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Glossary bol’shak – patriarch, head of the extended peasant household (bol’shukha). chernozem – literally “black earth”: the historically rich and fertile soils of central Russia. chetvertniki – also known as odnodvortsy. State peasants whose ancestors formed the corps of minor noble military servitors posted to the frontiers of the Muscovite State in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, losing their status after the pacification of the area and creation of a standing army in the Petrine era. They held land in hereditary household tenure by chet or chetvert (a unit of area). Distinct from “state souls” (gosudarstvennye dushevye), composed of descendants of the ordinary soldiery of the frontier era, former ecclesiastical peasants and ex-serfs sequestered by the state (mainly in cases of bankruptcy of their owners). State souls generally held their lands in communal tenure. darstvenniki – former private serfs who, under the Emancipation statutes of 1861, elected to accept “beggar’s allotments ” (or “quarter allotments”) with no redemption payments. desiatina – old Russian measure of land area equal to 2.7 acres. guberniia – province. khoziain – a master, “boss,” independent farmer (khoziaika). 388 Glossary of Terms otkhodniki – persons leaving the province in search of earnings (otkhod: literally “going away” in reference to migration ). pomeshchik – old word for a landowner (pomest’e: an estate held in service tenure). pood – Russian measure of weight, equal to 36.07 pounds or 16.4 kilograms. sloboda – settlement, usually larger. The term is also used for an urban suburb. uyezd – administrative subdivision within a province, translated as district. There were 15 districts in Kursk Province (guberniia) at the time of the revolution. ukaz – Imperial decree. versta – old Russian measure of distance equal to 3,500 feet. volost’ – administrative sub-division within the district, comprising a group of villages, rendered as “canton ” or “parish.” Their numbers varied over time; in 1905, there were 195 parishes in Kursk Province. ...

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