Peasant Consciousness Research Articles

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE MASS CONSCIOUSNESS OF PEASANTS DURING PUGACHEV’S REBELLION

The article describes the prerequisites, factors and characteristics of mass consciousness of peasants during the years of Pugachev’s Rebellion (1773-1775). The analysis is carried out on the basis of the model of the functional system of the psyche, differentiation-integration theory of development, social constructivism, psychological- historical and intellectual-historical reconstruction. The peasant rebellion is considered as a result of the functioning of mass consciousness of this social group under the influence of historical, political and economic factors. It is shown that the peasant consciousness was based on communal identity, and its inherent values of stability and tradition were in conflict with the innovative values of secularism and rationalism that had entered Russia since the times of Peter the Great’s reforms. The inconsistency of the authorities’ actions with the needs of the population led to the emergence of social problems and determined behavioural activity in the form of riots.

Прозрачное мышление и крестьянская субъективность в повести И. С. Тургенева «Постоялый двор»

The representation of characters’ minds and consciousness in Ivan Turgenev’s novella “The Inn” (1852), published in 1856, is explored through narratological methods. The author puts forth a hypothesis that Turgenev mastered the novelistic form by practicing auctorial narratives with a heterodiegetic narrator. This hypothesis is based on the theory of “transparent minds” formulated by Dorrit Cohn and her followers. In this respect, the lifestyle and consciousness of peasants, not deemed understandable by other educated social groups at the time, serves as a convenient tool for Turgenev to employ the auctorial narrative style and the technique of lucid thinking in “Mumu” and “The Inn.” The latter work introduces a groundbreaking portrayal of the peasant’s subjectivity, achieved through the exploration of direct thought, indirect speech and thought, and the narrative of thought acts. In the finale of the novella, the narrator dedicates significant attention to the protagonist, Akim, carefully observing his outer and inner speech, its subsequent loss, and eventual recovery. The metaphysical and profound significance of “The Inn” lies in Akim’s transformative journey following a material and moral catastrophe. Overnight, he loses both his modestly acquired wealth and his spouse, leading him to undergo a process of repentance and enlightenment. Their influence leads him to spiritual renewal, reestablishing the profound significance of existence and embarking on a devout journey through holy sites. Consequently, the return of speech and the inner rebirth can be interpreted as a manifestation of subjectivity and even agency of the hero.

Peasant diary as a text of folklore?

The article attempts to answer the question of the genological status of peasant diaries. These texts were certainly being written from the beginning of the nineteenth century, but it is not impossible that peasants recorded their reflections earlier as well. The genre flourished in the post-war years, when organisers of numerous competitions encouraged the villagers to write their autobiographies, and lasted essentially until the late 1970s. The source material makes it possible to study the transformations that the texts themselves underwent over the period of a century, as well as the way their authors perceived reality and their own place in it.
 Researchers of autobiographical records point to the formation of the beginnings of an individualistic attitude as a prerequisite for a person taking the trouble to record the events of their own life. Peasant diaries make it possible to trace the dynamics of changes in peasant consciousness: from a traditional society based on oral transmission to a (proto-)modern one, rooted in the culture of writing (print). The author poses the hypothesis that the origins of peasant diarism should be sought in oral folklore, as indicated by the formal similarity of the first records of this type to traditional folklore genres. Over time, however, diarism breaks away from its roots, turning into an expression of the authors’ individual traits and thus coming closer to literature.

Проблема эксцесса революционного насилия в крестьянском движении 1905–1907 гг. (по материалам Саратовской губернии)

The article examines the phenomenon of revolutionary violence, cultivated and entrenched in the mass peasant consciousness at the beginning of the XX century. The author, relying on archival sources, explores the evolution and features of the excesses of revolutionary violence manifested inthe peasantmovement in 1905–1906 usingthe example ofthe Saratov province. The articleconcludesthatthesyndrome of violence in the agrarian movement has formed as an archetype of the mass revolutionizedconsciousness of the peasant masses, manifested in their illegal actions. The excess of revolutionary violence inevitably led to the marginalization of the peasantry, destroying its class values and traditions.

