Reforms of the 60s - 70s.

The development of capitalism in Europe by the beginning of the 19th century led to the change of feudal-absolutist monarchies and the emergence of new forms of government - constitutional monarchies, constitutional-parliamentary republics. Unlike Western European countries, the state-political system of Russia by the middle of the 19th century. remained at the level of the Middle Ages. Absolutism and serfdom dominated here. Russia's backwardness was evidenced by its defeat in the Crimean War (1853-1856). It became obvious that the Russian feudal system was losing to the Western capitalist one. This made the government think about the need for reforms.

This need is clearly manifested in Belarus. The majority of its inhabitants (74.3%) were peasants, who were divided into landowners, state, posuit, church and monastery. The attempts of the landlords to adapt to the needs of the market and increase the profitability of farms by strengthening serfdom led to the decline of the peasant economy. The problem of increasing the profitability of landowners' estates was not resolved. Increasingly, landowners are turning to credit and mortgaging their estates and serfs. In 1859, about 60% of the serfs were mortgaged by Belarusian landlords in credit institutions. In order to increase the profits of the estates, their profitability, the landowners expanded the plowing, increased the corvee, which in the 50s covered more than 90% of the serfs. The strengthening of the landowners' oppression led to the growth of peasant unrest. In 1858 - 1860. they were held in almost all districts of Belarus. Eleven times they were suppressed by military force.

To prevent a socio-political explosion, the government took the path of reforms. It was decided to start the reforms with the Belarusian and Lithuanian provinces. It was taken into account that the Belarusian landowners were quite closely connected with the market and had experience in using the labor of landless peasants. According to the authorities, the landowners here were more prepared for the abolition of serfdom than in other provinces of Russia. The fact was also taken into account that in the provinces bordering Poland, the peasants already enjoyed personal freedom. The landlords of Belarus have repeatedly spoken out in favor of the abolition of serfdom with the preservation of the land in their hands. In September 1857, the landlords of the Vilna, Grodno and Kovno provinces sent addresses (petitions) to St. Petersburg, in which they expressed their desire to free the peasants, but without land. In response, in November, the tsar's rescript addressed to the Vilna Governor-General V. Nazimov was published, in which it was allowed to establish noble committees in the provinces and a general commission in Vilna to prepare projects for the liberation of the peasants. In 1858, the committees created in the Minsk, Vilna and Grodno provinces spoke in favor of the landless liberation of the peasants. Projects of landless liberation of peasants were rejected by the government.

February 19, 1861 Alexander II signed the Manifesto and the "Regulations on the peasants who emerged from serfdom." The peasants received, although not immediately, personal freedom, they could not be sold, donated. They received the freedom to marry, conduct legal proceedings, freely engage in economic activities. In Belarus, the reform was carried out on the basis of general and two local provisions. The “Regulations for the provinces of the Great Russian, Novorossiysk and Belarusian” extended to the Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces. In those provinces where communal land use dominated, the size of allotments provided to peasants was per male per capita: the highest - from 4 to 5.5 acres, the lowest - 1/3 of the highest. If the size of the allotment exceeded the highest norm, then the landowner had the right to “cut off the excess” in his favor (cuts). The vicious circle was maintained. In the Vilna, Grodno and Minsk provinces, where there was no peasant community, but there was household land use, the land that they used until 1861 according to inventories was transferred to peasant land use. In the event that the peasants had more land than indicated in the inventory, or the landlord had less than 1/3 of the land convenient for farming, the latter received the right to cut off 1/6 of the peasant land for his own benefit. Duties were established at the level of inventory norms and were performed individually.

The peasants received the right to redeem their estate, and with the consent of the landowner and the field allotment. The ransom the peasant had to pay only for the land. However, the price for it in Belarus was overestimated by 3-4 times. 20% of the ransom amount was paid by the peasants themselves, and the rest by the government, which they had to pay to the state within forty-nine years.

The peasants did not accept the “freedom” declared to them, refused to fulfill the corvée, arbitrarily cut down forests, set fire to the landowners' estates. During 1861, 379 peasant uprisings were noted, in 125 cases armed force was used to pacify them. The uprising of 1863 forced the government to take measures to ease socio-political tensions. The decree of March 1, 1863 introduced the obligatory redemption by the peasants of their allotments in the Vilna, Grodno, and Minsk provinces. From May 1, temporarily obligated relations were terminated, redemption payments were reduced by 20%. Governor-General M. Muravyov signed an order to allocate 300 plots of land to those who lost their land in 1846-1856. These measures softened the consequences of the reform in Belarus. In 1867, the dues were replaced by the obligatory purchase of land for state peasants.

The abolition of serfdom was combined with a number of other reforms that contributed to the country's transition to the capitalist path of development. In Belarus, some of them were not carried out at all, while others were transformed depending on the political situation. One of the first began military reform. The country was divided into military districts, the service life was reduced to 7-8 years. In 1874, universal military service was introduced for men who had reached the age of 20. The service life for those who had an education was significantly reduced. Zemstvo reform of 1864 was extended to the territory of Belarus only in 1911 and affected only the Vitebsk, Minsk and Mogilev provinces. The government feared the strengthening of Polish influence in the zemstvo elected bodies. This was the reason for the absence of zemstvos in the Vilna and Grodno provinces, where the weight of the Catholic population was significant. For the same reason, with great delay and significant deviations from the statute, the judicial reform was carried out in Belarus. It was not until 1872 that magistrates' courts were introduced. Justices of the peace were not elected here, but appointed from among the landowners by the Minister of Justice. In 1882, district courts and the corresponding prosecutor's office were created in the western provinces. The district courts of Minsk, Grodno and Vilna provinces were assigned to the Vilna judicial chamber. Vitebsk province - to St. Petersburg, and Mogilev - to Kyiv. In 1889, the institution of zemstvo chiefs was introduced, who were given the right to interfere in all the affairs of rural self-government and, without any judicial formalities, impose certain punishments on the peasants. In Belarus (only in the Vitebsk, Mogilev and Minsk provinces), the law on zemstvo chiefs was introduced only in 1900.

The school reform was carried out in accordance with the “Regulations on Primary Public Schools” and the “Statute of Gymnasiums and Progymnasiums” of 1864. These documents were based on the principle of all-estate education. The network of primary schools has expanded. Secondary education was provided by classical gymnasiums and vocational schools. However, the contingent of students in secondary and higher schools was regulated by high tuition fees.

In 1875, i.e. five years later than in the Russian provinces, the reform of urban self-government began in Belarus. It was based on the bourgeois principle of the all-estate elective bodies of government with an appropriate property qualification. The majority of the population who did not have the necessary property qualification was completely excluded from elections to city dumas: artisans, workers, domestic servants. The Jewish population, which constituted the majority of the urban population in Belarus, was actually eliminated from the elections.

Bourgeois reforms of the 60s - 70s. in Belarus were carried out with certain restrictions, in contrast to Central Russia. This manifested itself primarily in the field of land ownership and land use, which was directed mainly against Catholics, Jews and foreign subjects. According to the law of March 5, 1864, "persons of Polish origin" and Jews in the western and southwestern provinces were forbidden to buy state and private land properties sold for debts. They were also not allowed to acquire, accept as collateral, manage, lease land purchased on preferential terms. They were not entitled to benefits and loans. According to the law of July 10, 1864, the Jews of the "Pale of Settlement" were generally deprived of the right to acquire land. The law of December 10, 1865 also prohibited "Persons of Polish origin" from receiving ownership of estates. In May 1882, the government forbade Jews to settle outside the cities of Belarus, with the exception of the Mogilev province, which led to its artificial concentration in cities and towns. This contributed to agrarian overpopulation in the villages.

As a result of the reforms, the road was opened for the replacement of feudal production relations with capitalist ones.

Features of the abolition of serfdom in the Belarusian provinces.

The first reform on the way to a bourgeois society in Russia was the abolition of serfdom. On February 19, 1861, Alexander II signed the "Manifesto" and approved all the legislative acts that related to the abolition of serfdom. All these documents can be divided into three groups: general provisions, local provisions, additional rules. Two documents related directly to the territory of Belarus: “Local regulation on the land arrangement of peasants settled on landowners’ lands in the provinces: Velikorossiysk, Novorossiysk and Belorussian” (the Mogilev province and most of Vitebsk fell under this provision) and “Local regulation on the land arrangement of peasants settled in on the landowners' lands in the provinces: Vilna, Grodno, Kovno, Minsk and part of Vitebsk" (covered the remaining territory of Belarus).

In the Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces, where communal land tenure was preserved, the lowest (from 1 to 2 acres) and the highest (from 4 to 5.5 acres) sizes of land plots per male soul were determined. If, before the reform, the use of land by the peasant was more than the highest norm, then the landowner had the right to cut off the surplus in his favor. In the Grodno, Vilna and Minsk provinces there was household land use. Here the peasants were left with their pre-reform allotment. Cuts were allowed to be made if the landowner had less than 1/3 of the entire land, but the peasant allotment could not be reduced by more than 1/6.

