The title "merchant of the first guild" in Russia referred to the "third estate". It was considered semi-privileged, coming after the nobility and the clergy. All merchants were united in guilds, of which there were three. To enroll in one of them, it was necessary to pay a special fee. A merchant guild is a professional form of organizing people who trade.
Who were merchants in Russia before 1785?
It would seem clear who the merchants are. These are the people involved in the trade. But in Russia, a small number of merchants belonged to the merchant class. They recorded those who traded, produced goods. This was a consequence of the fact that they sold what was produced or mined. They were called "trading peasants", who were supposed to be assigned to urban settlements and pay a special fee.
The class of "trading peasants" was formed in 1718. Inclusion in this class group gave the right to legalgrounds to live in the city and enjoy trading privileges. Until the government carried out a guild reform in 1775, according to which everyone who lived in the settlements was considered to be merchants. Most of the townspeople were classified as merchants, although they were not as such.
The appearance of the guild
The word "guild" appears in Russian sources since 1712, when a special decree introduced the class of "trading peasants" subject to taxes. In 1721, the Charter of the Chief Magistrate was adopted. According to him, the townspeople were classified as "regular people". They were divided into two merchant guilds, which included the concept of "merchant of the first guild." The division was made according to capital and type of activity. The category of "mean people" was also introduced. It included hired workers: day laborers and laborers.
In 1722, workshops were established, which included craftsmen of certain professions, such as blacksmiths, shoemakers, weavers, potters. From the category of "regular people" were selected shop, which significantly reduced the number of people involved in trading activities.
In 1742, the concept of "mean people" was excluded, instead of it a third merchant guild was introduced. In 1755, the Customs Charter was adopted, which allowed trading activities not for merchant classes, but only for those goods that they produced on their own. They had the right to trade in all other goods, subject to the preparation of a specialinventory.
Guild Reform of 1775
Merchant after it was divided into three guilds. Joining one of them was possible according to the declared capital. A limit has been set. To enter a certain guild, he was:
- Merchants of the first guild - 10 thousand rubles.
- Merchants of the second guild - 1 thousand rubles.
- Kupas of the third guild - 500 rubles.
A guild fee of 1% has been set. It should be noted that almost every 10 years there was a change in the declared capital and the guild fee.
Monopoly on trade
The Senate of Russia in 1760 publishes a Decree prohibiting anyone except merchants from trading in Russian and foreign goods. In 1785, the “Letter of Letters to the Cities” was published, signed by Catherine II, in which a clear boundary was given between the guilds. It was this document that gave the merchant class the monopoly right to conduct trade.
Three guilds were established, as before, the merchants included in them could engage in the following activities and have property:
- Merchants of the first guild could own sea vessels, have their own production (factories, factories), as well as the right to conduct foreign trade, have a passport privilege. They were exempted from military service and from corporal punishment.
- Merchants of the second guild could have riverboats. They could also own plants and factories. They were not subjected to corporal punishment,recruitment was abolished.
- Those in the third guild could own shops, taverns and inns. In other words, retail.
The Manifesto on Merchants of 1807 proclaims the establishment of a monopoly for merchants of the first guild to engage in Kyakhta trade (with China and Mongolia).
Privileges
Merchants occupied a significant niche in Russian society. They were given certain privileges. True, most of them were assigned to trading people with significant capital. The privileges of nobles and merchants of the first guild differed from each other. In the lists of estates, in terms of the number of privileges received, the nobles stood above any other class.
But the merchants had a special privilege - to become an "honorary citizen". In this case, in terms of the number of privileges, they approached the nobles. But the latter had the right to public service, which other estates, including the highest merchant guild, did not have. The title of "honorary citizen" did not give this right. When comparing the privileges of nobles and merchants of the first guild, one can note the differences between the two classes.
List of noble privileges:
- The main privilege is the ownership of land plots with peasants living on them.
- Not taxed.
- Self-government class.
- Exemption from zemstvo duties.
- Recruitment exemption.
- Exemption from corporal punishment.
- Getting education inprivileged educational institutions, where representatives of other classes were not allowed.
- The right to enter the civil service.
Merchants of the first guild, list of privileges:
- The opportunity to have a large volume of trade (internal and external).
- Exemption from a certain number of taxes.
- Exemption from recruitment and corporal punishment.
- Getting an education in decent schools.
- Self-government at the estate level.
As can be seen from the above lists, the privileges of the nobles were exemption from paying any taxes, receiving education at the expense of the state, entering the civil service. Merchants of the first guild were only exempted from certain taxes and had the right to receive a good education at their own expense. They could not enter the civil service. Nevertheless, some noble officials enrolled their wives or other close relatives in the merchant guilds while being on the payroll of the state.
The contribution of Russian merchants to the development and prosperity of the country
The accumulated capital some merchants sent to charity. They built schools, hospitals, real schools, churches, museums. The world-famous Tretyakov Gallery was built by the merchant Pavel Tretyakov. In Khabarovsk, the Assumption Cathedral was built at the expense of A. F. Plyusnin, a merchant of the first guild, which is the first stone building in the city.
It is difficult to underestimate the role of the merchants in the development of the country. Representatives of thisestates built plants, factories, workshops for the production of goods, which were subsequently sold on the markets of the country and the world. They equipped expeditions for exploration of minerals, took an active part in the development of Siberia and the Far East. Nikolai Igumnov, a Moscow merchant of the first guild, created a resort area between Gagra and Pitsunda with his own money.
Many Russian cities have their own identity, recognizability due to historical centers built up with merchant houses. Until the 19th century, it was rare to find a literate person among the merchants. If the first generation observed all the peasant customs, the way of life was fully consistent with that prevailing in the countryside, then subsequent generations lived in large and beautiful city houses, children were educated in the best educational institutions in Russia and abroad. By the beginning of the 20th century, it was the ruling class that replaced the nobility.