Reform of serfdom and its impact on legal consciousness and legal culture of peasants

The author believes that the abolition of serfdom had a "colossal" significance for the formation of new forms of legal consciousness and legal culture of the peasant population. These categories influenced the historical formation of the rule of law and the transition to a new form of government. The paper states that insufficient attention has been paid to the issues of legal consciousness and legal culture of peasants in the scientific community, which led to a narrow circle of approaches to the study of peasant life and psychology. The subject of the study is the patterns of formation and functioning of the legal consciousness and legal culture of the peasant after the abolition of serfdom. The author used the works of scientists in the field of law, philosophy and history to form more informed conclusions on the research topic. The purpose of the work is to analyze the formation and development of legal consciousness and legal culture of the population of the Russian Empire in the nineteenth century after the abolition of serfdom.

Peasant generation of the “revolutionary turning point”: beginning of its formation

Importance. The study of “revolutionary turning point” generation allows to penetrate into the inner world of people of revolution and civil war era. Of particular interest is the initial stage of formation of representatives of this generation, which occurred during the first revolution of 1905–1907. Research methods. Of all the groups of youth, peasant youth is the least studied – in considerable part due to the limited source base. The formulation of conclusions and observations is possible only on the basis of a representative database on the social activity of peasants and sources of personal origin. Analytical and historical-statistical methods were used in the research. Results and Discussion. On the basis of a complete collection of sources on the Orenburg goevernorate and its analysis, it became possible to challenge the opinion about the universality of statements common in the literature about the increase in the consciousness of peasant youth and the manifestation of intergenerational conflicts in the period under review. At the same time, the facts indicate the beginning of this process. Conclusion. The observations made do not pretend to be universal, but allow us to imagine the similarity of the conditions and capabilities of the governorate under review with other, also adjacent ones. Large territories, weak communications, along with other characteristic features of the outskirts created additional difficulties for the political education of rural youth. Therefore, the manifestations of peasant activity are valuable not only and not so many cases, but by fixing qualitative changes in the peasant consciousness. The study of the views of peasant youth during the revolution and the Civil War requires an appeal to the beginning of such formation.

ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОЕ РЕГУЛИРОВАНИЕ ЗЕМЕЛЬНЫХ ОТНОШЕНИЙ В СЕВЕРНОЙ ОБЛАСТИ «БЕЛОЙ» РОССИИ В ГОДЫ ГРАЖДАНСКОЙ ВОЙНЫ

The article examines the problem of state regulation of land management and land use issues by the white government of the European North during the Civil War. The author analyzes the state of land relations in this region and states that due to geographical, climatic, social and military-political conditions, similar relations in the provinces of central and southern Russia differed significantly. The article reveals the position that the main contradictions in the use of land were not in the legal regulation of landowner–peasant relations, but in the legal unsettlement of the boundaries of forest clearing and land plots of peasant community members, farmers, tenants, territories of neighboring peasant societies, monasteries and churches. In conditions when the idea of inviolability of communal land use prevailed in the legal consciousness of peasants, the normative legal acts of the Provisional Government of the Northern Territory, which largely reflected the main provisions of the land program of the Party of Socialist Revolutionaries on the legislative abolition of private ownership of land and free use of it, were generally positively received by peasants. At the same time, their temporary nature and the requirement of the Omsk Council of Ministers to unify land laws in matters of restoring ownership of land on a national scale aroused wariness and distrust in their own power among residents of northern villages. Because of this, peasants were leaning towards the Soviet government and its Decree on land.

