Serfdom in Rus'. Characteristic features and conditions for the formation of feudal dependence

One should not think that a person who acts in accordance with his convictions is already a decent person. We need to check whether his beliefs are decent.

F M Dostoevsky

Over the course of the 15th-17th centuries, a system of serfdom was formed in Russia, which determined the position of peasants in the society of the empire for many years to come, until the abolition of serfdom in 1861. This process was not associated with any individual decrees, but took place in several stages, affecting the reign of several kings, including the first of the Romanov dynasty. In general, the formation of serfdom in Russia is a curious topic, in which there are many experienced parties. But today we will talk about how exactly the enslavement of the peasants took place.

Peasantry in the 10th-14th centuries

In Rus', as well as during its collapse, the peasantry consisted of free (smerda) and dependent peasants. Free peasants Rus' had the most. They did not own the property, but could act as tenants. In order to receive land from the feudal lord, the peasants had to work for it. There were several forms of testing:

• quitrent in kind (they gave away part of the harvest)
• cash rent (money from the sale of grown goods).
• The most common form of labor was corvee - the number of days that need to be worked on the land of the “master”.

The main feature of the situation of the peasants during this period was personal freedom, that is, the peasants could independently choose the boyar from whom they rented the land. If they were not satisfied with the terms of the lease, they could change the landlord, or simply leave him in search of another “owner”. In fact, this was the latent formation of serfdom in Russia.

The formation of serfdom

Key changes took place in the Muscovite kingdom throughout the late 14th to mid-17th centuries through the adoption of new regulations that limited the freedom of the peasantry, gradually limiting the possibilities for changing masters.

Sudebnik Ivana 3

In 1497, the ruler of the Moscow kingdom, Ivan 3, approved a new Code of Law. It limited the concept of “the right of transition of peasants.” Now the peasants could move on to another land owner only a week before November 26 and a week after this date.

The fact is that November 26 is St. George’s Day, or St. George’s Day, and it was at this time that agricultural work was completed, which means that the peasant, after fulfilling his duty to the owner of the land, could move on to another. In order to leave, the peasant had to pay “elderly”, that is, rent. The main reason why restrictions on the peasant transition were introduced only at the above time was that the boyars tried to protect themselves from possible damage in the event of an unexpected departure of the peasants, when there was no one to cultivate the land. And so, regardless of the conditions that the master approved, you need to work out until November 26th.

Sudebnik Ivana 4

In 1550, Ivan the Terrible adopted a new Code of Law. It retained the concept of “St. George’s Days” in relation to the right of transition of peasants, but significantly increased the size of the “elderly”. In fact, there was nothing fundamental in this document that would distinguish it from Code of Laws of Ivan 3. But there was an even greater tightening of conditions, since not all peasants could afford to pay the cost of the transition. Formally, they were still free, but in fact many of them had already become dependent.

Decree "On reserved summers"

In 1581, Ivan the Terrible signed the decree “On reserved summers" The fact is that the tsar made a decision during the years 1581-1590 to check the state of the economy in some regions of Russia. For this, Ivan 4 prohibited the transition of peasants on the eve and after St. George’s Day at the time of the census and other checks.

After the checks were completed, the right to transfer should have been returned, however, according to many historians, Boris Godunov in 1592 tried to approve a ban on the transition. However, his decree has not survived (or perhaps it never existed), but it is known that the right to transfer was completely limited by the end of the 16th century.

Decree "On scheduled flights"

Fyodor Ivanovich adopted the law “On scheduled flights” in 1597. For the first time in Russia, it introduced the right of a landowner to search for a runaway peasant. Seasonal summers are the period during which the owner of the land can search for his peasants, that is, the landowner could file a lawsuit through the court to find a runaway peasant. According to the decree of 1597, this period was 5 years.

Decree of Vasily Shuisky

10 years after the introduction of the concept of “fixed summers,” Tsar Vasily Shuisky adopted a new decree in which the search period for peasants was increased to 15 years. However, according to some researchers, due to the uprising of Ivan Bolotnikov in 1606-1607, this period came into force only several years after its suppression.

During the reign of Michael, the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty, the search period for fugitive peasants was still 5 years.

Cathedral Code

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich approved the Council Code in 1649. One of the points in this regulatory act was the provision on “lesson summers,” which were completely canceled. The landowner received perpetual right look for their runaway peasants. After this, the formation of serfdom in Russia was completely completed.

Consequences of peasant enslavement

In addition to this document, during the 18th and early 19th centuries, new laws and regulations were adopted that complicated the position of the serf peasantry, giving additional rights to landowners. For example, during the reign of Peter, landowners received official law buy and sell their serfs. During the reign of Catherine, landowners received the right to send rebellious peasants to Siberia or to hard labor.

To be fair, it is worth noting that serfdom in Russia was finally formed under Peter 1. But all this was in softer and more civilized forms than serfdom and feudalism, which took place in Europe. In any case, serfdom in Russia is a direct consequence of the Time of Troubles, during which lawlessness reigned in the country and the struggle of boyar groups for power.

Serfdom and the whole complex of relations associated with it has been developing on the territory of the country for centuries. The formation of serfdom as a phenomenon was influenced by several dozen fundamental factors - territorial features lands, way of life and mentality, government structure, etc.

Serfdom - the essence of terminology

Serfdom is (briefly) a form of dependence of peasants, in which they are attached to the land and are subordinate to the administrative and judicial power of the landowner (hereinafter referred to as KK - serf).

What is serfdom, expanded definition - totality legal norms, characteristic of feudal states, in which the peasant class finds itself in complete and undeniable dependence, including the following features corresponding to the concept of serfdom:

1. KK is prohibited from leaving “his” allotment.
2. Violation of the first paragraph entails lifelong investigation.
3. Children, grandchildren, nephews and other descendants and relatives of the KK receive the same status according to the rules of succession.
4. Impossibility of purchasing real estate or allotment.
5. In rare cases, feudal lords were allowed to acquire people without land.

When did serfdom begin in Rus'?

There is still no consensus among historians and researchers about when serfdom appeared in Rus'. Some believe that this system of legal relations began to emerge from the formation of the ancient Russian state (11th century), others argue that the beginning of serfdom in Rus' was laid only after the rise of Moscow, which occurred in the 15th century.

Stages of the formation of serfdom

The first few centuries of the existence of Rus' can indeed be called the period when the prerequisites for the development of serfdom were laid. Firstly, there was a shortage of workers across the vast territory - men died in wars, entire villages died out from infections, and hunger and poverty became only additional factors leading to the devastation of the lands.

Secondly, the upper classes had to give part of their income to the treasury; if there were not enough workers, then incomes would fall. All this required attracting new residents, but there were none.

Many peasants fled to free lands, for example, to the South or to Siberia, reducing the number of workers, who were already few in number. Gradually, tying the common people to a particular territory became a paramount task, because a slave tied to a piece of land could not leave it, bringing profit until his death.

So, the background looks briefly.

Let us analyze the stages of the formation of serfdom in Russia in more detail.

Documentation took place in several stages:

• Princely Code of Law of 1497. According to this document, St. George's Day was introduced in Russia - November 26th. If the CC wishes to leave the landowner and move to another, this can only be done once a year. The same document stipulated the amount of tax that the KK was obliged to pay to the master, the elderly - a kind of “farm payment” when leaving the owner, and corvee (remuneration for working for the owner);
• 1581, the establishment of the “Reserved Years” or the Decree of Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich on the abolition of the right of exit. This stage of consolidating serfdom in Rus' causes the most a large number of disputes. Opponents claim that the text of the document was not found, and by this time the KK themselves had already turned practically into slaves. Supporters of the opposite theory are more loyal, believing that before the abolition of the right of transition there was a certain turnover among the common people, which can be tracked by entries in the monastic books. Once the Decree was introduced, no more transitions were observed;
• November 24, 1597. Each gentleman received the right to search for his KKs for five years after the last escaped;
• March 9, 1607. A mandatory fifteen-year investigation by the CC is established;
• Cathedral Code of 1649. The closest answer to the truth is: who introduced serfdom? - can be considered - Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. It was he who approved the document, according to which the KK completely lost the right to leave their owner, were attached to the land, and belonging to one or another landowner was inherited.