All land on the estate was recognized as the property of the landowner, including that which was in use by the peasants. For the use of their allotments, personally free peasants for at least 9 years (before the redemption operation was carried out) had to serve corvee or pay dues to the landowner. Personally free peasants who continued to perform duties in favor of the landowner were called temporarily liable.

By the time the redemption operation was carried out in the Mogilev and Vitebsk provinces, the corvée for the highest allotment was 40 men's and 30 women's days per year (or 8 rubles of quitrent). In the western part of Belarus, duties were determined as follows: for corvee - no more than 23 days, for quitrent - no more than 3 rubles per tithe per year.

The peasants bought their field plot of land into property. The rules of the redemption operation were the same for all of Russia. The redemption amount for a peasant plot was calculated in such a way that, by putting it in the bank at 6% per annum, the landowner could annually receive an income equal to the annual dues from this allotment. From 20 to 25% of the redemption amount (depending on the size of the allotment), the peasants paid directly to the landowner. The rest of the landlords received from the state securities that could be sold or pledged. As a result of such an operation, the peasants became debtors of the state. For 49 years, it was necessary to repay the debt in the form of redemption payments, which also included interest on the loan. During this time, the peasants had to pay up to 300% of the amount lent to them. Thus, the total amount that the peasants were forced to pay for the received plots was 3-4 times the market value of this land. Consequently, the peasants not only bought the land, but also compensated the landowners for the loss of their property in the person of the peasant.

Significant changes in the implementation of the peasant reform in Belarus were introduced by the uprising of 1863-1864. In order to economically punish the landowners for participating in the uprising and supporting it, the following measures were taken. The decree of March 1, 1863 introduced the mandatory redemption of peasant allotments in the Vilna, Grodno, Kovno, Minsk provinces and the inflationary districts of the Vitebsk province. Peasants ceased to be temporarily liable and became owners of land, redemption payments were reduced by 20%. From November 2, 1863, this decree extended to the entire Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces. On April 9, 1863, county commissions were created in Belarus to check and correct charters. According to the circular dated October 18, 1863, landless in 1846-1856. The peasants were given a three-dessiath family allotment and the land that had been taken from them since 1857 was returned in full.

Uprising 1863-1864 had an impact on the position of the state peasants in Belarus. According to the law of 1867, they were transferred from rent to ransom and became the owners of their allotments. The concessions made by the government improved the position of the peasants of the western provinces in comparison with other regions of Russia and created more favorable conditions for the development of capitalism in Lithuania and Belarus.

6.1 . The basis of the economy of Belarus in the first half of the XIX century. was agriculture. The development of commodity-money relations led to the crisis of the feudal-serf system. This process primarily affected the landowners. In total, there were about 50 landowners in the Belarusian provinces, who each owned more than 2 thousand serfs. Large farms, which owned 500 or more revision souls, in 1834 accounted for 3.6%, but they accounted for about 50% of all serfs. At the same time, there were many small estates in Belarus, which numbered less than 100 revision souls. They made up 73.2%, but they owned only 15.8% of the serfs. Medium estates, in which there were from 100 to 500 revision souls, in 1834 accounted for 17% of the total number of landlord households. They accounted for 34.6% of the serfs.
In the first two decades, the growth in the marketability of landlord farms was facilitated by the great demand for grain in the countries of Western Europe. Until the 1940s, in many estates of these provinces, from 30 to 50% of arable land was already occupied by grain crops.
The involvement of landlord farms in commodity-money relations, adaptation to the needs of the market contributed to the specialization of agricultural production. When the landlords of the central and western regions of Belarus specialized in growing grain crops, in Vitebsk, the northern regions of the Vilna, Minsk and Mogilev provinces they specialized in growing flax. The southern regions of the Mogilev and eastern regions of the Minsk provinces specialized in the cultivation of hemp. Of great importance in agricultural production was the rapid increase in potato crops, its transformation from a garden crop into a field crop and its use as a raw material for the distillery industry. The income from the sale of vodka and alcohol was 50-60%, and sometimes more, of all incomes of landowners' households.

In the first decade of the XIX century. the peasantry made up 93.5% of the total population of Belarus, and in the 30s - almost 90%. The vast majority of the peasantry belonged to the landowners - up to 80% at the beginning of the 19th century. and about 70% in the early 40s. The number of state (state) peasants, who accounted for 9.3% of the population at the beginning of the century, increased to 19% in the 40s due to the confiscation of the estates of the participants in the uprising of 1830-1831. The sizes of land allotments of the landlord peasants were different, from 5 to 20 acres. In addition to the corvée, hard-working peasants served thefts (cleanings) during harvest and haymaking, participated in the construction of outbuildings in the master's yard, repaired roads, bridges, provided carts for transporting goods, prepared firewood, looked after the landlord's cattle and poultry, and carried night guards. The natural quitrent (tribute) was also preserved. The peasants gave the landowner poultry, eggs, honey, mushrooms, berries and other products of their farm. Numerous state duties also fell like a heavy yoke on the shoulders of the peasants - the poll tax, the zemstvo tax, the transportation of military goods, housing service, etc.

The situation of quitrent peasants was not the best either. They, in addition to quitrent, which averaged 20-80 rubles a year (a cow cost 12-18 rubles), along with tax-paying peasants paid tribute, performed numerous additional and state duties.

As for the state peasants, their position was also unenviable. State estates, as a rule, were leased to officials and the impoverished nobility, and the tenants sought to squeeze everything they could out of the peasants during the lease, and constantly increased duties. Not being able to feed their families because of the destinies, to pay many quitrents and taxes on time, many peasants were forced to look for additional earnings. A large number of peasants went to waste industries - rafting and road construction. The growth of the corvée, the massive dispossession of the land from the peasantry, frequent crop failures, and the willfulness of the landlords led to the decline of the peasant economy and the still greater impoverishment of the peasant masses.

The state village was the first to be reformed in Belarus in accordance with the reform of Count P.D. Kiseleva. In 1839, Emperor Nicholas I signed the "Regulations on the lustration of state property in the western provinces and the Bialystok region." The reform provided for: lustration (a description of all state property) and a precise definition of the duties of state peasants, depending on their economic situation; the transfer of land-poor and landless peasants to the category of taxable or semi-taxable peasants by transferring their ownership of field plots, hayfields, working livestock, and the necessary equipment; the cessation of leasing state estates and the gradual transfer of state peasants from corvée to quitrent in order to streamline the management of state estates, strict control was introduced over temporary owners, and the status of the rural community was raised.

Another measure of the reform of P. D. Kiselev was the policy of "guardianship" over the state peasants. Provided for the organization of assistance to the peasants in case of crop failures and epidemics. The question was raised about the organization of primary education for children. The plans of the reformers included the provision of medical care, various agronomic activities, the intensification of trade, and the development of an insurance system. However, the lack of funds, the desire to improve peasant life completely at their own expense, impeded the implementation of the policy of "guardianship".

The rejection of the farm-corvée system and the transfer of state peasants to quitrent were the main results of the reform, which determined its progressive character. Particularly favorable changes took place in the legal status of state peasants. Civil freedom was recognized behind them, which favorably distinguished them from the disenfranchised landlord peasants. The rights acquired by the state peasants to receive inheritance and property, to engage in trade and crafts were also of great importance.

Since 1844, P.D. Kiselev began to carry out an inventory reform of the landlord village in order to raise its economic level to the state level. In the western provinces, "Committees for the consideration and compilation of inventories of landowners' estates" were created. The reform aimed at regulating the size of the allotments and duties of the landowning peasants. For this, exact lists of peasant duties (inventory) were compiled. Officially, the compilation of mandatory inventories was completed in 1849. In 1852, inventory rules were introduced, according to which the peasants were left with the land that was in their use. However, due to the resistance of the landowners, the revision and correction of these rules dragged on until 1857, when preparations began for the abolition of serfdom. In contrast to the state village, transferred to quitrent, the former duties remained in the landowner's village. The inventory reform did not solve the most important issue - the peasant land use. The landowners considered the principles of reforming the state village to be too radical. The social and legal status of the landlord peasants changed little. The estate property remained untouched.

6.2 . February 19, 1861 Mr. Alexander II approved all legislative acts (there were 17 of them) that concerned the abolition of serfdom, and addressed the people with a manifesto. But all these documents were published on March 5, 1861. Such a significant gap between the date of approval by the king of legislative acts and the date of their publication for public familiarization is explained by the fact that it was necessary not only to print the required number of copies of these large documents, but also to take a number of preventive (precautionary) ) measures in case of unrest, which were not unreasonably predicted by the authorities. All documents published on March 5, 1861 can be divided into three groups: general provisions, local provisions, additional rules. There were several legal acts, under the norms of which the whole empire fell. These are the “General Regulations on Peasants who have Emerged from Serfdom”, “Regulations on the Ordering of Household People who have Emerged from Serfdom”, “Regulations on the Redemption by Peasants who have Emerged from Serfdom of their Manor Settlement and on the Government’s Assistance in Acquisition of Property by These Peasants field plots, Regulations on provincial and district institutions for peasant affairs, as well as the Rules on the Procedure for Enacting the Regulations on Peasants Who Have Emerged from Serfdom. Of the local provisions, two directly concerned the territory of Belarus: the Local Regulation on the land arrangement of peasants who settled on landlord lands in the provinces: Great Russian, Novorossiysk and Belorussian (Mogilev province and most of Vitebsk fell under this provision) and the Local Regulation on the land arrangement of peasants who settled on landlord lands in the provinces: Vilna, Grodno, Kovno, Minsk and part of Vitebsk (covered the rest of Belarus).

