The legally formalized status of dependence of peasants is called serfdom. This phenomenon characterizes the development of society in the countries of Eastern and Western Europe. The formation of serfdom is connected with the evolution of feudal relations.
The birth of serfdom in Europe
The essence of the feudal dependence of the peasants on the landowner was to control the personality of the serf. It could be bought, sold, banned from moving around the country or city, even control over matters of his personal life.
Since feudal relations developed depending on the characteristics of the region, serfdom took shape in different states at different times. In the countries of Western Europe, it was fixed in the Middle Ages. In England, France, Germany, serfdom was abolished by the 17th century. Reforms relating to the liberation of the peasants are rich in the times of the Enlightenment. Eastern and Central Europe are regions where feudal dependence lasted longer. In Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary, serfdom began to take shape in the 15th-16th centuries. Interestingly, in the Nordic countries, the norms of feudal dependencepeasants from the feudal lords did not work out.
Characteristic features and conditions for the formation of feudal dependence
The history of serfdom allows us to trace the characteristic features of the state and social system, under which relations of dependence of peasants on rich landowners are formed:
- Having a strong centralized authority.
- Social differentiation based on property.
- Low level of education.
At an early stage in the development of feudal relations, the goals of enslavement were to attach the peasant to the land allotment of the landowner and prevent the flight of workers. Legal norms regulated the process of paying taxes - the absence of population movements facilitated the collection of tribute. In the period of developed feudalism, prohibitions became more diverse. Now the peasant not only could not move independently from place to place, but also did not have the right and opportunity to purchase real estate, land, he was obliged to pay a certain amount to the landowner for the right to work on his plots. Restrictions for the lower strata of the population varied regionally and depended on the characteristics of the development of society.
The origins of serfdom in Russia
The process of enslavement in Russia - at the level of legal norms - began in the 15th century. The abolition of personal dependence was made much later than in other European countries. According to the censuses, the number of serfs in different territories of the country varied. Dependent peasants already at the beginning of the 19th centurybegan to gradually move into other classes.
Researchers are looking for the origins and causes of serfdom in Russia in the events of the period of the Old Russian state. The formation of social relations took place in the presence of a strong centralized power - at least for 100-200 years, during the reign of Volodymyr the Great and Yaroslav the Wise. The main code of laws of that time was the Russkaya Pravda. It contained norms that regulated the relations between free and not free peasants and landowners. Slaves, servants, purchasers, ryadovichi were dependent - they fell into bondage under various circumstances. Smerds were relatively free - they paid tribute and had the right to land.
The Tatar-Mongol invasion and feudal fragmentation became the reasons for the collapse of Russia. The lands of the once unified state became part of Poland, Lithuania, Muscovy. New attempts at enslavement were made in the 15th century.
The beginning of the formation of feudal dependence
In the XV-XVI centuries, a local system was formed on the territory of former Russia. The peasant used the landowner's allotments under the terms of the contract. Legally, he was a free man. The peasant could leave the landowner for another place, but the latter could not drive him away. The only restriction was that you could not leave the site until you paid its owner.
The first attempt to limit the rights of peasants was made by Ivan III. The author of "Sudebnik" approved the transition to other lands within a week before and after St. George's Day. In 1581In the same year, a decree was issued banning the exit of peasants in certain years. But it did not attach them to a specific site. A decree of November 1597 approved the need to return fugitive workers to the landowner. In 1613, the Romanov dynasty came to power in the Moscow kingdom - they increased the time needed to search for and return the fugitives.
About the Council Code
In what year did serfdom become a formalized legal norm? The officially dependent status of the peasantry was approved by the Council Code of 1649. The document differed significantly from previous acts. The main idea of the Code in the field of regulation of relations between the landowner and the peasant was the prohibition of the latter to move to other cities and villages. As a place of residence, the territory in which a person lived according to the results of the census of the 1620s was fixed. Another fundamental difference between the norms of the Code is the statement that the search for fugitives becomes indefinite. The rights of the peasants were limited - the document practically equated them with serfs. The worker's household belonged to the master.
The beginning of serfdom is a series of restrictions on movement. But there were also norms that protected the landowner from the willfulness. A peasant could complain or sue, could not be deprived of land simply by the decision of the masters.
In general, such norms consolidated serfdom. It took years to complete the process of formalizing full feudal dependence.
History of serfdom in Russia
After the Council Code, several more documents appeared,which consolidated the dependent status of the peasants. The tax reform of 1718-1724 was finally attached to a certain place of residence. Gradually, restrictions led to the formalization of the slave position of the peasants. In 1747, the landlords received the right to sell their worker as recruits, and after another 13 years - to send them into exile in Siberia.
