G A Pushkin

2025. Vol.10. №3.

Abolition of serfdom in Mikhailovskoye: Pushkins’ Pskov estate under the reform of February 19, 1861

Oct 22 2025

Grigoriev D. P. Abolition of serfdom in Mikhailovskoye: Pushkins’ Pskov estate under the reform of February 19, 1861 // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №3. P. 103-116.

EDN: IMXKPG

Annotation

The article considers the situation in the Pskov estate owned by A. S. Puskin’s children after the abolition of serfdom. Based on the archival documents and research publications, the author describes some elements of the peasant reform and its economic consequences in this estate. Such a micro-level perspective allows not only to better understand the ideas of social-economic transformations implemented under the reform but also to fill in the unclear pages of history of Pushkin places. The author focuses on changes in the peasant landownership and use, which had a significant impact on the peasant economy as the key factors of agricultural production, and on some results of land redistribution. The pre-reform differentiation of peasant farms in per capita provision with convenient land was leveled under the reform, and the estate indicator approached the uyezd and province average. The author also considers the importance of personal qualities and decisions of representatives of the nobility — landowners whose management practices affected local conditions of former serfs and their adaptation to the new economic realities: the personality of the landowner was important for the peasant position in the post-reform era.

Keywords

A. S. Pushkin, G. A. Pushkin, Mikhailovskoye estate, reforms of Alexander II, serfdom abolition, landownership and land use, rent.

About the author

Dmitry P. Grigoriev, PhD Student, National and World History Department, Pskov State University. Lenina Pl., 2, Pskov, 180000, Russia; Guide, State Memorial HistoricalLiterary and Natural-Landscape Museum-Reserve of A. S. Pushkin “Mikhailovskoe” (Pushkin Museum-Reserve). S. S. Geychenko Bl., 1, Pushkinskie Gory, Pskov Region, 181370, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Additional Info

Submitted Wednesday, 30 July 2025
Reviewed Thursday, 28 August 2025
Copyright © Auhtors, 2025
Distribution Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

2024. Vol.9. №2.

What was the price of the Pushkin family estate Mikhailovskoe?

Jul 20 2024

Belykh A. A. What was the price of the Pushkin family estate Mikhailovskoe? // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2024. V.9. №2. P. 20-38.

DOI: 10.22394/2500-1809-2024-9-2-20-38

Annotation

The article considers the history of financial relationships between A. S. Pushkin and his relatives about their family estate Mikhailovskoe, which has not been studied by Pushkinists, historians or economists despite its importance for understanding the economic life of both Pushkin and Russian nobility in the mid and late 19th century. Mikhailovskoe belonged to Pushkin’s mother, Nadezhda Osipovna. After her death in 1836, according to the law, Pushkin’s father, Sergey Lvovich received its seventh share, Pushkin’s sister Olga — its fourteenth share, while the rest was divided equally between brothers — Alexander and Lev. Pushkin’s father refused his share in favor of his daughter. The real division of the estate with 80 male serfs was complicated and economically meaningless, unlike financial settlement. Pushkin suggested to buy out Mikhailovskoe for 40 thousand rubles (500 rubles per serf). N. I. Pavlishchev, Olga’s husband, wanted to receive more money, insisting that the estate was twice more expensive. Later he reduced the price, but Pushkin did not have enough money, and it was the second half of 1936, when the events that led to Pushkin’s tragic duel were already unfolding. In February 1837, Pushkin’s widow, Natalia Nikolaevna, asked the Tsar for permission to buy out Mikhailovskoe for her children. The сustody of Pushkin’s children was appointed, and, after lengthy negotiations, in 1841 Mikhailovskoe was bought out. The heirs — Lev, Olga and Natalia Nikolaevna — received money for their shares based on the estate’s price of 34 thousand rubles. Owners of the estate with equal shares were Pushkin’s children — Maria, Alexander, Grigory and Natalia. In 1856, Pushkin’s sons bought out their sisters’ shares. In 1870, Grigory became the sole owner of Mikhailovskoe. In 1899, the estate was bought out by the Treasury for 144,600 rubles; however, this was mainly the price of forest rather than serfs.

Keywords

A. S. Pushkin, Mikhailovskoe estate, Pushkin family, evaluation methods, price of estate, custody of Pushkin’s children, G. A. Pushkin, buy out estate.

About the author

Andrei A. Belykh, DSc (Economics), Deputy Head of the Centre of Applied History, Institute of Social Sciences, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Prosp. Vernadskogo, 82, Moscow, 119571, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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