History
Subscribe to this RSS feed
2025. Vol.10. №3.

Round table of the Russian Peasant Studies for the 100th anniversary of Professor Viktor Petrovich Danilov

Oct 22 2025

Round table of the Russian Peasant Studies for the 100th anniversary of Professor Viktor Petrovich Danilov // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №3. P. 153-181.

EDN: JQSTCB

Annotation

On March 25, 2025, a round table of the Russian Peasant Studies for the 100th anniversary of the outstanding agricultural historian, Professor Viktor Petrovich Danilov (1925–2004), was held. The participants noted the contribution of V. P. Danilov to the Russian and world historiography, shared personal memories of him and work with him, and discussed current issues of agricultural and social history. The following participants made presentations: Alexander V. Zhuravel, Historian, Independent Researcher; Viktor V. Kondrashin, DSc (History), Professor, Chief Researcher, Head of the Center for Economic History of the Institute of Russian History, RAS; Igor A. Kuznetsov, PhD (History), Senior Researcher, Center for Economic and Social History, RANEPA; Alexander V. Gordon, DSc (History), Chief Researcher, Head of the East and Southeast Asia Sector, INION RAS; Elena A. Tyurina, PhD (History), Head of the Russian State Archive of Economics; Igor N. Slepnev, PhD (History), Senior Researcher, Center for Economic History of the Institute of Russian History, RAS; Elena V. Danilova; Vladislav O. Afanasenkov, Junior Researcher, Center for Economic and Social History, RANEPA. The discussion was moderated by Alexander M. Nikulin, PhD (Economics), Editor-in-Chief of the Russian Peasant Studies, Head of the Center for Agrarian Studies, RANEPA. 

Keywords

Round table, outstanding agricultural historian, Viktor Petrovich Danilov, Russian and world historiography, shared personal memories, current issues of agricultural and social history.

About the authors

Alexander V. Zhuravel, Historian, Independent Researcher. Profsoyuzov St. 1, Bryansk, 241022, Russia.
Viktor V. Kondrashin, DSc (History), Chief Researcher, Head of the Center for Economic History, Institute of Russian History, Russian Academy of Sciences. Dmitry Ulyanov St., 19, Moscow, 117292, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Igor A. Kuznetsov, PhD (History), Senior Researcher at the Center for Economic and Social History, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Vernadskogo Prosp., 82, building 1, Moscow, 119571, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Alexander V. Gordon, DSc (History), Chief Researcher, Head of the East and Southeast Asia Sector, Institute of Scientific Information for Social Sciences, Russian Academy of Sciences. Nakhimovsky prosp., 51/21, Moscow, 117418, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Elena A. Tyurina, PhD (History), Scientific Director of the Russian State Archive of Economics. B. Pirogovskaya St., 17, Moscow, 119435, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Igor N. Slepnev, PhD (History), Senior Researcher of the Center for Economic History, Institute of Russian History, Russian Academy of Sciences. Dmitry Ulyanov St., 19, Moscow, 117292, Russia.
Elena V. Danilova, independent researcher. Boris Galushkin St., 17, Moscow, 129301, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Vladislav O. Afanasenkov, Junior Researcher at the Center for Economic and Social History, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Vernadskogo Prosp., 82, building 1, Moscow, 119571, Russia.
E-mail: erpaison@ gmail.com
Alexander M. Nikulin, PhD (Economics), Head of the Center for Agrarian Studies, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Vernadskogo Prosp., 82, bldg. 1, Moscow, 119571, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Full text

 

Additional Info

2025. Vol.10. №3.

The failure of Korean sericulture in Russian and Soviet Primorye

Oct 22 2025

Kim G. N. The failure of Korean sericulture in Russian and Soviet Primorye // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №3. P. 133-152.

EDN: JGTXSO

Annotation

In the 19th century, in the Russian Empire sericulture developed in Kuban, Northern Caucasus, Stavropol, Turkestan and Far Eastern Primorye. In Korea, neighboring the Russian Far East, sericulture was borrowed from ancient China: some Korean settlers were skilled in sericulture — from growing mulberry trees to producing silk fabric. Although the main economic activity of Korean peasants was agriculture, in Russia they continued some other traditional activities. With the establishment of the Bolshevik power, sericulture became a collective-farm production in the mainstream of agricultural collectivization. However, sericulture ceased to exist for the following objective reasons: climate in Primorye, remoteness from silk-spinning centers, lack of infrastructure for producing silk fabric and, most importantly, the Communist Party and Soviet government directives for the development of sericulture in southern regions and the deportation of Koreans to Kazakhstan and Central Asia in 1937. Nevertheless, the history of Korean sericulture in Primorye deserves special study. The article is based on archival documents, published materials, newspapers in Russian and Korean, and studies of the history of Koreans in the Russian Far East: localization of mulberry plantations; methods and economy of sericulture (production and trade) in the domestic and foreign markets; reasons for failure of sericulture in Soviet Primorye. 

