{"id":4829,"date":"2013-06-13T08:00:06","date_gmt":"2013-06-13T08:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/?p=4829"},"modified":"2014-07-17T19:29:35","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T19:29:35","slug":"serfin-the-tide-of-russian-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/russian\/serfin-the-tide-of-russian-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Serfin’ the tide of Russian history"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since I’ve done a number of vocabulary and grammar posts recently, I thought that this week, for a change of pace, we’ll take a look at Russian history. And, more specifically, the history of that peculiar institution known as \u043a\u0440\u0435\u043f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e<\/b> (“serfdom”) — which for hundreds of years was the curse of the Russian poor and a constant political headache for the ruling monarchs until its formal abolition in 1858. (And even then, of course, the human effects of serfdom lingered on.)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But to understand the history of Russian serfdom, we first need to consider some basic definitions — for instance, what are the practical differences between a person held in \u043a\u0440\u0435\u043f\u043e\u0441\u0442\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u0447\u0435\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e<\/b>, “serfdom”, and someone in \u0440\u0430<\/span>\u0431\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e<\/b>, “slavery”? And are serfs the same as the ordinary members of the \u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u0441\u0442\u0432\u043e<\/b> (“the peasantry; the peasant class collectively”)?<\/p>\n

So, to begin with, the word \u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d<\/b> is usually translated as “peasant.” However, keep in mind that the English word “peasant” can have negative connotations of \u043d\u0438\u0449\u0435\u0442\u0430<\/span><\/b> (“extreme poverty”) and \u0431\u0435\u0437\u0433\u0440\u0430<\/span>\u043c\u043e\u0442\u043d\u043e\u0441\u0442\u044c<\/b> (“illiteracy”) — it seems almost oxymoronic to speak of a “rich, educated peasant.” But the Russian term is more neutral, and historically it wasn’t unheard of for a \u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d<\/b> to be wealthy and educated, though this was certainly the exception, not the rule! So, in some contexts, terms such as “farmer” or “agricultural worker” would be more appropriate translations than “peasant.”<\/p>\n

Anyway, the noun \u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d<\/b> happens to have a slightly unusual declension, since the suffix -\u0438\u043d-<\/b> is present throughout the singular but disappears in the plural. And it’s worth your time memorizing the declension because plenty of other nouns have the same pattern:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d<\/b> (“peasant; farmer; tiller of land”)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/td>\nsing.<\/i><\/td>\npl.<\/i><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
nominative<\/i><\/td>\n\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d<\/span><\/b><\/td>\n\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0435<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
genitive<\/i><\/td>\n\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d<\/span>\u0430<\/b><\/td>\n\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
dative<\/i><\/td>\n\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d<\/span>\u0443<\/b><\/td>\n\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u043c<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
accusative<\/i><\/td>\n\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d<\/span>\u0430<\/b><\/td>\n\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
instrumental<\/i><\/td>\n\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d<\/span>\u043e\u043c<\/b><\/td>\n\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u043c\u0438<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
prepositional<\/i><\/td>\n\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0438\u043d<\/span>\u0435<\/b><\/td>\n\u043a\u0440\u0435\u0441\u0442\u044c\u044f<\/span>\u043d\u0430\u0445<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Don’t get the spelling confused with \u0445\u0440\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0430\u043d\u0438<\/span>\u043d<\/b> (nom. pl. \u0445\u0440\u0438\u0441\u0442\u0438\u0430<\/span>\u043d\u0435<\/b>), “a Christian.” And other nouns with this same pattern include:<\/p>\n