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Chapter 8 THE MIR, OR VILLAGE COMMUNITY

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m-Practical Deviations from the Theory-The Mir a Good Specimen of Constitutional Government of the Extr

philosophers and statesmen of the West had long been vainly struggling. "The nations of the West"-such was the substance of innumerable discourses which I had heard-"are at present on the high-road to political and social anarchy, and England has the unenviable distinction of being foremost in the race. The natural increase of population, together with the expropriation of the small landholders by the great landed proprietors, has created a dangerous and ever-increasing Proletariat-a great disorganised mass of human beings, without homes, without permanent domicile, without property of any kind, without any stake in the existing institutio

ending to check the flood sent forth from Manchester and Birmingham. In that way her hungry Proletariat has been fed. But the industrial supremacy of England is drawing to a close. The nations have discovered the perfidious fallacy of Free-Trade principles, and are now learning to manufacture for their own wants, instead of paying England enormous sums to manufacture for them. Very soon English goods will no longer find foreign markets, and how will the hungry Pro

written, precisel

uestion was raised

in the first edit

1877. (Vol. I

sured that Russia had been saved from these terrible evils by the rural Commune-an institution which, in spite of

prosecuted my researches. An institution which professes to solve satisfactorily the most difficult social problems of the

that the chief personage in a Russian village is the Selski Starosta, or Village Elder, and that all important Communal affairs are regulated by the Selski Skhod, or Village Assembly. Further, I was aware that the land in the vicinity of the village b

Ivan might be able to assist me, and knowing that the popular name for the Commune is Mir,

ted his brows and scratched the back of his head. This latter movement is the Russian peasant's method of accelerating cerebral action; but in the present in

definition, instead of extracting from him material in the form of concrete facts, and constructing therefrom a definition for myself. These concrete facts Ivan was both able and willing to supply; and as soon as I adopte

tive association in which the members have nearly all things in common. The

the authority of the ruler is limited: in the one case by the adult members of the family, and in the other by the Heads of Households. In both there is a certain amount of common property: in the one case the house and nearly all that it contains, and in the other the arable land and possibly a little pasturage. In both cases there is a certain amount of common r

rs are by no means so closely interwoven. The members of a family all farm together, and those of them who earn money from other sources are expected to put

takes probably no interest in their affairs, and has no ground for interfering with their perfect liberty of action. Amongst the families composing a Russian village, such a state of isolation is impossible. The Heads of Households must often meet together and consult in the Village Assembly, and their daily occupation must be influenced by the Communal decrees. They cannot begin to mow the hay or plough the fallow field until the Village Assembly has passed a resolution on the subject. If a peasant becomes a drunkard, or takes some equally efficient means to become insolvent, every family in the village has a right to complain, not merely in the interests of public morality, but from selfish motives, because all the families are collectively responsible for his taxes.* For the same reason no peasant can permanently leave the village without the consent of the Commune, and this consent will not be granted until the applicant gives satisfactory

nsibility for the t

r, on the advice o

tters are being g

he wishes, cease t

, as soon as he ha

ing obli

t relaxing of the

e foregoing note,

app

ussian institution is it greater than in the Village Commune. It is necessary, therefore, to know both theory and practice; and it is well to begin with the former, becau

ly inscribed. Each Commune has a list of this kind, and pays to the Government an annual sum proportionate to the number of names which the list contains, or, in popular language, according to the number of "revision souls." During the intervals between the revisions the financial authorities tak

ry peasant who pays taxes is supposed to have a share of the land belonging to the Commune. If the Communal revision lists contain a hundred names,

The theory, therefore, that the taxes are simply the rent of the land will not bear even superficial examination. Equally untenable is the theory that they are a species of land-tax. In any reasonable system of land-dues the yearly sum imposed bears some kind of proportion to the quantity and quality of the land enjoyed; but in Russia it may be that the members of one Commune possess six acres of bad land, and the members of the neighbouring Comm

nures are disturbed only by the revisions which take place at irregular intervals.** But, on the other hand, this system has serious defects. The revision-list represents merely the numerical strength of the families, and the numerical strength is often not at all in proportion to the working power. Let us suppose, for example, two families, each containing at the time of the revision five male members. According to the census-list these two families are equal, and ought to receive equal shares of the land; but in reality it may happen that the one contains a father in the prime of life and four

he various systems

l Communes in diff

the opening chapte

"Obshtchinnoye Vlad

As my object is to

dea of the institu

enumeration of the

e origi

n revisions have be

s varied from six

shares, and let to others the part which she does not require? The balance o

y the taxes. But in Russia the possession of a share of Communal land is often not a privilege, but a burden. In some Communes the land is so poor a

e families. Thus, in the instance above supposed, the widow would receive perhaps two shares, and the large household, containing five workers, would receive perhaps seven or eight. Since the breaking-up of the l

up to manhood, whilst two or three able-bodied members of the other family may be cut off by an epidemic. Thus, long before a new revision takes place, the distribution of the land may be no longer in accordance with the wants and capacities of the various families composing the Commune. To correct this, various e

