Posad people - this name is fixed in history for a special category of the population that was engaged in trade and craft. Merchants and artisans lived in a village near the fortress or the Kremlin, where they were "planted", that is, princes and boyars settled. These townspeople played a significant role in the socio-economic and political life of the Russian principalities. Indeed, Posad people are peasants who were mostly residents of villages who, in search of a better share, left their homes and, although they were personally free, they were economically dependent on feudal lords. And at certain times, the posad people were even competitors of the feudal lords, pushing them away from the market methods of enrichment. During the unrest and uprisings, the posad people smashed the yards of wealthy boyars and merchants, since they, being their direct competitors, waged a dishonest struggle, seizing courtyards, settlements and turning urban residents into slaves, which significantly reduced their social status and quality of life.
The inhabitants of the township territories were interested in peace and tranquility, as this allowed trade and craft to flourish and increased the incomes of the townsmen themselves. In addition, the townspeople are money, extraordinary expenses, the construction of various structures, in all of this they were directly responsible and helped to improve the city and its surroundings. Posad people can be divided into several categories: they were wealthy owners of individual courtyards, large workshops, artisans who united in artels or squads by occupation. They lived quite often within the same street. Finally, the elite of the posad people are merchants who, depending on their capital, were divided into guilds or corporations. Wealthy merchants and craftsmen controlled all the processes taking place in the Posad community. They sought to shift the bulk of the fees and taxes to the poorest part of the community - the poorer poor, small artisans and traders, which often led to outbreaks of violence on both sides, especially during the unrest
Posad people lived in the so-called white and black settlements. The inhabitants of these places did not have fundamental differences, but the inhabitants of white settlements had one important advantage: the white settlements belonged to the feudal lords, which means that the residents of these places paid taxes only in favor of the owner, while the inhabitants of black settlements had to pay taxes in favor of the state. White settlements significantly complicated the life of the townspeople, they, being their competitors, were protected by their feudal lords, and those, in turn, were interested in them to increase profits. Saying that posad people are feudal lords is fundamentally wrong. The feudal lords represented by princes, boyars and church dignitaries were the owners of white-land people and had the right to a part of their proceeds, according to serfdom.
This state of affairs persisted until 1649. A series of urban uprisings and rebellions forced the government of Alexei Mikhailovich to make concessions to the townspeople. In accordance with the new code of laws, white settlements were liquidated, and posad people received exclusively the right to engage in trade and craft activities.