At first, the peasant had the opportunity to complain about the landowner, but from 1767 this was canceled. In 1783, serfdom spread to the territory of the Left-bank Ukraine. All laws confirming feudal dependence protected only the rights of landowners.
Any documents aimed at improving the situation of the peasants were actually ignored. Paul I issued a decree on a three-day corvee, but in fact the work lasted 5-6 days. Since 1833, landlords have received a legally enforceable right to dispose of the personal life of a serf.
The stages of serfdom make it possible to analyze all the milestones in the consolidation of peasant dependence.
On the eve of the reform
The crisis of the serf system began to make itself felt at the end of the 18th century. This state of society hindered the progress and development of capitalist relations. Serfdom became a wall that separated Russia from the civilized countries of Europe.
It is interesting that feudal dependence did not exist throughout the country. There was no serfdom in the Caucasus, the Far East, or in the Asian provinces. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was abolished in Courland, Livonia. Alexander I publishedlaw on free cultivators. Its purpose was to ease the pressure on the peasants.
Nicholas I made an attempt to create a commission that would develop a document abolishing serfdom. The landlords prevented the elimination of this kind of dependence. The emperor obliged the landowners, when freeing a peasant, to give him land that he could cultivate. The consequences of this law are known - the landlords stopped freeing the serfs.
The complete abolition of serfdom in Russia will be carried out by the son of Nicholas I - Alexander II.
Reasons for agrarian reform
Serfdom hindered the development of the state. The abolition of serfdom in Russia has become a historical necessity. Unlike many European countries, industry and trade developed worse in Russia. The reason for this was the lack of motivation and interest of workers in the results of their work. Serfdom became a brake on the development of market relations and the completion of the industrial revolution. In many European countries, it successfully ended at the beginning of the 19th century.
The landlord economy and feudal building of relations have ceased to be effective - they have become obsolete and did not correspond to historical realities. The work of the serfs did not justify itself. The dependent position of the peasants completely deprived them of their rights and gradually became a catalyst for rebellion. Social discontent grew. Serfdom reform was needed. The solution of the issue required a professional approach.
An important event, the consequence of which was the reform of 1861, is the Crimean War, in which Russiawas destroyed. Social problems and foreign policy failures pointed to the unproductiveness of the state's domestic and foreign policy.
Opinions on serfdom
Attitude towards serfdom was expressed by many writers, politicians, travelers, thinkers. Plausible descriptions of peasant life were censored. Since the beginning of the existence of serfdom, there have been several opinions about it. We single out two main, opposite ones. Some considered such relations natural for the monarchical state system. Serfdom was called a historically determined consequence of patriarchal relations, useful for the education of the population and an urgent need for full and effective economic development. The second, opposite to the first, position speaks of feudal dependence as an immoral phenomenon. Serfdom, according to fans of this concept, destroys the social and state system and economy of the country. Supporters of the second position can be called A. Herzen, K. Aksakov. A. Savelyev's publication refutes any negative aspects of serfdom. The author writes that the statements about the disasters of the peasants are far from the truth. The 1861 reform also drew mixed reviews.
Developing a reform project
For the first time, Emperor Alexander II spoke about the possibility of abolishing serfdom in 1856. A year later, a committee was convened to develop a draft reform. It consisted of 11 people. The commission came tothe conclusion that it is necessary to create special committees in each province. They should study the situation on the ground and make their own corrections and recommendations. In 1857, this project was legalized. The main idea of the original plan for the abolition of serfdom was the elimination of personal dependence while maintaining the rights of landowners to land. A transitional period was envisaged for the adaptation of society to the reform carried out. The possible abolition of serfdom in Russia caused misunderstanding among the landowners. In the newly formed committees, there was also a struggle over the terms of the reform. In 1858, the decision was made to ease the pressure on the peasants, rather than abolish dependence. The most successful project was developed by Ya. Rostovtsev. The program provided for the abolition of personal dependence, the consolidation of the transition period, and the provision of land to the peasants. Conservative-minded politicians did not like the project - they sought to limit the rights and size of the peasants' allotments. In 1860, after the death of Y. Rostovtsev, V. Panin took up the development of the program.
The results of several years of work of the committees served as the basis for the abolition of serfdom. 1861 in the history of Russia became a landmark in all respects.
