Studying the history of many countries, including Russia, one cannot ignore such a phenomenon as enslavement of the peasants. This article will briefly outline the most important points of this process and its impact.

First of all, there is a definition of the concept itself. Serfdom is the highest degree of incomplete property of a feudal lord (or other subject with the right of enslavement) to a peasant, based on the attachment of a farmer to the land (production).

The enslavement of the peasants began in 1497 in the "Code of Laws" by Ivan III, by the introduction of a restriction on the right of peasants to transfer from one feudal lord to another. Namely, the right to make the transition was granted only on St. George's Day, November 26, and only with the payment of the "elderly" feudal lord, thereby compensating him for the loss.

The next step was the increase in the size of the "elderly", in 1550, "Code of Laws" of Ivan the Fourth. According to some reports, this decree more than doubled the amount paid by the peasants for the transfer to a different owner.

Especially often the peasants began to flee during the oprichnina times, which prompted the government of that time to periodically issue a decree on reserved years, completely prohibiting the transition to another landowner for several years. This did not stop the peasants from escaping; in 1597, fixed summers were introduced - a period during which the feudal lord could demand the return of the peasants.

In 1649, after the adoption of the Cathedral Code, the previous decrees on fixed-term years were no longer needed, since the concept of “indefinite search” of fugitive serfs was introduced. In addition, the code introduced fines for landlords who sheltered fugitive peasants, obliging them to pay for the illegal use of the labor of someone else's serf.

Another decision that finally secured the status of serfs for many people was the tax reform of Peter the Great, carried out in 1724 and the poll census preceding it, which caused serious social consequences. As a result, many people who were in the status of slaves or free people also became serfs, forming an estate of state peasants. But it is worth distinguishing the status of the state peasant. They, in contrast to the landowners, were considered personally free, albeit attached to the land and made up up to half of the country's peasant population, inhabiting mainly the Russian North, the Ural region, Siberia.

In subsequent years, serfdom legislation only became stricter. In 1747, the landowners received the right to sell peasants as recruits to any person, thirteen years later they received the right to exile peasants to Siberia, and five years later - to hard labor.
Corvée became widespread - forced labor of the peasant in favor of the landowner, and, until 1797, the size of the corvee was not officially determined. It was in this year that the manifesto of Paul the First was published on the three-day corvee and the prohibition to attract peasants to work during the holidays. The corvee itself was not only a certain labor in favor of the landowner, but was often combined with monetary and food quitrent. The corvee was partially preserved after the abolition of serfdom by Alexander II in 1861, albeit with legislative restrictions.

The first stage (end X V- end XVIcenturies)The process of enslaving the peasants in Russia was quite long. Even in the era of Ancient Russia, part of the rural population lost their personal freedom and turned into serfs and slaves. In conditions of fragmentation, the peasants could leave the land on which they lived and go to another landowner.

Code of Law 1497 ... streamlined this right, confirming the right of the proprietor peasants after payment elderly on the possibility of going out on St. George's Day (St. George's Day) autumn (a week before November 26 and a week after). The fixation by law of a certain short period of transition testified, on the one hand, to the desire of the feudal lords and the state to restrict the right of the peasants, and on the other hand, to their weakness and inability to secure the peasants to the personality of a certain feudal lord. This norm was also contained in the new Code of Law 1550

However, in 1581, amid the extreme ruin of the country and the flight of the population, Ivan I V introduced reserved years , forbidding the peasant exit in the territories most affected by the disasters. This measure was extraordinary and temporal, right up to the Tsar's decree.

Second phase. (end X VIv. - 1649 g).

Decree on widespread enslavement ... V 1592 (or in 1593 .), those. during the reign of Boris Godunov, a decree was issued (the text of which has not survived), which prohibited the exit already throughout the country and without any time restrictions. The introduction of the regime of reserved years made it possible to start compiling scribes (that is, to conduct a population census, which created conditions for the peasants to be attached to their place of residence and their return in case of flight and further capture to the old owners). In the same year, the lordly plow was whitewashed (i.e. exempted from taxes), which stimulated service people to increase its area.

