Agricultural activity of palace peasants in the 17th century (on the materials of Verkhotsenskaya volost)

Importance. The establishment of a multinational Russian state is an important goal of scientific historical research. The study of Verkhotsenskaya volost history reflects the role of the Russian and Mordovian people in the exploration of Potsenye territory in the 16th–17th centuries, the formation of the Great Russian nation.Materials and Methods. The main sources of the research is the documents of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts of the 17th century, scattered in different fonds, mainly of the Order-incharge prikaz, Pomestniy prikaz, as well as the Cadastres of 1676–78. Archive of the St. Petersburg Institute of Russian History.Results and Discussion. The study of agricultural activity of the Verkhotsenskaya volost peasants shows the diversity of the local population’s occupations, in which farming and wild-hive beekeeping became decisive. The region exploration was carried out under the sign of continuity of traditions of Russian farming and Mordovian wild-hive beekeeping. The presence of large stocks of river fish and wild animals on the border territory during almost the whole 17th century allowed to preserve hunting and fishing as an important occupation of the local population.Conclusion. The study of the Verkhotsenskaya volost history allows to visualize the complex process of the Great Russian nationality establishment and the formation of regional traditions. Verkhotsenskaya volost, its human and material losses during the Smolensk war of 1632–1634 became one of the main reasons for the Belgorod line construction, the beginning of which was laid by the fortifications of the Kozlovsky section and the Tambov line. Here combined the interests of the tsar to protect his fiefdom and the interests of the state.