Under the Russian tsar Ivan the Third, the main forces of the state were aimed at "collecting the Russian lands" around Moscow, liberation from the dependence of the khans from the Horde. On the annexed lands it was required to establish the procedure for their use, which resulted in a local land tenure system. According to her, state land was transferred to a serviceman for temporary use or for life as a reward for service and a source of income. So the local troops were formed. Until the year 1497, relatively free peasants worked on the lands of the newly-minted landowners, who could move from one “employer” to another without hindrance, paying fees for using housing and a land plot, and also paying off all available debts.
Agriculture does not facilitate frequent movements
Was there enslavement of peasants until 1497? The stages of the agricultural cycle do not actually contribute to the active movement of farmers from one plot to another. This is due to the fact that it is necessary to equip a new home, prepare a new plot for crops, create a food reserve for the first time. Therefore, the free peasantry at that time was conservative and moved, in fact, not very often, although it had the right to do so. In the 15th century, it was customary to divide the farmers into newcomers and old-timers. The first of which could count on benefits from their feudal lord (in order to attract working hands to the economy), and the second were not taxed very much because they worked constantly, and there was great interest in them. Peasants could work as part of the crop (ladles) or for interest (silver pieces).
It was possible to become free only almost in winter
How did the enslavement of the peasants take place? The stages of this process stretched for several centuries. Everything changed with the adoption by Ivan the Third of a code of laws - the Code of Law, which established that a peasant can leave one owner only after the end of agricultural work, during St. George's Day and the week before or after him, with payment of the "elderly". I must say that in different years the feast of this saint - George the Great Martyr - was celebrated on different days. According to the old calendar, this day fell on November 26, in the 16-17 centuries it was celebrated on December 6, and today - December 9. The judicial code also determined the amount of the “elderly”, which amounted to one ruble from the yards located in the fields, and a half ruble from the farms located in the forests, in favor of the landowners. Moreover, this fee was set for four years, that is, if the peasant lived and worked for a year, then he had to pay a quarter of the amount determined by the Judiciary.
Description of the main stages of enslavement of peasants
The son and heir of Ivan the Third, Vasily the Third, expanded the Principality of Moscow through the annexation of Ryazan, Novgorod-Seversky and Starodubsky Principality. Under him, there were active processes of centralization of power, which were accompanied by the minimization of the power of the boyars and the growth of the land nobility, in the estates of which someone had to work. This tendency increased during the reign of Ivan the Fourth (Grozny), who in his Law Code of 1550 confirmed the right of landowners to release peasants only on St. George's Day, while reducing the rights of the peasants and slaves themselves and raising the "elderly" by two altyns. The stages of enslavement of peasants in Russia went one after another.
Non-free farmers have been in Russia since ancient times
About the slaves it is worth saying a few words separately. This status of a person who was not free personally existed from the time of the principalities of Ancient Rus to 1723. The serf was actually a slave (the slave captured in the war was called “chelyadin” and was in a worse position relative to the serf). They fell into the slaves again in the war, as a result of the commission of a crime (the prince could take into the slaves a man who committed murder during robbery, arson or horse-stealing), in case of insolvency in payment of debts or at birth from non-free parents.
It was possible to become a slave and voluntarily, if a person married a non-free person, sold himself (at least for 0.5 hryvnia, but with witnesses), served as a housekeeper or tyun (in the latter case, other relations were possible). With slaves, the owner was free to do anything, including sell and kill, while being responsible for their actions to third parties. Serfs worked where they would be put, including on the ground. Therefore, we can say that the enslavement of the peasants, whose stages date back to the 15-16 centuries, was in fact based on the established practices of the slave system.
Partial Transition Ban
Shortly before his death (in 1581), Ivan the Terrible imposed restrictions on the transition of farmers to Yuryev Day in order to conduct a general census of lands and assess the extent and quality of management on it. This was another event that caused further enslavement of the peasants. The stages of development of the enslavement system, however, are ascribed to Grozny and Tsar Fedor Ivanovich during this period , who seemingly issued such a decree in 1592.
Supporters of the Grozny prohibition indicate that letters before 1592 contain references to “reserved (forbidden) summers,” while supporters of Fedor Ivanovich believe that it is precisely the absence of references to “reserved summers” in the documentation after 1592 that that the ban was introduced in 1592-1593. There is still no clarity on this issue. It is worth noting that the abolition of St. George’s Day did not work on the whole territory of Russia - in the south the peasants could move from one owner to another for quite some time.
Complete enslavement of farmers
The main stages of enslavement of peasants in the 16th century did not end with the above activities. In 1597, a decree on lesson years was introduced , which established that a runaway peasant could be returned to his former owner within 5 years. If this period expired and the previous owner did not submit an application for investigation, then the fugitive remained in a new place. Any departure was considered as escape, and return was made with all property and family.
Lessons in summer were partially canceled under Boris Godunov
The stages of legal enslavement of peasants have been in effect since 1597 in relation not only to the farmer himself, but also to his wife and children, who became “assigned” to the land. Ten years after the adoption of the rules of the school years (1607), the situation of forced rural workers still worsened, since under Vasily Shuisky a decree was issued to extend the search term to fifteen years, which significantly expanded the rights of landowners to work peasants. This document tried to prove the illegality of the abolition of school hours during the reign of B. Godunov, who introduced reliefs, most likely due to the famine in 1601-1602.
What ended all the stages of enslavement of the peasants? Briefly - the complete abolition of school years and the perpetual investigation of fugitives. This happened under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and was framed by the Council Code of 1649. Only after more than two hundred years, in 1861, serfdom will be abolished and Russian peasants will receive relative freedom.