Lesson years.The compilers were guided by the scribes decree 1597 g., who established the so-called. lease years (the period of detecting runaway peasants, initially set at five years). At the end of the five-year period, the peasants who fled were subject to enslavement in new places, which was in the interests of the large landowners, as well as the nobility of the southern and southwestern counties, where the main streams of fugitives were directed.

Final enslavement ... At the second stage of the enslavement process, there was a sharp struggle between various groups of landowners and peasants over the question of the timing of the search for the fugitives, while Cathedral Code of 1649 did not abolish the appointed years, introduced an indefinite investigation, declared the eternal and hereditary fortress of the peasants. This is how the legal registration of serfdom ended

At the third stage (from the middle of X Viiv. until the end of XVIIIv.)serfdom developed along an ascending line. For example, according to the law of 1675, the owner's peasants could already be sold without land. Serfs differed from slaves only by the presence of their own economy on the land of the landowner. In X VIII v. the landowners received the full right to dispose of the person and property of the peasants, including exiling them without trial to Siberia and to hard labor.

At the fourth stage (end X VIIIv. - 1861)serf relations entered the stage of their disintegration. The state began to implement measures that somewhat limited the arbitrariness of the landowners, moreover, serfdom as a result of the spread of humane and liberal ideas was condemned by the advanced part of the Russian nobility.

As a result, for various reasons, it was canceled by the Manifesto of Alexander 11 in February 1861.

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How was the enslavement of the peasants in Russia carried out?

According to historians and researchers, the precondition of serfdom in Russia was its geographical location. In fact, the withdrawal of the surplus product, which was required for the development of society throughout the vast territory of the state, required the formation of a rigid well-oiled mechanism.

The very formation of serfdom took place in the process of confrontation between the community and the actively developing local land tenure, and ordinary peasants initially perceived arable land as royal or God's property, nevertheless, considering that the owners of such lands are, by law, those who cultivate and work on this plowing. ...

The rapid spread of local land tenure and the numerous attempts of service people to gain control over certain communal territories or part of them (to obtain the so-called "lordly plowing"), which would act as a guarantor for the further satisfaction of their needs - made it possible to subsequently transfer the same land to inheritance to his sons, thereby securing the right of a kind on her, which met with natural resistance in society. Such revolts and indignations could be overcome in only one way - by completely subjugating the peasants.

In addition, the state needed guarantees for the receipt of old and new taxes. And during the formation of a strong central administrative apparatus, all taxes were collected by landowners. For this, it was necessary not only to carry out a census of peasants, but also to attach them to a certain feudal lord.

The process of enslaving the peasants on Russian soil took place in several stages and was very long.

The first stage of the enslavement of the peasants

Even during the formation of the first Slavic state, part of its population could lose personal freedom, turning into slaves or smerds. At the same time, in the conditions of the fragmentation of Kievan Rus, the peasants were allowed to leave their principality and go to work for another landowner.

The Code of Law, adopted in 1497, legally confirmed this right, pointing out the legality of the peasant's departure after the payment of the "elderly". It was supposed to leave on the autumn St. George's day - that is, in the period of the week until the twenty-sixth of November and the week after that.

In another season, the peasants could not move to other principalities, because they were hindered by employment in plowing, as well as frosts, spring and autumn thaw, etc.

The fixation of the transition period described above, on the one hand, acted as a confirmation of the fact of the desire of the state and the feudal lords to limit peasant freedom, and on the other hand, it was a confirmation of the fact that they were not able to secure the peasants to a certain landowner. It is worth noting that the described right forced the "owners of the land" to reckon with peasant interests, which in itself had a beneficial effect not only on the economic, but also on the social development of the state.