In the manifesto and provisions, all personal and property rights common to peasants, the rights of public administration of peasants, state and zemstvo duties were legislatively fixed. The main link in the legislative acts of the reform was the personal rights of the peasants. The manifesto emphasized that the abolition of serfdom was the result of a voluntary initiative of the "noble nobility". In accordance with the manifesto, the peasant immediately received personal freedom. The former serf, from whom the landowner could previously take away all his property, and sell, donate, mortgage himself, now received not only the opportunity to freely dispose of his personality, but also a number of civil rights: on his own behalf to conclude various civil and property agreements, open trade and industrial enterprises, move to other classes. At the same time, the manifesto declared that the peasants for 2 years (until February 19, 1863) were obliged to bear the same duties as during the days of serfdom. Only additional fees (eggs, oil, linen, linen, etc.) were cancelled. Corvee was limited to 2 women's and 3 men's days a week, it was forbidden to transfer peasants from dues to corvee and to yards.

General provisions introduced a new system of village management. It was based on the election of lower officials. The peasants who lived on the land of one landowner constituted a rural society (community). At the meeting of the village community, the headman was chosen. Several rural communities that belonged to one church parish created a volost. At the volost gathering, the village elders and representatives from every 10 households elected the volost board, the volost chairman and the judge. The rural and volost boards were engaged in the layout and collection of taxes, carried out the orders of the local authorities, regulated the land relations of the peasants, and kept order in the village. For the timely fulfillment of all duties, the peasants were responsible on the basis of mutual responsibility, and court cases were resolved in accordance with the norms and traditions of customary law. For the direct implementation of the reform on the ground, special bodies were created - county world congresses and provincial presences for peasant affairs. Governors supervised the activities of these bodies. The first instance for settling relations between peasants and landlords was mediators, who were appointed by the governor from among the local nobles. The main duty of the peace mediators was to facilitate the drafting of statutory charters - regulations that determined the land relations of peasants and landlords. Two years were allotted for the drafting and signing of statutory letters.

Special "Additional Rules" concerned the land arrangement of peasants of small landowners. In the east of Belarus, as in the Russian provinces, they included landowners who had less than 75 higher shower allotments, i.e. less than 300-400 acres, in the center and west - less than 300 acres. They were released under more difficult conditions than the rest of the landlord peasants. Small landed nobles were not obliged to increase the peasant allotment, even if it was less than the lower norm determined for the given area. Landless peasants did not receive any allotment. They obeyed the rules on the release of courtyards. Peasants of small-scale proprietors, who were not endowed with land, could settle on state lands, receiving certain assistance. But they had the right to settle only in that community of state peasants, where more than 8 acres accounted for the revision soul in land-poor uyezds, and more than 15 acres in large-land uyezds. Peasants who received a land allotment could move to state lands only with the consent of the landowner.

The size of allotments and duties of peasants in the east and west of Belarus was determined on the basis of various principles. According to the local "Regulations" for the Russian, South Ukrainian and East Belarusian provinces, in Vitebsk (8 counties) and Mogilev provinces, as well as in the central regions of Russia, a per capita land allotment was established. The land was provided for permanent use by a rural society, where it was allocated only to men. For each locality, higher and lower standards for shower allotments were established, and the smallest was supposed to be a third of the largest. These rules were applied during the transition to mandatory redemption. In Vitebsk (8 counties) and Mogilev provinces, the size of the upper per capita allotment in individual counties ranged from 4 to 5.5 acres, the lowest - from 1 acre 800 square meters. soot up to 1 tithe 2000 sq. soot If the post-reform allotment exceeded the maximum established norm, then the landowner had the right to cut off the excess land in his favor. If the landowner had less than 1/3 of the total land area of ​​the estate at his disposal, he could retain up to a third of all suitable land. If the peasant allotment was less than the lowest norm, then the landowner had to either increase it or, accordingly, reduce the duties for the use of the land. The landowners kept the arable and hayfields, which were in the temporary use of the peasants for additional duties.

According to the local "Regulations" in the Vilna, Grodno, Kovno, Minsk and part of the Vitebsk provinces, the allotment lands were assigned to the peasant community, which were in constant use by the peasants by February 19, 1861. But if the size of the allotment was higher than the inventory or the landowner after the reform had less 1/3 of the land of the estate, the corresponding piece of peasant land was held. The composition of the peasant allotment did not include land that was in the temporary use of the peasants (the so-called foster lands). For the latter they served additional duties. Only at the beginning of 1862, those of the adopted lands for which the peasants served corvee were assigned to the allotment land.

The allotments given to Belarusian peasants according to the local "Regulations" were cut down in many estates. Thus, the reform opened up great opportunities for some landowners to exploit small-land peasants by working off for the use of cuts and farmlands, while for the second it created favorable conditions for using the cheap hired work of yesterday's serfs in the economy.

Prior to the redemption operation, the peasants were considered temporarily liable and for the use of the received land they had to serve a corvée or pay the landowner dues. In the Mogilev and Vitebsk provinces for the highest allotment, corvee was 40 men's and 30 women's days a year (or 8 rubles of quitrent). In the western part of Belarus, duties were reduced by 10% and were determined as follows: for corvee - no more than 23 days, for quitrent - no more than 3 rubles per tithe per year. The peasants had to buy their field allotment of land into ownership. The rules of the redemption operation were the same throughout Russia. The redemption amount was determined through a six percent capitalization of the annual quitrent. For example, if the quitrent from a peasant allotment was 6 rubles a year, then the total amount that the peasant had to pay was 100 rubles (6 rubles - B%, 100 rubles - 100%). From 20 to 25% of this amount (depending on the size of the allotment) the peasants paid directly to the landowner. The rest of the landlords received from the state in the form of securities that could be sold or pledged. As a result of such an operation, the peasants became debtors of the state. Within 49 years, it was necessary to repay the debt in the form of redemption payments, which also included interest on the loan. During this time, the peasants had to pay up to 300% of the redemption amount to them.

Thus, the total amount that the peasants were forced to pay for the received plots significantly exceeded the market value of this land (in Belarus - 3-4 times). It turned out that the peasants not only bought the land, but also compensated the landowners for the loss of their property in the person of the peasant.

Changes in the implementation of the reform are associated with the uprising of 1863. The proclamation of the reform caused an upsurge in the peasant movement and showed that the peasants were dissatisfied with the freedom given to them. They did not obey the orders of the local authorities, refused to serve the corvée and perform other duties. The peasants waged a stubborn struggle against the drafting of charters (acts that determined the subordination of land and the duties of the peasants in favor of the landowner). The charters were supposed to be introduced before February 19, 1863, but the resistance of the peasants disrupted the scheduled dates, and their introduction was completed only by May 1864. At the same time, more than 78% of the charters were never signed by the peasants. The peasant movement acquired a particularly wide scope in the Grodno and Minsk provinces. In total, in Belarus in 1862 there were more than 150 peasant uprisings, more than half of them in connection with the introduction of statutory charters.

At the beginning of 1863, the peasant movement intensified significantly. The peasants hoped to get real freedom in connection with their transfer to the position of temporarily liable. The intensification of the peasant struggle in Belarus coincided with the national liberation uprising. The uprising swept part of Belarus and Lithuania, where it was led by the revolutionary democrat Kastus Kalinovsky (1838 - 1864).
The rise of the peasant movement in Belarus forced the government to make significant concessions to the peasants of the western provinces. By order of March 1, 1863, the temporarily obligated position of the peasants of Minsk, Vilna, Grodno and partially Vitebsk provinces was canceled from May 1, they were transferred for redemption and became owners of their allotments. On November 21, 1863, this order was extended to the remaining districts of the Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces. Here, temporarily liable relations ceased from January 1, 1864. At the same time, redemption payments were reduced. Compared to those specified in the charters, they were reduced in Minsk province by 75.4%, in Grodno province - by 68.8%, Vilna province - by 64.9%, Mogilev province - by 23.8%.

On April 9, 1863, commissions were created that were supposed to check the size of peasant allotments and draw up redemption acts within a two-year period. Peasants who were deprived of land after the inventory was compiled were given three acres of land per family, and after 1857, those who were deprived of land were given a full allotment of land. More than 20,000 households received land in the Minsk, Grodno and Vilna provinces. The peasants of the Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces were returned part of the land that had been cut off during the preparation of charters. They also retained easements and so on, but only in those estates where they existed before the reform of 1861.
The landlords of Belarus were dissatisfied with the activities of the inspection commissions in connection with the increase in allotments and the decrease in duties. Therefore, after the suppression of peasant uprisings, the work of the inspection commission began to be reviewed, taking into account the complaints of the landlords. Soon they were completely liquidated, and the completion of redemption operations was entrusted to the county world congress. The drafting of redemption acts in Belarus was completed mainly by the beginning of the 70s.
The political events of 1863 forced a review of the land management of the state peasants, who accounted for about 20% of the rural population of Belarus. The conditions for the liberation of the state peasants from feudal dependence were more favorable than those of the landlords. In accordance with the law of May 16, 1867, they were immediately transferred from rent to redemption and became owners of land plots, but redemption was not mandatory for them. The state peasants basically retained their allotments, which turned out to be higher than those of the landlords. Peasants had to pay quitrent taxes to the state for the use of land.