How is serfdom different from slavery?

Despite the fact that the CCs practically lost any rights, their role in the life of the state was very significant (111 chapters of the Council Code of 1649 were dedicated specifically to peasants).

The landowners had to answer for their KK in all cases, except for the commission of robberies, murders and other atrocities by their subordinates. In these cases, they were tried in accordance with current legislation.

In addition, with the highest permission of the owner, KK could have families, get married, and have children.
A distinctive feature of serfdom is the absence of legislative rights to life of the KK (this was often violated). In addition, if a landowner acquired a KK, he was obliged to provide him with a plot of land and items with which he could cultivate it.

Slaves legally belonged only to the person who bought them. For the owner, the slave was identical to the thing.
Another difference between serfdom and slavery is that in times of famine, the landowner had to feed his peasants so that they would not die, and killing peasants was strictly prohibited by law.

Serfdom as a historical phenomenon

Despite the fact that the phenomenon that affected millions of people had many historical background, most of experts are inclined to believe that landowners survived and grew rich on the slave labor of ordinary people, who had practically no rights. KK were killed, tried without investigation, forced to starve, beaten, etc. And most of such lawlessness remained unpunished.

More loyal to serfdom, as to historical phenomenon, scientists argue that such a way of life was the only possible one, and systematic enslavement took place in order to save not only the state, but also the peasants themselves, as a class.

In conclusion, here are some interesting facts about serfdom:

• a clear answer to the question: who introduced serfdom in Rus'? - does not exist;
• researchers, including foreign ones, claim that Russian peasant XVII-XVIII centuries he lived much better and more prosperously than ordinary people in France, Germany, Poland and other European countries of the same period;
• despite the popular belief that all the country's peasants were serfs, this was far from the case. For example, in 1796 only 53% of the peasant class were serfs, and in 1857 only 23%;
• until 1767, the KK could complain about the landowner directly to the Tsar (due to the huge flow of letters, Catherine the Second abolished this right, entrusting the analysis of petitions to her nobles).

After the reform abolishing serfdom was carried out in 1861, each former KK received almost five dessiatines per male capita, or 14.4 dessiatines per household (one dessiatine was approximately 1.1 hectares). Let us clarify that living wage, allowing one family to survive, at that time was ten to eleven dessiatines.

Thus, serfdom, the beginning and end of which in Russia is documented in 1649 and 1861, respectively, existed as a phenomenon enshrined on paper for more than two centuries. The actual duration of the people's heavy burden was longer.

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For several centuries, the serf system ruled in Russia. The history of the enslavement of the peasant people dates back to 1597. At that time, Orthodox obedience represented a mandatory defense of state borders and interests, a precaution against enemy attack, even through self-sacrifice. The sacrificial service concerned both the peasant, the nobleman, and the Tsar.

The advent of serfdom corresponds to a certain stage in the development of socio-political relations. But since the development of different regions of Europe proceeded at different speeds (depending on climate, population, convenience trade routes, external threats), then if serfdom in some European countries is only an attribute of medieval history, in others it has survived almost to modern times.

In many large European countries, serfdom appeared in the 9th-10th centuries (England, France, western Germany), in some it appeared much later, in the 16th-17th centuries (north-eastern Germany, Denmark, eastern regions of Austria). Serfdom either disappeared completely and to a significant extent in the Middle Ages (western Germany, England, France), or remained to a greater or lesser extent until the 19th century (Germany, Poland, Austria-Hungary). In some countries, the process of liberating peasants from personal dependence goes in parallel with the process of either complete (England) or partial and slow dispossession of land (north-eastern Germany, Denmark); in others, liberation is not only not accompanied by landlessness, but, on the contrary, causes the growth and development of small peasant property (France, partly western Germany).

England

The process of feudalization, which began back in the Anglo-Saxon period, gradually turned a significant number of previously free communal peasants (curls), who owned both communal land and private plots (Falkland and Bockland), into serfs dependent on the arbitrariness of the owner (English hlaford) in regarding the size of their duties and payments.

The process was slow, but already in the 7th-8th centuries traces of a decrease in the number of free people became noticeable. This was facilitated by the increasing debt of small peasants and the increasing need to seek protection from strong people. During the 10th and 11th centuries, a significant part of the curls moved into the category of dependent people living on foreign lands. Patronage of the owner became mandatory; the owner turned into almost complete master of the subject population. His judicial rights over peasants expanded; he was also entrusted with police responsibility for protecting public peace in the area under his control.

The very word “curl” was increasingly replaced by the expression villan (serf). At the time of compilation of the Book of the Last Judgment, there were a number of gradations among the peasantry. The lowest level was occupied by the villans of manors (English villein); almost complete dependence on the lord, uncertainty of payments and duties, absence, with few exceptions, of protection in the general courts of the kingdom - this is what characterizes the position of this class. The lord had the right to return the escaped serf before the expiration of a year and one day. Serfs were required to work for the lord all year round, 2-5 days a week, go out into the field during working hours with the whole family or with hired people.

Most of the peasants, who lived primarily on crown lands, also held land in villenage and served corvee and other duties. However, the development of commodity-money relations contributed to the gradual liberation of the villans from serfdom.

Wat Tyler's uprising dealt a serious blow to serfdom. In the 15th century, almost everywhere in England, peasants were liberated from personal serfdom and replaced by land dependence. Corvée was replaced by cash rent, the volume of duties was fixed, and the Villanian holding was supplanted by copyhold, which gave a much larger volume of guarantees to the peasant.

In parallel with the process of emancipation of serfs, the process of depriving English peasants of their allotments developed. Already in the first half of the 15th century, the transition from agriculture to pasture farming turned out to be so profitable that capital began to be directed to sheep breeding and to expanding pastures at the expense of arable land. Large landowners ousted small peasant holders. The rights of village residents to use communal lands that fall into the hands of large landowners are limited or simply abolished. In the 16th century, pasture enclosures became widespread and received support from the courts and government administration. Thus, from the legislative acts of 1488 it is clear that where 200 peasants previously lived, there remained 2-4 shepherds.

The process of changing peasant land relations was completed, in essential terms, in the 16th century: the connection between peasants and the land was severed. Previously, peasants cultivated their own land, which they held under feudal rights; now they, for the most part, were expelled from their plots and were deprived of their rights to communal land. Most of them were forced to turn into rural workers and farm laborers. At the same time, there was a process of strengthening the free peasant economy, transferred to a capitalist framework, which led to the formation of a significant layer of wealthy tenant farmers (yeomen).

Spain

In Spain, the spread of serfdom was heterogeneous. In Asturias, Leon and Castile, servitage was never universal: already by the 10th century, the majority of the population in the lands of Leon and Castile belonged to the class of partially free farmers - conditional holders of allotments who, unlike servos, had personal rights. However, the legal status of this layer (junores, or solaregos) was distinguished by a certain uncertainty, which required the Castilian kings to confirm their rights to protect them from seigneurial oppression: for example, Alfonso X in the 13th century in his decree declared the right of the solariego to leave his allotment at any time , although without the right to alienate it in one’s own favor; Alfonso XI the Just in the next century prohibited landowners from any seizure of land from the holders and their descendants, subject to fixed payments in favor of the feudal lord. The final personal emancipation of peasants in the lands of the Castilian crown dates back to the first half of the 14th century, although in some areas this process could last a little longer, and episodic (but already illegal) seigneurial abuses could occur even later.

In Aragon and Catalonia, serfdom was much more severe, comparable to French, in which Frankish influence is seen. The result of a powerful popular uprising in Catalonia at the end of the 15th century was the signing by King Ferdinand of the Guadalupe Maxim in 1486, which finally abolished, under the terms of a cash ransom, all forms of personal dependence of the peasant on the feudal lord throughout Spain.

