SUMMER LESSONS

the period during which the owners could bring a claim for the return of fugitive serfs to them. Introduced in the 90s. 16th century after the suspension of the "St. George's Day" (1581) and the introduction of reserved years, when the description of lands began and scribe books began to be considered as an act that attached peasants to those lands on which they were found in reserved years. By decree of November 24. In 1597, a 5-year period was established for the search and return of fugitive peasants to their owners. According to Code 1607, a 15-year period of investigation was introduced. Cross. early war 17th century somewhat delayed the process of enslavement. Under the reign of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, a relatively short 5-year period was again in effect, beneficial not only to large landowners but also to ordinary service people in the south. counties where in the 10-50s. 17th century many peasants fled.

According to the norms of the legislation on land management, in order to return a runaway peasant, his former owner had to file a petition, having previously learned about the fugitive’s new place of residence and owner. The old owner did not lose the right to return his serf even after the expiration of the U.L., if the petition was submitted to this deadline, but the case has not yet been considered. For a fugitive peasant, living with a new owner for a period of U.L. created a new serfdom instead of the old one. By decrees of the government, this rule was sometimes violated (for example, for the purpose of settling southern cities).

In the 1st half. 17th century service people have repeatedly submitted collective petitions asking for the abolition of the U.L. and in 1639 the search period was increased to 9 years, and in 1642 - to 10 for fugitives and 15 for those taken away by other owners. According to the Council Code of 1649 U. l. were canceled and an indefinite search for fugitive peasants was introduced, which meant the end. legal registration of serfdom. In the 2nd half. 17th century in some cases, the implementation of the abolition of U. l. delayed (for example, in the southern and eastern border strips).

Lit.: Grekov B.D., Peasants in Rus' from ancient times to the 17th century, 2nd ed., book. 2, M., 1954; Novoselsky A. A., On the question of the meaning of “lesson years” in the first half of the 17th century, in the collection: Academician B. D. Grekov on his seventieth birthday, M., 1952; Koretsky V.I., On the history of the formation of serfdom in Russia, "VI", 1964, No. 6.

V. I. Buganov. Moscow.

Soviet historical encyclopedia. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia. Ed. E. M. Zhukova. 1973-1982 .

See what “SUMMER LESSONS” are in other dictionaries:

In Russia, 16-17 centuries, 5, 15 years and other periods during which landowners could bring a claim for the return of runaway serfs to them. Introduced in the 90s. 16th century The Council Code of 1649 established an indefinite investigation... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

LESSON SUMMERS, IN 16-17 CENTURIES. 5, 15 year and other periods during which landowners could bring a claim for the return of runaway serfs to them. Introduced in the 90s. 16th century The Council Code of 1649 established an indefinite investigation, which meant legal... ... Russian history

In Russia, 16-17 centuries, 5, 15 years and other periods during which landowners could bring a claim for the return of runaway serfs to them. Introduced in the 90s. 16th century The Council Code of 1649 established an indefinite investigation. Political science: Dictionary… … Political science. Dictionary.

IN Russia XVI XVII centuries 5, 15 years and other periods during which landowners could bring a claim for the return of runaway serfs to them. Introduced in the 90s. XVI century The Council Code of 1649 established an indefinite investigation, which meant... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary

Timed summers, in Rus', the period during which owners could file a lawsuit for the return of runaway peasants to them. Scheduled summers were introduced in 1597 after the suspension of St. George's Day and the introduction of reserved years. By decree of November 24... ... Wikipedia

In Russia, this is the period during which owners could bring a claim for the return of runaway serfs to them. W. l. introduced in the 90s. 16th century after the suspension of St. George’s Day (See St. George’s Day) and the introduction of reserved years (See... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

History of the introduction of lesson years (stages of enslavement of the peasantry)

On the twenty-fourth of November (fourth of December according to the current calendar), 1597, a decree of the Russian Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich was issued entitled “On Prescribed Summers,” according to which a five-year period was established for the search, as well as the return of fugitive peasants to their owners. This Decree stated that peasants who ran away from their owners “before this... year for five years” were subject to investigation, trial, and also return back to their owners. At the same time, this Decree did not apply to those who fled six years ago or earlier.

The process of peasant enslavement in Russia was quite lengthy and took place in several separate stages. According to the Code of Law of 1497, the period for a peasant to leave and transfer to another landowner was two weeks (a week before St. George’s Day and another one after it).

