The palace peasant is a representative of a special category of the rural population in Russia. This layer was formed around the XV century in connection with the formation of the Grand Ducal Court and the administrative apparatus of management. This class should be considered as one of the most important signs of centralization of government and princely power.
Class Prerequisites
The palace peasant belonged to the princely, and then the royal family. He was the personal property of the ruling house. The man was attached to the ground. He performed duties in favor of members of the ruling house. The class arose in connection with the expansion of the princely economy in medieval Russia.
At first, the sovereign domain was small in size. However, with the success of the unification process in Russian lands, the territory belonging to the supreme ruler began to expand gradually. The palace peasant was supposed to serve the increased needs of the princely estate, which arose in connection with the strengthening of the institution of great princely power in our country.
The problem of the emergence of the population in question is directly related to the solution of the problem of the so-called black, or volost, peasants. The last group of the rural population was not privately owned, but was exploited by the state. All duties and taxes went to the central treasury. From this category a class of state peasants was formed, which should be distinguished from those directly belonging to the prince or tsar.
Legal status
In Russia, several categories of the rural population were traditionally distinguished: landowner serfs, state people and workers belonging to members of the ruling dynasty. Representatives of all these layers were personally dependent. They practiced certain duties in favor of the owner. However, in the presence of these similarities, they differed in the degree of their freedom, economic initiative and dependence.
The palace peasant in this respect was in a better position than, for example, landlords and serfs. He enjoyed greater freedom, was active. Among this class there were even people who knocked out at people due to accumulated material resources. Many of them became traders, set up shops, taverns. In a word, their situation was not very constrained.
Duties
Palace peasants inhabited and provided with everything necessary the lands of princes, kings, emperors. They were considered their personal property. However, their duties were limited to natural rent and the performance of a number of works for the needs of the palace. For example, they must supply supplies, building materials, etc. on their own supply lines.
There was no such strict control over them, as, for example, over peasants in private estates and estates of noblemen. Those were interested in the most efficient exploitation of the taxable population, since this was the only source of their existence. Unlike privately owned serfs, people in this category often received freedom. This is recorded by the first wills of Moscow princes.
Features
One of the main categories of the dependent population was palace peasants. The definition of this concept should be disclosed primarily through the designation of the distinguishing features that characterize this category of population. One of these features was the predominantly natural character of duties. This grocery dues was replaced by money only in the XVIII century.
The second sign that distinguishes this layer is a certain isolation of its representatives from other serfs. They lived on estates that occupied the main land fund in the country. However, the territories on which the palace peasants were located also gradually expanded. This tendency was especially pronounced in the 17th-18th centuries, when, in connection with the assertion of autocracy and the institutionalization of the supreme power, the land fund serving the needs of the yard significantly increased.
The answer to the question to whom the palace peasants belonged is not always so clear-cut. After all, they could be the property of an entire royal family. That is, all members of the ruling house. They often handed out property to their close associates and favorites.