Proclamation of the "Manifesto"
The agrarian reform project formed the basis of the "Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom." The text of this document was supplemented by the "Regulations on the Peasants" - they described in more detail all the subtleties of social and economic changes. The abolition of serfdom in Russia took place on February 19, 1861. On this day the Emperorsigned the Manifesto and made it public.
The program of the document abolished serfdom. The years of non-progressive feudal relations are in the past. At least that's what many thought.
Main provisions of the document:
- Peasants received personal freedom, were considered "temporarily liable".
- Former serfs could have property, the right to self-government.
- Peasants were given land, but they had to work it out and pay for it. Obviously, the former serfs had no ransom money, so this item formally renamed personal dependency.
- The size of land plots was determined by the landlords.
- Land owners received a guarantee from the state for the right to redemption operations. Thus, financial obligations fell on the peasants.
Below you are invited to the table "Serfdom: the abolition of personal dependence." Let's analyze the positive and negative results of the reform.
| Positive | Negative |
| Obtaining personal civil liberties | Movement restrictions remain |
| The right to freely marry, trade, sue, own property | The inability to buy land actually returned the peasant to the position of a serf |
| The emergence of the foundations for the development of market relations | The rights of landowners were placed above the rights of commoners |
| The peasants were not ready to work, did not know how to enter into market relations. Like the landowners did not know how to live without serfs | |
| Exorbitantly large amount of redemption of land allotment | |
| Formation of the rural community. She was not a progressive factor in the development of society |
1861 in the history of Russia was the year of a turning point in social foundations. The feudal relations that had become entrenched in society could no longer be useful. But the reform itself was not well thought out, and therefore had many negative consequences.
Russia after the reform
The consequences of serfdom, such as unpreparedness for capitalist relations and the crisis for all classes, speak of the untimeliness and ill-conceivedness of the proposed changes. The peasants reacted to the reform with large-scale performances. The uprisings engulfed many provinces. Over 1,000 riots were recorded during 1861.
The negative consequences of the abolition of serfdom, which equally affected both landowners and peasants, affected the economic condition of Russia, which was not ready for change. The reform liquidated the existing long-term system of social and economic relations, but did not create a base and did not suggest ways for the country's further development in the new conditions. The impoverished peasantry was now completely destroyed both by the oppression of the landlords and by the needs of the growing bourgeois class. The result was a slowdown in the capitalist development of the country.
Reform did not freefrom the serfdom of the peasants, but only took away from them the last opportunity to feed their families at the expense of the landlords, who were obliged by law to support their serfs. Their allotments have decreased in comparison with pre-reform ones. Instead of the quitrent, which they worked out from the landowner, huge payments of a different nature appeared. The rights to use forests, meadows and water bodies were actually completely taken away from the rural community. Peasants were still an isolated class without rights. And still they were treated as existing in a special legal regime.
The landowners also suffered a lot of losses because the reform limited their economic interest. The monopoly on the peasants eliminated the possibility of free use of the latter for the development of agriculture. In fact, the landowners were forced to give the peasants allotment land as property. The reform was distinguished by inconsistency and inconsistency, the absence of a decision on the further development of society and the relationship between former slaves and landowners. But, ultimately, a new historical period was opened, which had progressive significance.
The peasant reform was of great importance for the further formation and development of capitalist relations in Russia. Positive results include:
• After the liberation of the peasants, there was an intense trend in the growth of the non-professional labor market.
• The rapid development of industry and agricultural entrepreneurship has developed due to the provision of civil and property rights to former serfs. Estatesthe rights of the nobility to the land were eliminated, and it became possible to trade land plots.
• The reform of 1861 became a salvation from the financial collapse of the landlords, as the state took on huge debts from the redemption payments of the peasants.
• The abolition of serfdom served as a prerequisite for the creation of a constitution designed to provide people with their freedoms, rights and obligations. This has become the main goal on the way to the transition from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional one, that is, to a rule of law state in which citizens live according to the laws in force, and everyone is given the right to reliable personal protection.
• The active construction of new factories and plants has led to the development of belated technological progress.
The post-reform period was characterized by the strengthening of the positions of the bourgeoisie and the economic landslide weakening of the nobility, which still ruled the state and firmly held power, which contributed to the slow transition to a capitalist form of management.
At the same time, the emergence of the proletariat as a separate class is noted. The abolition of serfdom in Russia was followed by zemstvo (1864), urban (1870), judicial (1864), military (1874) reforms that were beneficial to the bourgeoisie. The purpose of these legislative changes was to bring the system and administration in Russia into legal compliance with the new developing social structures, where millions of liberated peasants wanted to get the right to be called people.