Such fixation by law of a certain short transition period testified to the actual desire of the state and feudal lords to limit the rights of peasants, and also showed their inability to assign a peasant to a specific feudal lord. This norm also contained the new Code of Law of 1550, but in 1581, in the conditions of the total ruin of the state and the flight of its inhabitants, Ivan the Terrible introduced the so-called “reserved summers”, which prohibited the peasants from entering the territory that had suffered greatly from disasters. This measure was positioned at that time as temporary.

The compilers of the Decree of 1597 actually relied on scribal books when compiling it. This law established “scheduled summers.”

According to the Code of 1607, the period for searching fugitive peasants was now increased to fifteen years, but already under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, a five-year detective period was again introduced. In the 1630s, the “lesson summer” was again increased to a nine-year period, and in the 1640s, the period of investigation for fugitive peasants was ten years for fugitive peasants, as well as a fifteen-year period of investigation for peasants who were forcibly taken away by other landowners.

It should also be noted that by 1649, an indefinite period of fugitive peasants had been introduced, which actually meant the complete legalization and final formalization of the so-called serfdom in the Russian state, which brought a lot of grief to ordinary residents.

Serf peasant

Serfdom is a set of state laws that assigned peasants to a specific plot of land, and also made peasants dependent on the landowner.

To put it simply, the essence of serfdom was that peasants were “attached” to their land allotment and a certain feudal lord (landowner), and this “attachment” was hereditary. The peasant could not leave his land plot, and if he tried to escape, he was forcibly returned back.

Usually, when people talk about serfdom, they mean Russia. But in Russia serfdom was introduced only in 1649. And in Western Europe it has existed since the 9th century.

A little history of this phenomenon

Serfdom corresponds to a certain stage of development of the state. But since the development of different states and regions proceeded differently, serfdom in different countries existed in different types: somewhere it captured a short period of time, and somewhere it has survived almost to our time.

For example, in England, France and part of Germany, serfdom arose in the 9th-10th centuries, and in Denmark and the eastern regions of Austria - only in the 16th-17th centuries. Even in one region, for example, in Scandinavia, this phenomenon developed differently: in medieval Denmark it developed according to the German model, but in Norway and Sweden it practically did not exist. Serfdom also disappeared unevenly.

IN Tsarist Russia Serfdom became widespread by the 16th century, but was officially confirmed by the Council Code of 1649.

History of serfdom in Russia

Cathedral Code of 1649 finally consolidated serfdom in Russia, but the process of gradual enslavement of peasants lasted for centuries. IN Ancient Rus' Most of the land was owned by princes, boyars and monasteries. With the strengthening of the grand ducal power, the tradition of rewarding service people with extensive estates became more and more established. The peasants “attached” to these lands were personally free people and entered into lease agreements (“decent”) with the landowner. At certain times, peasants could freely leave their plot and move to another, fulfilling their obligations towards the landowner.

But in 1497 a restriction was introduced on the right to transfer from one landowner to another to only one day: St. George’s Day - November 26.

S. Ivanov "St. George's Day"

In 1581 St. George's Day was canceled and established Reserved summers(from “commandment” - command, prohibition) - the period during which in some regions of the Russian state peasants were prohibited from going out on the autumn St. George’s Day (provided for in Article 57 of the Law Code of 1497).

In 1597 landowners receive the right to search for a runaway peasant within 5 years and to return him to the owner - “prescribed years”.

In 1649 The cathedral code abolished the “lesson summers,” thus securing an indefinite search for fugitive peasants.

Cathedral Code of 1649

It comes out under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. Essentially, this is a new Russian set of laws that established the power of the landowner over the peasants who worked on his land. From now on, peasants did not have the right to leave their plot and move to another owner or stop working on the land altogether, for example, to go to the city to earn money. The peasants were attached to the land, hence the name: serfdom. When land was transferred from one landowner to another, workers were transferred along with it. Also, the nobleman had the right to sell his serf to another owner without land.

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich

But still, serfdom differed from slavery: the new owner was obliged to provide the purchased farmer with an allotment and provide him with the necessary property. In addition, the owner had no power over the life of the peasant. For example, everyone knows the story of the landowner Saltychikha, who killed her serfs and was punished for it.

Daria Nikolaevna Saltykova by nickname Saltychikha- a Russian landowner who went down in history as a sophisticated sadist and serial killer of several dozen serf peasants under her control. By the decision of the Senate and Empress Catherine II, she was deprived of the dignity of a pillar noblewoman and sentenced to life imprisonment in a monastery prison, where she died.

Widowed at the age of twenty-six, she received full ownership of about six hundred peasants on estates located in the Moscow, Vologda and Kostroma provinces.