By the end of the 80s. 19th century the government adopted a number of laws and decrees that determined the conditions for land use and the transition to the redemption of others, relatively few categories of the rural population (chinsheviks, odnodvorets, old believers, etc.). While preserving significant feudal vestiges, these laws, nevertheless, contributed to the development of the capitalist system in the Belarusian countryside, the merging of individual groups of the rural population with the bulk of the peasants.

Thus, the reform in Belarus and Lithuania was carried out on more favorable terms for the peasants. The average size of the allotments of the former landlord peasants of Belarus turned out to be higher than in Russia as a whole (in Belarus 4.2 - 5.7 acres, in Russia - 3.3 acres). In addition, Belarusian, as well as Lithuanian peasants, were reduced duties. However, these concessions of the autocracy did not eliminate the peasant lack of land. The landowners held in their hands more than half of the best land. At the same time, about 40% of the former landlord peasants received allotments that were not sufficient for independent farming.

Thus, the main serf remnant in the economy after the reform was landlordism. Easements were also preserved, and so on, striped, communal land use was not eliminated in the eastern part of Belarus: 86% of all peasant households in Mogilev and 46% of Vitebsk provinces were part of communities that bound the peasants with mutual responsibility and tied them both to the land and to the landowner . Even reduced redemption payments were beyond the power of the peasants. Arrears on them were so large that the government was forced by decree of December 28, 1881 to make a general reduction in redemption payments, which also affected Belarus.

6.3. Along with the agrarian reform of 1861, the government of Alexander II prepared and carried out a number of other bourgeois reforms that contributed to the elimination of contradictions in other spheres of life. One of the first was the zemstvo reform of 1864, in accordance with which new institutions were introduced in the central provinces and districts - zemstvos, local all-estate self-government bodies. Zemstvos did not interfere in state issues, their activities were limited to economic educational functions. Although the zemstvos were called all-estate and were elected, the principle of property qualification was taken as the basis. The members of the zemstvos were mostly nobles. Zemstvos were under the control of the governors and the police. The governor had the power to suspend the implementation of the decisions of the Zemstvos. But in the Belarusian provinces, this reform was not completed.

Judicial reform. In 1864, judicial reform began. The independence of the court from the administration was proclaimed: a government-appointed judge could be dismissed only by a court order. Responsibility of all estates before the law was introduced. The limitations of the judicial reform were manifested in the fact that the prosecution of a state official was carried out not by a court decision, but by a decision of his superiors. The publicity of the court was announced, i.e. the public and members of the press could attend court hearings. A competition between the prosecutor and the lawyer (sworn attorney) was introduced.

Although the classlessness of the court was proclaimed, the volost court was preserved for the peasants, the consistory for the clergy, and the commercial court for the consideration of commercial cases and cases of merchants. A military court has also been preserved. Political cases were withdrawn from the district courts and began to be considered by special present, without a jury. The highest court was the Senate.

military reform. Russia's defeat in the Crimean War showed that the Russian army needed a radical reorganization. The tense international situation, the rapid growth of militarism, military equipment, the increase in the number of armies in other states, new methods of warfare and, of course, the tasks of the country's foreign policy forced the government of Alexander II in 1862-1874. implement reforms in the military sphere. One of the tasks of military reform is to reduce the size of the army in wartime and create opportunities for a significant increase in it in wartime.

A statesman, Minister of War D.A. made a huge contribution to the reforms. Milyutin. The country introduced universal military service for males over the age of 21, and reduced the terms of service for those who had an education. The term of service in the infantry was set at six years with further enrollment in the reserve for nine years; in the navy, the term of service was seven years and three years in the reserve.

In 1864, a reform was carried out in the system of training officers and military specialists. Military gymnasiums and cadet schools were created - educational institutions of the middle level of education. The system of higher military education expanded.

In 1967, the rearmament of the army began - the replacement of cast-iron and bronze guns with steel ones, the first rifled guns were adopted.

The inconsistency of the military reform was manifested in the fact that 70-75% of people, upon reaching the age of 21, were enrolled in the reserve for 15 years, and then in the militia warriors until the age of 40. This meant that a significant part of the men did not receive proper military training. In addition, part of the non-native population was exempted from military service: natives of Central Asia, Kazakhstan and the Far North, as well as persons of clergy and persons belonging to various sectarian societies. The special military justice, which was in charge of cases of state crimes, was not abolished.

City reform. In 1870, city self-government was reorganized in the style of zemstvo institutions. The adoption of the law on the reform of urban self-government was caused by the needs of urban development, aimed at creating conditions for the development of urban economy and attracting entrepreneurs to the work of self-government bodies. The reform abolished the old Ekaterininskaya class city duma and introduced a classless duma, elected for four years. The right to vote was granted to males who had reached the age of 25 and paid taxes and fees in favor of the city. Along with private individuals, institutions and societies that had real estate and paid taxes and fees to the city budget received the right to vote. To manage the city, the city duma elected the city government (the executive body of the thought) and the city head. The elected bodies were in charge of the improvement of the city, health and education. Like zemstvo institutions, the city duma could not interfere in state issues.

Education reform was quite radical for the second half of the 19th century. In 1863, a new university charter was introduced, according to which the rector, professors and associate professors were elected to vacant positions by the university council. This proclaimed the autonomy of the universities, they became less dependent on the Ministry of Public Education. However, the teachers elected by the council were still approved by the ministry. Another event in the educational system was the introduction in 1864 of the principles of an all-estate school, the creation of state, zemstvo and parochial schools. These three types of schools represented the system of primary, three-year education. The first Sunday schools for adults also began to be established.

In 1864, two types of gymnasiums were established - classical and real (without ancient languages, but with natural science in a larger volume). Those who graduated from the classical gymnasium had the right to enter the university without exams, and the real one - to technical universities. The continuity of the middle and higher levels of education was established. Since 1861, the only type of gymnasium has become a classical one consisting of seven classes with an eight-year course of study.

The system of higher specialized education began to develop: in the 60s, the Polytechnic Institute in Riga and the Petrovsky Agricultural and Forestry Academy in Moscow were opened.

6.4. The reign of Alexander III (1881-1894) went down in history as the time of "counter-reforms". The ideologists of the new political course were Chief Prosecutor of the Synod K.P. Pobedonostsev, Minister of Internal Affairs D.A. Tolstoy, well-known publicist and public figure M.N. Katkov. The essence of the course was as follows.

First, the new ideologists believed that the causes of the political crisis that began in the country were rooted in ideas harmful to Russia, borrowed from the West. The reforms of Alexander II and the Europeanization of Russia are disastrous for her.

Secondly, the goal of the new domestic policy was formulated - to strengthen the autocracy, its shaken prestige and authority.

Thirdly, the new course assumed the suppression and eradication of "sedition", the revision and improvement, taking into account the above, the laws and institutions that appeared in the "epoch of reforms".

The practical implementation of the new course was reduced to the following provisions.

one). Introduction of the institute of Zemsky chiefs (1889). They were appointed by the Minister of the Interior from among the local landowners and exercised administrative and police control over the peasants. The power of the zemstvo chiefs strengthened the position of the local government and practically restored the rights of the landowners in relation to the peasants.

2). Zemstvo counter-reform (1890). The positions of the nobility in local self-government bodies were strengthened. This was achieved by lowering the property qualification for landowners during elections to zemstvos and increasing it for urban residents.

3). City position (1892). Resolutions of the City Duma began to be approved by the provincial authorities, the number of meetings of the Duma was limited. This city self-government was practically placed under the control of the government.

four). Changes were made to the judicial system. Cases of “resistance to the authorities” (1889) were withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the jury, and publicity and publicity of meetings were limited (1887).

5). The government's protective measures affected the press and education. In 1882, "provisional rules" on the press were introduced, which increased punitive censorship, and a number of publications were closed. The university charter of 1884 effectively abolished the autonomy of the universities; a special inspection began to exercise control over students. Representatives of the "lower classes" found it difficult to get an education.

In the field of culture, ideology, national relations, the emphasis was on "Russian identity". The attitude towards religious dissent was hardened, the rights of persons of non-Orthodox faith, especially Jews, were limited. The government pursued a policy of forcible Russification of the national outskirts.

The counter-reforms aroused discontent among broad sections of Russian society. However, it should be borne in mind that the reforms themselves of the 60-70s. due to their compromise nature were perceived ambiguously. They caused both criticism from the conservatives, who did not want any changes, and complete rejection from the radicals, who took the path of terror and organized a real hunt for the king.

