Who are commoners? These are representatives of the social stratum that formed in Russia at the end of the 17th century. These people did not belong to any of the existing classes. They were neither nobles, nor merchants, nor philistines, nor peasants. The raznochintsy had nothing in common with church ministers either.
Etymology
Raznochintsy is a term formed from two words (“rank” and “rank”). Etymology reveals the meaning of the concept. Raznochinets is a person who has neither rank nor rank. As you know, until 1917, every inhabitant of the empire belonged to one or another estate. Due to certain historical events in Russia in the 19th century, more and more people appeared who did not identify themselves with any social group.
Right
So, who are the commoners? The definition of this social group changed more than once during the 18th and 19th centuries. After the decree adopted in April 1818, children of personal nobles were included in this category of citizens. That is, a commoner was one whose father did not have the right to pass on his title by inheritance.
Daily use
The term, the meaning of which we are considering in today's article, can be found in the works of Russian literature. Raznochintsy are Raskolnikov, Bazarov. On the basis of the plot of Turgenev's novel, it can be concluded that the commoner was the one who felt undisguised contempt for the landowner's world. However, Bazarov was a nihilist. Therefore, this is not the best example.
In the eighteenth century, representatives of the unprivileged taxable class were classified as commoners. These were people who were not in active service, and, as a rule, did not use the right to apply for honorary citizenship. Most of the raznochintsy were soldiers' children. But why, when reading famous works, one gets the impression that they were poor, educated people who certainly looked down on others?
Raznochintsy of the 19th century
Representatives of this social category really wanted to get an education. This made it possible to get out of the familiar, disgusting environment, opened up the opportunity to earn a living by mental labor.
In the 19th century, the newly emerged term "intelligentsia" became synonymous with the word "raznochintsy". There has been a significant increase in the number of educated people in Russia. A new social stratum was being formed - the Raznochinskiy. Among young people, representatives of the intelligentsia, there were, of course, those who were confident in their abilities. They were distinguished by free-thinking, they read a lot, thought, observed. In Russia, a man whocan observe and analyze, cannot be satisfied with his life.
In Literature
Turgenev, although he spent a lot of time abroad, very closely followed the public news at home. He was very interested in this new type of Russian man, who was characterized by such qualities as curiosity, faith in his own strength, readiness for change. But, despite the sympathy, the writer treated these people with some apprehension. After all, it is no coincidence that Bazarov, who became a collective image, ended his life so sadly.
The prototype of Raskolnikov was one of the convicts, whose fate Dostoevsky learned during his stay in exile. The young man who committed the murder and suffered severe punishment for his crime was a typical commoner. Having learned his story, Dostoevsky decided to create a book about a student whom he brought to hard labor, a seemingly harmless question: “Am I a trembling creature, or do I have a right?”.
The most famous raznochinets in fiction is Turgenev's hero, who liked to have heated arguments with an old aristocrat. Another character who has the features of a typical 19th-century intellectual is a poor student who killed an old pawnbroker. Met in the time of Turgenev and Dostoevsky and quite real commoners. Namely Chernyshevsky, Belinsky, Dobrolyubov. By the way, the latter is one of Bazarov's prototypes.