Serfdom in Central Europe

Having originated in the early Middle Ages, serfdom in Central and Eastern Europe for a long time became the most important element social relations in agriculture. The undivided political dominance of the nobility, interested in ensuring the unbridled exploitation of the peasants, led to the spread of the so-called. “the second edition of serfdom” in East Germany, the Baltic states, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary.

In East (Saelbian) Germany, serfdom was particularly fully developed after Thirty Years' War 1618-1648 and took its most severe forms in Mecklenburg, Pomerania, and East Prussia.

“Nothing belongs to you, the soul belongs to God, and your bodies, property and everything you have is mine.” - From the landowner's charter defining the duties of peasants, Schleswig-Holstein, 1740.

Since the middle of the 17th century, serfdom has spread in the Czech Republic. In Hungary, it was enshrined in the Code (Tripartitum), issued after the suppression of the György Dozsa uprising of 1514. In Poland, the norms of serfdom, which began to take shape in the middle of the 14th century, were included in the Piotrkow Statute of 1496. Serfdom extended in these countries to the bulk of the peasants. It implied multi-day (up to 6 days a week) corvée, depriving the peasants of most of the ownership, civil and personal rights, was accompanied by a reduction in peasant arable land or even the dispossession of some peasants and their transformation into powerless serfs or temporary owners of land.

In the Habsburg Empire, the peasant reform of 1848 declared “rustic lands” the private property of peasants by the laws of Ferdinand I of April 17, 1848 (law of the Kaiser government of Austria-Hungary), according to which, from May 15, 1848, peasant duties in the kingdom of Galicia were eliminated, and Law of September 7, 1848, which abolished serfdom in Austria-Hungary.

Serfdom in Northern Europe

In Sweden and Norway, serfdom as such did not develop.

The situation of peasants in medieval Denmark was closer to the German model.

At the end of the 15th century, about 20% of all land was in the hands of peasant owners. The strengthening of the nobility and clergy marked the beginning of a complete change in the position of the peasants. Their payments and duties began to multiply, although until the 16th century they were still certain; the forced conversion of peasant owners into temporary tenants began.

As the benefits from Agriculture, due to the great demand for grain and livestock, the noble landowners are increasingly striving to expand the landowners' arable land through the intensified demolition of peasant households. Corvée, which in the 14th-15th centuries did not exceed 8 days a year, is growing and becoming dependent on the discretion of the landowner; Peasants are allowed to move only with the consent of the landowner. In the 16th century, some peasants turned into real serfs.

Under Frederick I, serfs were often sold without land, like cattle - mainly in Zealand. After the revolution of 1660, carried out by the townspeople, the situation of the peasants worsened even more. What had been an abuse until then was now included in the code of laws issued by Christian V. The landowners became government agents in collecting taxes and supplying recruits. Their police-disciplinary power was correspondingly strengthened by mutual responsibility. If the peasants, burdened with taxes, fled, the taxes that fell on them were distributed among those who remained in place. The peasants were exhausted under the burden of unbearable work and payments; the whole country was ruined. Corvee was limited only by the laws of 1791, 1793, 1795 and 1799; then a procedure was established for the redemption of corvée and its transfer to money. In Zealand, corvée lasted until 1848. By the law of 1850, peasants were given the right to redeem corvee, which entailed its complete destruction.

Serfdom in Eastern Europe

In the Old Russian state and the Novgorod Republic, unfree peasants were divided into smerds, purchasers and serfs. According to Russian Truth, smerds were dependent peasants who were judged by the prince. They owned land plots, which they could pass on to their sons (if there were no sons, then the plot went to the prince). The fine for killing a smerd was equal to the fine for killing a slave. In the Novgorod Republic, most smerds were state peasants (cultivated state land), although princely, episcopal and monastic smerds are also mentioned. They had no right to leave the land. The purchases remained dependent on the feudal lord until they paid off their debt to him (“purchase”), after which they became personally free. Serfs were slaves.

In the Russian state at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, a local system took shape. Grand Duke transferred the estate to a servant who was obliged for it military service. The local noble army was used in the continuous wars waged by the state against Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden, and in the defense of the border regions from the Crimean and Nogai raids: tens of thousands of nobles were called up every year for the “coastal” (along the Oka and Ugra) and border service.

The peasant was personally free and held a plot of land under an agreement with the owner of the estate. He had the right of withdrawal or refusal; that is, the right to leave the landowner. The landowner could not drive the peasant off the land before the harvest, and the peasant could not leave his plot without paying the owner at the end of the harvest. The Code of Law of Ivan III established a uniform deadline for the peasants to leave, when both parties could settle accounts with each other. This is the week before St. George's Day (November 26) and the week following this day.

A free man became a peasant from the moment he “instructed the plow” on a tax plot (that is, he began to fulfill the state duty of cultivating the land) and ceased to be a peasant as soon as he gave up farming and took up another occupation.

Even the Decree on a five-year search for peasants dated November 24, 1597 did not cancel the peasant “exit” (that is, the opportunity to leave the landowner) and did not attach peasants to the land. This act only determined the need to return the escaped peasant to the previous landowner if the departure took place within a five-year period before September 1, 1597. The decree speaks only about those peasants who left their landowners “not on time and without refusal” (that is, not on St. George’s Day and without paying the “elderly fee”).

And only under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the Council Code of 1649 established indefinite attachment to the land (that is, the impossibility of a peasant exit) and a fortress to the owner (that is, the power of the owner over the peasant located on his land).

However, according to the Council Code, the owner of the estate does not have the right to encroach on the life of a peasant and deprive him of a plot of land. The transfer of a peasant from one owner to another is allowed, however, in this case, the peasant must again be “planted” on the land and endowed with the necessary personal property (“lives”).

Since 1741, the landowner peasants were removed from the oath, the monopolization of serf property in the hands of the nobility took place, and serfdom extended to all categories of the landowning peasantry; 2nd half of the 18th century - the final stage of development state legislation aimed at strengthening serfdom in Russia.

However, in a significant part of the country, in the Hetmanate (where the bulk of rural population was Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth), in the Russian North, in most of Ural region, in Siberia (where the bulk of the rural population were black farmers, then state peasants), in the southern Cossack regions, serfdom did not spread.

Chronology of peasant enslavement in Russia

Briefly, the chronology of the enslavement of peasants in Russia can be presented as follows:

1497 - introduction of restrictions on the right to transfer from one landowner to another - St. George's Day.

1581 - abolition of the peasant exit in certain years- “reserved summers”.

1597 - the landowner's right to search for a runaway peasant within 5 years and to return him to the owner - "prescribed years."

1637 - the period for searching for fugitive peasants was increased to 9 years.

1641 - the period for searching for runaway peasants was increased to 10 years, and for those forcibly removed by other landowners - to 15 years.

1649 - the cathedral code of 1649 abolished fixed-term summers, thus establishing an indefinite search for fugitive peasants. At the same time, the obligation of the harboring landowner to pay for the illegal use of the labor of someone else’s serf was also established.

1718-1724 - tax reform, which finally attached the peasants to the land.

1747 - the landowner was given the right to sell his serfs as recruits to any person.

1760 - the landowner received the right to exile peasants to Siberia.

1765 - the landowner received the right to exile peasants not only to Siberia, but also to hard labor.

1767 - peasants were strictly forbidden to submit petitions (complaints) against their landowners personally to the empress or emperor.

1783 - the spread of serfdom to Left Bank Ukraine.

Official dates for the abolition of serfdom by country

The official end of serfdom does not always mean its real abolition, much less an improvement in the living conditions of peasants.

