Russian Communal Villages and their History
Russian Communal Villages and their History The communal village system of Russia has existed for centuries and, despite modern day influences, remains an important part of the Russian culture and identity. Have you ever wondered about their history and broader significance? Read on to find out more about Russia’s communal villages and their history. The characteristic Russian commune is known as a mir, which means “peace” in Russian. Though the concept of a communal village was around long before the fall of the Romanov dynasty, czar Peter the Great formalized mir’s in the late 17th century. Peter the Great believed that the communal villages were much more unifying and less expensive than royal landownership, so he set in motion the concept of the mir. A mir was composed of a number of peasant families who each held a piece of the single village’s land and worked collaboratively to cultivate their crops and maintain the village. Most people in a mir may have had a common spelling ...