During her husband’s life, Saltychikha was not observed to have any particular inclination towards assault. She was still a blooming and, moreover, a very pious woman, so about her character mental illness Saltykova can only guess. On the one hand, she behaved like a believer, on the other, she committed real crimes. About six months after her husband’s death, she began regularly beating the servants, mostly with logs. The main reasons for punishment were dishonestly washed floors or poor quality washing. The torture began with her striking the offending peasant woman with an object that came to hand (most often it was a log). The guilty one was then flogged by grooms and haiduks, sometimes to death. Gradually, the severity of the beatings became stronger, and the beatings themselves became longer and more sophisticated. Saltychikha could pour boiling water over the victim or singe the hair on her head. She also used hot curling irons for torture, which she used to grab the victim by the ears. She often pulled people by the hair and slammed their heads against the wall. long time. Many of those killed by her, according to witnesses, had no hair on their heads; Saltychikha tore her hair with her fingers, which indicates her considerable physical strength. The victims were starved and tied naked in the cold. Saltychikha loved to kill brides who were planning to get married in the near future. In November 1759, during a torture that lasted almost a day, she killed a young servant, Khrisanf Andreev, and then personally beat the boy Lukyan Mikheev to death.

Barin and his serfs

In 1718-1724. A tax reform was adopted, which finally attached the peasants to the land.

In 1747 the landowner was already given the right to sell his serfs as recruits (acceptance military service for military service or employment) to any person.

I. Repin "Seeing off a recruit"

In 1760 the landowner receives the right to exile peasants to Siberia.

In 1765 the landowner receives the right to exile peasants not only to Siberia, but also to hard labor.

In 1767 peasants were strictly forbidden to submit petitions (complaints) against their landowners personally to the empress or emperor.

In 1783 Serfdom also extended to Left Bank Ukraine.

As we see, the dependence of the peasants on the landowners was constantly expanding, and, consequently, their situation was worsening: the landowners began to sell and buy serfs, marry and give them away at will, as we read about in the works of Russian classical writers.

Under Peter I, serfdom continued to strengthen, which is confirmed by several legislative acts (revisions, etc.). Revision tales- documents reflecting the results of audits of the tax-paying population Russian Empire in the 18th - 1st half of the 19th centuries, carried out for the purpose of per capita taxation of the population. Revision tales were lists of the population by name, which indicated the name, patronymic and surname of the owner of the yard, his age, the name and patronymic of family members indicating their age, and their relationship to the head of the family.

The pen with which Alexander II signed the Decree on the abolition of serfdom. State Russian Museum

In cities, revision tales were compiled by representatives of the city administration, in the villages of state peasants - by elders, in private estates - by landowners or their managers.

In the intervals between revisions, the revision tales were clarified. The presence or absence of a person at the time of current registration was recorded, and in case of absence, the reason was recorded (died, on the run, resettled, among soldiers, etc.). All clarifications of the audit tales related to the next year, so each “revision soul” was considered available until the next audit, even in the event of a person’s death, which allowed the state, on the one hand, to increase the collection of per capita tax, and on the other, created conditions for abuse, about which we read in N.V. Gogol’s poem “Dead Souls”.

Under Peter, a new class of possession serfs was also created, attached to factories and factories.

And Catherine II to her favorite nobles and numerous favorites gave about 800 thousand state and appanage peasants.

Serfdom was beneficial to most of the nobility, but the Russian tsars understood that, in essence, it was still little different from slavery. Both Alexander I and Nicholas I spoke about the need to abolish this system, but only Alexander II abolished it in 1861, for which he received the name Liberator.

News of the abolition of serfdom

Serfdom in Russia assigned peasants to a plot of land and its owner (landowner). Belonging to a serf was inherited, which was confirmed from 1649 state laws. The peasant did not have the right to independently change the landowner; he could only be sold or donated by one landowner to another. Abuse with the serfs provoked their flight. By the middle of the 17th century, the scale of the flight of peasants reached global sizes, and the landowners demanded from the state more severe measures for escape than the Detective Orders.

Detective orders

For several decades in the first half of the 17th century, the state established special Detective orders. Each of the orders carried out temporary activities within one or several counties. The investigation was led by district order by a detective, originally from the nobility, appointed by the central government. To conduct detective work, upon arrival in the district, a detachment of Cossacks, gunners or archers was at the disposal of the detective. A clerk was assigned to the detective to keep records of the search.

Such measures were ineffective, because the number of escaped enslaved people increased. The reason for this was the inability of the detectives to find all the fugitives. If the peasant was not found during the period of the “lesson years” (introduced under), he received freedom.

