Serfdom

Serfdom is a form of peasant dependence, consisting in attaching peasants to the land and subordinating them to the judicial and administrative power of the feudal landowner. It was formed long enough.

Serfdom (serfdom) was born in the feudal system. During the fragmentation in the Russian state there was no single law that would define the duties and rights of the peasant.

In the 15th century, people could freely leave the land and go to the territory of another landowner after paying debts and duties to the former owner. But even then the princes began to issue special letters restricting the movement of peasants. As a result, rural residents could change from one landowner to another only for a week before St. George's Day.

Serfdom legally began to take shape in the era of the reign of Ivan the Third. During his reign, a single code of laws of the Code of 1497 was adopted. His 57th article limited officially the right of peasants to transition weeks before and after the week of St. George's Day. When leaving the landowner, compensation must be paid.

Mikhail Romanov, who began reigning in 1613, contributed to the further enslavement of the rural population. He prolonged the search for runaway peasants, and at the same time began to practice the sale or concession of peasants without land allotment.

Alexei Romanov, who became king in 1645, made several changes. First of all, the autocrat changed the order of duties and charging. It was also planned to increase the replenishment of the treasury at the expense of indirect taxes. As a result, in 1648, at the beginning of June, there was a "Salt Riot" in Moscow , the reason of which was precisely to increase the tax on salt. After that, insurrections were also held in several other cities.

In such circumstances, Alexei Mikhailovich makes a transformation in the administrative apparatus. In 1649, one of the most important documents in the Russian criminal, civil and state law - Sobornoye Ulozhenie - was drafted and approved. In accordance with the content of his special chapter - "The Court of Peasants" - serfdom became hereditary, and the landowner obtained the right to dispose of all the property of the peasant.

Subsequently, the rural population contributed to the development of productive forces within the country, ensuring the solution of a number of foreign policy tasks. Thus, some prerequisites for reform were formed during the subsequent reign of Peter the Great.

Changes in the situation of peasants occurred during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna. The Empress strengthened the power of the landlords. At the same time, it reduced the size of the poll tax and forgave the peasants arrears.

In 1767, Catherine II convened the Commission. Its goal was to eliminate the shortcomings of legislation and to identify the moods and needs of Russian society. In the 1760s-70s, a wave of uprisings swept the country. The most large-scale was the speech of Emelian Pugachev.

In the 18th century serfdom began to experience the crisis of the system. However, the Russian economy has developed quite well, adapting to new conditions.

At the same time, within the peasant class itself, some stratification began. Gradually the rural bourgeoisie, representing peasant proprietors (state, to a greater extent) began to stand out. They in 1801 had the opportunity to buy out the empty land and take land from the landlords for rent.

During the reign of Alexander I the law "On free grain farmers" (in 1803) was adopted. The decree provided for the release of landlords and peasants for a ransom and by mutual agreement.

In 1818 Alexander the First tried to carry out the peasant reform. As a result of several prepared projects, the Emperor approved the project of Guriev (Minister of Finance) and Arakcheeva, which was supposed to gradually eliminate serfdom by buying peasants.

The Manifesto on the abolition of serfdom was adopted by Alexander II in 1861, on 19 February. In addition, the Emperor signed all the provisions on reform. From that moment serfdom officially ceased to exist.