Возврат на главную страницу Возврат на главную страницу Возврат на главную страницу Возврат на главную страницу Возврат на главную страницу
Entries / Peasants

Peasants


Categories / Population/Social Classes

PEASANTS, a social group forming a part of the St. Petersburg population. Until 1917, the peasant class was one of the social classes that made its members dependent on their place of inhabitancy and work. In 1869, there were 207,000 peasants in St. Petersburg (142,800 men and approximately 64,200 women)- or 31% of the population. In 1897 there were 745,900 (451,400 men and over 29,400 women) - 59% of the population. In 1910 there were over 1.3 million peasants, making up 69% of the population. The predominance of men is explained by the fact that men came to St. Petersburg for seasonal work (see seasonal workers), leaving their families behind in the villages. Peasants worked freelance, doing general work in factories or on building sites. Among the peasants living in St. Petersburg were mostly Russians (mainly from the upper Volga region and north west Russia). In 1869 they made up 95% of the peasant population, in 1897 – 87.3%, Belarusians – 4.4%, Poles- 2.4%, Estonians - 1%, Latvians and Lithuanians – 1.1%, Finns in St. Petersburg Province - 0.8%, Tartars – 0.6%. In the 1930s in light of industrial development, the inflow of immigrants from the villages to Leningrad increased (about 50% of these remained in the city permanently and, depending on their profession in the census, as workers or servants). In 1959 peasants (or "collective farmers and affiliated handicraftsmen") made up little more than 1% of Leningrad's population, in 1979 - 0.4%.

Reference: Юхнева Н. В. Этнический состав и этносоциальная структура населения Петербурга, вторая половина XIX - нач. XX в.: Стат. анализ. Л., 1984. С. 38-39, 142-163.

A. Y. Chistyakov.

Bibliographies
Юхнева Н. В. Этнический состав и этносоциальная структура населения Петербурга, вторая половина XIX - нач. XX в.: Стат. анализ. Л., 1984

The subject Index
Otkhodniki
Labourers
Servants
Russians
Belarusians
Poles
Estonians
Latvians
Finns
Tartars



Belarusians

BELARUSIANS, an ethnic community within the St. Petersburg population. Belarusian is related to the Slavonic group of Indo-European languages. Most religious members of the community belong to the Russian Orthodox Church while some are Catholic

Otkhodniki

OTKHODNIKI, seasonal workers (mainly peasants), who came to St. Petersburg in search of work. Otkhodniki appeared in the city at the beginning of the 18th century and took part in the city's construction

Poles

POLES, an ethnic community forming a part of the St. Petersburg population. The Polish language is related to the Slavic group of Indo-European languages. Their faith is Catholic. The Polish community in St

Population (entry)

POPULATION of St. Petersburg is the second largest in the Russian Federation after Moscow. From the 18th to the start of the 20th centuries the population continually grew: in 1725 - 40,000 people, in 1750 - 74,000; in 1800 - 220,000; in 1818 - 386

Revised Censuses

REVISED CENSUSES, a census of the taxpayers of Russia (including St. Petersburg) in the 18th to the 1st half of the 19th centuries. The revisions counted the number of peasants, townspeople, but did not include women or non tax-payers

Servants

SERVANTS, professional social group forming a part of the St. Petersburg population, consisted mainly of peasants who came to the capital in search for work (see Otkhodniki), the smaller part was comprised of petty bourgeoisie

Veps

VEPS, an ethnic community in Leningrad Region (Boxitogorsky, Lodeinopolsky, Podporozhsky districts), South Karelia and Western Vologodskaya Region. The Veps language belongs to the Finno-Ugric group of the Uralic language family