Pomeshchichi Krestiane

Pomeshchich’i Krest’iane

 

(also vladel’cheskie krest’iane,”peasants belonging to noble landlords”), a term applied in Russia to enserfed peasants. This category of peasants appeared in the late 16th century, with the establishment of serfdom. Until the peasant reform of 1861 such serfs belonged to the landowning gentry and nobility. The pomeshchichï krest’iane constituted the largest category of peasants in the Russian empire, numbering approximately 23 million in 1859.

REFERENCES

Ignatovich, I.I. Pomeshchich’i krest’iane nakanune osvobozhdeniia, 3rd. ed. Leningrad, 1925.
Tikhonov, Iu. A. Pomeshchich’i krest’iane v Rossii. Moscow, 1974.