotment.

On average, according to the reform, one peasant family was allocated 3.3 dessiatines of land, that is, three and a half hectares, which was barely enough to feed itself. In some places, the peasant was provided with 0.9 tithes - a completely beggarly allotment.

In Russian literature, the peasant reform of 1861 and its consequences for landowners and peasants were widely reflected. Such a dialogue in Ostrovsky’s play “The Savage” between the landowners Ashmetyev and Anna Stepanovna regarding the reform is indicative. Ashmetyev says: “ Well, it seems we can’t complain too much, we haven’t lost much" Anna Stepanovna states: “ So this is an exception, this is a special happiness... Kirill Maksimych was then a peace mediator and drew up charter documents for us with the peasants. He cut them off so much that they have nowhere to put the chicken out. Thanks to him, I got a good job: my peasants work just as hard as serfs - there’s no difference ».

In the novel “Mother” by Gorky, the peasant Efim answered the question: “ Do you yourself have an allotment?" - answers: " We? We have! We are three brothers, and the allotment is four tithes. Sand - it's good for cleaning copper, but it's not suitable for bread!.."And continues: " I freed myself from the earth - what is it? He doesn’t feed, but ties his hands. I've been working as a farm laborer for four years now ».

Millions of peasants went bankrupt, became farm laborers for the same landowners or kulaks, and went to the cities, joining the ranks of the rapidly growing proletariat in the post-reform years.

The fate of the courtyard peasants was especially difficult: they did not have a land plot, and therefore the landowner was not obliged to provide them with land. Few continued to serve the impoverished landowners into old age, like Firs in Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard. The majority were released without land and money on all four sides. If the landowner left his estate, they remained, starving, on the estate; he was no longer obliged to pay them any monthly wages or salaries. Nekrasov wrote about such unfortunates in the poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”:

...They were hanging around in that estate

Hungry street servants,

Abandoned by the master

To the mercy of fate.

All old, all sick

And, as in a gypsy camp,

The bitter fate of the courtyard man after the reform was colorfully described by Saltykov-Shchedrin in the story “Tailor Grishka.”

Shortly before the reform, having heard about it, many landowners, despite the ban, transferred almost all of their peasants to household servants in order to deprive them of the right to an allotment.

Nekrasov wrote:

“The great chain has broken,

It tore and splintered:

One way for the master,

Others don't care!"

Yes, the master got it too, especially the poor one: the money received from the ransom was quickly wasted, and there was nothing to live on. REDEMPTION CERTIFICATES were sold or pledged for next to nothing - financial documents issued to landowners confirming their right to receive redemption money. All that remained was to sell the ancestral land, which was quickly seized by resourceful merchants and kulaks. But this money did not last long.

Small landowners went bankrupt and disappeared earlier than others, followed by middle-sized landowners. Pictures of the destruction of the “noble nests” and the impoverishment of the nobles are vividly depicted in the works of Bunin and A.N. Tolstoy.

Under the influence of the events of the first Russian revolution in 1905, the government abolished the collection of redemption payments from peasants in 1906, that is, four years ahead of schedule.

In L. Tolstoy’s comedy “The Fruits of Enlightenment”, peasants driven to extremes come to the landowner in the city to buy land from him. " Without land, our life must weaken and decline", explains one man. And another adds: “ ...the land is small, not like livestock - a chicken, say, and there’s nowhere to release it" However, the drunken landowner demands payment in full, without the promised installments, and the peasants have no money. Only the cunning of the maid Tanya, using the superstition of the masters, helps the peasant walkers achieve their goal.

In Gorky’s novel “The Life of Klim Samgin,” one of the characters characterizes the situation of peasants at the end of the 19th century: “ The men live as if they had been conquered, as if in captivity, by God. The younger ones are leaving, in all directions.” .

Such were the consequences of the reform of 1861.