Keywords

Sericulture, Primorye, Koreans, artel, mulberry, silkworm, cocoons, silk weaving, export.

About the author

German N. Kim, DSc (History), Professor, Head, Institute of Asian Studies, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University; Karasai Batyr St., 95, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Full text

 

Additional Info

2025. Vol.10. №3.

Geography of peasant surnames in the Vileysky uyezd according to the 1795 revision lists

Oct 22 2025

Semenyuk A. S. Geography of peasant surnames in the Vileysky uyezd according to the 1795 revision lists // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №3. P. 117-132.

EDN: JFXYAJ

Annotation

The study of geography of surnames reveals the historical-spatial features of word formation in different territories. The article presents the results of the geoinformation mapping of surnames in the Vileysky uyezd of the Minsk Governorate based on the 1795 revision lists and a family (yard) as a minimal research unit. The author created a geodatabase with vector layers in the ArcGIS 10.3 software package: yards (surnames) were added to their local settlements; after digitization, peasant secondary surnames with the most common formants were divided into layers with the attribute selection operation. Thus, the most common formants of surnames in the Vileysky uyezd were -ovich, -evich, -ich, -its, -sky, and -tsky. There were many surnames with formants -onok, -yonok and -ik, -chik, the former were localized mainly in the northern and eastern parts of the uyezd, and the latter were relatively evenly distributed. The Simpson index adapted for anthroponymic research allowed to identify the types of settlements with greater (Vileyka town, miasteczki) and lesser (villages) diversity of formants of peasant surnames. Of all the population groups, peasant surnames have the largest number of identified formants, which testifies to their arbitrary choice and freedom of word formation, not limited by the social status as the surnames of gentry and clergy.

Keywords

Geography of surnames, Vileysky uyezd, productivity of formants, geoinformation mapping, historical geography, revision lists, Simpson’s diversity index, social groups, settlements.

About the author

Alexander S. Semenyuk, PhD (Geography), Associate Professor, Faculty of Geography and Geoinformatics, Belarusian State University. Nezavisimosti Av., 4, Minsk, 220030, Belarus.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Full text

 

Additional Info

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. 

Full text

 

Additional Info

2025. Vol.10. №3.

Pushkin as a landlord

Oct 22 2025

Belykh A. A. Pushkin as a landlord // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №3. P. 80-102.

EDN: HLQTYC

Annotation

A. S. Pushkin wrote that “the spirit of literature” to some extent “depends on the financial status of writers”, which also applied to him. From an economic point of view, he played five roles: a civil servant, a writer and publisher, a card player, a landlord, and a family man. This article presents Pushkin as a landlord, although his upbringing and education did not prepare him for estate management; however, at that time, it was typical for most noblemen. The author identifies three periods in Pushkin’s activity as a landlord: 1830–1831 — landlord, 1834–1835 — manager, 1836 — heir. In 1830, Pushkin’s father gave him 200 peasants in the village Kistenevo, which was one of the factors of Pushkin’s marriage. Having pledged these peasants in the Safe Treasury for a loan of 40 thousand roubles, Pushkin was able to give a loan of 11 thousand roubles to Gonchrova’s mother, which was used as a dowry and, in addition, as a means of covering family expenses. In 1834, Pushkin realized that his family estate Boldino was in critical financial straits and decided to take over the estate management. He took another loan for the peasants already pledged by his father and changed the estate manager. However, Pushkin was not particularly successful, and in 1835 he refused to manage the Boldino estate. In 1836, his mother, the owner of Mikhailovskoye, died. Pushkin was one of the heirs and wanted to buy out the whole estate; however, financial and other circumstances did not allow him to do it. The article presents Pushkin’s income as a landlord — about 24 thousand roubles (before his landlord’s income was considered insignificant), i.e., 7.7% of his total income. Thus, Pushkin’s attempt to manage estate was a mistake, and the author shares Pushkin’s opinion that “the writer’s place is in his office”. 

Keywords

Pushkin, landlord, serfdom, Boldino, Mikhailovskoye, estate management.

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.   