The Group Rape of Mariia N.: Gender, Violence, and the Crisis of Legitimacy in Early Soviet Russia

Abstract This article examines the responses of early Soviet legal and juridical professionals to the 1926 group rape of seventeen-year-old Mariia N. as a starting point to discuss assumptions regarding women’s sexuality, peasant consciousness, and revolutionary transformation. By 1926, anxiety over the slow pace of revolutionary change created what might be called a crisis of legitimacy among early Soviet legal professionals. This article examines how these juridical professionals perceived the limits and failures of efforts to transform Russian society along socialist lines, and highlights their explanations for those failures that rested on the persistent “backwardness” of the countryside and on traditional discourses of female sexuality. While they argued that the slow pace of transformation hindered rural development, and expected greater state intervention in the countryside to facilitate such change, they failed to challenge traditional patriarchal assumptions regarding women. The article argues that the legal system played a central role in the Soviet social transformation, and that through redefining the law, early Soviet professionals helped to construct a legal foundation for the state that ultimately facilitated the state’s move away from its early emancipatory and communal impulses and toward the embrace of paternalism and individualism.

Społeczna i wychowawcza rola teatru ludowego w Drugiej Rzeczypospolitej

The folk theater was an extraordinary phenomenon in the cultural life of the Second Polish Republic, with a huge range of influence, diversified geography and organizational affiliation. It was a manifestation of the spiritual needs of the inhabitants of the Polish countryside as well as an important instrument of influencing the peasants. It became a factor accelerating the formation of political and national consciousness of peasants, an important school of patriotic and civic education. An important goal of folk theaters was to activate the rural community in their own environment. As a rule, calls were made for social but also political activity, association in popular organizations, cooperatives, women's organizations, and encouraged to exercise civil rights. The presented performances built a varied narrative and setting: from counseling, through praise of independence, awakening peasant dignity, to patriotic civic attitude. The folk theater contributed to the development of economic life, positively influenced the moral attitude of the young generation, stimulated concern for the aesthetic appearance of buildings and the entire village, and expressed concern for the improvement of the hygienic and health situation of the rural population. Upbringing which took into account sanitary culture and popularizing knowledge about health through theater was of particular importance in this respect. The opinion was expressed that anti-hygiene behavior resulted from the lack of knowledge and appropriate habits, therefore these matters were eagerly mentioned in the performances. Therefore, with the help of folk theaters, multidirectional social and educational activities were carried out in the field of popularizing culture in the countryside, as well as education in the field of economic, social and political issues.

Картофельные бунты в Зауралье как отражение традиционного сознания русского крестьянства

The article deals with the phenomenon of potato riots in the Trans-Urals region in the 1840s. Peasant unrest that engulfed the regions inhabited by state peasants cannot be understood simply as a manifestation of anti-feudal protests. Among the reasons for the revolts, rumors, discontent with local authorities, and irrational fears can also be named. The authors propose to consider these events from the point of view of the thinking of the Russian peasantry, in connection with the peculiarities of traditional culture. This approach gives a better understanding of the genesis of events, the suddenness of riots, and inexplicable cruelty in relation to fellow villagers and the clergy from a rational standpoint. Using specific examples, the authors analyze the role of rumors in the emergence of riots, the inability of the bureaucracy to understand the peculiarities of the consciousness of Siberian peasants, and the reasons for the peasants' hatred towards the rural authorities. Besides, attention is paid to the role of the rural clergy in the events. Based on a complex of historical sources, the authors try not only to reconstruct the course of events, but also to reveal the same and repeating lines of performances which occurred at different times and in different places. The riots of 1842 and 1843 took place at the same time (early spring), the rebels demanded that the authorities and the clergy show them documents on “selling them under a master”, and the refusal to demonstrate non-existent papers entailed torture and murder of clerks, country administration, and priests. Revolts were cruelly suppressed. The authors conclude that the main role in the emergence of potato riots was played by the peculiarities of the traditional type of thinking of the peasants and by the complex system of relations and contradictions in the Trans-Ural region. The unrest showed the reluctance and inability of the Russian bureaucracy to explain the essence and purpose of the innovations to the peasants.