This rule existed until 1581, when Ivan the Terrible introduced the "reserved years", which prohibited peasant labor on arable lands located in the territories affected by the disasters of that period.

The second stage of enslavement of the peasants

The next stage in the development of the enslavement of the peasants in Russia lasted from the end of the sixteenth century until the publication of the Cathedral Code in 1649. Around 1592-93, during the period when the state was ruled by Boris Godunov, a decree was issued, according to which the exit of peasants throughout the country was prohibited. In the same year, a large census of the population and the renewal of scribes began, which became an attempt by the state to attach the peasants to a certain place of residence with all the ensuing consequences in the event of their flight.

The compilers of the decree of 1597 were also guided by the collected data, according to which "lease years" were introduced, representing a five-year period of detecting fugitive peasants. After the expiration of the term, the peasants settled in new territories, which was in the hands of landowners in the southern regions of the country, where most of the fugitives were sent.

The third stage of enslavement of the peasants

The third stage of enslavement of the peasants, which lasted from the middle of the seventeenth century to the end of the eighteenth century, took away the remainder of the rights of the peasants. For example, according to the law of 1675, they could be sold without land, and in the eighteenth century, landowners received the right to dispose of not only the property of the peasants, but also their personality, in general. During this period, the peasants in Russia in their legal and social status approached the slaves.

The fourth stage of the enslavement of the peasants

From the end of the eighteenth century to 1861, serfdom began to disintegrate, and the state began to introduce certain measures that limited serf tyranny. At the same time, the condemnation of serfdom became one of the liberal and humane ideas that the nobility was carried away by. All this led to the abolition of serfdom in February 1861 during the reign of Tsar Alexander.

Table: the main milestones of the enslavement of the peasants

Serfdom it is customary to call the highest degree of incomplete property of a feudal lord to a worker, most often a peasant. Serfdom found its legal expression in the attachment of the peasant to the land; the feudal lord's right to alienate peasants without land; extreme limitation of the civil legal capacity of the peasant (the feudal lord's right to part of the peasant's inheritance and to escheat property, the right to corporal punishment; the peasants' lack of the right to independently acquire and alienate property, especially immovable property, dispose of inheritance, appear in court, etc.).

The process of enslavement in Russia was long and went through several stages. First stage: late 15th - late 16th centuries Even in the era of Ancient Russia, part of the rural population lost their personal freedom and turned into serfs and slaves. In conditions of fragmentation, the peasants could leave the land on which they lived and go to another landowner. Typical for Russia in the 15th-16th centuries. the growth of feudal landownership, especially local landownership, was accompanied by the attachment of peasants to the land. The old-time peasants, that is, families who had lived for a long time on the lands of feudal owners, were enslaved more than others.

From the middle of the 15th century. for peasants of individual estates, a restriction is established on the right to exit the week before and a week after the autumn St. George's Day (November 26). Among those who fell under this rule were the silver peasants of the northern counties, who fell into dependence for debts. The release date was confirmed by Art. 57 of the Code of Law of 1497 of Ivan III as a national norm. The Code of Law also set the size of the exit duty for an elderly person. The Code of Law of 1550 of Ivan IV provided for an increase in the elderly and the introduction of an additional duty - "for a carriage."

In 1592-1593. For the first time, the government resorted to declaring “reserved years”, ie. temporary ban of exit. Since 1597, the temporary ban became indefinite, and a 5-year term for the search for fugitives was established - "fixed summers". In 1607, a decree was issued that for the first time established sanctions for the reception and harboring of fugitives - a fine in favor of the state and "elderly" to the old owner of the fugitive. The bulk of the nobility was satisfied with long periods of searching for fugitive peasants, but the large landowners of the country, as well as the nobles of the southern outskirts, where there was a large influx of fugitives, were interested in short periods of search. Throughout the first half of the 17th century. the nobles filed collective petitions for lengthening the lesson years. In 1642, a 10-year period was set for the search for fugitives and a 15-year period for the search for those taken out.