• Wallachia: 1746
• Principality of Moldova: 1749
• Free State of Saxony: 12/19/1771
• Holy Roman Empire: 1.11.1781 (1st stage); 1848 (2nd stage)
• Czech Republic (historical region): 1.11.1781 (1st stage); 1848 (2nd stage)
• Baden: 23.7.1783
• Denmark: 20.6.1788
• France: 3.11.1789
• Switzerland: 4.5.1798
• Schleswig-Holstein: 12/19/1804
• Pomerania (as part of Flag of Sweden.svg Sweden): 4.7.1806
• Duchy of Warsaw (Poland): 22.7.1807
• Prussia: 10/9/1807 (in practice 1811-1823)
• Mecklenburg: September 1807 (in practice 1820)
• Bavaria: 31.8.1808
• Nassau (Duchy): 1.9.1812
• Württemberg: 11/18/1817
• Hanover: 1831
• Saxony: 17.3.1832
• Serbia: 1835
• Hungary: 11.4.1848 (first time), 2.3.1853 (second time)
• Croatia 8.5.1848
• Cisleithania: 7.9.1848
• Bulgaria: 1858 (de jure part of the Ottoman Empire; de ​​facto: 1880)
• Russian Empire: 19.2.1861
• Courland (Russian Empire): 25.8.1817
• Estland (Russian Empire): 23.3.1816
• Livonia (Russian Empire): 26.3.1819
• Ukraine (Russian Empire): 17.3.1861
• Georgia (Russian Empire): 1864-1871
• Kalmykia (Russian Empire): 1892
• Tonga: 1862
• Bosnia and Herzegovina: 1918
• Afghanistan: 1923
• Bhutan: 1956

Abolition of serfdom in Russia

The moment when serfdom was abolished is rightfully considered a turning point in the history of Russia. Despite the gradualness of the reforms, they became a significant impetus in the development of the state. Serfdom existed in Russia for two and a half centuries, from 1597 to 1861, in two different types. How many denunciations on this matter are published in the West! Mainly with references to Russian literature, which has always preferred moral demands on power and its criticism with exaggeration, but not embellishment. However, it must be taken into account that the enslavement of Russian peasants occurred at the very end of the 16th century in the form of their attachment to the land (in 1597 their right to change employers was abolished) and this was then perceived as part of the Orthodox obedience necessary for everyone: Russia, defending itself from many enemies, came out to their vital geopolitical borders, and then everyone was obliged to sacrificially serve the state, each in his place - both peasants and nobles (they received estates for military service without the right to transfer them by inheritance), and the Tsar himself.

Most of all, the “great Europeanizers” Peter I and especially Catherine II contributed to the tightening of our serfdom. The estates became hereditary, and the meaning of serfdom was completely changed when in 1762, by decree of Peter III, and then by Catherine’s charter to the nobility (1785), the nobles were exempted from service, receiving the peasants as personal property - this violated the previous concept of justice. This happened precisely as a result of the Europeanization of Russia by our Westernizing monarchs, since in the same unjust form, serfdom, long before Russia, was introduced for reasons of exploitation in many European countries and generally lasted there much longer - especially in Germany, from where it was adopted to Russia in new form. (In the German lands, the abolition of serfdom took place in the 1810–1820s and was completed only by 1848. In “progressive” England and after the abolition of serfdom, inhumane treatment of peasants was observed everywhere, for example, in the 1820s, thousands of peasant families were expelled from the ground.)

It is significant that Russian expression“serfdom” originally meant precisely attachment to the land; whereas, for example, the corresponding German term Leibeigenschaft has a completely different meaning: “property of the body.” (Unfortunately, in translation dictionaries these different concepts are given as equivalent.)

At the same time, in Russia, serfs had no more than 280 working days a year, could go to work for a long time, traded, owned factories, taverns, river boats and they themselves often had serfs. Of course, their position largely depended on the owner. The atrocities of Saltychikha are also known, but this was a pathological exception; the landowner was sentenced to prison.

And although already from the beginning of the 19th century serfdom in Russia was subject to weakening and partial cancellations, extending to only a third of the peasants by 1861, the conscience of the Russian nobles became increasingly burdensome to them; There have been talks about its abolition since the beginning of the 19th century. The peasants also considered their dependence to be temporary and endured it with Christian patience and dignity, testified an Englishman traveling around Russia. When asked what struck him most about the Russian peasant, the Englishman replied: “His neatness, intelligence and freedom... Look at him: what could be more free than his manner of speaking! Is there even a shadow of slavish humiliation in his behavior and speech? (Notes of a visit to the Russian Church by the late W. Palmer. London, 1882).

So, Napoleon in 1812 hoped that the Russian serfs would greet him as a liberator, but he received popular rebuff and suffered huge losses from partisan detachments spontaneously created by the peasants...

In the 19th century, the situation of serfs began to improve: in 1803, they were partially emancipated on the basis of the law on “free cultivators”, from 1808 it was prohibited to sell them at fairs, from 1841 only owners of inhabited estates were allowed to have serfs, and the possibility of self-redemption expanded. Large preparatory work To abolish serfdom, Tsar Nicholas carried out

Use of the term “serfdom” by opponents of collective farm policy in the USSR

Sometimes the terms “attachment of peasants to the land” and “serfdom” (apparently, one of the leaders of the right communists, Bukharin, was the first to do this in 1928) are also used in relation to the collective farm system during the reign of Stalin in Russia, meaning the introduced in the 30s of the 20th century, restrictions on the freedom of movement of peasants, as well as mandatory food supplies (a kind of “quitrent”) from collective farms and work on state land(a kind of “corvée labor”) on state farms.

For some reason, we associate serfdom with the history of the Russian Empire. However, Russia was far from the first and not the only country in Europe where an order arose to “attach” the peasant to the land. We decided to find out where corvee still existed and what form it took.

Serfdom: reasons for its occurrence

By serfdom we mean a system of legal norms that prohibited peasants from leaving land plots, to which they were "attached". The essence of serfdom was that the peasant could not alienate or change this plot of land, and was completely subordinate to the feudal lord (in Russia - the landowner), who was allowed to sell, exchange and punish serfs.

What was the reason for the emergence of serfdom? During the feudal system, agriculture began to develop intensively, which, along with trophies obtained in military campaigns, became the source of livelihood for the nobility. The area of ​​arable land expanded, but someone needed to cultivate it. And here a problem arose: the peasants were constantly looking for better land plots and working conditions, and therefore often moved from place to place.

The owner of the land - the feudal lord - risked at any moment being left without workers or with a dozen peasant families, which were not enough to cultivate large lands. Therefore, the nobility, supported by the monarchs, forbade the peasants to change their place of residence, assigning them to certain plots of land and obliging them to cultivate them for the benefit of the feudal owner.

Initially, serfdom appeared not in Russia, with which it is strongly associated, but in European countries: Great Britain, Germany and France. Next we will tell you how serfdom “strode” across Europe, covering country after country and becoming similar to ordinary slavery. However, even international law of that time did not question the legality of serfdom, accepting it as a norm of life.

Serfdom in Europe

The formation of serfdom in Europe began in the 9th-10th centuries. One of the first countries where the nobility decided to “attach” peasants to the land was England. This was facilitated by the extreme impoverishment of the peasantry, who were forced to sell their plots and agree to any conditions of the feudal lords in order to earn at least some means of subsistence.

Rights of serfs, called villans, were severely limited. Villan was obliged to work for his master (seigneur) all year round, serving his duty with the whole family from 2 to 5 days a week. It is impossible to name a specific year for the abolition of serfdom in England: the softening of its individual elements took place gradually, starting with the rebellion of Wat Tyler, which occurred in the 14th century.

The final disappearance of signs of serfdom in the economy of the British crown occurred in the 16th century, when sheep farming replaced agriculture and the feudal system was replaced by a capitalist one.

But in central and western Europe, serfdom lasted much longer - until the 18th century. It was especially harsh in the Czech Republic, Poland and East Germany. In Sweden and Norway, where, due to the severity of the climate and the lack fertile soils The share of agriculture in the state economy is very small; there was no serfdom at all.

Later than anything abolition of serfdom occurred in the Russian Empire, which will be discussed further.