Execution for debt in the volost courts of Barnaul districts of Tomsk governorate: origin and incidence in the judicial practice (late XIX – early XX centuries)

The subject of this research is the judicial practice of the volost courts of Barnaul district of the Tomsk governorate in the late XIX — early XX centuries. Minute books of the volost courts, which contained records on the claims, testimony of the parties and witnesses, and court decision, served as the main source for this research. Fine and comprehensive record management made allowed applying historical-systemic method, which revealed the mechanism of functionality of the volost courts. The use of content analysis allowed determining the priority of the questions under review, classifying debt enforcement by the types of undischarged obligations, reconstructing the level of legal consciousness of peasants, and assessing the effectiveness of the peasant self-governance. It is established that litigations on obligations default held second place among all cases in the volost courts, which indicates wide applicability of the practice of “seeking truth” not in the rural society, but the official institutions. Based on introduction of new sources into the scientific discourse, the author concludes the spread of debt enforcement is related not only to increase of currency circulation in everyday life of peasants, consolidation of the practice of estimation of things, and getting paid for work, but also with the crisis of trust-based relations within the rural community.

ТЕХНИЧЕСКИЙ ПРОГРЕСС КРЕСТЬЯНСКОГО ХОЗЯЙСТВА В КОСТРОМСКОЙ ГУБЕРНИИ В НАЧАЛЕ ХХ В.

The article is devoted to the distribution of advanced agricultural machinery among peasants of Kostroma Province in the early 20th century. The economic consciousness of most peasants at this time was very conservative. They used outdated machinery and traditional land-processing techniques. The author considers the propaganda of new technology among peasants, Zemstvo demonstrated to them the advantages of new machines. After that, Zemstvo offered equipment to peasants for rent. In order for it to be available, rental fees were minimal and the network of rent points was branched. After that, the Zemstvo offered peasants to buy agricultural achines. This could be done in the agricultural warehouses that were available in each county. At the same time, the Zemstvo did not receive great benefit from the sale of equipment. The peasants used mainly agricultural machines that were produced in Russia. The activities of Zemstvo contributed to the technical progress of Russia’s agriculture, many peasants already had ploughs, seedlings, sorting machines and other advanced equipment. Of course, not all peasants could buy such machines because of their pretty high cost.

Thrice‐beloved Belly of Naples: Nostalgia and privation in George Gissing and Matilde Serao

AbstractDuring visits to Italy between 1888 and 1890, George Gissing immersed himself in fictions by Matilde Serao, a journalist, editor, and leading practitioner of verismo (Italian realism), whose stories focused on the travails of the poor of Naples. Partly as a means of practicing his Italian and partly for his own pleasure, Gissing read serial installments of her novels Addio, Amore! (1890) and Il Paese di Cuccagna (1891). The latter novel, translated into English as The Land of Cockayne (or, The Land of Milk and Honey) in 1901, dramatized the damage wrought upon Naples' social and economic life by its state lottery. Swept up by lottery fever, locals forfeit their savings, exploit each other for loans, and ruin one another's lives. Cockayne invites comparisons with Gissing's The Whirlpool (1897), which captured a culture preoccupied with precarious financial investments, and In the Year of Jubilee (1894), which famously satirized the frenzy of the crowd. Yet, upon closer look, these comparisons do not fully hold. Serao's characters are city people, but they are strongly imprinted by a lingering peasant consciousness. Earnest in their domestic roles, these wives and daughters feel none of the troubling temptations of modernity. All of Serao's men and women hold an enduring folk belief in dreams and premonitions, the means by which they choose their lottery numbers. This was likely the source of Gissing's pleasure in the book. While aspects of Cockayne mirror the modernity of his fictions, Serao's Neapolitans evince an older worldview that intrigues him.

