Rural Unrest During the First Russian Revolution : Kursk Province, 1905-1906

The narrative of peasant unrest in Russia during 1905–1906 combines a chronology of incidents drawn from official documents, with close analysis of the villages associated with the disorders based upon detailed census materials compiled by local specialists. The analysis concentrates on a single province: Kursk Oblast, bordering the now independent Ukraine. In place of the general surveys of the revolution that dominate the literature, Miller focuses on local events and the rural populations that participated in them. Documents the degree to which the peasant community had been pushed onto the path of change by the end of the nineteenth century, how much the “peasantry” itself had become increasingly heterogeneous in outlook and occupation, and the rapidity with which these processes had begun to corrode the legitimacy of the older order. Miller concludes that unrest was concentrated mostly among peasant communities for whom the benefits the vital interactions between social unequals that had maintained a fragile social peace in the countryside had been radically eroded; he furthermore identifies the prominent role played by that spectrum of persons that retained their ties to their villages, but stood toward the margins of rural life.

The narrative of peasant unrest in Russia during 1905–1906 combines a chronology of incidents drawn from official documents, with close analysis of the villages associated with the disorders based upon detailed census materials compiled by local specialists. The analysis concentrates on a single province: Kursk Oblast, bordering the now independent Ukraine. In place of the general surveys of the revolution that dominate the literature, Miller focuses on local events and the rural populations that participated in them.Documents the degree to which the peasant community had been pushed onto the path of change by the end of the nineteenth century, how much the "peasantry" itself had become increasingly heterogeneous in outlook and occupation, and the rapidity with which these processes had begun to corrode the legitimacy of the older order. Miller concludes that unrest was concentrated mostly among peasant communities for whom the benefits the vital interactions between social unequals that had maintained a fragile social peace in the countryside had been radically eroded; he furthermore identifies the prominent role played by that spectrum of persons that retained their ties to their villages, but stood toward the margins of rural life.

This narrative of peasant unrest in Russia during 1905–1906 combines a chronology of incidents drawn from official documents, offering a close analysis of the villages associated with the disorders, based upon detailed census materials compiled by local specialists. This analysis concentrates on a single province: Kursk Oblast, bordering Ukraine. In place of the general surveys of the revolution that dominate the literature, the author focuses on local events and the rural populations that participated in them Contents List of Maps, Tables and Figures Acknowledgments Introduction I Kursk Province on the Eve of the Revolution II 1905 in the Rural Districts of Kursk Province III Rural Disorders in Spring–Summer 1906 IV Typology, Chronology and Geographical Distributions of Rural Disorders, 1905–1906 V The Villages That Revolted Conclusion Appendix A: Correlation Tables: Parishes and Villages Appendix B: Villages Listing Abbreviations Glossary Sources and Literature Index Kursk Province on the Eve of the Revolution -- 1905 in the Rural Districts of Kursk Province -- Rural Disorders in Spring-Summer 1906 -- Typology, Chronology and Geographical Distributions of Rural Disorders, 1905-1906 -- The Villages That Revolted -- Conclusions -- Appendix A: Correlation Tables to Chapter V -- Appendix B: Village Listing -- Glossary