Russia in Mid- 19th Century: The Population

Habitat
1. Covered 2 continents (Europe & Asia) and one sixth of world's landmass
  1. Large parts uninhabited/ sparsely populated
2. Northern part (Tundra)= frozen for most of year
3. Endless miles of (impenetrable) forest
4. Open plains and grassland (esp. Black Earth region)
5. Far south= desert
6. Climate= difficult for agriculture (unpredictable rainfall and droughts)
The People
1. C15th onwards= Moscow inhabitants conquered the people around them
  1. 1859- Vladivostok and eastern Pacific Ocean became part of Empire
  2. 1964- Georgian and Chechen people secured
  3. 1860s-70s= central Asian area (inc. Turkestan) conquered
  4. Over 100 different nationalities under the control of the Russian state
2. Population divide
  1. Russians= 1/2 of population
    1. Mostly in European part of Russia
  2. St Petersburg= sophisticated European Russians
  3. Desert south= nomadic Muslims; lived like Native Americans
Social Structure
1. 1859- population 70 million
  1. 90% peasants
2. Nobility
  1. Less than 1%
  2. C17th= given landed estates by Tsars
    1. In return, nobles serviced the Tsar- as armed forces officers, or public officials
      1. V.E. in supporting the Tsar
  3. Acted as judiciary and administrative officials
  4. Huge variations in wealth
    1. Count Sergei Seremetev= one of the richest
      1. Owned nearly 150,000 male serfs
    2. Majority owned fewer than 100 serfs; X fund lavish lifestyle
    3. Some= poor
  5. Not all Conservative
    1. Active minority looking to reform Russian Society, esp. Serfdom
    2. Others wanted more representative government, like liberalism in Western Europe
3. Middle Classes
  1. Small, due to absence of industry on a large scale
  2. Merchants, wealthy & influential
  3. Entrepreneurs and businessmen (only became more dynamic in 2nd part of Century)
  4. Most= bureaucratic clerical roles in central & provincial gov, & running shops and stores
  5. 9%
4. Peasants/ Serfs
  1. 90%
  2. Huge variation between
    1. 1/2= SERFS
      1. Tied to land-owning nobility
        Tied to estate- X leave without permission
        Required 3 days labour a week (more at harvest time)
        Or, pay dues in cash/ produce- or all 3!
        Some nobles would pay for extra work
        Plot of land for own use
        Nobles= police, judge, and jury (no access to legal system)
        No rights as individuals- could be sold, traded, forbidden to marry
        Some landowners educated serfs! Others whipped them
      2. Central Russia & Provinces
        Labour service= Black Earth (land= fertile; agriculture= main activity)
        Estates near cities= produced foodstuffs for urban market
      3. 7% = domestic servants (no land, not paid= worst life)
    2. 1/2= state peasants
      1. Lived on estates owned by the state/ Church/ Tsar
      2. Paid rent to state for land
      3. Legally free!
        Still under control of state administrators though
        Still had restricted travel
      4. Better off than serfs
        Larger land holdings
        Could get more involved in rural handicrafts/ work in factories to supplement their income
  3. The Mir
    1. Village commune controlling the peasants; an assembly of households
    2. Run by peasants
    3. Meetings allowed discussion of ideas
      1. Allocated land; amount of land depended on size of household
        Fields were divided into strips so everyone got good and bad land
        Pastureland and meadows held in common
        Inefficient; time wasted moving between strips
      2. Responsible for making sure serfs fulfilled labour/ payments on private estates
    4. Dominated by older peasants who resisted change
      1. Punish: chose who was conscripted for the army
    5. Cooperation & mutual support; violence, jealousy, rivalries
    6. Farming
      1. 3 field rotation system
        Wheat, rye, oats
      2. Household plots for houses
      3. Garden plots for food and livestock
      4. Fish, beer, vegetable soup
Workers
1. No industrial revolution- few large scale industrial works
2. Spinning mills St. Petersburg
3. Technologically backwards
4. Peasant handicrafts

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Russia in Mid- 19th Century: The Population

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