Consumption of Agricultural Machinery and Tools in Russia at the Beginning of the 20th Century (Based on Materials from the Provinces of the Middle Volga Region)

Introduction. In the late XIX – early XX centuries agricultural engineering in Russia was considered as a tool for solving several important problems. Against the background of the growth of the export potential of Russian agriculture, an increase in its productivity was considered as a way of obtaining foreign currency funds necessary for settlements on international financial obligations. At the same time, the task of increasing the production of agricultural machinery could not be fully resolved without an increase in demand for it. Therefore, the large-scale agrarian transformations undertaken at the beginning of the 20th century assumed assistance to the peasants in the technical re-equipment of their farms. The preservation of manual labor and archaic methods of agricultural production at the beginning of the 20th century became a threat that could nullify all reform efforts. This article will attempt to determine the extent of consumption of agricultural machinery and implements in Russia in the late XIX – early XX centuries based on the use of statistical materials on the provinces of the Middle Volga region. Materials and Methods. In solving the research problems, archival materials, published data of official statistics, and also scientific literature were used. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study was made by the methods of socio-economic history. The study was conducted on the basis of the principles of historicism, objectivity and systematic. The need for quantitative data processing led to the use of the statistical method. The digital data presented in the work received a graphical interpretation and were visualized in the form of diagrams. The application of modernization theory allowed the inclusion of the growth processes of the technical equipment of agriculture in the trend of industrial modernization. Results. Based on a study of archival and published sources, as well as available scientific literature on the topic, a dynamic analysis of the scale of agricultural machinery consumption was carried out in the late XIX – early XX centuries. The study showed a fairly significant increase in this indicator both in Russia as a whole and in relation to the provinces of the Middle Volga region. At the same time, uneven technical equipment of agriculture was revealed in relation to different provinces. The main factors hindering the introduction of agricultural machinery in agricultural practice are considered. Discussion and Conclusion. The above data quite definitely allow us to talk about the growth in the use of agricultural machinery and improved tools in the Middle Volga region at the beginning of the 20th century. However, in relation to different provinces, these dynamics had very significant differences. It looked the most rapid in the Samara and Saratov provinces. It was much less noticeable in the Penza, Simbirsk and Kazan provinces. Such high rates in the Samara and Saratov provinces are due to the active spread of intensive agriculture, which provided for a high level of mechanization of labor. Passing to the expanded production of a market type, the farmers actively introduced agronomic and technical innovations. However, the technological revolution in agriculture did not cover all producers, far more affecting those who went beyond the communal regime and moved into the category of rural private owners. Among the factors that slowed down the implementation of machines, one can single out the conservatism of the peasant consciousness, the inertia of traditions in the practice of farming, the insufficient technical literacy of the peasantry, which made it difficult to maintain and repair complex machines, their high cost, low purchasing power of rural residents, etc. All this not only hindered the development of agriculture, but also significantly restrained the processes of early industrial modernization of Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.

Not without Blood, Sweat and Tears

The critical role played by agriculture in the modernisation of Japan, well-highlighted in the literature, is held to be a model worthy of emulation by latecomers. What this meant for the poor or the tenant farmer is something that does not get much attention. This article looks at the writings of a poor owner-tenant farmer, Teisuke Shibuya, who maintained a diary in the years 1925–6 in which he had graphically recorded the conditions in agriculture and the kind of life the peasant led. We also utilise a book Shibuya published 60 years after he started maintaining the notes which led to the publication of the diary. Shibuya, who actively struggled to raise peasant consciousness, was articulate and extremely well read, and could hold his own in debate with urban intellectuals. His writings are valuable as they convey the actual life of the peasantry during Japan’s modernisation drive. In Shibuya’s jottings, the emotions and feelings of the peasant who was exploited by the authoritarian state and the landlord system come through, presenting us with a picture that is vastly different from the standard academic writings on the subject, thus cautioning us when we uncritically attempt to learn lessons from the Japanese modernisation experience.