6.5. Having undermined the foundations of the feudal economic system, the reform of 1861 created the conditions for the transition to the capitalist method of agricultural production, which began to take hold in Belarus in the 60s and 70s. An important feature of agrarian relations in the Belarusian region was that more than half of the land belonged to the landowners. Large estates, the so-called latifundia, occupied a significant place in landownership. For example, Prince Wittgenstein owned about 1 million acres, Prince Radivil - 150 thousand, Count Pototsky - 121.6 thousand acres. According to the decrees of the tsarist government, Jews could not have land in the Western Territory, Catholic landlords could not acquire land again, and Catholic peasants were allowed to buy no more than 60 acres.

In the 60s - 70s. the former sectoral structure of agriculture, the three-field system of agriculture and routine equipment were preserved. The world agrarian crisis of the 80s - 90s. forced the landlords to move on to the restructuring of their farms on a capitalist basis. The appearance on the world market of cheap grain from the USA, Argentina, Australia led to a drop in prices for it. Many landlords could not compete in the grain market. This forced them to reorient the structure of their farms towards the development of meat and dairy animal husbandry, increase the sowing of industrial and fodder crops, prompted them to use agricultural machinery and intensify agricultural production in general. The labor system was gradually supplanted by hiring, but this process was slow. Many landlords used semi-serf forms of working off, easements. The labor system has survived the longest and most of all in the eastern part of Belarus. The Grodno province was more capitalized, where the landowners' farms were carried out exclusively by hired labor.
The development of commercial, capitalist agriculture in peasant farms was slow. He was restrained by lack of land. The allotments received were insufficient for this, and as the population grew, they decreased even more. Therefore, capitalist entrepreneurship covered an insignificant prosperous part of the peasantry, which accounted for 8-10% of peasant households. She concentrated in her hands the majority of leased and merchantable lands. The average wealthy part of the peasantry was about 30%. Most of the rural population (about 60%) was forced to engage in fishing activities in search of a livelihood, go to work in the industrial regions of Russia, and also emigrate to the USA, Canada, Argentina and other countries.

Industry Belarus in the first two post-reform decades developed slowly. Most of the enterprises remained at the level of small-scale production and manufactory. A large number of small workshops were concentrated in cities and towns. As a rule, the owner himself worked in them with family members and two or three hired workers. In the early 60s of the XIX century. in Belarus there were about 10 thousand workshops, in which 35 thousand people worked, including 10 thousand hired workers. At the end of the century, there were 84 thousand workshops with a total of 144 thousand people employed. The number of industrial workshops of the manufactory type increased from 127 to 233 from the beginning of the 1960s to the 1990s. In the 1980s and 1990s, the development of the factory industry accelerated. The number of factories and factories has increased 15 times since 1860, and at the end of the 19th century amounted to 1137. The volume of production on them has increased by 37 times, the number of workers - by 9 times. In 1900, the share of factory products was 46.8%, manufactories - up to 15%, small industry - 37.8%. The largest factories were located in cities. However, 2/3 of the factories and factories and almost half of the workers employed in them were located in the countryside.

Railway construction had a great influence on the economic life of Belarus. The first to be put into operation in 1862 was the St. Petersburg-Warsaw highway (the Belarusian section from the Forge to Porechie was 50 versts), in 1866 - the Rizhsko-Orlovskaya, in the 70s - the Moscow-Brest and Libavo-Romenskaya. In the 80s. the Vilna-Baranovichi-Luninets lines began to operate; Gomel - Luninets - Pinsk - Zhabinka; Baranovichi - Slonim - Volkovysk - Bialystok. The total length of railways at the beginning of the 20th century. amounted to 2837 versts.

The development of industry contributed to the growth of cities. Particularly successful were those that became railway junctions and stations. In terms of its economic importance, the status of the main city of Belarus was gradually acquired by Minsk, whose population at the end of the century amounted to 99.9 thousand people. In general, the urban population of Belarus from 1813 to 1897. increased from 330 to 648 thousand people. About 500 thousand people lived at that time in shtetls. By the beginning of the twentieth century. the formation of the internal market was completed, and permanent shop and shop trade increased significantly. Trade associations, credit institutions, banks and savings banks sprang up. In the 80s. in Belarus there were branches of the State, Peasant, Noble banks, Minsk Commercial, etc.

With the expansion of capitalist forms of management, the structure of society also changed. The feudal-class division was losing its significance. There was a process of formation of new social groups and classes. At the end of the XIX century. in Belarus there were more than 400 thousand workers, including day laborers in agriculture. Of these, 142.8 thousand worked in industry and transport. In professional terms, sewers, tobacco workers, bakers, etc. dominated among the workers. The urban proletariat was replenished, first of all, at the expense of impoverished burghers, artisans, merchants, mostly of Jewish nationality. The leading role in the socio-economic life of society was gradually occupied by a layer of entrepreneurs. The bourgeoisie grew at the expense of the nobility and merchants, as well as the philistines. The bulk of manufactories and factories belonged to the nobility. The owners of small enterprises in cities and towns were usually philistines, mostly of Jewish nationality. At the end of the century, the population of Belarus was distributed according to the social class composition as follows: the big bourgeoisie, landowners, top officials accounted for 2.3%, the middle prosperous bourgeoisie - 10.4%, small owners - 30.8%, semi-proletarians and proletarians - 56, 5%.

Test questions:

1. Prove that the main reason for the reform of 1861 was the crisis of the feudal-serf system and the maturing in the depths of its new capitalist relations. 2. How was the preparation of the reform of 1861 to abolish serfdom?
3. Give a description of the main documents on the basis of which the reform of 1861 was carried out in Belarus. 4. Describe the features of the reform of 1861 in Belarus. 5. Expand the essence of the redemption operation under the reform of 1861. Who are temporarily liable peasants? 6. What changes took place in the implementation of the reform after the suppression of the uprising in 1863? 7. How did capitalist relations develop in the agriculture of Belarus in the second half of the 19th century?
8. Give a description of landownership in Belarus after the abolition of serfdom? 9. In what direction did the specialization of agriculture develop in the 60-70s. 19th century? 10. What role did the global agrarian crisis of the 80-90s play in the further development of agricultural production and its specialization in Belarus? 19th century.? 11. Describe the development and role of railway transport in Belarus in 60-90s. 19th century
12. Determine the features in the development of domestic and foreign trade in the Belarusian provinces in the second half of the XIX century. 13. Describe the largest trade center in Belarus in the second half of the 19th century.

Topics of reports:

1. Reforms of P.D. Kisyalev in Belarus.

3. The essence of the redemption operation under the reform of 1861

4. Changes in the agrarian reform in Belarus in connection with the uprising of 1863.

Abstract topics:

1. Agrarian reform of 1861 and the mechanism of its implementation in Belarus

2. Industry and cities of Belarus in the 2nd half of the 19th century.

3. Rural management after the reform of 1861

4. The significance of the bourgeois reforms of the 60-70s of the XIX century.

Introduction

2. The peasant community after the reform of 1861

3. Land ownership and land use in Belarus after the abolition of serfdom
3.1. Peasant allotment land use
3.2. Buying land
3.3. Rent

4. Agricultural machinery and farming systems
4.1. Agricultural implements and machines
4.2. farming systems

Conclusion
List of used literature

Introduction

In the history of the Russian Empire abolition of serfdom is one of the significant transformations of the 19th century. The problem of reforms and economic transformations in Russia in the 19th century is complex and controversial. The difficulty in studying this issue lies in the fact that at the moment there are few publications on the situation of the Belarusian village after the abolition of serfdom, and those monographs and textbooks published during the Soviet period contain a one-sided position and consider this problem under the ideological influence of the classics of Marxism-Leninism .

The following goals and objectives are set in the course work:

• show the socio-economic consequences of the reform of 1861. in the Belarusian village;
• identify both positive and negative aspects of transformations in agriculture;
• consider and analyze the features of the abolition of serfdom in Belarus;
• try to cover this issue as objectively as possible, without ideological prejudices.

The basis of the course project was the work of Panyutich V. V. “Socio-economic development of the Belarusian village in 1861-1990”, Lipinsky L. P. “The development of capitalism in agriculture in Belarus (second half of the 19th century)”, Fridman M. B. “The abolition of serfdom in Belarus”, Kozhushkova A. N. “The development of capitalism in agriculture in Belarus in the second half of the 19th century”, Vereshchagina P. D. “Peasant migrations from Belarus (second half of the 19th century)”, etc. The work used the monographs of Beilkin Kh. Yu. Panyutich V.V.

1. CATEGORIES OF PEASANTS AND THEIR SITUATION AFTER THE ABOLITION OF serfdom

After the abolition of serfdom, the peasantry was still divided into a number of categories that had survived from the feudal era. The liberation of privately owned peasants from serfdom and the transfer of temporarily liable peasants of Belarus and Lithuania to the category of owners put on the order of the day the question of the land arrangement of the remaining groups of the rural population living in the northwestern provinces.