Serfdom in Russia: origin and development

The first signs of serfdom in Russia appeared at the end of the 15th century. In those days, all lands were considered princes, and the peasants who cultivated them and bore duties to the appanage princes were still free at that time and formally had the right to leave the plot, moving to another. When settling in a new plot, a peasant:

• had to pay rent - rent for the use of land. Most often it was introduced as a share of the harvest and, as a rule, amounted to a fourth of it;

• was obliged to bear duties, that is, to perform a certain amount of work for the temple or the local prince. This could be weeding, harvesting, putting things in order in the church yard, etc.;

• received a loan and assistance - funds for the purchase of agricultural equipment and livestock. The peasant had to return this money when moving to another place of residence, but due to the need to pay quitrent, only a few managed to collect the required amount. The rest fell into bondage, forced to remain on same place and involuntarily “attaching” to the ground.

Realizing how profitable it was to tie peasants to the land, officials consolidated serfdom in the legal codes of 1497 and 1550. The enslavement took place gradually. First, St. George's Day was introduced - two weeks in the second half of November, when peasants were allowed to move from one landowner to another, having first paid the quitrent and repaid the loan. On other days, changing your place of residence was prohibited.

Then the landowners were allowed to search for and punish runaway peasants. At first deadline The search period was 5 years, but gradually it grew, and then the restrictions were completely lifted. In practice, this meant: even if after 20 years the boyar discovered his escaped serf, he could return him and punish him at his discretion. The peak of serfdom was the ban on St. George's Day - from 1649, peasants found themselves in lifelong bondage to the landowners.

Russian serfs were forbidden to file complaints against their masters, but they could completely control their fate: send them to serve in the army, send them to Siberia and do hard labor, give them as gifts and sell them to other landowners.

The only thing that was vetoed was the murder of serfs. There is a known case with the landowner Saltychikha (Daria Ivanovna Saltykova), who killed several dozen of her peasants and was punished for it. She was deprived of the title of a pillar noblewoman and sent to serve life imprisonment in the monastery prison, where she died.

Serfdom in Russia: abolition

The abolition of serfdom in Russia was inevitable. The Russian sovereigns understood: serfdom is not much different from slavery and is pulling the country back. However, they could not change the system that had developed over centuries with one stroke of the pen.

Serfdom reforms began under Alexander I, who approved Count Arakcheev’s bill on the gradual ransom of peasants using funds state treasury. From 1816 to 1819, serfdom was abolished in the Baltic provinces of the Russian Empire. However, things didn’t go any further for Alexander I.

A radical reform of the abolition of serfdom took place in 1861 under Alexander II. The tsar was pushed to sign a manifesto that gave freedom to the peasants by the popular unrest that began during the Crimean War. The authorities, in order to recruit recruits from the villagers, promised them liberation from landowner bondage, but they did not keep their word. This provoked a wave of uprisings that swept across Russia, as a result of which serfdom was abolished.

The reform, by and large, did not satisfy either the landowners or the peasants. The former lost part of their lands, since the state obliged to give the serf freedom, while allocating them with a plot of land certain area, for which the state was obliged to pay compensation. The latter seemed to receive freedom, but had to work for another 2 years for the landowner, and then pay the state a ransom for the received plot.

But, be that as it may, the reform took place and served as an impetus for the development of the capitalist system in Russia and, as a consequence, the class struggle.

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Historical scholarship has always paid great attention to the issue of the origin of serfdom in Russia.

In the 19th century Two theories of the emergence of serfdom arose - “decreed” and “undeclared”. According to the “decree” theory (S. Solovyov), serfdom in Russia was the result legal activities organs state power, who consistently issued decrees of a serfdom nature over several centuries. According to supporters of this theory, the state attached peasants to the land primarily in its own interests, in order to provide the material opportunity for the class of service landowners and land holders to perform military service. At the same time, while enslaving the peasants, the state simultaneously attached military service and the service class. Supporters of the “decisive” (V. Klyuchevsky) theory did not deny the importance of decrees that attached peasants to the land. However, these decrees themselves, in their opinion, were not the cause, but the consequence of already established feudal relations in the economic sphere and only legally formalized them. In Soviet historical science, the question of the emergence of serfdom in Russia was resolved from the point of view of the class approach. According to Soviet historians, serfdom was a consequence of the intensification of class struggle in the 14th–16th centuries. between peasants and feudal landowners, whose interests were expressed by the “centralized state.”

In Kievan Rus and the Novgorod Republic, unfree peasants were divided into categories: smerds, purchasers and serfs.

Smerda- These are free community farmers with a measured share of land, warriors and plowmen rolled into one. They could have a family and children. But their freedom was limited by the rural community in which they belonged, and the land was the property of the prince. This was the case almost until the 15th century.

In the Novgorod Republic, smerdas were dependent on the state. Later, in a broader sense, all peasants, the main population of the country, the lowest social class, began to be called smerds. The Smerds had their own land and farmed on it; they had to pay taxes to the prince and serve duties in kind. The prince could give the smerds to the church and resettle them. The military service of the Smerds consisted, according to various versions, of personal participation in the foot army, the supply of horses for the cavalry army, or personal participation in the cavalry army.

Purchases- category of dependent population in Rus'. In the Old Russian state, free smerds who entered into a contract with the feudal lord special agreement(row), became ryadovichi, who were divided into giving and purchasing. If a ryadovich took out a loan, then for the period of working off this loan (in money, livestock, seeds) he settled on the land of the feudal lord with your own inventory(the laws also mention that the owner could give the equipment, although the recipient was responsible for their safety) and became procurement.

The purchasing position was close to that of a dependent peasant. According to Russkaya Pravda, the owner did not have the right to dispose of the purchaser, but at the same time had the right to corporal punishment for misconduct. Unreasonable beating of a purchase by the owner was punishable by a fine for the latter as for beating a free man. If he tried to escape, the purchaser became a complete (“whitewashed”) slave, however, he could freely go to work to pay off the debt.

Serfdom- this is already a form of slavery, the state of the unfree population in the principalities of Ancient Rus', in the Moscow state. By legal status the slaves approached the slaves. But here it is necessary to distinguish between a serf and a servant. Serf- slave from local population, servants- a slave captured as a result of a campaign against neighboring tribes, communities and states. That is, a servant is a foreign slave, a foreign slave. Compared to a servant, a serf had incomparably more rights and concessions.

The enslavement of peasants occurred in the process of the formation in Russia of a special system of feudal economy and law - serfdom, which was characterized by the legal attachment of peasants to the land and various forms of their non-economic coercion.

1. Stages legal enslavement peasants Code of laws of 1497

The process of forming serfdom was a long one. It was generated by the feudal social system and was its main attribute. In an era of political fragmentation, there was no general law defining the position of peasants and their responsibilities. Back in the 15th century. peasants were free to leave the land on which they lived and move to another landowner, having paid the previous owner debts and a special fee for the use of the yard and land plot - the elderly. But already at that time, the princes began to issue letters in favor of landowners, limiting the peasant exit, that is, the right of rural residents to “move from volost to volost, from village to village” for one period a year - a week before St. George’s Day.

In the process of the formation of serfdom in Russia, several stages of the legal enslavement of peasants can be distinguished:

The legal formalization of serfdom began during the reign of Ivan III with the adoption of a set of laws of a unified Russian state - the Code of Laws of 1497. Article 57 of the Code of Laws “On Christian Refusal” limited the right of peasant transfer from one landowner to another to one period for the entire country: a week before and a week after St. George's Day (November 26). The condition for the transition was the payment of the elderly - compensation to the landowner for the loss of workers. Moreover, if a peasant lived for a year, he paid a quarter of this amount, if two years, then half, if three, then three quarters, and for living for four years the entire amount was paid. The elderly accounted for a large, but not the same amount in the forest and steppe zones. Approximately, it was necessary to give at least 15 pounds of honey, a herd of domestic animals, or 200 pounds of rye.

