The peasant population in Russia has always been very poor, and the villagers had to get out of difficult situations by any means. Therefore, until the beginning of the 20th century, bast shoes remained the most popular type of footwear here. This even led to the fact that Russia began to be called "bast shoes". Such a nickname set off the poverty and backwardness of the common people of the state.
The meaning of the word "bast shoes"
They have always been the shoes of the poorest population, including the peasantry, so it is not surprising that bast shoes have become a kind of symbol that is often mentioned in folklore, in various fairy tales and proverbs. These shoes were worn by almost all the inhabitants of the country, regardless of age and gender, except for the population of Siberia and the Cossacks.
It's hard to explain what bast shoes are without mentioning the material from which they are made. Most often they were made from bast and bast, taken from trees such as linden, willow, birch or elm. Sometimes even straw or horsehair was used, as it is very practical,affordable and docile material, and it can be made into shoes of various shapes and sizes, which will suit both adults and children.
What the bast shoes were made of
Due to the fact that these shoes were not durable and wore out very quickly, it was necessary to constantly make new ones, up to several pairs per week. The stronger the material, the better the shoes turned out, so the craftsmen very carefully approached his choice. The best was considered bast obtained from trees no younger than 4 years old. About three trees had to be stripped to get enough material for one pair. It was a long process that took a lot of time, and the result was shoes that soon fell into disrepair anyway. That's what bast shoes are in Russia.
Features
Some craftsmen managed to make bast shoes using several materials at once. Sometimes they were of different colors and with different ornaments. It is noteworthy that both bast shoes were exactly the same, there was no difference between the right and left.
Despite the fact that the process of making such shoes was not difficult, people still had to make a lot of bast shoes. Often this was done by men in the winter, when there was less housework. The lexical meaning of the word "bast shoes" means simply wicker shoes, but this absolutely does not reflect all its features. So, to put them on, you first had to usespecial canvas footcloths, and then tie them with special leather garters.
Boots
A more durable type of footwear at this time were boots, which were much more durable, beautiful and, moreover, comfortable. However, not everyone could afford such a luxury, they were available only to we althy people who did not have a chance to feel for themselves what bast shoes are. Boots were made of leather or fabric, festive ones were decorated with embroidery, silk and even various beautiful stones. They were much more elegant than usual, in everyday life people often wore simple boots without any decorations, as this is a much more practical solution.
Result
In the modern world it is very difficult to judge the hardships of life in the village in the 19th century in Russia, however, the realization of what bast shoes are and how many problems peasants had to overcome just to make shoes can show people how difficult life was before. They were rather impractical and wore out very quickly, however, the poor stratum of the population had no choice, they had to gather around the stove on cold winter evenings and make bast shoes for the whole family, and sometimes even for sale.
