Peasants in Russia from Serfdom to Stalin: Accommodation, Survival, Resistance (The Bloomsbury History of Modern Russia Series)

The peasantry accounted for the large majority of the Russian population during the Imperialist and Stalinist periods – it is, for the most part, how people lived.__Peasants in Russia from Serfdom to Stalin__provides a comprehensive, realistic examination of peasant life in Russia during both these eras and the legacy this left in the post-Soviet era.The book paints a full picture of peasant involvement in commerce and local political life and, through Boris Gorshkov's original ecology paradigm for understanding peasant life, offers new perspectives on the Russian peasantry under serfdom and the emancipation. Incorporating recent scholarship, including Russian and non-Russian texts, along with classic studies, Gorshkov explores the complex interrelationships between the physical environment, peasant economic and social practices, culture, state policies and lord-peasant relations. He goes on to analyze peasant economic activities, including agriculture and livestock, social activities and the functioning of peasant social and political institutions within the context of these interrelationships. Further reading lists, study questions, tables, maps, primary source extracts and images are also included to support and enhance the text wherever possible.__Peasants in Russia from Serfdom to Stalin__is the crucial survey of a key topic in modern Russian history for students and scholars alike. "The peasantry accounted for the large majority of the Russian population during the Imperialist and Stalinist periods -- it is, for the most part, how people lived. Peasants in Russia from Serfdom to Stalin provides a comprehensive, realistic examination of peasant life in Russia during both these eras and the legacy this left in the post-Soviet era. The book paints a full picture of peasant involvement in commerce and local political life and, through Boris Gorshkov's original ecology paradigm for understanding peasant life, offers new perspectives on the Russian peasantry under serfdom and the emancipation. Incorporating recent scholarship, including Russian and non-Russian texts, along with classic studies, Gorshkov explores the complex interrelationships between the physical environment, peasant economic and social practices, culture, state policies and lord-peasant relations. He goes on to analyze peasant economic activities, including agriculture and livestock, social activities and the functioning of peasant social and political institutions within the context of these interrelationships. Further reading lists, study questions, tables, maps, primary source extracts and images are also included to support and enhance the text wherever possible. Peasants in Russia from Serfdom to Stalin is the crucial survey of a key topic in modern Russian history for students and scholars alike."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Cover 1 Contents 8 Figures 9 Tables 10 Acknowledgments 11 Preface 12 Introduction: Institutional, Historiographical, and Conceptual Framework 16 1 Life under Russian Serfdom: Peasant Society and Politics under Serfdom 30 2 Peasant Agriculture 48 3 Peasants, Childhood, and Gender Roles 62 4 The Field and the Loom: Peasant Economy 74 5 Peasants and Russia’s Early Industrialization 88 6 The Peasant and the Formation of Industrial Labor Forces 108 7 Social Mobility of the Peasantry 120 8 Peasants and the Public Sphere 126 9 Peasants and the End of Serfdom 136 10 Post-Emancipation Peasant Economy and Society 150 11 Peasants and the Russian Revolutions 166 12 Realpolitik: From the Red Terror to the New Economic Policy 188 13 Peasant Life during Collectivization 206 Conclusion: Demise of the Russian Peasantry 222 Notes 225 Bibliography 242 Index 248