Some 300 years ago, the word "post" denoted intermediate stations, where government people changed post horses, sometimes very tired and driven. At that time there was no transport other than horse-drawn. So who were the post horses and why were they called that?
In the 17th century, a journey through the expanses of Russia was not only a serious, but also a significant event. At first, their own horses were used for transportation. But they could not travel long distances, they got tired and needed a change. Government horses came to the aid of the travelers. They began to be called postal, and the road - the postal path.
Post horse and industry development
The place where the horses changed was first called a pit or an inn, and only then a post station. Each station had its own caretaker, who checked documents and gave permission to change horses. Horse-drawn transport mainly carried mail and those who were supposed to deliver these letters with their own hands.
We went withpostmen and courier, courier, and just travelers for any other need. At the end of the 17th century, the state imperial decree increased the number of post stations and horses, and a timetable appeared. That is, the time of arrival of the mail horse and carriage was known in advance and everything was ready for its further dispatch.
The emergence of hotels and freelancers
By the end of the 18th century, hotels began to appear in the postal yards of the first and second category, and several provinces were even exempted from postal tax. At the same time, a decree was issued that allowed the use of a post horse by free people. They could collect linear money and use it for their own purposes. Their earnings were very decent. The salary of state-owned postal cab drivers, on the contrary, was meager.
The named service was in great demand, especially among the sovereign people. And the treasury received a considerable profit from the increase in the number of stations and crews. There were also more postal routes, they were built not only in the direction of the city of Pskov, but also to the East. News from both the sovereign and ordinary people was expected everywhere.
Horse triplets and bell
At the same time, instead of one mail horse harnessed to the carriage, troikas began to appear, and their number began to increase in proportion to the growth of the Siberian routes. Cold, cold, long deserted distances, and mostly impassable off-road required more endurance and strength. Postmen were even obliged to hang harnesses on the middle arcbell and for good reason.
He announced the arrival of the carriage at the post station, and warned oncoming mail carts in order to avoid a collision. It is to the bell that mail horses owe their appearance in literature. Many authors in their works mentioned the postal troika and the cheerful, serene ringing with which it raced, delivering passengers and letters.
Postmen relay
The postal route was marked with versts, and their count was kept from the main post yard - the Post Office. The versts were marked with pillars. Each of them marked the remainder of the distance to the city and the path already covered. But this is how the horse is arranged - it gets tired, wants to eat, drink and rest. It was for this reason that the entire postal service of that time worked on the basis of a relay race.
Having traveled the way to a certain station, the crew returned home, handing over the postal items to the next one. For convenience, it was the horses that most often changed in the carriage. This made it possible not to transfer cargo from place to place and not waste time. To ride on "passengers" meant that the cargo or luggage was transferred from one carriage to another, but the horses were not changed. In this case, a lot of time was lost at the post station.
Russian coachmen in literature
Time was especially precious for Russian postmen. They used to drive at a fairly high speed, which usually frightened foreigners very much. Many Russian worksthose who mentioned postal horses described that brave courage that was inherent in Russian cabbies. So, the high speed of the mail carriage was also described by A. S. Pushkin in his "Eugene Onegin". In the seventh chapter of the work, he compared the fast driving of Russian coachmen with the charioteer of the god Achilles. He dedicated the story "The Stationmaster" to this topic.
Pushkin himself often used the services of postmen, loved them and remembered them with a kind word. In addition to him, many writers and poets described the life and service of coachmen (Vyazemsky P. A. "Station", Chekhov A. P. "Mail"), how difficult and dangerous it was. By the way, there were also foreigners who wrote individual chapters or even whole works of literature mentioning postal horses and Russian postmen.
Development of the postal service
Year by year, the postal service improved, and the sovereigns made changes to its work. So, each traveler on the road received a special document, without which it was problematic to leave the city limits.
Podorozhnaya - that was the name of this paper. She certifies the identity of the traveler, the purpose of the trip. Documents were subject to mandatory verification at postal stations and guard services. Without travel paper, it was impossible to get a mail carriage. How many horses will be issued was indicated in the same place and their number depended on the rank and rank of the passenger. The same Pushkin, after studying at the lyceum, had the right to a crew of three horsepower, and general ranks could already count on fifteen, or evenfor all twenty.
Traveling on horseback was a favorite pastime of writers and poets. Roads and related impressions are found in the works of Karamzin, Lermontov, Gogol. The sadness of parting and the joy of meeting are noted in their works by Russian poets of the 18th-19th centuries. Such emotions are almost always associated with postal carriages, with bells and coachmen.