It is customary to associate the final enslavement of the peasants with a set of laws - Cathedral Code of 1649, accepted into the reign of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. It proclaimed that the search was indefinite, i.e. all peasants who fled from their owners after the census books of 1626 or the census books of 1646-1647 were subject to return. The peasant's property was recognized by the Cathedral Code as the property of the landowner. Serfs became legally disenfranchised.

But even after 1649, new terms and grounds for the investigation were established concerning the peasants who fled to the outskirts: to areas along the Zasechnaya line, to Siberia and the Don. In this regard, a whole series of decrees was issued from 1653 to 1700.

Subsequently, serfdom developed along an ascending line. The peasants lost the remnants of their rights, for example, according to the law of 1675, they could be sold without land. In the XVIII century. the landowners received the full right to dispose of their personality and property, including exile without trial to Siberia and hard labor. The peasants, in terms of their social and legal status, came close to the slaves. Serfdom led to the establishment of an extremely ineffective form of feudal relations, preserving the backwardness of Russian society. Serf exploitation deprived direct producers of interest in the results of their labor, undermining both peasant and landlord economies. Aggravating the social division of society, serfdom provoked massive popular uprisings that shook Russia in the 17th century. (" rebellious age") And the XVIII century.

The process of enslaving the peasants

Initially, the attachment of peasants to the land was not unconditional. They could return freedom by selling their fiefdom to an alien peasant, which was widely practiced. The seller was not subject to return to the feudal lord and was considered personally free. Also, freedom could be obtained by peasants in the event of the growth of the family, when the patrimony could no longer feed all its members, then part of the family left for another place. The process of enslavement of the peasants, legally justified, began with the publication in 1447 by Kazimir Jagelonchik of the Privilei, according to which the peasants, who had lived on the land of the feudal lord for 10 years, became "dissimilar", old-timers. Old residence became the basis for the search and return of fugitive peasants to their estates. This process became a completely logical continuation of the process of development and growth of feudal possessions. The larger the estates of the feudal lords became, the less could the involuntary servants meet their needs and requirements due to their small numbers. In addition, due to the growth and expansion of cities, as well as the increase in the territory of the state, the need for grain and other agricultural products increased. That is why the feudal lords sought to reduce the cost as much as possible, and, if possible, completely devalue the labor force in order to increase the profitability of their production and expand the area of ​​cultivated land.

Guided by similar considerations, and also on the basis of the fact that the grand ducal domain was reduced as a result of frequent wars, which made the Grand Duke dependent on the feudal lords and forcing him to give them part of his lands in order to preserve the support of his power in the person of the feudal lords, Sigismund II Augustus intervened in the process of peasant land management. In 1557, he announced a reform that went down in history as the "wolf pomer". As a result, all the lands of the state were divided into even plots, drags, each measuring 21.3 hectares. The best, more productive plots were given to the princely estates, where the peasants had to work out "panshchina". Each peasant farm was assigned to a part of the drag and lost the right to transfer to another master. In fact, the peasant became a serf. Based on the drag, the range of duties was determined. They were different for draft and siege peasants. So the burdensome peasants had to work for each drag two days a week on the estate and pay in kind to feed in grain, hay, poultry, and so on. The siege (chinshee) peasants paid chinsh from 66 to 106 grosz per year. After the state estates, the wagon death was carried out on the estates of the feudal lords. The result of the reform was the creation of false-pan farms, which included more than a thousand peasant farmsteads. Farms were complexes of residential and commercial buildings surrounded by vegetable gardens, arable land, forests and other areas with or without buildings. The main difference between the farm was the fact that products were produced for sale, and not for the own needs of the feudal lord and his family. These changes increased the profitability of the master's estates and led to the final enslavement of the peasants. Also, due to the unification of duties, the need for peasant escapes in search of a better life disappeared. All land, property and the peasants themselves became the property of the feudal lords or the state, depending on whose land they lived on. After the adoption of the statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, serfdom received its final legal form and assumed the most rigid forms. It became possible to sell peasants, change them, and mortgage, both the whole family and its individual members. This system has existed for almost three hundred years. As a result, over 40% of the total land fund ended up in the hands of feudal lords, most of whom were Catholics of Lithuanian origin.

