"The liberation of the workers": a master's servants lived before the revolution

Early 20th century - the time is very vague. Nisa as later wrote Comrade Lenin, could not, while leaders do not want. They would not, in particular, notes in his servants, the home staff, living people. With former serfs often treated with both domestic cattle, without pity, without compassion. < Website published a fascinating article about "the emancipation of workers»

. I had never heard of at least one native Muscovite or Petersburger recalled that his ancestors were in pre-revolutionary capital as coachmen, sex, laundresses or housemaids - hate to tell that your grandparents fall under the "Circular on cook's children" in 1887 of the year. And lived in the early twentieth century, the capital cooks parents of children like this.



In the "Ogonek" magazine, number 47 of November 23, 1908, were published by the arguments of Ms. Severova (pen name Natalia Nordman, unwed wife Ilya Repin) about the life of domestic workers in the Russian Empire in the early XX century.





"Recently - says Ms. Severova - came to me to hire a young girl

. - Why are you without a place? - I asked sternly
. - I just got out of the hospital! Month lay.
- From the hospital? From what this disease you treated there?
- Yes, and the disease was not special - just feet swelled and broke the back of all this means from the stairs, gentlemen lived in the 5th floor. Also head whirling, and knocks and knocks happened. I was the janitor from the spot directly to the hospital and SVEZA. The doctor said overwork strong!
- What are you there moved a stone or something

? It is embarrassing for a long time, but finally I was able to find out exactly how she spent the day in last place. The 6 up. "Alarm is not present, so every minute to 4 hours wake up, afraid to wake." Hot breakfast should keep up to 8 hours, the 2nd Cadets with him in the case. "Bitki you cut and nose and klyuesh. Samovar, clothing and boots to clean them as necessary. Cadets will go, at the service of his master, "celebrate", too, samovar, boots, clothes cleaned, with the hot rolls, but for a newspaper to run on

corner. "



"Will leave the master, mistress, and the three young ladies celebrate - boots, galoshes, clean the dress hems for one, would you believe it, you stand an hour, pylischa even sand pas teeth; at twelve o'clock they brew coffee - the bed spacing. Between times to clean the room, the lamp fill, smooth something. By two o'clock breakfast hot, I run the shop for dinner soup set.

Only otzavtrakayut Cadets home, and with friends knocked, have asked, tea, for cigarettes send only the Cadets are full, the master goes, fresh tea asks, and here, and guests are suitable for buns run, and then for the lemon, once the not to say, sometimes flies 5 times in a row, and for the breast used to ache not breathe.

Here, look, the sixth hour. So ahnesh, lunch, cook, covered. The lady swears why late. Over lunch how many times will be sent down to the shop - the cigarette, the seltzer, then beer. After dinner dishes in the kitchen mountain, and here samovar becoming, and even some coffee, who ask, and sometimes guests will sit down to play cards, snack ready. By 12 o'clock in the legs can not hear, tknesh on the stove, only to fall asleep - call a young lady returned home, only to fall asleep, to the cadet ball, and all night, and then get up at six - chop cutlets »




"Walk for 8-10 p. the threshold of our house, they become our property, they are night and day belong to us; sleeping, eating, amount of work - it all depends on us »

"After hearing this story, - says Ms. Severova - I realized that this young girl is too jealous of their duties, which lasted 20 hours a day, or it was too soft character and did not know how to be rude and snap
Growing up in a village in a hut with calves and chickens, she is a young girl in St. Petersburg and hired a servant to the Lord. Dark kitchen, in the vicinity of the drainpipes - arena of her life. Here she sleeps, combs her hair at the same table where the trains on it also cleans skirts, boots, runs the lamp. »





"Domestic workers are considered to be tens, hundreds of thousands, and yet the law has not done anything for her. You can really say - it is not about the law was written »

"Our black ladder and backyards inspire disgust, and I think that untidiness and carelessness workers (" run, run, no time to sew on buttons Statement ") are in most cases forced disadvantages.

On an empty stomach, a lifetime to submit your own hands delicious, inhale their fragrance, present as their "eat gentlemen", savor and praise ( "under escort eating without us can not swallow"), well then do not try to steal even then piece, not to lick the plate tongue, not to put a candy in his pocket, not a sip from the bottle of wine.

When we will order our young maid must submit to wash our husbands and sons to wear them to bed tea, clean up their bed, helping to dress. Often servant stays with them all alone in the apartment and at night on their return to heavy drinking takes it boots and places to sleep. All this she has to do, but her grief, if the street we will meet it with fire.

And woe to her even more if she told us about the free behavior of our son or husband »





"Izvѣstno that metropolitan domestic workers deeply and almost totally corrupted. Women, mostly unmarried youth, the masses arriving iz villages and coming unto usluzhenie kb peterburgskim "gospodam" cooks, maids, laundresses, and so forth., Quickly and bezpovorotno involved unto corrupting the whole surroundings, and innumerable, shirt-sleeve ladies' man from Sh "master "and a lackey, and ending gvardeyskim schegolem-soldatom, velemoschnym dvornikom and so on. d. Razvѣ hardened unto tsѣlomudrii vestal resisted would-protiv such nepreryvnago and raznorodnago temptation to vsѣh storon! You can positively say, therefore, that the vast majority of female workers in Petersburg (unto complexity Her 60 m.) Completely prostitutes from povedeniya ". (V. Mihnevich, "Historical Sketches of Russian Life", St. Petersburg, 1886).





His reasoning Ms. Severova prophecy concludes: "... 50 years ago, the servants were called" home scum "," dependents ", and called as well as in the official papers. Present name of the "people" have also outlived his time, and in 20 years will seem wild and impossible. "If we are" people "who are you? - I asked a young maid, expressive

looking into my eyes. " Ms. Severova bit wrong - not 20, and 9 years after the revolution happens when you do not might want to live in the old bottoms will begin mass cutting out tops. And then the young maids will look into the eyes of his mistress still expressive ...





See also: 45 genre pictures of pre-revolutionary Russia

via pikabu.ru/story/raskreposhchenie_prislugi_4140270