CHAPTER TEN

PEOPLE OF OTHER CLASSES

Philistinism and merchant class

Beginning with the decree of Catherine II of 1775, the division of society into ESTATES was quite clearly established in Russia. They were divided into taxable - those who were obliged to pay taxes to the state, that is, taxes, and non-taxable - those exempt from this duty.

The non-taxable, that is, privileged classes included the nobility and clergy, and the tax-exempt classes included the peasantry, philistinism, and merchants. In addition to paying taxes, representatives of the tax-paying classes bore conscription duties and had limited freedom of movement.

Neither merchants, nor townspeople, nor the clergy had the right to keep serfs - this was, with a few exceptions, the privilege of the nobles alone.

What is PETISHNESS? In the last century, this concept has acquired a sharply negative meaning. A person with narrow, private interests and a limited spiritual outlook began to be called a bourgeois, regardless of social affiliation. In this understanding, Maxim Gorky widely used this word in his journalism (“Notes on Philistinism” and other articles).

However, in its original meaning the word “philistinism” did not contain anything condemning. Literally, “petty bourgeois” meant city dweller - from the old word “place”, that is, city. We still use the word “suburb” - a settlement outside the city limits. A petty bourgeois was a person assigned to the petty bourgeois class, usually an artisan, small trader or homeowner. Most often it was yesterday's peasant - freed or redeemed from serfdom, a soldier who had served his term of service, but never a nobleman, even one who was greatly impoverished. Citizens who had a capital of less than 500 rubles were registered as bourgeois. This title was hereditary.

The father of Lopukhov, one of the heroes of Chernyshevsky’s novel “What is to be done?”, was “ a Ryazan tradesman, lived, according to his tradesman rank, enough, that is, his family had cabbage soup with meat more than once on Sundays and even drank tea every day. He somehow managed to support his son in the gymnasium ».

The wife, no matter what class she was, upon marriage passed into the class of her husband. In “Poshekhon Antiquity” by Saltykov-Shchedrin “ the wife of a serf icon painter, originally from the bourgeoisie, decided to become a serf by marrying him ».

Another such case is described in one of Leskov’s stories: a French woman fell in love with a Russian serf, and “ she was not versed in the laws of the Russian Empire and did not comprehend that through such a marriage with a Russian man in an involuntary position, she herself was deprived of her freedom and her children became serfs ».

Ostrovsky created an attractive image of the tradesman-craftsman Kuligin in the drama “The Thunderstorm”. " In philistinism, sir, you will see nothing but rudeness and stark poverty. And we, sir, will never get out of this hole! Because honest work will never earn us more than our daily bread“, he says to Boris Grigorievich, who has arrived in the city. A talented, self-taught mechanic dreams of serving people, but has neither the rights nor the opportunities to do so: “ Jobs must be given to the philistines. Otherwise, you have hands, but nothing to work with ».

« My brothers have left the trades and are engaged in craftsmanship in the city, but I’m a man“, says old man Kholodov in Chekhov’s story “The Steppe”. It should be added to the situation of the burghers that until 1863 they could be subjected to corporal punishment.

In “Oblomov” by Goncharov “ the mayor hits the townspeople in the teeth ».

We usually associate the word “PEASANTS” with residents of rural areas; we talked about peasant cultivators in the chapter “Nobles and Peasants.” But the concept of the peasantry as a class was broader. In the old days, a large number of peasants constantly lived in the city, who, due to lack of capital or some other reason, could not register as petty bourgeois - even after the abolition of serfdom. In The Brothers Karamazov, Elder Zosima asks the pilgrims who came to him from the city: “ Should I be philistine?"They answer him: " We are urban, father, urban, we are peasants, but urban, we live in the city" These people, it turns out, are engaged in transportation, support " both horses and carriages" In the same novel we learn that “ Skotoprigonyevo townsfolk are almost the same peasants, they even plow ».

