A Society in Tension-Syed Quazi
Russian Muscovite Society-
- The Start
- As tsars gathered Russian land and built an empire, Russia became large, with a low population (15 million)
- When Russian rulers stretched their boundaries, they faced challenges in making a labor force to cultivate the land
- They did this by restricting the mobility of Russian peasants and tying them to the land as serfs
- Peter the Great sponsored the establishment of factories, but Russia remained rural and agricultural
- As tsars gathered Russian land and built an empire, Russia became large, with a low population (15 million)
- Muscovite Society Before Westernization
- Rural Life
- In the absence of manufacturing and trade networks, agriculture dominated the Russian economy
- The agricultural society revolved around the peasants which lived in extended families. Male heads met to make decisions about the village
- The males also allocated lands to families and negotiated with the land owners (nobles, agents of the tsar such as tax collectors, and military recruiters)
- Women did the domestic chores and arranged marriages. This gave them social influences, since marriages created alliances between families
- Women retained control of their dowries after marriage, and had financial independence
- Serfdom
- Since tsars encouraged migrations to regions such as Siberia, there were many free peasants
- In European Russia, most peasants were serfs tied to the lands of the nobles
- In the 16th-17th century as the Russian Empire expanded, serfdom became tight because of efforts made by noble landowners to ensure a supply of labor
- Landowners wanted the tsars to prevent the serf's from marrying or moving off the land, since their land would be worthless without cultivators
- In 1649, the government made a law that placed serfs under strict control of the landlords
- Serfs were never slave, but in the late 17th-18th century, they began to be sold like private property
- The law code of 1649 also tightened state control over the labor force by establishing a social order
- This restricted occupational and geographical mobility
- Children had to enter the trade of their fathers
- This also established a hierarchy of nobles and capped 52 boyar families that owed military and political services to state
- It shows the interests of nobility since it provides them with a legal foundation to make a labor force, and earn profits from the serf's labor
- Catherine and the Nobility
- During Catherine the Great, nobles gave their support to her. In exchange, she gave them power over their own domains. They could deploy laborers, take taxes, and give punishments
- Catherine's policies increased tsarist authority but exposed Russians to harsh landlords
- Growth of Trade and Industry
- European Trade
- Interactions with Europeans and Asians simulated trade and made Peter the Great want to study heavy industry
- Trade with western European lands began in the mid 16th century when an English expedition searching for a northwest passage to Asia came to the White Sea
- Tsar Ivan IV escorted the crew to Moscow and encouraged them to trade. Dutch mariners also followed the English
- The Port of Archangel made in 1584 became a trading city where Russian furs, leather, and grain were exchanged for European weapons, textiles, paper, and silver
- Asian Trade
- Russian expansion to the south and east increased trade with Asian people
- Russians found opportunities to trade with the Safavids in Persia, Ottomans, and Mughal India
- The river, Volga, flowed into the Caspian Sea and offered access to the Islamic Empires
- Astrakhan on the Volga delta became a trade city
- The prominence of foreign merchants on the imperial economy sparked resentment from Russian merchants, who were small in number and poorly organized
- Russian merchants protested with the tsarist government and wanted to restrict foreign merchants
- Tsars then required foreign merchants to have their business approved in cities such as Germantown in Moscow or Archangel and Astrakhan. They were forbidden to trade in tobacco and alcohol
- Industrial Development
- Peter the Great's westernization policy increased the amount of foreigners in Russia
- On his tour, Peter looked for technical experts to come back to Russia. He gave those that came loans, subsidies, tax breaks, and tariff protection if they established factories
- This led to 200 new industrial plants opening, which made iron, weapons, and textiles. Some also made glass, paper, and leather goods
- There was no urban working class, so factory laborers came from serfs.
- A decree of 1721 allowed factory workers to purchase serfs from landowners, and other "undesirable" people
- Population Growth
- Peter's economic policies helped Russia start catching up with England or the Netherlands in terms of industrial power
- 18th century: 15 million - 37 million growth
- Some of the growth came from new territories, but most came from improved economic conditions
- The growing population led to urbanization, and St. Petersburg became the largest city in Russia with a population of 200,000