In the XIV-XVI centuries, the growth and development of cities and an increase in their population took place. The cities were centers of handicraft and trade. They were mostly small in size - several streets with 200-300 courtyards. There were also urban-type settlements - small towns (small towns). Both those and others arose both on state and private lands. All towns belonged to feudal lords and about 40% of the cities were also in private hands. Residents of these settlements performed duties in favor of their feudal lord. Simultaneously with the private, there were also state cities, the population of which was considered free. In the 16th century, the possessions of noble and spiritual feudal lords, together with dependent people, appeared in these cities. Private estates formed a separate part of the city and were not subject to city government.

With the growth and development of cities, their inhabitants sought to get rid of feudal dependence and gain freedom. Dependency hindered the development of crafts and trade. Therefore, from the end of the XIV century, the Lithuanian princes began to grant cities the right to self-government, the so-called Magdeburg Law, according to which labor duties were replaced by a single monetary tax for all residents of the city. The population of the cities increased at the expense of fugitive peasants, as well as artisans who were resettled in the city by feudal lords. Most of their multinational population was made up of artisans and traders called the bourgeoisie. In addition, there were a certain number of inhabitants who made up the urban lower classes - the plebs, as well as mercenary beggars. The population of cities and towns also engaged in agriculture to meet their own needs.

Thus, the differences between classes in feudal society manifested itself in the class division and was accompanied by the establishment of a special legal place for each class. Representatives of the class of feudal lords entered the privileged estate - the gentry. It should be noted the heterogeneity of this class. It also included some representatives of other social groups. For example, some personally free people who have small plots of land and run their own household, or rent land from a feudal lord and serve him as foresters, grooms, and so on. These people cannot be attributed to the class of feudal lords.

The estate rights of the nobility were inherited by male descendants from hereditary nobles, as well as daughters, but not their children, if the daughter did not marry a nobleman. Women of the common class, marrying a nobleman, became noble women for life, even in the case of repeated marriages with men of the common class. Also, gentry could be obtained from the Grand Duke, or for courage in battle. It was also given to children adopted through the court.

They were deprived of the gentry's rights for crimes, or when the gentry was engaged in trade or craft.

The beginning of the legal registration of the rights of the gentry class was laid by the general land privileges (letters) of 1387, 1413, 1432 and 1447, which initially secured the rights and privileges of the gentry of the Catholic religion, and then in 1432 some political and property rights were assigned to the Orthodox gentry. They were granted practically unlimited privileges: all nobles, regardless of their economic and political status, could own land in unlimited amounts on the basis of property rights, were brought to justice only through the courts, could hold positions in the state apparatus and participate in the formation of state and judicial bodies, enjoyed the right personal and property inviolability, were exempted from taxes and duties, except for the payment of tax for military needs, as well as some others.

Catholic and Orthodox clergy in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Another privileged class on the territory of the state was the clergy, both Catholic and Orthodox. It possessed practically the same rights as the gentry, with the exception of one - its estate privileges were not inherited. In terms of the economic situation, it was not homogeneous: its elite (metropolitans, bishops and others) adjoined the large secular feudal lords, and the lower ranks belonged to the bourgeoisie and personally free wealthy peasants. Thanks to this division, the clergy occupied a special position in the social structure of society.

In the unprivileged class of peasants, class division was also observed. For example, boyars, petty bourgeois, tributary peasants. Based on the class belonging, the range of duties, taxes, as well as jurisdiction and responsibility were determined.

As a result of the process of development and strengthening of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the feudal social system improved and its hierarchy acquired its final forms.