A special place in society was occupied by the merchant class - the commercial and industrial class. Citizens who had a capital of more than 500 rubles were registered as merchants. Since 1775, merchants began to be divided into categories - GUILDS. Merchants of the third, that is, the lowest, guild had to have capital from 500 to 1000 rubles, the second - from 1000 to 10,000, the first - from 10,000 or more. Merchants of the first two guilds were exempt from conscription and corporal punishment. In 1863, the third guild was abolished, leaving only the first and second.

In Gogol's comedy "Marriage" the bride, Agafya Tikhonovna, " not a staff officer, but the daughter of a merchant of the third guild”, that is, the daughter of a poor merchant, although the lying matchmaker describes her father’s fortune in every possible way. Here the conflict is as follows: Podkolesin wants to marry a girl with a rich dowry, but a girl of “merchant rank” is flattered to marry a nobleman-official of the highest possible rank; This is what the matchmaker plays on. A similar situation is depicted in the famous painting by P. A. Fedotov “Matchmaking of a Major.”

Among the jurors at the trial in L. Tolstoy's novel “Resurrection” - in the case of the murder of the second guild of merchant Smelkov - the same guild merchant Baklashov. The images of both - the murdered man and the one judging the murderers - are given by Tolstoy in an extremely plastic and psychologically convincing manner.

In Chekhov’s story “In a Ravine,” a carpenter talks about his dispute with a merchant: “You, I say, are a merchant of the first guild, and I am a carpenter, that’s correct. And Saint Joseph, I say, was a carpenter.” And he continues: “ And then, after this conversation, I think: who is older? Merchant of the first guild or carpenter? So, a carpenter, kids! »

We see representatives of capital in Gogol’s “The Inspector General” in the person of merchants who came to the mayor with requests, and in response heard insults and curses. In Ostrovsky’s comedy “Warm Heart,” the tyrant merchant Khlynov is introduced - already the real owner of the district town, to whom the mayor Gradoboev himself fawns. And finally, the “city fathers” - wealthy merchants in Gorky’s novels “Foma Gordeev” and “The Artamonov Case” - are full of confidence and dignity. Russian classical literature shows the rapid evolution of the merchants, their rights and importance in society.

However, from the “boys” in the shops and small peddlers to the all-powerful millionaires and the “polished” merchant Lopakhin, buying a noble estate (“The Cherry Orchard”), it was a very difficult path. Methods of getting rich are well shown in Ostrovsky's plays.

The people gave all sorts of nicknames to their newly-minted exploiters: “cloth snout”, “savras”, “bloodsucker”, “world-eater”, “arshinnik” and many others.

Fast careers were sometimes made by CELLERS - assistants to merchants, SIDERS who traded under a power of attorney given by the owner of the shop, they were replaced by "BOYS" who did the most menial, thankless work in the shops.

Huge capital was made by merchants-buyers - PRASOLY, HURTOVCHIKI, MAYAKI, etc., who bought meat, fish and livestock for next to nothing and sold the goods at a great profit for themselves.

« Prasol is a man who trades in all sorts of things, determining the type of trade for himself“, - Gogol noted in his notebook.

Nekrasov says this about Prasol:

Eremin, merchant brother,

Buying from peasants

Anything, bast shoes,

Whether it's veal or lingonberries,

And most importantly - a master

Be on the lookout for opportunities

When were the taxes collected?

And the Vakhlatsky property

It was put under the hammer.

The people had a special hostility towards TURKEEPERS, who acquired from the government the right to levy taxes, to use natural resources and to trade in consumer goods. The wine buy-out took on an extraordinary scale. Ordinary merchants, and sometimes nobles, paid the state a small percentage, put the rest of the income in their pockets and after a few years became millionaires. Nekrasov writes about the leader of the nobility who took up wine farming:

Over time, he became an ace of redemption -

Exploiter of popular drunkenness.

In Krylov’s fable “The Farmer and the Shoemaker” it says:

The rich tax farmer lived in luxurious mansions.

He ate sweetly and drank deliciously;

Every day he gave feasts, banquets,

He has no estimate of treasures.

