Parish Chronicles as a Historical Source about the Peasants of the Smolensk Province

DOI: 10.33876/2311-0546/2022-2/90-99

Abstract

The article examines the tradition of writing parish chronicles in the Smolensk province in the 19th century and reveals its characteristic features, such as reliance on published examples, the combination of a formalized structure and authors’ subjective assessment. Based on the analysis of the parish chronicles, published as historical and statistical descriptions of parishes, the image of a Smolensk peasant from the point of view of a parish priest is reconstructed. There were two stable images - a Great Russian and a Belarusian differing in personality, lifestyle and appearance, which were associated with ethnicity. The priests explained these differences by natural, socio-historical and cultural factors. In general, a peasant was seen as characterized by prudence, discretion and sympathy to the poor. At the same time, it was noted that superstitions, vices (such as drunkenness, foul language, theft), family breakdowns were common among them.