Legal registration of serfdom in Russia

Abstract

The origin and development of serfdom in is one of the most complex processes. Unlike European states, in Russia it had some features: a distinctively late period of occurrence, the connection of the emergence process with the evolution of landed property. Serfdom, which formed the basis of the Russian order, inevitably had to receive its more or less clearly developed legal form. Serfdom was formed by virtue of the actual state of affairs, determined by the attachment of the peasant to the land and his subordinate position. In order to sufficiently reveal the issue of the legal registration of serfdom in Russia, it is necessary to consider its development in stages, based on legislative acts, which most fully and objectively affected the enslavement of the peasant population and changed the legal status of residents. The article examines the history of the emergence of serfdom from the moment of its inception to its legal consolidation; changes in the state and the impact of the legal consolidation of serfdom on the development of the Russian state, the essence of serfdom and what stages it went through from its inception to its abolition, inclusive. Also, the article describes the views of Russian and Soviet historians on the circumstances and causes of the emergence of serfdom. Various scientific and historical approaches to the problem of studying serfdom in Russia are analyzed, the consequences of serfdom for Russia and the Russian people are described. Moving on to the stage of emancipation of the peasants, historians are unanimous that serfdom had a negative impact on all aspects of society, but for Soviet historians, serfdom became one of the reasons for the "economic and cultural backwardness of Russia", and for "Western historians –a consequence of backwardness".