In terms of the relative size of landed property in the period under study, Belarus ranked first in European Russia. The landlord peasants were serfs, that is, they were attached to the land, the property of the landowners. For the allotments provided by the landowner, they were subject to feudal land rent - labor rent (corvée), food (“danina”) and cash rent (cash quitrent). In the Belarusian landowner's village, labor rent dominated. By the end of the 1950s, 97% of the landlord peasants were corvées. This factor hampered the disintegration of feudal serfdom and the development of capitalist relations both in the farm (lordly) and in the peasant economy.

The po-Jesuit "firsts" are the peasants of the estates that previously belonged to the Order of the Jesuits and, after its liquidation, passed into the state treasury in 1775. These estates were distributed to the nobles with the condition that 4.5% of the estates' income be paid annually to the state. Later this amount was increased to 6%. The tsarist government did not have the right to carry out the so-called lustration, i.e., verification of land in order to determine their profitability, and review these payments. The government could transfer the estate to another person only in the event of faulty payment of the interest due. Stucco peasants-peasants of the former state estates, granted during the time of the Commonwealth in hereditary (on the male line) possession of various persons for military service. Tsarism also left them in the hands of the former owners without the right to partition.

Consequently, in relation to the “first” estates of the Jesuits, the treasury retained only the right to control the correctness of making state payments, and the fiefs to monitor indivisibility. In addition, in relation to the owners, the peasants of all these estates were on the general landowner's right. During the inventory reform in the western provinces in the mid-40s-50s of the XIX century. obligatory inventories in the poiesuit "first" and fief estates were introduced in the same way as in the landowners. Finally, the conditions for the liberation of the Jesuit "first" and fief peasants from serfdom, the termination of obligatory relations with the owners were the same as for the landlord peasants. Based on the foregoing, the Poesuit "first" and stucco estates were essentially privately owned. The Ministry of State Property also did not consider them the property of the treasury, indicating that they were only under the supervision of the government. In the early 1970s, in the fief estates of Russian landowners, the land, minus the peasant allotments, became their full property, and the estates themselves were excluded from the number of fiefs. Similar land holdings of the Polish landlords continued to remain on fiefdom. The Jesuit "firsts" and lazy peasants lived in the west and in the center of Belarus.

With the abolition of serfdom, under the influence of the uprising of 1863 in Lithuania and Belarus and the peasant movement in response to the reform, by government decrees of March 1 and November 2, 1863, they were transferred to compulsory redemption.
After the landlord peasants, the second largest category of the peasant population of Belarus was the state, or state, peasants. In 5 northwestern provinces, 390,795 revision souls lived. At the end of the 1950s, they accounted for almost 1/5 of the peasant population (in European Russia as a whole, this figure was much higher - 48.2%). There were 6919 villages of state peasants, in which there were 62.6 thousand households, 227.3 thousand (95%) revision souls were endowed with state land, 8.2 thousand (3.4%) were settled on their own lands; 0.7 thousand (0.3%) male peasants lived on privately owned lands. In the use of the peasantry of the state village of Belarus there were 1262.9 thousand dess. convenient state land, which accounted for 45.2% of state land ownership. The overwhelming majority of state peasants lived in the west and north of the region under consideration. According to the 10th revision, in the Belarusian districts of the Grodno province. there were 135,139 souls of both sexes, or 32.2% of the peasant population, Vitebsk - 79,216 (29.9%), Vilna - 84,442 (24.5%). A variety of state peasants were also the Jesuit "second" - the peasants of the estates of the Order of the Jesuits in the eastern part of Belarus, after the liquidation of it passed into the disposal of the treasury.

As elsewhere in Russia, the state peasants of Belarus paid feudal rent to the state in the form of a cash quitrent, which replaced corvée in 1844-1857. In 1858, 226.8 thousand (94.6%) census souls of state peasants were obliged to pay the land tax due in 1858. They occupied an intermediate position between the landlord serfs and free people. The state peasants were recognized as subjects of civil and public law, and at the same time they were entirely dependent on the feudal state and subjected to feudal exploitation on its part. They were personally free, at their own discretion disposed of their labor force. But serfdom was also reflected in the position of the state peasants. They were obliged to unquestioningly obey the police and government officials. They could be donated to the nobles along with the state lands on which they lived. The legal status of the state peasants was fragile. By the law of May 16, 1867, they were transferred to compulsory redemption and ranked as "peasant owners."

A separate category of serfs was represented by specific peasants attached to the estates of the royal family. They occupied an intermediate position between the landlord and state peasantry, in comparison with the first they enjoyed relatively greater freedom. Specific peasants paid land rents. At the end of the 50s of the XIX century. they were freed from serfdom. Specific peasants lived in the eastern counties. In connection with the mass peasant movement and the uprising in the Kingdom of Poland, Lithuania and Belarus, the tsarist government was forced by decree of June 26, 1863 to transfer all appanage peasants to compulsory redemption.

On the eve of the abolition of serfdom, a small number of peasants belonged to religious organizations. As is known, as a result of the secularization of most of the monastic and church possessions in the western provinces in the early 30s and 40s of the XIX century. the bulk of the peasants who belonged to churches and monasteries passed into the jurisdiction of the treasury, that is, they became state-owned. By the end of the 50s, only some monasteries and churches of the former Basilian Uniate Order, reunited with the Orthodox Church, retained the right to own serfs. They were available in all regions of Belarus. In the church and monastic estates in the west of Belarus, the labor-rent form of rent (corvée) prevailed, while in the east, in some of them, cash rent (chinsh) was practiced for the most part, in others - labor-rent.

The class group of the peasant population of the western provinces was made up of free people. They were personally free, had the right to move from one place to another, but were required to pay a capitation dues or work for the land. The estate of free people was formed in the era of feudalism mainly from the indigenous population - personally free peasants of various categories, petty gentry, and in small numbers at the expense of Russian Old Believers, immigrants from Austria, Prussia and other countries. By the middle of the XIX century. most of them were enslaved by the landlords. In 1858, in Minsk, the Belarusian districts of the Vilna and Grodno provinces, 63.5% of free people lived on landlords' land, 16.4% - on state land, 20.1% - on their own. Mogilev province. free people are not noted in the sources of the middle of the 19th century. right up to the second half of the 60s, but in the last period, the reports of the governor fix them in the amount of from 850 to 1.5 thousand souls of both sexes. The vast majority of free people of Belarus settled in the central and western counties

By the time of the abolition of serfdom, as a result of the mass dispossession of the peasantry, the number of free people had increased significantly, amounting to about 100 thousand revision souls in Lithuania and Belarus. Most of them lived in Lithuania. Local "Regulations" do not even mention free people. The mass dispossession of the peasantry led to the strengthening of the peasant movement, including the struggle of free people for land. Under its influence, on September 21, 1861, a law was issued, according to which the consideration of cases on the recognition of serfs as free people was stopped, it was forbidden to drive them off the land. The presence of a mass of landless free people, their struggle for land, the uprising of 1863 in Lithuania and Belarus forced tsarism on July 25, 1864 to publish a decree on their land organization. Free people who lived on the landowners' lands of the western provinces were ranked among the peasant class. Landless landowners after November 20, 1857 (free people of the 1st category) were allocated land with the right to buy it on an equal basis with the former landlord peasants, deprived of land allotments before this period (free people of the 2nd category) remained for 12 years in the position of tenants . At the end of the lease term, the landowner had the right to evict them from the estate. The redemption of land or the conclusion of a new lease agreement depended entirely on the will of the landowner. As a result of the struggle of free people of the 2nd category for the land, the tsarist government was forced to also grant them the right to redeem. According to the law of June 3, 1882, in the Vilna, Grodno and Kovno provinces, free people of the 2nd category could redeem land plots that had been continuously rented since 1864 within 3 years, or conclude new lease contracts for 6 years.

In the 50-70s of the XIX century. tsarism continued the policy of planting Jewish settlements on state lands of the "Pale of Settlement". However, this policy failed. As before, the Jewish population cultivated only part of the land plots. Many settlers petitioned to classify them again as philistines, often arbitrarily leaving the land.

Confirmation of the collapse of the planting of Jewish agricultural colonies on the western outskirts of the Russian Empire is the policy of the tsarist government towards the Jewish agricultural population in the post-reform period. In the middle of the first post-reform decade, special decrees of the second half of the 1930s and early 1950s were canceled, which facilitated the transition of part of the Jews to agriculture. When settling, they were deprived of previously granted benefits (allocation of state-owned land plots, long-term exemption from recruitment and other duties, monetary and in-kind benefits). The legal position of Jewish farmers began to be determined by general legislation. They were allowed to move to other taxable classes with installments of government payments and debts to landowners. In the mid 60s. years of the XIX century. in rural areas of Belarus, Lithuania and Right-Bank Ukraine, Jews were deprived of the right to acquire landed property. They were only allowed to rent and accept as collateral privately owned lands inherited by their owners or acquired by them in a generally established manner, without benefits. By the law of May 3, 1882, the Jews of the "Pale of Settlement" were forbidden to settle outside cities and towns, excluding previously founded agricultural settlements. Here, the Jewish population was deprived of the right to rent, accept as collateral and manage real estate, including land, of all kinds. In the countryside, he was still not allowed to buy land. In the first years of the XX century. under the influence of the revolutionary movement in Russia, tsarism was forced to soften these restrictions. The Jewish population received permission to live in many rural settlements of the "Pale of Settlement", to acquire plots there and freely dispose of them. Other legislative restrictions concerning the resettlement of Jews, Jewish land ownership and land use, remained until the October Revolution.