Документы Государственного архива Орловской области как источники для изучения правового сознания крестьян в начале XX века

The article studies documents from the State Archive of the Orel Region (GAOO) as an important source for studying the sense of justice of the Oryol gubernia peasants in early 20th century. Introduction of new archival materials allows to flesh out our knowledge and to produce a true-to-life picture of the Oryol peasants’ way of life. The peasant origins of the majority of the population necessitate a comprehensive study of peasant legal consciousness. Historical legacy is pertinent to present day, and forgetting its lessons is fraught with consequences. Evolution of modern Russian statehood hedges on its historical and legal traditions. The article studies documents in the fonds of public authorities, police, gendarmerie, courts, and prosecution offices. Introduction of new materials of public authorities, police, gendarmerie, courts, and prosecution offices into the scholarship promotes the analysis of the evolution of peasant legal sense in early 20th century. The chronological framework of the article is limited to the period from 1900 to 1917, its territorial framework is limited to the Oryol gubernia in its pre-revolutionary borders. The article studies reports, dispatches, and circular letters using the comparative method. The intensification of peasant protest was incidental to the first Russian revolution of 1905-1907 – the peasants hoped to force the government to settle the agrarian question, wherein lay the crux of their interests. As peasants of the Oryol gubernia suffered from shortage of arable land, antimonarchical sentiments gained momentum and translated a growing number of trials for contempt of the Emperor. Illegal literature spreading among the peasants, further radicalized them, and the authorities grew more and more hesitant in their assessment of peasant loyalty, which is quite intelligible in the archival documents. Thus, the use of new archival documents in addition to published materials promotes the scholarship on the peasant legal sense.

The War and the Regime in Peasant Popular Consciousness, 1914–1917

The prevalence of folktales, fairy tales, and rumors in Russian peasant consciousness also determined peasants’ and soldiers’ understanding of World War I.

Общественно-политические настроения крестьянства Западной Сибири в восстании 1921 г.

This article examines the emotional situation, mentality and behavior of insurgents, workers of Soviet, party and check bodies - the parties of the acute social conflict (power and peasantry) in the conditions of revolutionary time and civil war. On the basis of sources, an assessment is given of the uprising and the actions of insurgents by the representatives of the authorities, participants in the suppression of the insurrection. The author shows how insurgents viewed the policy of power in the village, the actions of the Prodarians and members of the RKP(b). The consideration is given to the attitude of the peasants to the nationalization of agricultural production, new forms of organizing the economy (communes and collective farms). The specifics of peasant political consciousness and the causes of counterrevolutionary and revolutionary terror in January-February 1921 in Western Siberia are revealed. The importance of the Soviets as elected local authorities for peasants is shown. The article gives an analysis of the emotional state of peasants and Cossacks who did not accept the social revolution of 1917 and the radical changes in society caused by the policy of war communism. Attention is drawn to the attempts of the insurgents to restore pre-revolutionary political, economic and legal institutions and norms.DOI 10.14258/izvasu(2017)5-03

Criminological Aspects of Legal Consciousness of Peasants in the Western Region of Russia at the Turn of the 19th - 20th Centuries

Criminological Aspects of Legal Consciousness of Peasants in the Western Region of Russia at the Turn of the 19th - 20th Centuries

„Dwie dusze” – czyli ewolucja tożsamości społecznej i narodowej ludności chłopskiej Galicji w drugiej połowie XIX i na początku XX wieku

The aim of this paper is to characterize the evolution of social and national identity of Galician peasants in the late 19th and early 20th century. The author shows a few examples from the sources and studies on the subject, from which we can find out how these areas of peasant consciousness evolved. It was possible for changes to take place after several social and economic reforms were adopted. These changes contributed to the development of active civic attitudes and a greater participation in political life. At the same time, the emergence of peasant parties and the activities carried out by politicians contributed to the evolution of national identity. The awakening of national awareness was greatly influenced by the press and publications. A major role was also played by schools, the Church and the participation in social life of rural communities. The social and national identity of peasants showed in the celebration of national holidays, political programs and the growth of press subscription among rural inhabitants of Galicia.