Estate in Russia in the 17th century: a brief description

The estate in Russia in the 17th century is a social group that possessed the rights and duties assigned to it, which were inherited from generation to generation. At the present time, in our country, the social structure of the society was finally formed due to the policy of the government and the adoption of a number of resolutions, in particular, the famous Sobornaya Ulozhenie, which essentially fixed the established traditional hierarchy of social strata.

Boyar

The estate in Russia in the 17th century was very often called "rank", but it meant not so much membership in a particular service, but inclusion in a social corporation. At this time in our country, the bureaucratic apparatus of power was finally formed, first of all the boyar Duma, zemsky councils and orders. The right to serve in these representative bodies was a privileged estate in Russia in the 17th century. The latter category included secular and spiritual feudal lords.

The top of the society was the boyars. It included several groups: representatives of the lateral branches of the dynasty of the Rurik, who had become Tatar, Horde princes, nobles from Moldavia and Wallachia, the old Moscow boyars, as well as close personal princes, rulers of principalities who at different times were Are attached to Moscow. This privileged estate in Russia in the 17th century had the right to own a fiefdom - hereditary land ownership, inherited and the right to own serfs. A special place was occupied by the boyars in the Duma under the prince and the tsar. They were the main managerial elite in the administration. The okolnichie - people who accompanied the ruler on the way, received ambassadors from foreign countries, as well as commanding regiments, took up posts as voivodes.

Nobles and servicemen

The next level was occupied by the nobility. It was also divided into categories. Special honor was enjoyed by the Moscow nobles: solicitors, stewards. On the second place were the noblemen of the city - the provincial nobility. These people, like the boyars, had the right to own land and serfs, but unlike the first, this property was inherited only if the son continued to serve after his father.

The main estates of Russia in the 17th century took shape precisely in this century, when the social structure that had formed in the previous time was legislated. Another important category was military people. They were divided into several categories: archers, gunmen, blacksmiths and Cossacks. They were considered a dependent category of the population.

Urban residents

This group was also highly dependent on the state. The matter is that she was the main supplier of taxes to the tsarist treasury, and therefore the government was especially interested in attaching these people to their permanent place of residence. The people of Posad were imposed a so-called tax, a tribute, and in the event of the escape or departure of some landowner, his share fell on the rest. Therefore, the government has attached the population to a permanent place of residence. However, many found a way out that they began to move to white settlements, which were exempt from taxes, pawned for their owners and owners, while losing personal freedom.

Peasants

Characteristics of the estates of the 17th century in Russia include an analysis of the situation of the bulk of the country's population. We are talking about peasants who also were not a homogeneous mass. They were divided into blacks (who belonged to the state or were personally free), landowners, who were in the personal ownership of landowners, palace, who belonged to the royal family. They carried various kinds of duties, first of all corvée (natural working off) and a quitrent (a monetary or natural contribution in favor of the landowner). Sobornoe Ulozhenie introduced an indefinite search of fugitive peasants, which finally consolidated the existence of serfdom in Russia.

Merchants

The estates of the 17th century in Russia, the table of which is presented in this article, shows how great the degree of differentiation reached by Russian society. The merchants belonged to a separate group. Among them were the most distinguished and wealthy guests who occupied prominent posts in financial management and had the right to own companies and were exempt from taxes. Members of the living room and cloth hundreds also belonged to the privileged part of the traders. They had the right to self-government and their internal affairs were headed by elective heads and foremen. The rest of the merchants paid customs duties to the state.

Clergy

The scheme of estates of Russia in the 17th century shows the place of each social group in the hierarchy. The clergy was divided into two parts: black and white. The monks belonged to the first category. The monasteries also owned the land with the assigned peasants. Parish priests had a family, property, in their charge there was an education. So, based on the foregoing, we can conclude that in Russia in the 17th century the hierarchical feudal society was finally formed .