On the lands recently dependent on the lords, the division is effected by tiaglos . The meaning attached to this word tiaglo ,which represents the unit of labour, varies. Formerly it denoted a group of two or three labourers in each family; at thepresent time, the word is used to denote each married couple, so that if several couples live in the same house and labour incommon, each of them is entitled to a share. Under the system of serfage the unit for the corvée to be performed or for thepayments to be made to the lord was the tiaglo . This word, coming from the Russian verb tianut , to draw , is from the sameroot as the German ziehen , and signifies "a person who draws," that is, who drives the plough or cultivates. It was to thelord's advantage to multiply the tiaglos , as each of them owed him a certain number of days' labour per week. Thepatriarchal families, which united several couples under the same roof, represented several tiaglos, according to the numberof working hands at their disposal. The corvée due to the lord being assessed according to tiaglos , it was natural that theland should be divided in the same proportion. Under the first system, the allotment was by the number of heads; under thesecond, by the number of married couples or of ***** labourers.
As the various parcels assigned to each household were intermixed, it followed that all had to be cultivated at the same timeand devoted to the same crop. This is what the Germans call Flurzwang , or "compulsory cultivation." One-third part of thearable land is sown with winter grain, wheat or rye; one-third with oats; and the remaining third lies fallow. Each family tillsthe ground, sows and reaps separately and on its own account; but there is nothing to mark the boundary of the parcels. Thewhole section occupied by one of the divisions of the triennial rotation seems only to form a single field. The severalagricultural operations must be performed at the same time by all; because, there being no roads or ways of approach, noone can get to his parcel of ground without passing over those of his neighbours. The assembly of inhabitants of thecommune determines the time of sowing and harvest, just as we see them do in the south, in Switzerland, in Italy, and inFrance itself, for the time of vintage. It is another of the cases in which individual initiative is fettered by the authority of the mir .
Before the abolition of serfage, the lord granted to the peasants about half the arable land, and kept the remaining half forhimself, which he had cultivated by means of the labour supplied by the corvée . The serf had to work three days in the weekfor his master. The forest and waste lands supplied the cultivators with wood and pasturage, for which certainsupplementary services were reserved.
In 1861, in Russia proper, 103,158 proprietors owned 105,200,108 dessiatines , with twenty-two millions of serfs, who hada usufruct of one-third of the whole surface, or of some 35,000,000 dessiatines ; which allowed rather more thantwo-and-a-half dessiatines a head, or about seven dessiatines for each family.
In the region of the "black" soil, the population was denser, and the share of each was consequently less. This share wascalled the nadiell . The nadiell served as the basis of partition between the peasants and the lords, decreed by the act ofemancipation. The lord was bound to leave as the property of the enfranchised serfs a portion of the soil, reserving a moneyrent always redeemable. (5) The amount varied with local circumstances; but in every village a minimum is fixed for each maleinhabitant. This minimum varies. In the steppe regions, it is from three to eight dessiatines; in the industrial districts, it issmaller; thus, in the province of Moscow, it is as low as one dessiatine. In the region of the "black" soil, it averages fromtwo to three dessiatines . Practically, the portion of land, which the enfranchised serfs have obtained, corresponds veryclosely with the nadiell , or the share which they previously had to cultivate.
This is the position of an ordinary peasant family in the province of Novgorod. It cultivates about 20 hectares, or 49 Englishacres, of which half is arable, the rest hay or pasture land. The triennial rotation of crops is generally practised in Russia, sothat one-third of the arable is sown with rye, the second with oats, and the remaining one is fallow. The stock insists of twohorses, three cows, and four or five sheep. It pays to the lord seventy francs for the rent, or about a franc and a half per acre;to the state, a tax of twelve francs for each male, or about thirty francs in all on the average; and to the priest another six orseven francs. (6)
So far from the emancipation laws proving the deathblow of the collective existence of the mir , the new communalorganization established by the ukase of February 19, 1861, has rather strengthened it. For it has confirmed the principle,which made each commune a corporation, jointly responsible for the exact payment of all taxes due to the state, to theprovince or to the commune from its inhabitants individually. The heads of families, united in general assembly, mayintroduce individual property and put an end to the system of community; but to determine this transformation, a majority oftwo-thirds is necessary.
It is asserted that, if the decision could be taken by a mere majority, the communities would have soon ceased to exist.
Observed facts do not seem to confirm these predictions. The peasants do not so readily abandon ancient customs; and it isonly by gradual and insensible changes, that old institutions are modified under the influence of new ideas and newrequirements.
