The Image of a Man of the Frontier on the example of the Don's Nonresident Peasantry

Abstract

The article is devoted to the consideration of the image of a frontiersman on the example of the nonresident peasantry of the Don. On the Don (Don Cossack Region), the formation of the social structure had one important feature: as a result of colonization, two separate categories of the population were formed – indigenous and nonresident, whose rights and status differed. The purpose of the study is to determine to what extent the factor of frontier influenced the formation and functioning of the social space and its communities in their development, focusing the research on a nonresident peasant. In the course of the work, the place and role of the nonresident peasantry in the development and burgeoning of the region are determined, behavioral models are characterized, which were largely conditioned by the traditions laid down during the of frontier period, relations with the indigenous population are considered. The result of the work was picturing of the image of the nonresident peasantry as a type of a “frontiersmen” who actively explore the external space in various aspects of social and industrial life. It is concluded that the frontier was a factor in the formation of a special way of social life; it influenced the formation and development of local communities and the choice of behavioral models. The research materials can be used in the study of micro-and macro-history of Russia; the article is intended for scientists and a broader reading public.

Keywords

• southern frontier
• socio-cultural processes
• don’s region
• agrarian migrations
• peasant colonization
• post-reform period
• nonresident peasantry
• integration
• behavioral models
• mentality