Rabotnye Liudi

a term designating workers in trade and manufacturing in Russia from the 17th to the first half of the 19th century. The term first appeared in 17th-century sources. Most of the rabotnye liudi were workers employed on river vessels and in fisheries, saltworks, and other enterprises. As new industries developed, their workers also became classified as rabotnye liudi; beginning in the early 18th century, posessionnye krest’iane (possessional peasants) were also often included in the category. Rabotnye liudi came from the ranks of the serfs and especially of the wage workers, beginning approximately in the 1760’s. At the turn of the century, there were approximately 440,000 wage workers among the rabotnye liudi.