The rich lady Polozova in Turgenev's "Spring Waters", boasting of her " low birth", - the daughter of a simple peasant who became a tax farmer.

While visiting influential persons of the provincial city, the prudent Chichikov considers it necessary to pay a visit to the local tax farmer.

In the second, unfinished, volume of Dead Souls, Gogol created an idealized figure of the virtuous tax farmer Murazov; It is not said what kind of ransom Murazov held, but Chichikov reasonably doubts that his million-dollar wealth “ acquired in the most impeccable way and by the fairest means" This vital discrepancy led to the fact that the image of Murazov turned out to be false and artificial.

In 1863, farm-outs were abolished and replaced by EXCISE - a kind of indirect tax on consumer goods, included in the retail price and going to the treasury. But over a hundred years (since 1763) of the tax farming system, tax farmers managed to make enormous sums.

The capitalist class, the majority of which was the merchant class, did not have the right to a number of noble titles and privileges, but received compensation in the form of some honorary titles: MANUFACTURER-ADVISORS (given to large entrepreneurs), COMMERCIAL ADVISERS (given to merchants and granted the rights of an official of the VIII class, then there is a collegiate assessor), finally, PERSONAL and HERITAGE HONORABLE CITIZENS, introduced in 1832. The last two titles were awarded not only to merchants, but also to other non-nobles, such as scientists, doctors, for special personal merits. Honorary citizens acquired a number of benefits and privileges similar to those of the nobility.

In Chekhov's story “The Mask,” the notorious boor and tyrant manufacturer Pyatigorov is given the rank of hereditary honorary citizen. In the novel “The Life of Klim Samgin” by Gorky, Dunyasha talks about his conversation with Stratonov: “ My parent, he says, is the son of a peasant, a bast worker, and he died as a commercial adviser, he, he says, beat the workers with his own hand, and they respected him ».

Not only nobles, but also merchants treated the poor middle class with contempt. In Ostrovsky's comedy "Our People - Let's Be Numbered!" Lipochka, who robbed her father along with her clerk-husband, justifies herself this way: “ ...we can’t be left with nothing, because we’re not some kind of philistines ».

Impoverished and ruined merchants were forced to move into the petty bourgeois class. In Ostrovsky’s drama “The Deep” there is a document “ On the insolvency of the former merchant, and now tradesman Puda Kuzmin, son of Borovtsov ».

« Grandfather's sister, - we read in “Poshekhon Antiquity” by Saltykov-Shchedrin, - was married to a merchant, who subsequently fell into decline and re-registered as a bourgeois ».

Clergy

Having a direct bearing on many aspects of society, for example, civil institutions, schools, etc., the church played a large role in pre-revolutionary Russia. At the head of the Holy Synod was a dignitary appointed by the tsar - the Chief Prosecutor, a completely secular person.

As now, the clergy was divided into WHITE (lower) and BLACK (higher, monastic). To be elevated to the highest rank of BISHOP, a priest was required to be tonsured as a monk and complete renunciation of everything worldly, that is, family, property, and previous social ties. The clergy was called black because the monks wore black robes. In Chekhov’s story “The Letter,” the priest Father Anastasy says to the dean Father Fyodor: “ Mind! Bright mind! If they hadn’t gotten married, Father Fyodor, they would have been bishops long ago, truly, they would have been!“A married man could not become a monk, but an ordinary priest was obliged to marry before being tonsured, but, having been widowed, he had no right to marry again.

RECENT - a priest who oversees the activities of several parishes in the same area.

Much more often than black ones, Russian literature shows the WHITE CLERGY: DEACONS and PROTODEACONIES, who were required to complete a course in a lower educational institution - THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL, and HIERIES and ARTOPRIESTS - graduates of THEOLOGICAL SEMINARIOS. People of all classes, even children of serfs, were admitted to religious educational institutions (at the same time they were freed from serfdom), but graduates could refuse priestly activities. In Leskov’s novel “Soborians” it is said that the son of the bread-maker Varnava, having graduated from the seminary with the first class, refused to become a priest, but entered the district school as a mathematics teacher, explaining that “ doesn't want to be a liar ».

