The experience of studying the Landrat’s books of Peter the Great’s time

 
PIIS086956870014173-1-1
DOI10.31857/S086956870014173-1
Publication type Article
Status Published
Authors
Affiliation: Bunin Yelets State University
Address: Russian Federation, Yelets
Journal nameRossiiskaia istoriia
EditionIssue 1
Pages256-265
Abstract

      

Keywords
AcknowledgmentThis article is a translation of: D.A. Lyapin. The experience of studying the Landrat’s books of Peter the Great’s time. Rossiiskaia Istoria. 2021. № 1. P. 37–45. DOI: 10.31857/S086956870013441-6.
Received18.03.2021
Publication date18.03.2021
Number of characters36627
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1 Results of the last census of households in Russia carried out in 1715–1720, this is laying among the number of historical sources from the first quarter of the XVIII century, are supposed to pay attention to it.
2 Since a compilation of census books was entrusted to landrats (local assistants to a governor from the courtiers), this census had got name the Landrat’s census in historiography, and the books containing its results were called the Landrat’s books.
3 The aim of this article is to show the value of information content of the Landrat’s books for collecting an actual data of a population and classes of objects which Russian state examined in the process of tax calculation in the period of Peter the Great. It is especially important to make a reasoned examining the cognitive significance of this source and to draw the attention of scholars to this, because the Landrat’s books have not been the subject of a separate detailed study until.
4 Kranichfeld was a first one, who examined in the 1840s the tax policy of Peter I. Expressing his mind about the “Landrat’s census”, he regarded this as actual for his time, but A. I. Kranichfeld outlined also the effectiveness of the transition in Russia to poll taxation1. A. I. Kranichfeld appreciated big significance of the poll taxation for Russian history, he considered the poll taxation as one of the fateful events of the Peter’s epoch. 1. Kranichfeld A. Review of the financial system and financial institutions of Peter the Great. St. Petersburg, 1845. pp. 49-53.
5

There is a certain tradition among scholars  to pay a much attention to poll taxation regarding the last as an important advance however the uncompleted act of the Peter I’s tax reforms. The Landrat’s census, which preceded to a usual census, stood in the shadows and some scholars called this unsuccessful and a factor, which spurred officials to go to poll taxation. S. M. Solovyov described in details the activities of provincial officials, when he studied the process of establishing the landrats under a governors, but S. M. Solovyov did not pay attention to the Landrat’s census2. S. M. Solovyov proved the fiscal policy of Peter I had mainly many indirect taxes and the transition to direct poll taxation according to Decree of 1718.

2. Solovev S. M. History of Russia since ancient times. Book 4. Vol. XVI-XX. St. Petersburg, 1877. p. 148.
6 M. M. Bogoslovsky’s monograph about the history of local governments in the early Eighteenth century contains functioning of landrats, but M. M. Bogoslovsky did not regard the “Landrat census”, although he suggested that the officials took the Landrat’s books into account in the process of organization the tax reform, since it was accepted in Russian state to collect data ("tales", as people sad than) about the population applying questioning a households, the “tales” had main information about social and economic makeup of Russia3. 3. Bogoslovsky M. M. Studies on the history of local governments under Peter the Great. M., 1903. Pp. 324–326.
7 Referring to the Landrat’s census, V. O. Klyuchevsky drew attention to the fact that the landrat’s elections in 1713 were an attempt, which was undertook by the state to attract the nobility to internal governance on a new basis. Despite the fact the landrats were abolished in 1718, a practical experience of this institute was successfully applied to organizing a new poll census, for which the nobility chose zemstvo commissars from among themselves4. V. O. Klyuchevsky did not touch the specifics of the census and the question of its reliability. 4. Klyuchevsky V. O. History of estates in Russia. T. 6. M., 1989. P. 386; Klyuchevsky V.O. Poll tax and the abolition of slavery in Russia. Ibid., vol. 8. M., 1990. p. 195.
8 P. N. Milyukov believed that it was Peter I's dissatisfaction with the veracity of the Landrat’s books this forced him to abandon the household taxes in favor of the poll tax, but P. N. Milyukov had not given any concrete evidence for this. From the point of view of Milyukov, the need for the Landrat’s books disappeared in 1718 as a result of introduction of poll taxation5. 5. Milyukov P. N. State Economy of Russia in the first quarter of the XVIII century and the reform of Peter the Great. St. Petersburg, 1905. pp. 471-472.
9 Over time the opinion that the Landrat’s census was ineffective and even reflected the crisis of household taxation began to prevail within historians. Some persons confused increasingly “the Court description of 1710” with the Landrat’s census, contemporaries really left bad reviews about “the Court description of 1710”, and the government recognized the last one that this contained biased information6. However, according to M. V. Klochkov, the government had come to the conclusion that the total number of households could not exceed the level of 1678, this meant that the further use of the household tax system would not be a tool to finance the needs of the state in the necessary amount. This, but not the shortcomings of the Landrat’s census, was the reason for the new tax reform7. 6. Lyashchenko P. I. Russian National Economy History. M.; L., 1930. p. 206; Strumilin S. G. Essays on the Economic history of Russia. M., 1960. p. 322, 328.

7. Klochkov M. V. The population of Russia in the period of Peter the Great according to the censuses of that time. St. Petersburg, 1911. Pp. 420–425.
10 B. B. Kafenhauz asserted that the results of the “Household description of 1710” reflected a clear reduction of the number of households. The government considered this as a consequence of the concealment, which population practiced, and the fact of a bad faith, which the provincial authorities demonstrated, therefore the new census, which had got name the Landrat’s census began in 1715, but this census demonstrated a reduction of a households because of decreasing population and avoiding taxes pay, which practice poor people. The urgent need for a new system of collecting direct taxes (the actual increase in the tax burden) provoked the government to abandon the further applying the household censuses8. According to Kafenhauz, a studying the data from the Landrath books gave to the authorities an argument in favor to increase direct taxes with help of changing the system of collecting them as only one method to get money for a state budget quickly. 8. Kafenhauz B.B.Essays on the history of USSR. XVIII. Russia in the first quarter of the XVIII century. The Reforms of Peter I. M., 1954. Pp. 388– 389.

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