Detective orders existed until 1649. By that time, the flight of serfs had become widespread and introduced an open-ended search for fugitive peasants.

Indefinite investigation

The introduction of an indefinite search for escaped peasants in 1649 was the final stage of their complete enslavement. According to the Council Code, Chapter 11, “The Court of Peasants,” serfs were forever attached to the landowner’s land and passed on from generation to generation. "Lesson summers" were cancelled. This measure significantly stopped the flight of the enslaved, but did not completely eradicate it. The peasants ran away in the hope that they would never be found.

At the same time, aiding fugitives became severely punishable. Hiding escaped serfs was strictly prohibited. For this, it was possible to collect “possession”, according to the Code, in the amount of 10 rubles, and the fugitives could be “beaten mercilessly with a whip.”

The Council Code made the search for runaway peasants unlimited. Now the landowner could rightfully return the runaway serf if he could prove that he served him. And also the enslaved could not change their place of residence. They were completely assigned to the estate on which the 1620 census found them.

Results of the introduction of unlimited investigation

The indefinite search completely worsened the already difficult situation of the serfs. The oppression of the enslaved by the landowners gained momentum and became increasingly harsh. In turn, peasant labor became ineffective, and labor productivity decreased. Moral humiliation and physical violence greatly reduced the incentive to work efficiently. The serfs raised uprisings, which over time acquired the scale of real wars. In turn, the new orders gave the feudal lords a free hand, stimulating permissiveness, developing laziness and the absence of any initiative.

Process legal registration(and justification) of serfdom occurred according to at least from a publication that abolished the so-called fixed-term summers and introduced an open-ended search for fugitive peasants.

Even earlier, decrees were issued extending these very fixed summers (a decree of 1607, written exactly a century before Peter’s, established them for 15 years).

A decree of 1707 ordered that estates and fiefdoms be taken away from people who sheltered escaped serfs. Half of the confiscated goods went to the king, and the other half to the owner of the escaped serfs. A criminal case was initiated against the persons who sheltered the fugitives.

Reasons for creating the decree

• Modernizing the Russian state, he relied mainly on the progressive nobility. Paradoxically, the reformer tsar deigned to tighten such an archaic phenomenon for that time as serfdom. In European countries at that time, a reverse process was taking place: serfdom - where it persisted - became softer, and its significance was not so great (in factories and factories, for example, hired workers worked, personally free, and in Russia until 1861 The basis of the “proletariat” was the serf peasantry).
• The gradual tightening of serfdom decrees, which took place throughout the 17th century, led to numerous cases of concealment - peasants who fled from cruel landowners found shelter in the possessions of more humane nobles, as well as townspeople, merchants and free wealthy peasants. Apparently, not all residents of the Russian state agreed with the serfdom system.
• Peasant uprisings of the 17th and early 18th centuries also contributed to the creation of the harsh decree. In the same year 1707, for example, a famous uprising took place.

Consequences

Decree on the search for fugitives The decree, like legislative acts similar to it, contributed to the further enslavement of the peasants. Serfdom became a kind of state duty for peasants, their only responsibility. The power of the landowner over the serf practically took the form of slavery - dependent citizens were deprived of almost all rights.

At the same time, peasant ownership also in some way became not just a right, but a responsibility of the landowners. The decree of 1707, in fact, equated peasants to the personal property of the landowner, and the search for “lost” serfs was henceforth carried out in the same way as the search for any expensive things, jewelry and relics. The chances of a fugitive peasant that he will be able to escape persecution have greatly decreased - it has become unprofitable to shelter fugitives.

From this year, opposition to serfdom was punished as a state crime. Russian serfdom itself was considered by some researchers as a necessary or at least inevitable feature national culture, occurring due to the weak development of individualism.

From this point of view, Peter’s actions also look paradoxical: the first Russian emperor, in general, valued people for their personal qualities, independent and independent character, for him the origin of a person was not so important if he understood something in business; however, the decree in question deprived most of the population Russian state- serfs - the last opportunity for independent actions; now they became totally dependent on the landowners, who were protected by the tsarist government.

This decree was later followed by others, which further worsened the situation of the peasants. Peter's tax reform, carried out in 1718 - 1724, finally attached the peasants to the land. In the mid-18th century, laws appeared that allowed the landowner to sell peasants as conscripts, as well as to exile offending serfs to Siberia and to hard labor.

It seemed that the imperial court indulged any arbitrariness of the ruling class, and the “enlightened empress” Catherine was no exception. Paul, and later his successor, tried to stop the rampant slavery of the landowners for the first time.