2. Land reform of Ivan IV the Terrible

The Code of Law of 1550, adopted under Ivan IV under the conditions of a policy of social compromise, retained the right of peasants to move on St. George’s Day, although service people persistently demanded the elimination of this right. It only increased the fee for the “elderly” and established an additional fee “for the cart”, which was paid in the event of a peasant’s refusal to fulfill the obligation to bring the landowner’s crop from the field. At the same time, the Code of Law obliged the master to answer for the crimes of his peasants, which increased their personal (non-economic) dependence on him.

In the early 80s. XVI century under influence economic crisis and desolation in Russia, a census of patrimonial and landowner farms began. From 1581, in the territories where the census was carried out, “reserved years” began to be introduced, during which peasants were prohibited from crossing even on St. George’s Day. The regime of reserved years was introduced by the government in one year or another not throughout the country, but within individual land holdings or administrative units and applied to both rural and urban areas. By 1592, the census was completed, and in the same year a special Decree was issued, generally prohibiting the transfer of peasants. This is where the saying comes from: “Here’s St. George’s Day for you, grandma.”

Having lost the right to move, the peasants began to flee, settling on “free” lands on the outskirts of the Russian state or on patrimonial farms. The peasant owners were given the right to search for and return fugitives during the so-called “lesson years.” In 1597, Tsar Fedor introduced a Decree that established a five-year period for the return of fugitive and forcibly removed peasants to their former owners.

In the same year, a decree was issued according to which enslaved slaves were deprived of the legal opportunity to be released until the death of the slave owner. Owners of slaves received, in addition, the right to turn into bondage those of their slaves who served with them voluntarily for at least six months.

3. Serfdom in the 17th century

In the 17th century economic development In Russia, on the one hand, such phenomena as commodity production and the market appeared, and on the other hand, feudal relations continued to develop, gradually adapting to market relations. This time was also characterized by the strengthening of autocracy and the formation of preconditions for the transition to an absolute monarchy. In addition, the 17th century. − this is the era of mass popular movements in Russia.

In the conditions of the development of commodity circulation, patrimonial and landowner farms began to gradually be drawn into commodity-money relations, and the transition of these farms from natural production to commodity production, but based on serf labor, began. The increased opportunities for selling agricultural products on the market led to the growth of the corvee system of farming: patrimonial owners and landowners expanded the “lordly” arable land, which was accompanied by an increase in labor rent and, accordingly, an increase in feudal-serf exploitation of the peasants. Various kinds of manufactories and distilleries began to be established on the farms of large feudal lords. However, most of the money that was acquired by patrimonial owners and landowners as a result of trade was used to purchase land or was converted into usurious capital.

In the second half of the 17th century. Numerous categories of peasants in Russia were united into two groups - serfs and black-sown peasants. Serf peasants ran their farms on patrimonial, local and church lands, for which they bore various feudal duties in favor of the landowners. Black-nosed peasants were included in the category of “taxable people” who paid numerous taxes and taxes to the state and were under the administrative and police control of state authorities, who constantly interfered in the affairs of the “black” volost. Therefore, it was not accidental that the mass flight of black-sown peasants “from many taxes and from great rights” (collection of arrears) was not accidental.

In an effort to secure support from the ruling class, the government of Prince Vasily Shuisky adopts the Code on Peasants, according to which it introduces a 15-year statute of limitations for cases of fugitives (instead of 5 years). However, the authority of Shuisky's government was falling. The nobles saw Shuisky's inability to stop peasant unrest, and the peasants did not accept his serfdom policy.

In 1613, Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov became king. His reign was marked by the further enslavement of the peasants. For some landowners, in the form of a private benefit, the period for searching for runaway peasants was increased from 5 to 10 years, and since 1642, a ten-year period has become the general norm for searching for fugitives. Moreover, for peasants forcibly removed by the owners of other lands, a fifteen-year period of investigation is established. At the same time, the practice of concession or sale of peasants without land is becoming common practice.

In 1645, Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov became king.

A number of reforms were carried out under him. First of all there was order changed collecting payments and carrying out duties. Instead of the previous land-based principle of collecting taxes, they began to be collected according to the available number of peasants on estates and estates, which relieved the nobles of the need to pay for empty plots and increased the taxation of large land holdings. In 1646 - 1648 A household inventory of peasants and peasants was carried out.

The government also believed to increase treasury revenues by shifting the center of gravity from direct to indirect taxes. The consequence of this was that at the beginning of June 1648, Moscow was shocked by an uprising, which went down in history under the name “Salt Riot.” The immediate reason for it was the excessively high tax on salt, introduced back in February 1646. An already expensive product has become even more expensive. The rebellion quickly assumed enormous proportions. The rebels killed some of Morozov's proteges and plundered the yards of many influential people. Alexey Mikhailovich was forced to change his previous administration, and its head, Morozov, was sent into exile. After " Salt riot“In Moscow there were uprisings in a number of other Russian cities.

The “salt riot” served as an impetus for improving the laws that were to guide rulers and judges. This was required by extortion and oppression of the people by government officials. The old codes of law (1497 and 1550) were mainly legislation on the court and only in passing touched upon issues of government and administration. These gaps were filled by royal decrees on various private issues. Therefore, in the 17th century, the need arose in the public consciousness to bring the existing laws into one whole, to give it clear formulas, freeing it from outdated ballast and, instead of a mass of separate legal provisions, to create unified code. However, society needed more than just a set of laws. Since recent events in the country have shown deep dissatisfaction among various sections of the population with their situation, the need for various reforms has arisen.

Elected people who came from more than 130 cities were involved in the work of the Zemsky Sobor to prepare the code. Among them there were up to 150 servicemen and up to 100 taxable persons. There were relatively few Moscow nobles and court officials at the Council, because now they were also required to be elected representatives, and not everyone was allowed to attend the Council, as before. It was a democratic step from the outside supreme power. Is it true, Boyar Duma and the Consecrated Cathedral participated in the work in full.

Developed and approved Zemsky Sobor the document is known as the Council Code of 1649 and is one of the most important milestones in the history of the development of Russian state, civil and criminal law. The Code included 25 chapters and 967 articles. It was not a mechanical compilation of old material, but represented its deep, sometimes radical processing. The Code contained many new legal provisions that were in the nature of major social reforms and served as a response to the pressing needs of the time. Thus, the Code prohibited the clergy from acquiring estates, which took into account the wishes of the boyars and service people. True, previously acquired estates were not taken away from the monasteries. A Monastic Order was established, which henceforth had jurisdiction over, in general terms, the clergy. Other judicial benefits for the clergy were also limited. The Code for the first time consolidated and isolated the townsfolk population, turning it into a closed class. All the most important innovations contained in the Council Code were a reaction to the collective petitions of elected people.

According to the Council Code of 1649, the peasants were finally attached to the land. Its special chapter, “The Court of Peasants,” abolished the “fixed summers” for the search and return of fugitive peasants, the indefinite search and return of fugitives, established the heredity of serfdom and the right of the landowner to dispose of the property of the serf. If the owner of the peasants turned out to be insolvent on his debt obligations, the property of the peasants and slaves dependent on him was collected to compensate for his debt. Landowners were also given the right patrimonial court and police supervision over peasants. The peasants did not have the right to independently bring their claims to the courts, since only the owner of the peasants could defend these claims. Marriages family sections peasants, inheritance of peasant property could only occur with the consent of the landowner. Peasants were also forbidden to keep trading shops in cities; they could only trade from carts.

Harboring fugitives was punishable by a fine and even whipping and prison. For the murder of another peasant, the landowner had to give up his best peasant and his family. Payments for runaway peasants had to be made by their owner. At the same time, serf peasants were also considered “state tax collectors,” i.e. bore duties for the benefit of the state. Peasant owners were obliged to provide them with land and implements. It was forbidden to deprive peasants of land by turning them into slaves or setting them free; it was forbidden to forcibly take away property from peasants. The right of peasants to complain about their masters was also preserved.

