Отходники: Definition. Peasant farmers are ...

The term "otkhodniki" appeared long beforethis mass phenomenon has become commonplace in the expanses of the Russian Empire. Temporary, most often seasonal work gave peasants a rare opportunity to improve their financial situation and achieve more for themselves and their families.

Departmen. Definition

Compared with ordinary peasants who lived withof their land, they called people who engaged in handicraft labor or sold their labor on the side. This is a separate social stratum that arose already in the middle of the 17th century, rapidly increased the number of its members, and by the first half of the 19th century this phenomenon had acquired a mass character. Peasant farmers are people who left villages and villages and went to cities where only industry began to develop and there was a possibility of earning money in various spheres of the economy.

Who are the otkhodniki?

The first migrants are peasants who went toseason work in other places. Unknown craftsmen went to cities together with their unpretentious tools and created wonderful masterpieces of stone and wooden architecture in ancient cities.

Expansion of the borders of the Russian staterequired constant strengthening of cordons and the construction of new cities and fortified points. Such work required a constant influx of labor that only peasant farmers could provide. This phenomenon was especially evident in the construction of new cities in the north-west of our country, including the new capital of the empire - St. Petersburg.

Otkhodniki in the XVII-XVIII century

The legal prerequisite for mass peasantplaces of residence was the decree of 1718, which replaced the taxation of household income tax (capitation tax). All men were considered to be taxable. Natural fees were replaced by financial obligations, and it was quite difficult to raise some money in their native village. The opportunity to make money at local factories and plants was practically absent - industry was just beginning to develop, and the main impetus for economic development was the inflow of foreign capital. The equipment for Russian plants and factories was mainly imported, the main transport routes were seas, rivers, and verified trade roads, so large enterprises first appeared only in large cities.

The work of the waste was seasonal andwas regulated by internal documents - passports. Usually such a passport was given to a peasant for a year, but there were other certificates, the validity of which was shorter. Usually in the early spring, the man went to the city. I had to go for many thousands of kilometers, often walking all the way. On the way these peasants often had to beg. In the city, the farmer-worker was employed by an employee in a private house, at an enterprise, or performed one-off work for a one-time payment.

The preconditions for the movement in the XIX century

In the second half of the XIX centurypeasant reform, according to which the peasants received personal freedom. But the land on which they worked, still remained in the possession of the landlords. The share of landless peasants increased, which could no longer feed themselves or their families. On the other hand, the growth of capitalist relations gave impetus to the development of industry, which was traditionally concentrated in large cities of Russia. Thus, the only possibility of earning was the city.

Attempts to limit waste

By the middle of the 19th century,number of peasants who chose the urban lifestyle. In some gubernias, the number of people who preferred to move around reached a quarter of the adult male population. The decrease in the number of peasants farming the land forced the government to accept restrictions. In order to obtain an internal document authorizing the movement around the country, the peasant was to be part of the rural community, the right to retire from the land was paid off from the landowner by payment of dues. But controlling measures brought only a partial result. For example, after legislative innovations in 1901, only 849 peasants returned to the village from the 12,155 people departing to Lyubimsky district of Yaroslavl province.

Stratification of society in the environment of waste

The economic recovery of the Russian state insecond half of the XIX century launched the process of property stratification of all social strata of the population. The richest otkhodniki are owners of real estate, hotels and restaurants, shops and wholesale warehouses. Such representatives of the large commercial bourgeoisie occupied about 5% of the total number of migrants.

Up to 70% were representatives of the new urbanphilistinism, employed in industry, in production, construction and other branches of the economy. Finally, about a quarter of the total number of this category of the population were wage workers with land plots. Such peasants combined seasonal earnings with the processing of their own land.

New life

News about possible earnings was brought to the villageotkhodniki. This event was significant in the life of each village. Returning to their native village from distant cities, peasant migrants changed their lives and the lives of their families. The way of rural life changed, the structure of your own house was more modern. The influence of the city was breaking the habitual foundations of the village. Unlike the rest of the peasants, the otkhodnik is a practically non-drunk master and a skilled craftsman who knows his skill perfectly. In their house, the departures carried from the big cities amazing objects of everyday life and even luxury - kerosene lamps, samovars, furniture, fashionable clothes, gramophones. All this was associated with local peasants with a carefree city life. For girls from the forgotten villages it was an enviable party. Linking her life with such a husband, the fair sex representative could hope for a settled life and a high social status.