The Vytnoe and Soshnoe Letter to the Palace Townships and Suburbs of the Russian State 17th Century

About the author:

Larisa Yu. Varentsova, Cand. Sci. (Hist.), Associate Professor, Department of Theory and History of State and Law, Nizhny Novgorod Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia; l_varentsova.65@mail.ru

Abstract:

In many districts of the Russian state of the 17^th century, there was a Tsar's estate. The Palace population performed various duties, paid physical and monetary dues. In historical science, there are no special works on the tax system in the territory of the Tsar's domain. We tried to study the features of the cadastral policy in the Palace estates.

This article aims to determine the features of the vytnoe and soshnoe letters on the territory of the Tsar's estates in Russia in the 17th century. The author relies on the works of famous Russian scientists V. O. Klyuchevsky, N. P. Zagoskin, S. B. Veselovsky, N. V. Ustyugov. The material source include the unpublished record keeping documentation and legislation. The documents from the Russian State Archive of ancient acts (F. 1239 “Fund of the Palace Department”), the State Historical Museum of the Department of written sources (F. 178 “Museum collection”), the Russian State Library of the Research Department of manuscripts (F. 450 “E. V. Barsov”) are introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. Valuable information about the taxes of the Palace population is contained in the “Cathedral code of 1649”. Methodological basis of work includes the principles of historicism and scientific objectivity in order to study the basic principles of taxation in the Palace estates.

The author concludes that there was no unified cadastral system in the tsarist domain. Each of the territories was particularly taxed. There were no universal rules for tax collection on the territory of the Tsar's domain. There were several conventional units of taxation. They functioned in various combinations as well as autonomously. They differed in cities and villages of the Tsar's domain. The tax system in each Tsar's demesne has historically been the case. It was largely determined by geographical factors. The main taxes of the Palace people were combined with the state fees. In Russia during the 17^th century tribute to the Tsar's estates has increased significantly. Cash payments especially increased. The Palace orders were responsible for collecting taxes. Their goal is to provide maximum profit for the Tsar's Treasury. The same task was assigned to the local Palace authorities, rural and urban communities.

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