Everyday working conditions of the ukrainian peasantry in the second half of the 19th – at the beginning of the 20th century (on the example of Uman district of Kyiv huberniya)

Abstract

Abstract. The purpose of the article is an attempt, using the example of the Uman district of the Kyiv province, to trace the conditions of daily work of the Ukrainian peasantry, its attitude to the land as one of the greatest values, which directly influenced the worldview, the connection between the way of life of farmers, their daily life and mentality in the second half of the 19th century - at the beginning of the 20th century.

The scientific novelty of the article lies in the fact that, on the basis of archival and periodical sources, the regional aspect of the history of the Ukrainian peasantry is supplemented, because the daily life of rural laborers of one of the largest and most numerous districts of the Kyiv province and the Right Bank in general is highlighted.

Conclusions. Considered the importance of land as the greatest value and the main source of existence, which significantly influenced the formation of the mentality of the Ukrainian peasantry. It is noted that the cult of work was decisive in the peasant worldview, but there were also prohibited days for agricultural work, which mostly fell on Orthodox church holidays. Rural workers did not always use their allotments productively. The profitability of peasant lands was directly affected by the narrowness of the land, the lack of draft cattle, insufficient fertilization of the land, the lack of proper agricultural stock, and to some extent the conservatism of the Ukrainian peasantry, which was marked by indifference to agronomic and agrotechnical innovations. Local periodicals of the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries were analyzed, which became a source of coverage of the problem of land lease, hiring peasants for seasonal work, insufficient understanding of production processes, which created merciless working conditions and in many cases led to injuries.The lack of land and a difficult financial situation forced the peasants to sometimes agree to the worst and most unfair terms of employment just to receive advance payments, which were used by the managers of landlord estates. It is emphasized that forced labor in landlord economies even in the post-reform period, even in the post-reform period, created fair parallels in the society of that time with the work of peasants in the period of serfdom, because along with the oppressive working conditions, corporal punishment was also often encountered as a method of influencing and asserting the low social status of peasants. One of the most common types of work that most often led to industrial injuries was work on threshing machines and work in mills. It was noted in the periodicals that the problem of insurance and compensation was not solved in any way, and the victims, in addition to physical suffering for a long time, lost the opportunity to work. The question of the work of peasant child workers, who were a constant help to their parents, is considered. In addition, an important stage of the socialization of each child was the performance of certain types of work at the appropriate age.