What is a bast in Ancient Rus?

The peasant population in Russia has always been very poor, and the villagers had to wriggle out in difficult situations by any means. Therefore, until the beginning of the twentieth century, the most popular type of footwear here remained bast shoes. This even led to the fact that Russia was called "lapotnaya". Such a nickname shaded the poverty and backwardness of the common people of the state.

The meaning of the word "bast shoes"

They have always been the shoes of the poorest population, including the peasantry, so it is not surprising that the bast shoes became a symbol that was often mentioned in folklore, in various tales and proverbs. This footwear was worn by almost all residents of the country, regardless of age and sex, except for the population of Siberia and the Cossacks.

It is difficult to explain what a bast can be without mentioning the material from which they are made. Most often they were made from bast and bast, taken from trees such as linden, willow, birch or elm. Sometimes even straw or horsehair was used, because it is very practical, accessible and obedient material, and from it you can make shoes of various shapes and sizes, which is suitable for both adults and children.

Of what did the bast shoes

Due to the fact that these shoes did not have the durability and very quickly stitched, it was necessary to constantly make a new one, up to several pairs per week. The stronger the material, the better the shoes, so the craftsmen very carefully approached his choice. The best was considered a bast obtained from trees not younger than 4 years. The order of the three trees had to be peeled off to get enough material for one pair. It was a long process, which took a lot of time, and as a result, it turned out shoes, which in any case soon fell into disrepair. That's what bast shoes are in Russia.

Features

Some craftsmen managed to make bast shoes, using several materials at once. Sometimes they were of different colors and with different ornaments. It is noteworthy that both bast shoes were absolutely identical, there was no difference between the right and the left.

Despite the fact that the very process of making such shoes was not difficult, people still had to do a lot of bast shoes. Often this was done by men in the winter, when there was less work on the household. The lexical meaning of the word "bast shoes" means simply woven shoes, but this does not reflect all its features at all. So, to put them on, you first had to use special canvas footcloths, and then tie them with special leather garters.

Boots

A more durable kind of footwear at this time were boots, which were much more durable, beautiful and, moreover, comfortable. However, not everyone could afford such a luxury, they were available only to wealthy people who did not have to feel on themselves what the bast shoes are. Boots made of leather or fabric, festive decorated with embroidery, silk and even various beautiful stones. They were much more elegant than usual, in everyday life people often wore simple boots without any ornaments, because this is a much more practical solution.

The result

In the modern world it is very difficult to judge the burdens of life in the village in the 19th century in Russia, but the realization that such bast shoes and how many problems had to be overcome by peasants, just to make shoes, can show people how difficult life was before. They were quite impractical and very quickly worn out, but the poor stratum of the population had no choice, they had to gather in the cold winter evenings at the stove and do bast shoes for the whole family, and sometimes even for sale.