Children of clergymen, who studied or did not study in seminaries, made up an impressive part of the commoners - the Russian intelligentsia of the last century. The children of the priests were N.G. Chernyshevsky, N.A. Dobrolyubov, N.G. Pomyalovsky, Gleb Uspensky and many other Russian writers and public figures.

The servants of each temple composed the PRACT. In addition to the rector - the priest and his assistant - the deacon, the clergy also included lower clergymen who had not received religious education and were not ordained - DECEAKS (officially PSALMERS) and SEXONORS. The sexton, due to the similarity of words, is sometimes confused with the deacon, but the deacon belonged to the clergy class, and the sexton was expelled from it in 1868 and became a worldly person, but at the same time he was necessarily literate, since he often had to read church books. The conventional author of “Belkin’s Tales” admits that “ received his initial education from our sexton" Evprakseyushka, lover of Judushka Golovlev, “ was a maiden of ecclesiastical rank" - the daughter of a sexton.

Having learned from Judushka’s nieces that actresses play different roles, the priest’s wife remarks: “ Therefore, there too: some are priests, some are deacons, and some serve as sextons. ».

The sexton was the senior minister in the church; one of his duties was to read prayers over the deceased - hard, lengthy and monotonous work. Hence the famous Famus phrase: “...Read not like a sexton, /But with feeling, with sense, with order” .

After the reforms of 1860-1876, that is, with the development of capitalist relations, the estates were legally preserved, but the legal differences between them were erased: military service extended to everyone (except the clergy), corporal punishment was abolished, formally everyone was equal before the court, and were required to pay taxes and so on. But the level of income and education began to play a big role. The petty bourgeoisie received wide access to public service and a military career as officers.

FREE GRAIN TILLERS FREE GRAIN TILLERS - in Russia, peasants freed from serfdom with the land according to the Decree of 1803, on the basis of a voluntary agreement with the landowners. K ser. 19th century 151 thousand male souls were released.

Big Encyclopedic Dictionary. 2000 .

See what "FREE PLAIN PLAINERS" are in other dictionaries:

Legal Dictionary

Peasants freed from serfdom to the land according to the Decree of 1803, on the basis of a voluntary agreement with the landowners. By the middle of the 19th century. 151 thousand male souls were released. Source: Encyclopedia Fatherland ... Russian history

In Russia, peasants were freed from serfdom with the land according to the Decree of 1803, on the basis of a voluntary agreement with the landowners. By the middle of the 19th century. 151 thousand male souls were released. * * * FREE TILLERS FREE TILLERS in... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

- (or Free Plowmen) category of the peasantry in Russia in the 19th century. History In official documents, former privately owned peasants who were freed from serfdom on the basis of a decree of 20 ... Wikipedia were called free cultivators in official documents.

See Free Farmers... Soviet historical encyclopedia

free cultivators- in Russia, peasants freed (with land) from serfdom according to the Decree of 1803 on the basis of a voluntary agreement with the landowners ... Large legal dictionary

FREE BREEDERS- in Russia, peasants freed from serfdom with the land according to the Decree of 1803 on the basis of a voluntary agreement with the landowners. The landowners were given the right to free the peasants and provide them with land. The decree did not have much... ...

Under serfdom, ONE-HOUSEHOLDERS were people who came from low-ranking military service and were endowed as a reward for service not with an estate, but with a small plot of land, usually one yard, without serfs. Personally, they were free, had... ... Encyclopedia of Russian life of the 19th century

FREE PEOPLE- 1) people free personally and from state taxes; the state protected their personal safety, but did not recognize any rights for them; “in the monuments of the Moscow state, the word “free” corresponded to the word “free”” (13). 2) See… … Russian statehood in terms. 9th – early 20th century