Full text

 

Additional Info

2025. Vol.10. №2.

Evolution of ecological knowledge and social-natural interactions in the development of collective-farm gardens in Siberia

Jul 28 2025

Fedorov R.Yu. Evolution of ecological knowledge and social-natural interactions in the development of collective-farm gardens in Siberia // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №2. P. 103-117.

EDN: AZWZIP

Annotation

Collective-farm gardens were a specific form of human-made nature and an element of subsistence which became a feature of the Soviet village in the 1920s–1980s. Their development was associated with the Soviet state social-economic policy of creating collective subsidiary farms and applying new, scientific approaches to transform the natural environment. The article considers the evolution of ecological knowledge and social-natural interactions in the development of collective-farm gardens in Siberia, based on archive documents, specialized and popular-science literature and results of the author’s field studies conducted in 2023–2024 in the Omsk Region. The development of kolkhoz gardens showed a tendency of a rapid transition from the traditional environmental knowledge (1920s — first half of the 1930s) to the scientific and administrative approaches (second half of the 1930s — 1980s). The author notes the regional features in the development of collective-farm gardens in the natural and climatic conditions of Siberia as determining labor activities and social relations at collective horticultural farms. The retrospective analysis shows how the development of kolkhoz gardens created new social-natural interactions in the Siberian countryside, which were mainly determined by the state policy of imposing collective forms of economic activity in rural areas within the general socialist economy. After the collapse of the USSR, the rapid curtailment of this policy contributed to the abandonment of kolkhoz gardens.

Keywords

Collective-farm (kolkhoz) gardens, Siberia, social-natural interactions, ecological knowledge, sate agricultural policy.

About the author

Roman Yu. Fedorov, DSc (History), Leading Researcher, Tyumen Scientific Center, Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Malygina St., 86, Tyumen, 625026.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Full text

 

Additional Info

2025. Vol.10. №2.

Rural population of the Volga-Caspian fishing region in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries: Features of formation, social structure, specific economic activity

Jul 28 2025

Vinogradov S.V., Eshchenko Yu.G. Rural population of the Volga-Caspian fishing region in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries: Features of formation, social structure, specific economic activity // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №2. P. 83-102.

EDN: ALJDCV

Annotation

The relevance of the study is determined by the growing food problems in the contemporary world. Food shortage stimulates scientific research, including in the historical perspective. The authors emphasize the importance of the Volga-Caspian fishing region for ensuring Russia’s food security. In the period under study, this region was the largest supplier of fish and fish products to the national food market. But only after the abolition of serfdom and successful transformations in the fishing industry under the 1860s Great Reforms, the Volga-Caspian fishing region became attractive for migrants from other regions. In the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries, fishermen (peasants) were an active force in the development of fish resources in the Volga-Caspian region, since fishing was their main professional activity and source of livelihood. The authors argue that the development model of the Volga-Caspian fishing region contributed to the well-being of its rural population and attracted an increasing number of migrants. However, while encouraging economic activity of fishermen, the state did not take responsibility for health care, education and other social spheres. Many fishing settlements were considered illegal until the early 20th century, and their residents could be evicted from homes at any time.

Keywords

Caspian Sea, Volga-Caspian fishing region, Astrakhan, Volga, rural population, fishermen, fishing, labor migration, trade.

About the authors

Sergey V. Vinogradov, DSC (History), Chief Researcher, Center for the Study of the History of the Lower Volga Region in the Soviet Period; Professor, Department of History, Astrakhan Tatishchev State University. Tatishceva str., 20 Astrakhan, 414056.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Yuliya G. Eshchenko, PhD (History), Senior Researcher, Center for the Study of the History of the Lower Volga Region in the Soviet Period; Associate Professor, Department of History, Astrakhan Tatishchev State University. Tatishceva str., 20 Astrakhan, 414056.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Full text

 

Additional Info

2025. Vol.10. №2.

Pre-revolutionary official statistics of animal husbandry: The state of historiography and research prospects

Jul 27 2025

Afanasenkov V.O. Pre-revolutionary official statistics of animal husbandry: The state of historiography and research prospects // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №2. P. 63-82.

