A State Village from the Reform of P.D. Kiselev to the Reform of 1866 (on the Example of Vladimir Province)

Abstract

The article, based on the material of Vladimir province and other provinces of the Central Industrial Region, explains the change in the position of state peasants after the reform of P.D. Kiselev, who, using their case, wanted to provide landowners with a role model and useful guidance. The article refers to various aspects of the peasants’ life up until the publication of the decrees of 1866. The author makes the conclusion about the positive dynamics in the situation with state village. However, according to the research, one of the main problems of that time, namely the problem of land scarcity, has not been resolved. In this regard, the text considers the process of the state village reformation in 1866. The research analyses the process and the outcomes of implementation of the two laws, which resulted in transformation of state peasants’ management system and reorganization of their land arrangement. The values of land allotments and quitrent tax of state peasants with the corresponding indicators of former landowners peasants and former appanage peasants are compared. The situation with the distribution of land within each of these categories of rural population and between them is reviewed in the article. The author comes to the conclusion that the position of the state peasants as a result of the reform turned out to be better than the position of the former landowners and former appanage peasants.