atistical tables-many of them formed chiefly out of materials supplied by the mysterious inner consciousness of the subordinate officials-no attempt has yet been made, so far as I know, to collect statistical data which might throw light on this important subject. In spite of the systematic and persistent efforts of the centralised bureaucracy to regulate minutely all departments of the national life, the rural Communes, which contain about five-sixths of the population, remain in many respects e

mewhat modified by

ncipation Law of 186

place at any time

o-thirds at the Vil

ibution cannot take

rs, and must recei

local au

gislation which formerly regulated their affairs was repealed at the time of the Emancipation. At the present day the Constitution of all the Village Communes is of the English type-a body of unwritten, traditional conceptions, which have grown up and modified themselves under the influence of ever-changing practical necessity. No doubt certain definitions of the functions and mutual relations of the Communal authorities might be extracted from the Emancipation Law and subsequent official documents, but as a rule neither

e by Alexander III.

der supervision a

l officials called

reform I shall hav

te

mbers, who have never any sympathy with fine talking. The assemblage has the appearance of a crowd of people who have accidentally come together and are discussing in little groups subjects of local interest. Gradually some one group, containing two or three peasants who have more moral influence than their fellows, attracts the others, and the discussion becomes general. Two or more peasants may speak at a time, and interrupt each other freely-using plain, unvarnished language, not at all parliamentary-and the discussion may become a confused, unintelligible din; but at the moment when the spectator imagines that the consultation is about to be transformed into a free fight, the tumult spontaneously subsides, or perha

lly the principal personage in the crowd, and wears the insignia of office in the form of a small medal suspended from his neck by a thin brass chain. His duties, however, are extremely light. To call to order those who interrupt the discussion is no part of his functions. If he calls an honourable member "Durak" (blockhead), or interrupts an orator with a laconic "Moltchi!" (hold your tongue!), he does so in virtue of no special prerogative, but simply in accordance with a time-honoured privi

it is difficult to tell which of the two parties has a majority. In this case the Elder requests the one party to stand to the right and the

r struck root. The peasants did not regard with favour the new method, and persisted in calling it, contemptuously, "playing at marbles." Here, again, we have one of those wonderful and apparently anomalous facts which frequently meet the stud

tention, for the Russian peasantry are as yet little imbued with the modern doctrines of female equality, and express their opinion of female intelligence by the homely adage: "The hair is long, but the mind is short." According to one proverb, seven women have collectively but one soul, and, according to a still more ungallant popular saying, women have no souls at all, but only a vapour. Woman, therefore, as woman, is not deserving of much consideration, but a particular woman, as Head of a Household, is entitled to speak on all questions directly affecting the household under h

hiefly of an alcoholic kind. An instance of this fact occurred during my sojourn at Ivanofka. The question under discussion was whether a kabak, or gin-shop, should be established in the village. A trader from the district town desired to establish one, and offered to pay to the Commune a yearly sum for the necessary permission. The more industrious, re

o not punctually pay their taxes; it decides whether a new member shall be admitted into the Commune, and whether an old member shall be allowed to change his domicile; it gives or withholds permission to erect new buildings on the Communal land; it prepares and signs all contracts which the Commune makes with one of its o

occasion to speak in the sequel-that he would be no longer capable of filling any Communal office; and instead of regretting this diminution of his civil rights, he bowed very low, and respectfully expressed his thanks for the new privilege which he had acquired. This anecdote may not be true, but it illustrates the undoubted fact that the Russian peasant regards office as a burden rather than as an honour. Ther

group of young girls, convulsed with half-suppressed laughter. The cause of their merriment is a youth of some seventeen summers, evidently the wag of the village, who stands beside them with an accordion in his hand, and relates to them in a half-whisper how he is about to be elected Elder, and what mad pranks he will play in that capacity. When one of the girls happens to laugh outright, the matrons who are standing near turn round and scowl; and one of them, stepping forward, orders the offender, in a tone of authority, to go home at once if she cannot behave herself. Cr

e'll get better," remarks one peasant, e

t he'll ever put his foot to the ground again. The Feldsher has been four times to see h

he not been

u put him in a cart he would die before he had gone a verst. And then, who knows what they do with people in t

turning to the other peasants, remarks, "There is nothing to be done. The Stanovoi [officer of rural police] w

r way to avoid attracting attention, lest their names should be suggested. When the silence has

a-dozen voices, belonging probably to

ie direct, but he finds half-a-dozen other reasons why he should not be chosen, and accordingly requests to be excuse

e can accept with perfect equanimity Alexei, or Ivan, or Nikolai, because the office-bearers have very little influence in Communal affairs. But he cannot remain a passive, indifferent spectat

umber of shares equal to the number of its members inscribed in the last revision list. The Assembly has therefore no difficult questions to decide. The Communal revision list determines the number of shares into which the land must be divided, and the number of shares to be allotted to each family. The only difficu

e soil is often very unfertile and the taxes exceed the normal rent, and consequently it may happen that th

d replies in a slow, contemplative way, "I have two sons, and there is my

mber, and takes the leading part in the proceedings. "You talk nonsense. Your two sons are already

