The Peasants of the St. Petersburg and Moscow Provinces after Abolition of Serfdom

Authors

  • Boris N. Mironov St. Petersburg State University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu02.2021.401

Abstract

The article examines the condition of the peasantry in the St. Petersburg and Moscow provinces in 1850-1890 against the background of the development of 50 provinces of European Russia as a whole. The aim is to test the adequacy of the concept of the agrarian crisis of the post-reform village, which occurred as a result of the unfair, predatory peasant reform of the 1860s for peasantry. The monopoly concept in Soviet historiography is criticized in modern historiography. The article assesses the dynamics of the standard of living of the peasantry, based, firstly, on eighteen traditionally used in historiography to characterize the degree of sufficiency of peasant incomes for normal life and, secondly, on anthropometric indicators. The analysis of anthropometric data is preceded by a methodological introduction, which explains the theoretical foundations of using the body length data and the technique and procedure of processing primary information to obtain an adequate picture. Special attention is paid to the interpretation of the results of anthropometric analysis, which cause difficulties for classical historians. The analysis of traditional and anthropometric indicators characterizing the condition of the metropolitan peasantry of the capital and 50 provinces of European Russia leads to the conclusion: in 1861–1890, the standard of living of peasants in the capital provinces improved, moreover, to a greater extent than in European Russia as a whole. The coincidence of the results of economic and anthropometric analysis increases the reliability of the conclusion about the improvement of the welfare of the Russian peasantry for the first 30 years after the peasant reform.

Keywords:

abolition of serfdom, the standard of living of the peasantry, St. Petersburg and Moscow provinces, European Russia, traditional indicators of the welfare of peasants, historical anthropometry, the second half of the 19th century

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Author Biography

Boris N. Mironov, St. Petersburg State University

Dr. Sci. (History), Professor

References

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Published

2023-03-03

How to Cite

Mironov, B. N. . (2023). The Peasants of the St. Petersburg and Moscow Provinces after Abolition of Serfdom. Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History, 66(4), 1041–1062. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu02.2021.401

Issue

Vol. 66 No. 4 (2021)

Section

History of Russia

License

Articles of "Vestnik of Saint Petersburg University. History" are open access distributed under the terms of the License Agreement with Saint Petersburg State University, which permits to the authors unrestricted distribution and self-archiving free of charge.