Peasant communities are the lowest levels of an administrative unit. They appeared in Russia in the 16th century, and were transformed for state peasants during the reform of 1837-1841, for landlord serfs after the reform of 1861. They were created at the initiative of the state, which pursued domestic political goals. The reasons for the destruction of peasant communities were also created by him.
What is a peasant community, how did it come about?
The Russian people had communal ties between peasants even before the state period. In ancient times, the peasant community was a prototype of the state, since it was in it that the basic prerequisites for its occurrence arose. In the process of formation and formation of the state, changes took place in the community. At various stages in the history of our state, its significance has changed, which can be expressed in two ways:
- The connection of the peasants with the land (serfdom or not).
- The volume of tasks that the state assigned to the community.
After analyzing, for example, the community of the 16th century from these positions, we will see that the peasant at that time was legally free and recognized as a “householder,” which obliged him to pull the tax, that is, to pay the rent and work out the duties that would be imposed on him by “the peasant the world. "
In modern legal language, the peasant community is an institution of self-government of peasants in Russia. Several neighboring communities constituted the administrative unit - volost. They were controlled by gatherings (the world), on which the headman was elected.
The rural community in serfdom
With the spread of serfdom, the civilian status of peasants dropped significantly. In the event that the peasants were state-owned, the community that controlled the land plots played a great role in their lives. For the state, the peasant itself did not mean anything, even the community collected and paid taxes.
The serfs belonged to the landlords, who were fully responsible for them, there was no state supervision of them. The peasant community is a pure formality (in this case). All questions were decided by the feudal lord (landowner). The withering away of the peasant community took place.
Reform of 1837-1841
Under the direction of Count P.D. Kiseleva, the first minister of state property, was carried out a reform of the life of state peasants (1837-1841). Its main document was the law "Institutions of Rural Administration", on its basis the peasants belonging to the state, organized in rural societies. It was still a peasant community, since general land use was envisaged. It included 1,500 souls. If the settlement was small, then several villages, villages or hamlets were united in the community.
Rural society
General management issues were decided by a rural gathering, with it the elders were chosen. To adjudicate on minor matters, there was a “Rural massacre” between community members. All significant cases were considered by the court. Taxes were paid by society, not by a single peasant. Society was responsible for each of its members, that is, it had a shared responsibility. The peasant could not freely leave society or sell the land allotment. Even having gone to work to resolve the gathering, he had to pay tax. Otherwise, he was forcibly returned with the help of the police.
All land was in common use. There were two forms of land ownership:
- Community. With this form, all the land was in the community, and it was redistributing the land. Arable land was cut into plots that were assigned to each yard. Forests and pastures were in common use.
- Compound. This community was distributed in the western regions. The land was cut into permanent plots that were assigned to the yard and inherited. They could not be sold.
After the reform of 1861, associations in rural societies affected the landowner peasants. They united in communities, which included former serfs belonging to one landowner. The number of people in society was supposed to be from 300 to 2000.
The destruction of the peasant community
By a decree of November 9, 1906, the Russian government consciously creates political prerequisites leading to the collapse of rural societies. In addition, there were social causes of the destruction of the peasant community, which can be summarized as follows.
After the liberation of the peasants from serfdom, they did not receive freedom, as they were in the community and could not take the land out of it. They had to pay tax. In fact, they were in serfdom, not only from the landowner, but from the state. Dissatisfaction with this situation of peasants in the country grew. The villagers abandoned their allotments and fled to the cities for a better share.
After the revolutionary events of 1905, the question of leaving the rural society was not just a peasant, but a householder with his allotment of land, which he could dispose of at his discretion and not depend on the community. This right was granted by decree of 01.01.1906.
The political reason for the destruction of the peasant community was the situation in the country where revolutionary events were brewing, and it was dangerous to keep the disenfranchised rural population in large associations.
Stolypin reform
According to the draft reform, it was necessary to divide rural society into two parts. The first part is a land society, it can be defined as a partnership that controlled the land owned by peasants and landlords. The second part is a self-government society, which is the lowest administrative unit, all residents and farmers of this territory of all classes should have entered it.
The social meaning of the Stolypin reform was to create many small peasant farms throughout the country that would be interested in the political stability of the state. But they all had to be part of territorial rural societies. The Stolypin reform was never adopted by the State Duma.
Rural societies survived until collectivization. The Bolsheviks, while maintaining the communal use of land, took into account the positive aspects of the Stolypin reform, created a local government called the village councils.