"always works in Moscow, and the

money, and when they get married

ng over in silence the first part of his oppo

asily arra

o as they wish, and when they do get married they all wish to ha

from you. You must take at least four. The old wives there who have

. "Lay on him five souls!" (that is to say, give

cannot! By G

leading spirit to Ivan; and then, turning

s the crowd; and the

bour. If the number of souls were taken as the basis of distribution, she would receive four shares; but she would never be able to pay four shares of the Commu

must tak

odox? They want to lay upon me three souls! Was such a thing ever heard of? Since St. Peter's Day my husband has been bedridden-bewi

neighbour; "he was in the

o last parish fete? Was it not you who got drunk and beat your wife till she rous

f invective. "You must take at least two shares and a half. If

the woman, with much wailing and a flood of tears. "Have pity, ye ort

ficulties. The families who have plentifully manured their land strive to get back their old lots, and the Commune respects their claims so far as these are consistent with the new arrangement; but often it happens that it is impossible to conciliate private rights and Communal interests, and in such cases the former are sacrificed in a way that would not be tolerated by men of Anglo-Saxon race. This leads, however, to no serious

this expression means. A share does not mean simply a plot or parcel of land; on the contrary, it always contains at least four, and may con

ortunate enough to possess one. On the first of these each family possesses a house and garden, which are the hereditary property of the family, and

o subdivide each of these portions into the requisite number of strips. Thus in all cases every household possesses at least one strip in each field; and in those cases where subdivision is necessary, every household possesses a strip in each of the portions into which the field is subdivided. It often happens, therefore, that the strips are very narrow, and the portions belonging to each family very numerous. Strips six feet wide are by

ually. Every year, on a day fixed by the Assembly, the villagers proceed in a body to this part of their property, and divide it into the requisite number of portions. Lots are then cast, and each family at once

hat it likes in the land allotted to it, but all families must at least conform to the accepted system of rotation. In like manner, a family cannot begin th

emarkable that the institution of which it forms an essential part should be regarded by many intelligent people as one of the great institutions

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Contents

Chapter 1 TRAVELLING IN RUSSIA Chapter 2 IN THE NORTHERN FORESTS Chapter 3 VOLUNTARY EXILE Chapter 4 THE VILLAGE PRIEST Chapter 5 A MEDICAL CONSULTATION Chapter 6 A PEASANT FAMILY OF THE OLD TYPE Chapter 7 THE PEASANTRY OF THE NORTH Chapter 8 THE MIR, OR VILLAGE COMMUNITY Chapter 9 HOW THE COMMUNE HAS BEEN PRESERVED, AND WHAT IT IS TO EFFECT IN THE FUTURE Chapter 10 FINNISH AND TARTAR VILLAGES Chapter 11 LORD NOVGOROD THE GREAT
Chapter 12 THE TOWNS AND THE MERCANTILE CLASSES
Chapter 13 THE PASTORAL TRIBES OF THE STEPPE
Chapter 14 THE MONGOL DOMINATION
Chapter 15 THE COSSACKS
Chapter 16 FOREIGN COLONISTS ON THE STEPPE
Chapter 17 AMONG THE HERETICS
Chapter 18 THE DISSENTERS
Chapter 19 CHURCH AND STATE
Chapter 20 THE NOBLESSE
Chapter 21 LANDED PROPRIETORS OF THE OLD SCHOOL
Chapter 22 PROPRIETORS OF THE MODERN SCHOOL
Chapter 23 SOCIAL CLASSES
Chapter 24 THE IMPERIAL ADMINISTRATION AND THE OFFICIALS
Chapter 25 MOSCOW AND THE SLAVOPHILS
Chapter 26 ST. PETERSBURG AND EUROPEAN INFLUENCE
Chapter 27 THE CRIMEAN WAR AND ITS CONSEQUENCES
Chapter 28 THE SERFS
Chapter 29 THE EMANCIPATION OF THE SERFS
Chapter 30 THE LANDED PROPRIETORS SINCE THE EMANCIPATION
Chapter 31 THE EMANCIPATED PEASANTRY
Chapter 32 THE ZEMSTVO AND THE LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT
Chapter 33 THE NEW LAW COURTS
Chapter 34 REVOLUTIONARY NIHILISM AND THE REACTION
Chapter 35 SOCIALIST PROPAGANDA, REVOLUTIONARY AGITATION, AND TERRORISM
Chapter 36 INDUSTRIAL PROGRESS AND THE PROLETARIAT
Chapter 37 THE REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENT IN ITS LATEST PHASE
Chapter 38 TERRITORIAL EXPANSION AND FOREIGN POLICY
Chapter 39 THE PRESENT SITUATION
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