EDN: ALCYDM

Annotation

The article considers research approaches, hypotheses and assessments of the pre-revolutionary livestock statistics as presented in historiography. At the early stage, the expert community mainly believed in the low reliability of such data, although admitted its suitability for the study of livestock population dynamics and geographical distribution. The retrospective scientific analysis started with A. L. Vainshtein’s article (1960) comparing annual statistics with the 1916 agricultural census. Vainshtein proposed a method for adjusting annual data and upward corrections and questioned the comparability of the Veterinary Department statistics before and after 1896 and the consistency of data of the Central Statistical Committee and the Veterinary Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The most recent stage of historiography was marked by the debate between “optimists” and “pessimists” in the 2000s. The most reasonable hypothesis was proposed by S. A. Nefedov — that the pre-revolutionary annual statistics fully accounted for adult livestock, while the 1916 census also counted young cattle. None of the historiographic research questions have been resolved, including the use of the livestock population data for identifying the volume of livestock production. The author suggests considering statistics as an element of the state system of governance.

Keywords

A. L. Vainshtein, agricultural census, agricultural history, Central Statistical Committee, provincial governors’ reports, Veterinary Department.

About the author

Vladislav O. Afanasenkov, Junior Researcher, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. Vernadskogo Prosp., 82, Moscow, 119571, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.  

Full text

 

Additional Info

2025. Vol.10. №1.

State social policy towards the disabled and elderly in rural areas of the RSFSR in the 1920s-1930s: Ideas and everyday practices

May 20 2025

Kovalev A.S. State social policy towards the disabled and elderly in rural areas of the RSFSR in the 1920s–1930s: Ideas and everyday practices // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №1. P. 77-103.

EDN: JXVRCF

Annotation

The article considers the main principles of the Soviet social policy towards disabled peasants in the 1920s–1930s, when they were the least protected category of citizens. The disabled in cities had priority in receiving state social assistance, while “disabled peasants” were supported on a residual basis. The leading actor of social policy in rural areas was peasant mutual-aid committees (peasant committees) which worked from 1921 to 1930. These committees were primarily responsible for providing social support to disabled rural residents. On the one hand, they were to receive the same types of social assistance as urban residents: pension, one-time financial and in-kind assistance, prosthetics, and employment opportunities. On the other hand, disabled and elderly peasants faced class, social and age-based discrimination when trying to get what was due. In addition to practices of social assistance, in the 1920s– 1930s, there were various projects aimed at improving the social situation of the disabled in rural areas. However, most of such ideas focused on the remaining work capacity of the disabled and elderly, including in collective farms. With the beginning of collectivization, peasant mutual-aid committees were replaced by mutual-aid funds, and the responsibility for supporting the disabled and elderly was given to the working population of collective farms. Due to the lack of sufficient financial resources in collective farms, the disabled and elderly were also assigned work tasks which often ignored their capabilities. The author makes a conclusion about low efficiency of the state social policy measures and low level of satisfaction of the real needs of the disabled and elderly in the village.

Keywords

Peasant mutual-aid committees, collective farms, peasants, disability, pension provision, prosthetics, employment.

About the author

Alexander S. Kovalev, DSc (History), Professor, Department of the History of Russia, World and Regional Civilizations, Siberian Federal University. Svobodny Prosp., 79, Krasnoyarsk, 660041.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Full text

 

Additional Info

2025. Vol.10. №1.

Images of peasants in the cheap popular prints of the World War I

May 20 2025

Mikhalenko N.V. Images of peasants in the cheap popular prints of the World War I // The Russian Peasant Studies. 2025. V.10. №1. P. 70-76.

EDN: IEGIBS

Annotation

Propaganda cheap popular prints of the World War I were designed to raise the patriotic spirit of the defenders of the Fatherland, to praise the ingenuity, bravery and resourcefulness of both soldiers and people in the rear, to create an image of the weak and harmless enemy. One of the symbols of the people’s war in both military pictures of the 19th century and in popular prints of the 20th century was the peasant, most often in a red shirt, fighting an enemy with agricultural implements or with bare hands. The bravura signature and visual means of popular prints — the coloristic and dynamic juxtaposition of the hero and enemies, the contrast in size of figures — emphasized the power and strength of the peasant. The image of the peasant woman in a sarafan at war was intended to show the unity of the people fighting the enemy and to emphasize the strong character of the Russian woman. Popular prints of the World War I took many images and plot moves from the pictures of the Patriotic War of 1812; since in the early 20th century, in the artistic environment, interest in folklore and folk art was very high, satirical popular prints became a kind of synthetic genre that absorbed traditional content in new verbal and visual forms.

Keywords

Peasants, World War I, Patriotic War of 1812, collection of D. A. Rovinsky, folk pictures, “Today’s Lubok”, V. V. Mayakovsky, K. S. Malevich.

About the author

Natalia V. Mikhalenko, PhD (Philology), Senior Researcher, А. M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Povarskaya St., 25a, Moscow, 121069, Russia.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

Full text

 

Additional Info

Page 1 of 11