Simultaneously with the privately owned peasants, serfdom extended to the black sowing peasants, who bore taxes in favor of the state, and the palace peasants, who served the needs of the royal court, who were forbidden to leave their communities.

The adoption of the Council Code was the most important indicator of the restoration of Russian statehood. The Code, which had no analogues at that time in terms of its volume (about 1000 articles), testified to the high professionalism of Russian clerks in the mid-17th century. This all-Russian code of laws was based primarily on the religious-Orthodox understanding of political and legal processes in Russia. It proclaimed the principle equal court for all ranks, any person was protected, but taking into account his class status. The Code legally formalized serfdom by declaring an indefinite search for fugitives, and attached the townsfolk population to the cities, eliminating white-mest settlements, which were exempt from townsman duties.

The Council Code of 1649 completed the creation of the state system of serfdom. In conditions of mobilization development, this system was a means of strengthening the state, boosting the economy and strengthening the armed forces. For some time, the state system of serfdom was able to ensure the rise productive forces and the solution of foreign policy problems and to prepare certain prerequisites for the transformations of the era of Peter I. At the same time, it preserved backward forms of social relations, doomed the country to a conservative, slow path of socio-economic development in the future.

4. Serfdom in the 18th century

In 1717 (under Peter I) a new stage in trade and industrial policy began. The state renounces its monopoly on sales abroad popular goods. Owners of manufactories were exempted from service, and from 1721 they were given the right to buy serfs into their enterprises, thereby marking the beginning of the use of serf labor in industry.

In 1722, the owners of manufactories received the right not to return runaway peasants who had mastered the craft to the landowners.

In 1718 - 1724 A census of the peasantry was carried out, after which household taxation in the country was replaced by poll tax. This was due to the fact that some landowners hid the number of households or united several families of relatives, and sometimes even strangers, into one household.

According to the census, the population of Russia was 15.6 million people, including 5.8 million males.

The peasants were entrusted with the maintenance of the army, and the townspeople with the maintenance of the fleet. The size of the tax was determined arithmetically. The amount of military expenses was divided by the number of souls and the amount was 74 kopecks. from peasants and 1 rub. 20 kopecks - from the townspeople. The poll tax brought more to the treasury than the household tax.

In the process of carrying out the per capita reform, a new category of peasants was formed, called state peasants. It included the black-growing peasants of the North, the single-palace dwellers of the southern districts, the “arable people” of Siberia and the Middle Volga region with a total number of 1 million souls. The government obliged them to pay a 40-kopeck quitrent to the treasury in addition to the per capita tax. This meant the inclusion of state peasants in the sphere of feudal exploitation.

At the same time, the country introduced passport system. Every peasant who went to work further than 30 miles from his permanent residence was required to have a passport indicating the period of return home.

The reign of Elizaveta Petrovna was marked by changes in the situation of the peasantry.

Taking, on the one hand, measures that strengthened the oppression of the landowners, Elizabeth, on the other hand, somewhat eased the situation of the peasantry, who were forgiven arrears for 17 years, and also reduced the size of the poll tax. The recruitment of recruits also changed: the empress divided Russia into five districts, each of which in turn supplied a recruit from one hundred revision souls. At the same time, in 1742, Elizabeth signed a decree prohibiting landowner peasants from voluntarily enlisting as soldiers.

Realizing the impossibility of the peasants to feed themselves, since in the non-black earth provinces there was not enough grain collected for self-sufficiency until new harvests, Elizabeth allowed the peasants to engage in various crafts and trade, which allowed them to earn their living. The development of crafts marked the beginning of the stratification of peasants. Among the landowner peasants, real rich people appeared who had large capital (from 50 to 120 thousand rubles), which at that time was an extraordinary thing. These “capitalist” peasants conducted large-scale trade and owned factories, which, however, were registered in the name of the landowners, since only they had the right to property. A significant part of the income went to the landowner in the form of quitrents. Landowners, in need of funds, willingly transferred their peasants to cash rent.

In 1767, Catherine II created the Statutory Commission, the purpose of which was to eliminate existing shortcomings in legislation and identify the needs and moods in society. With great enthusiasm, the Empress began to create a new Code, based on the principles of the new philosophy and science discovered modern era Enlightenment. To this end, she set about drawing up her famous instructions, which received the name “Order” in historical literature. The main text of the “Nakaz” contains 20 chapters, divided into 546 articles, of which 245 were borrowed from the work of Sh.P. Montesquieu “On the Spirit of Laws” and 106 - from the book of the learned lawyer C. Beccaria “On Crimes and Punishments”. In addition, Catherine II used the works of German scientists Bielfeld and Just, as well as the French encyclopedia and Russian legislation.

In her reasoning, the Empress proceeds from the conviction that Russia is a European country, and that its size determined the only acceptable form of government for it in the form of an absolute monarchy.

The compiler of the “Nakaz” believed that for the successful implementation of reforms it is necessary to provide civil rights, first of all, “to the ruling class" It is interesting to note that no one, especially in Russia, had them. Even members of the aristocracy were subjected to corporal punishment. If Peter I took the first steps towards rule of law regulated by laws, the “Order” deepens this idea, in many articles explaining the meaning of the law in all spheres of life. The peasant question is most poorly developed in the “Nakaz”.

The first edition of “Nakaz” was published in 1767. It was published 7 times with a total circulation of about 5 thousand copies and became widely known not only in Russia, but also far beyond its borders, because has been translated into many European languages.

The work of the Statutory Commission showed that the Russian nobility is the most conservative part of society and firmly guards its interests. And the fight against them may end in the loss of power. Therefore, taking advantage of the outbreak of war with Turkey, the Statutory Commission of 1768 was dissolved. Until now, in the history of human literature, disputes have not ceased, why did Catherine II need to convene it? The answer is not simple. We must not forget that the Enlightenment gave rise to people’s faith in the omnipotence of laws, in their ability to change and improve society, and such a careful approach to the election of deputies demonstrated an example of the emergence of new people with internal freedom and independence of behavior.

In the 60−70s. A wave of peasant uprisings swept across Russia. The largest of them is the uprising of Emelyan Pugachev, who pretended to be the murdered Emperor Peter III. The popular uprising had a sobering effect on the empress and pushed her to the idea that the existing local government system was unable to prevent the growth of peasant unrest. On November 7, 1775, the “Institution for the Administration of the Province” was published, which entailed profound changes in the state structure. The reform marked the beginning of the creation of an orderly system of provincial government. During this period, Russia took a major step towards the separation of branches of power.

In addition, according to the decrees of 1775, all classes (except serfs) received the right to participate in local government and court affairs. Of course, the role of the nobility was predominant, because The highest officials of the provincial administration were appointed by the government from the circles of the nobility, and the composition of the district administration was elected by local noble societies.

10 years after provincial reform In 1785, “Charterates granted to cities and nobility” were published. Certificate of Complaint cities transferred to city societies the right of a legal entity, which could independently dispose of property and income from it. In addition, according to the decree, townspeople were divided into 5 categories: merchants, townspeople, nobles and officials, and clergy. Their rights and privileges, unequal in scope and significance, depended on class rank and property status. The sixth category - peasants living in cities, were not included in the number of townspeople, although taxes were taken from them at double the rate - both in the village and in the city.

In subsequent years, Catherine II and her entourage pursued a course towards further strengthening absolutism, centralization and bureaucratization of government, and took measures in the interests of various classes. The nobles receive generous grants - land, serfs.

In 1765, a free economic society arose, which began to regularly publish its “Proceedings” on various industries economics, plant breeding, livestock farming, etc. The main goal of society is the rational organization of landowner and peasant farms, the spread useful tips and knowledge within the framework of this economic society, a competition was announced for the best essay on the topic “What is more useful for society, for a peasant to own land or just movable property, how far should his rights to this or that property extend?” The very existence of the society is considered during its meetings topical issues− this is another step towards the Europeanization of the country and the continuation of the policy of enlightened absolutism. As is known, not only Russians took part in the competition, but also Foreign citizens. The award for the best work was awarded to A.Ya. Palenov. But, unfortunately, his ideas and thoughts remained unclaimed by society. The implementation of useful initiatives progressed extremely slowly. Serf labor did not contribute to the introduction of innovations. But despite everything, this society existed in Russia until October 1917. The decree of 1763, which allowed the sale of bread abroad, was important for the development of the economy. This brought huge income to the landowner and contributed to the expansion of trade, although it increased the exploitation of the peasants.