In Byelorussia, after the reform of 1861, class groups of co-religious tenants and Old Believers, Orthodox tenants, and Chinsheviks also persisted for a long time. Before the reform, fellow believers and Old Believers were personally free tenants who rented the landlords' land, mostly for a cash payment.

In Belarus, the majority of co-religionists and Old Believers lived in the eastern counties. A significant stratum of wealthy peasants formed among them. The uprising of 1863 in Lithuania and Belarus was met with hostility by the Old Believers. Considering this circumstance, M. N. Muravyov, by a circular dated June 17, 1863, forbade them to be driven away from the leased land plots even at the end of the lease term. However, since the beginning of the 70s of the XIX century. the Vilna administration, with the knowledge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, canceled the said circular. Since that time, the Old Believers could rent land only on the basis of voluntary agreements with the landowners. According to the law of May 22, 1876, part of the fellow believers and Old Believers of the western provinces enjoyed the right to lease land indefinitely. Its redemption could be made by voluntary agreement of the parties or at the request of the landowner. The right to buy land by voluntary agreement of the parties or at the request of the landowner received 9412 (60.5%) souls of the Old Believers. In case of refusal to buy out at the request of the landowner, the tenant was obliged to leave the land plot within a year. Fellow believers and Old Believers-philistines who switched to ransom were ranked among the peasant class. Some of the co-religionists and Old Believers of the Western Territory received the right to obligatory redemption of land on the conditions indicated above according to the law of June 4, 1901.

A separate category of peasants in the western provinces was made up of tenants of the Orthodox confession, people from various estate groups of the rural population (landowner and state peasants, yard, retired soldiers, etc.). Before the abolition of serfdom, they were personally free and lived on the landlords' lands, renting, mainly for money, most often small (up to 10 dess.) plots of land. According to the State Council, in the provinces of Minsk, Vitebsk, Mogilev and Kovno there were 2,207 households of Orthodox tenants, in which there were 5,597 male souls who rented 18,200 dess. earth. Of these, 4470 (79.2%) souls in 1854 (84%) households lived in the Minsk province. 1341 householders settled here in the towns of Kopyl, Pesochno, David-Gorodok and Petrikov. The bulk of the Orthodox tenants, as well as the Old Believers, were assigned to the estate of the townspeople. However, their main occupation was agriculture, in fact they were peasants. According to the law of January 19, 1893, Orthodox tenants who settled on the landowners' lands of the western provinces before the abolition of serfdom were granted the right to buy land, but in the above-mentioned towns it was allowed only by voluntary agreement of the parties. Redemption was allowed within 3 years from the date of issuance of this law, subject to the expiration of lease contracts. The tenants, who did not want to exercise this right during this time, were forced to leave the land plots for a year.

The reform of 1861 did not lead to the liquidation of land relations in the western provinces. Local "Regulations" do not even mention them, as well as free people. The landowners continued to expel rural chinsheviks from the land even in the post-reform period. The struggle of the Chinsheviks for their rights forced the tsarist government to carry out the Chinshevik reform. The law of June 9, 1886 in the countryside of Belarus, Lithuania and the Right-Bank Ukraine abolished land relations. Chinsheviks were transferred to a mandatory ransom. In order to prove the right of hereditary lease of land, they had to submit certain documents. Chinsheviks, who proved their lease rights to the land plots they occupied, under a voluntary agreement with the landowner, could redeem them within 3 years or replace the chinshev holding with a simple lease. Chinsheviks-philistines who switched to redemption were assigned to volosts. Chinsheviks were deprived of their rights by tenants who did not have documents or did not present evidence for the use of land, as well as chinsheviks who used it only for the last 10 years before the reform of 1886.

In post-reform Belarus of the era of capitalism, as in all of Russia, the peasants still constituted the overwhelming majority of the population. By the end of the XIX century. they accounted for more than 3/4 of the population (on average in European Russia, their share was higher - 84.2%). In Belarus, this figure was noticeably lower (about 72%) only in Minsk Gubernia, which was explained by the presence here of a larger stratum of philistines and nobility, who in 1897 in the noted province accounted for 23.6 and 3.6% of the population, respectively (in Belarus in general 20 and 2.7%).

In 1897, women accounted for 49.85% of the peasant population of Belarus, men - 50.15% (in European Russia, 50.97 and 49.03%, respectively). The share of peasant women was the highest in Mogilev Gubernia. - 50.69%, the lowest - in the Belarusian districts of the Grodno province - 48.1%. By the end of the XIX century. in Belarus people of working age (men from 18 to 60 years old, women from 16 to 55 years old) among the entire rural population accounted for 45.8% (46.8% in European Russia). The highest value of this indicator was in the Belarusian counties of the Grodno province. (48%), the smallest - in the Mogilev province. (43.9%). Approximately the same was the proportion of the able-bodied population among the peasants, who constituted the vast majority (82.8%) of the rural population.

The bulk of the peasants were engaged in agricultural production. According to the 1897 census, 83.8% of the rural population of Belarus, including family members, named agriculture and animal husbandry as their main occupation (84.1% in European Russia). The highest proportion of such a population was noted in the Belarusian districts of the Vitebsk province. (86.6%), the lowest - in the Belarusian districts of the Grodno province. (81.5%). Among the peasants, this figure was even higher. However, we must not forget that the most numerous stratum of the peasantry - the peasant poor received their livelihood for the most part or half from various kinds of "side earnings".

During the period under review, the peasant population of Belarus more than doubled. Its growth rate was higher than that of the urban population.

Table 1. Ethnic composition of the peasant population of Belarus, 1897

Thousand people %
Belarusians 4382.8 88.32
Ukrainians 303.1 6.11
Russians 156.9 3.1
Poles 47.0 0.95
Lithuanians 33.9 0.68
Jews 16.9 0.34
Latvians 11.2 0.23
Tatars 2.6 0.05
Germans 2.5 0.05
Other 5.6 0.11
Total 4962.5 100.0

The national composition of the population of Belarus was far from unambiguous. From 1864 to 1897, in 5 western provinces, the number of Belarusians increased by 93.8%, Russians - by 247.9, Ukrainians - by 97.8, Jews - by 159.5, Latvians - by 64.1, Germans - by 198.7, Tatars - by 52.5%. The number of Poles and Lithuanians remained almost at the same level (an increase of 0.4 and 4.2%, respectively). The dynamics of the population in the national plan was determined both by its natural increase and mechanical movement in the European part of the country and beyond.
As can be seen from Table 1, the vast majority of Belarusian peasants were Belarusians. They significantly predominated in most regions. Only in the Belarusian districts of the Grodno province. their average share (60.1%) was much smaller than in other regions. In the southern part of the country, the majority of peasants, according to the 1897 census, called themselves Ukrainians. A significant proportion of the peasant population were Russians, less - Poles. They were available in all regions, but the first most (8.2% of the total number of peasants) were in the Belarusian districts of the Vitebsk province. (Old Believers and co-religionists), the second - in the Belarusian districts of the Grodno province. (1.6%) and in Minsk (1.2%) provinces. Lithuanians lived mainly in the Belarusian districts of the Vilna province. (3.8%). About half of the Latvian peasants in Belarus accounted for the Belarusian districts of the Vitebsk province. (1% of all peasants), but there were also large colonies of them in Mogilev (0.29%) and Minsk (0.1%) provinces. Peasant Tatars lived mainly in the Minsk province. Jewish farmers and German colonists met in all regions.

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19. Socio-economic development of Belarus at the end of 18 p. Half of the 19th century.

At the end of the XVIII - the first half of the XIX century. in Belarus, as in Russia, there was a process of disintegration of the feudal-serf system and the emergence of new, capitalist relations. This was evidenced by the changes that took place in industry: the number of manufactories grew, many of them began to use freelance labor. The first factories appeared. They were built in the 1920s in the towns of Khomsk and Kosovo in the Grodno province and produced cloth. Among the enterprises of the manufactory type, the most common were enterprises for the processing of agricultural raw materials: distilleries, cloth, linen, sugar, and flour mills. In the middle of the 19th century, steam engines began to be used in some manufactories. At the end of the 1950s, there were 549 patrimonial and capitalist enterprises in Belarus with 6,500 workers. Civilians among them accounted for 43%.

The transition from manual labor to machine labor determined the industrial revolution, which began in England in the second half of the 18th century and provided a sharp increase in labor productivity. In Belarus, these processes were just beginning. The development of industry was facilitated by work to improve communications, which contributed to the inclusion of the Belarusian economy in the all-Russian market. Of great economic importance were the canals that connected the rivers of the Black Sea basin with the rivers of the Baltic Sea basin (Oginsky, Berezinekia, Dnieper-Bugsky). Brest, Kobrin, Pinsk, Borisov and other cities carried on a lively trade along these waterways, and their industrial importance increased. During the period from 1825 to 1861, the population of 42 cities of Belarus increased from 151 thousand to 320 thousand people.

