Українське селянство 19 ст. у матеріалах повітового суду: мікроісторичний вимір у контексті повсякдення

Abstract

The object of the article is to systematically highlight the materials of the court archive of one of the largest districts of Kyiv province, namely Uman district, in particular the court cases in which peasants were involved. These materials complement the concept of everyday Ukrainian peasantry in the 19th century. The research methodology is based on the use of general scientific principles of historicism, objectivity and a systematic approach in the analysis of historical sources, which are used in this article. Such special historical methods as descriptive, problem-chronological, historical-systemic and heuristic ones have proven to be effective. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time the materials of the judicial and investigative practice of Uman County Court were used to highlight such an aspect of everyday Ukrainian peasantry as crimes and punishments. Chronological and thematic systematization of court cases in which peasants were involved showed a quantitative superiority of cases about abuse of peasants, peculiar forms of peasant protest in the form of escapes from serf owners and deviant acts in the pre-reform years. Dissatisfaction with the agrarian reform of 1861 created the basis for the deviant behavior of peasants in the everyday life of the post-reform years. Conclusions. During the functioning of Uman County Court (1800-1872), 1,817 cases were postponed in its archive, 269 of which are the materials of court proceedings on the claims of peasants or their prosecution. Most of the court cases date back to the pre-reform years and contain evidence of social tension in the villages. But the agrarian reform of 1861, despite its positive aspects, did not eliminate the reasons for such tension even in the post-reform era. In the everyday life of the peasantry of the first half of the 19th century, there was abuse of landowners, housekeepers and estate managers, which served as a reason for peasants to run away, commit suicide, commit crimes, and deviant behavior in everyday life. The materials of the district court’s judicial and investigative practice show that wealthy peasants appealed to the court regarding the purchase of land plots. The abolition of serfdom and the gaining of personal freedom by the peasants did not relieve social tension, and in the everyday life of the peasantry, illegal actions took place as a manifestation of despair, rudeness and violence.