Industry developed at a high rate. At the end of the reign of Catherine II, 167 mining plants and 1094 manufacturing enterprises were operating in Russia. There was a process of formation of manufacture from small-scale commodity production, which was generally an indicative sign of the development of domestic industry. An important incentive for the development of entrepreneurship were concessions to the merchants: in 1766 there was a decree exempting them from conscription duty and replacing it with the payment of a cash contribution, the proclamation of freedom of enterprise in 1775, which consisted in granting merchants and peasants the right to start enterprises. From the peasants came such industrialists as the Guchkovs, Morozovs, and Butrimovs. However, one cannot help but see that the development of the capitalist system was hampered by serfdom.

5. Abolition of serfdom

Appeared in the 18th century. The crisis of the serfdom system manifested itself much more clearly in the first quarter of the 19th century. But this should not be understood as a complete decline; the economy of serf Russia adapted to new conditions and developed.

Attempts to use machines and new methods of cultivating land using agrotechnical achievements of science are increasingly being noted. Moreover, not only landowners, but also wealthy peasants who are beginning to actively use agricultural machinery are striving to manage their farms in a “new way.” The first factories for the production of agricultural machinery appeared. Since 1806, the government has allowed duty-free import of agricultural machinery into the country. New crops are being introduced more widely: sugar beets, potatoes, etc. New lands are being developed in Ukraine, the Don, and the Volga region.

The population of Russia in the first quarter of the 19th century. increased from 36 to 53 million people due to the addition of new regions. The contradictions between landowners and peasants are more clearly revealed. The two main forms of serf exploitation - corvée and quitrent - are taken to the extreme by landowners. Corvée included, in addition to the peasant’s work on the lord’s arable land, also work in a serf factory and performing various types of work. economic works for the landowner throughout the year. The cost of corvee duties by the end of the first quarter of the 19th century. has doubled. In many cases, corvée took 5-6 days a week from the peasant, which subsequently led to the peasants switching to a “month,” i.e. turning them into serf slaves who do not run their own households, but receive only food and clothing from the landowner.

If by the end of the 18th century. The rent from a peasant farm was 1−5 rubles. from the heart, then by the end of the first quarter of the 19th century. it reached 30 rubles.

Within the peasant class itself, a process of stratification begins. A rural bourgeoisie appeared in the person of peasant owners (mainly among state peasants), who, according to the law of 1801, received the opportunity to acquire ownership of uninhabited lands and lease land from landowners.

The domestic policy of Alexander I can be conditionally divided into two stages: the first (1801−1815) - as reformist, maneuvering between the conservative Catherine nobility and the young liberal aristocracy; the second (1815−1825) - as conservative, protective (“Arakcheevism”).

Alexander I, from the friends of his youth - representatives of the noble nobility - P. Stroganov, V. Kochubey, A. Czartoryski, N. Novosiltsev, formed the so-called Secret Committee in 1801.

The committee members understood the need for reforms, but believed that at this stage the unshakable foundations of absolutism and serfdom. Future plans included the abolition of serfdom and the introduction of a constitution. In 1801, a decree was issued on the right to purchase land by merchants, townspeople, state and appanage peasants.

In 1803, a decree “On Free Plowmen” appeared, which provided for the liberation of serfs for the purchase of land by entire villages or individual families by mutual consent of peasants and landowners. Practical results of this decree were insignificant. For 1803−1825 Only 160 transactions were concluded, according to which 47 thousand souls of peasants (0.5%) were redeemed. The reason for this was that about 400 rubles had to be paid per soul. silver

In 1804−1805 The first stage of agrarian reform was carried out in the Baltic region - in Latvia and Estonia. In 1804, the “Regulations on the Livonian Peasants” was published, which was extended to Estonia. Peasant householders were declared lifelong and hereditary holders of their land plots, for which they had to serve corvee and quitrent to the owner of the land, while the size of corvee and quitrent increased significantly. The power of the landowner over the peasants was limited. The provision did not apply to landless peasant farm laborers.

The decree of March 10, 1809 abolished the right of the landowner to exile his peasants to Siberia for minor offenses.

Now, with the permission of the landowner, peasants could trade, take bills, and engage in contracts. In general, these were concessions to the bourgeois development of the country, without encroaching on the rights and privileges of the landowners.

In 1818, Alexander I tried to resolve the peasant issue. Several projects have been prepared. Alexander I approved the project of A. Arakcheev and Minister of Finance D. Guryev (gradual elimination of serfdom by buying out landowner peasants from their plots with the treasury). The project did not come to practical implementation. The last liberal action of Alexander I was the provision in 1816−1819. personal freedom for Baltic peasants (without land).

By 1825, 375 thousand state peasants were in military settlements (1/3 of the Russian army), from which they formed a Separate Corps under the command of Arakcheev. In the settlements, peasants simultaneously served and worked under conditions of strict discipline, subject to numerous punishments.

On February 19, 1855, Alexander II ascended the throne. His reign (1855−1881) became a period of radical transformations in Russian society, the main one of which was the liberation of peasants from serfdom.

The basis of the concept peasant reform the following ideas were put forward: its goal is a revolution in the agrarian system of Russia, the initial stage of which is the liberation of peasants from personal dependence, the final stage is their transformation into small owners while maintaining a significant part of landownership.

It was supposed to provide peasants with the use (for duties) and then for ownership (for redemption) of land plots that they used before the abolition of serfdom, the calculation of duties based on their pre-reform amounts, and the participation of the state in the process of redemption operations as a creditor. And although during the discussion of projects for the abolition of serfdom in the Main Committee and the State Council, amendments were made to them under the pressure of conservative forces in the interests of landowners (the allotment fund was reduced by 20%, duties were increased, which increased the cost of purchasing each tithe of land), in official documents The liberal concept of resolving the peasant question was preserved, which consisted in the release of peasants with land on the terms of redemption.

On February 19, 1861, Alexander II signed all the reform laws and the Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom. These documents determined the fate of 23 million serfs. They received personal freedom and civil rights. For the land plots allotted to them (until they bought them out), the peasants had to serve labor duty or pay money, and therefore were called “temporarily obligated.” The size of peasant plots varied in size in different agricultural regions (non-chernozem, chernozem, steppe) and ranged from 1 to 12 dessiatines per male capita (an average of 3.3 dessiatines). For the plots, the peasants had to pay their landowner such an amount of money that, if deposited in the bank at 6%, would bring him annual income, equal to the pre-reform quitrent. According to the law, the peasants had to pay the landowner a lump sum for their allotment about a fifth of the stipulated amount (they could pay it not in money, but by working for the landowner). The rest was paid by the state. But the peasants had to return this amount to him (with interest) in annual payments for 49 years.

The peasant reform was a compromise option for the abolition of serfdom (this is the difference between the reformist path and the revolutionary one), based on real circumstances public life Russia of the late 50s - early 60s, the interests of peasants and landowners. The vulnerable provisions of this reform program were rooted in the fact that, having received freedom and land, the peasant did not become the owner of his plot and a full member of society (until 1903, peasants were subjected to corporal punishment by decision of the village assembly or local administration), they were not given the right selection of options for agricultural transformations.

Conclusion

Serfdom in Russia was a humiliating system that not only deprived him of the right to dispose of himself and freedom of choice, but also accustomed him to the idea of ​​his age-old lack of rights. Serfdom, on the one hand, gave rise to an attitude of patience among the Russian people, the need to “carry your cross” in the peasant mentality of ochlocratic aspirations for a “senseless and bloody rebellion.”