The rapid growth of the urban population of Belorussia in the 1930s and 1950s is explained mainly not by economic, but by political factors, primarily by the forced eviction of Jews from villages and landlord estates to cities and towns. The most numerous category of the urban population was the philistines (75-80%) - artisans, small traders, laborers and others. The urban population paid various state and local (zemstvo) taxes and performed numerous natural duties. Huge taxes and duties in favor of the feudal-serf state almost completely absorbed the profits of even the prosperous part of the townspeople and the incomes of the cities. They had a negative impact on their socio-economic development, on the process of primitive accumulation of capital.

But, nevertheless, the cities developed: the number of industrial enterprises increased, trade expanded. In addition to weekly markets and traditional fairs, a permanent shop trade was introduced more and more widely.

The expansion of trade ties was facilitated by the emerging industrial specialization of industrial and agricultural production in individual regions. The construction of overland trade routes contributed to the strengthening of their trade ties. Wide roads lined with birches, the so-called "guests", connected Belarusian cities with other cities of the empire. Belarus exported mainly flax and flax products, grain, vodka, alcohol, cotton, lard, timber. Industrial goods were brought to Belarus.

New phenomena in the economy, which were caused by the formation of capitalist relations, were also identified in the Belarusian village. Agriculture was increasingly connected with the market, the area of ​​arable land increased, the sowing of industrial crops (flax, hemp) expanded, the proportion of potatoes and sugar beets increased, and fine-wool sheep breeding arose. In a number of landlord farms, the use of agricultural machinery began. The Belarusian Free Economic Society, which existed from 1826 to 1841 in Vitebsk, was engaged in the promotion of advanced methods of agriculture and animal husbandry. In the 1940s, the first agricultural institute in Russia was opened in Gorki, Mogilev province.

In addition to purely agricultural work, the peasants were increasingly engaged in crafts, were hired for various jobs. Their property stratification expanded: prosperous peasants stood out, who rented mills, traded, and so on.

The further development of progressive phenomena in the economy was held back by the dominance of the feudal-corvee system, the existence of serfdom. In order to increase the profitability of the estates, the landlords expanded crops at the expense of peasant allotments, created new farms. But neglected, unfertilized, poorly cultivated land gave low yields. From 1820 to 1850 in the Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces there were 10 lean years. The peasants were increasingly ruined and could not bear the growing duties to the same extent as before. The indebtedness of landowners' estates grew rapidly.

The peasants of the state estates also found themselves in a difficult situation. They, as a rule, were rented out to officials and impoverished nobles, and the tenants sought to squeeze out everything they could take from the peasants, and without a twinge of conscience increased the duties.

Not being able to feed their families from allotments, to pay numerous taxes and dues on time, many peasants were forced to look for side earnings. In their free time from agricultural work, with the permission of the landowners or tenants, they went to logging, rafting and road construction, were engaged in carting and home crafts.

Many landlords themselves gave their serfs under contracts for construction and road work, often in distant provinces of Russia. They took their wages for their work.

The growth of corvée, the mass dispossession of the peasantry, frequent crop failures, the arbitrariness of the landlords and tenants led to the decline of the peasant economy, to an even greater impoverishment of the peasant masses. All this aroused the discontent of the peasantry and pushed them to fight against their oppressors.

The struggle of the peasants against feudal oppression took various forms: filing complaints with the tsar and local authorities, refusing to perform excessive duties, running away from their owners, disobeying the authorities, armed uprisings. Already in the first third of the XIX century. On the territory of Belarus, 46 major peasant uprisings took place.

The growth of peasant unrest compelled tsarism to take certain legislative measures in order to limit the arbitrariness of the landlords and tenants and thereby weaken the discontent of the peasants. Even Paul I, in order to limit the arbitrariness of the landlords, issued a decree prohibiting forcing the peasants to work on Sunday and recommended limiting corvée to three days a week. But these recommendations remained on paper, because the landowner himself decided whether to accept them or not. The decree of the Senate of 1818 could not solve this problem, which ordered the governors of the western provinces to establish “strict supervision” so that the landlords did not demand from their peasants the performance of “exorbitant duties”, but only those that were “indicated in inventories”. This forced the Cabinet of Ministers in 1824 to create a commission to check the state of service of the peasants of Belarus. As a result of the audit, it was found that when determining duties, the landowners allow "complete arbitrariness" and force the peasants to perform excessive "lessons of work."

But the conclusions of the commission also yielded nothing, for tsarism was afraid to touch upon the foundations of serfdom. This is also evidenced by the fact that Nicholas I created various secret committees to solve the peasant question five more times, but when it came to making a specific decision, he recognized the recommendations of the committees as untimely, and dissolved the committees themselves.

Nevertheless, in the second quarter of the XIX century. some reforms were carried out to defuse the tension in the countryside. In 1835, the "Rules on the return of peasants for hire to land and other menial work" were approved. According to them, the landlords could give under contracts from multi-family households no more than half of the workers, and the contracts should have indicated "the amount of payment, the amount of working time and the place of work."

A reform was also carried out to improve the management of state peasants, initiated by Count P.D. Kiselev, appointed in 1836 as Minister of State Property. Somewhat earlier, he developed the principles for managing estates sequestered in the western provinces from the participants in the uprising of 1830-1831. On their basis, Nicholas I prepared and signed in December 1839 "Regulations on the management of state estates in the western provinces and the Bialystok region." It included the implementation of two main activities:

a) conducting lustration - a detailed description of each state estate; b) the creation of an apparatus that was supposed to manage state estates.

To carry out the lustration in each province, special committees of state officials were created. They were guided in their activities by a separate "Regulation on Lustration" and had to regulate the economic situation of state peasants, their relationship with temporary owners.

In order to eliminate the acute lack of land of the state peasants, the "Regulations" provided for the redistribution of their land allotments. The average size of a per capita allotment was to consist of three tithes of arable land and one tithe of hayfields - four tithes per revision soul. It was also envisaged to allocate small plots of forest for each peasant farm. The increase in peasant allotments occurred due to the elimination of farms.

To settle duties, the peasants of state estates, according to their property status, were divided into four categories: taxable, who had at least 2 heads of working cattle (oxen or horses); semi-taxable, who had one head of working cattle; gardeners and beans. For heavy peasants, corvée was set at a rate of 3 days with a horse per week. For semi-tight people, it was reduced by half. Gardeners for the use of vegetable gardens and pastures performed various yard work, and, if necessary, were involved in corvée. Bobyls - landless people, and often the homeless were used to work on estates for a kind or monetary reward.

The reforms carried out, despite their half-heartedness, nevertheless improved the position of the state peasants. As a result of the lustration, the size of their duties decreased by 30-35% in Minsk and Grodno and by 62-65% in Vitebsk and Mogilev provinces; per capita land plots increased by 32-35% in Minsk and Grodno provinces and by 15% in Mogilev.

To control the implementation of reforms during the lustration and the management of state estates, a special apparatus was subsequently created: chambers of state property in the provinces, state districts in the counties, volost boards and volost courts in rural areas. Provincial chambers and state districts were staffed with state officials, volost boards and volost courts, as well as village elders, sots and foremen were elected by the peasants themselves.

Lustration was the starting point in the implementation of further measures towards the settlement of the economic situation of the state peasants. In April 1844, Nicholas I approved Kiselyov's plans for the transfer of peasants from state estates from corvée to quitrent. The size of the dues had to correspond to the income that the treasury received from inventories and contracts. Until 1857, corvee in state estates on the territory of Belarus had already been completely replaced by dues (cash). The quitrent with food and other duties were abolished. By this time, farmsteads in state estates were also liquidated everywhere.

Reforming economic relations in state estates, the tsarist government did not lose sight of the privately owned peasants, whose unrest grew from year to year. In 1844, in Belarus and the Right-Bank Ukraine (Volyn, Kyiv and Podolsk provinces), provincial inventory committees were created, which were instructed to revise previously existing inventories on landlord estates, and where there were none, to compile new ones. In their activities, they were guided by special rules, the main requirement of which was to determine the duties of the peasants in accordance with the size and quality of the land allotments allotted to them. The duties could not exceed V3 of the gross income from the land plot used by the peasant

economy.

The rules also stipulated that a peasant household with only one able-bodied man would be allotted from 4 3/4 to 9 acres, depending on the quantity and quality of land on the estate. Such an economy had to work in corvee for 3 days with a horse (men's corvee) and 1 day without a horse (women's corvee). Submarine service remained, but had to be carried out on account of corvée days. The landowners were forbidden when they decide to establish the days of the day, as well as to overlay the peasants with natural requisitions.

Work description

At the end of the XVIII - the first half of the XIX century. in Belarus, as in Russia, there was a process of disintegration of the feudal-serf system and the emergence of new, capitalist relations. This was evidenced by the changes that took place in industry: the number of manufactories grew, many of them began to use freelance labor. The first factories appeared. They were built in the 1920s in the towns of Khomsk and Kosovo in the Grodno province and produced cloth. Among the enterprises of the manufactory type, the most common were enterprises for the processing of agricultural raw materials: distilleries, cloth, linen, sugar, flour mills.