“Syabry” and Economic Development of the South of Russia in the first half of the 17th century

The article is devoted to the consideration of the economic activities of small landowners -the first colonizers of the southern outskirts of the Russian state in the 17th century."South of Russia" is the conventional name for the southern districts of the western part of the state relative to the era of the reign of the first Romanovs.Today this territory is the economic region of the Central Black Earth Region.The issue of economic development of these forest-steppe spaces at the first stage of annexation remains quite complex.Among the various social aspects of Russian colonization of the region, a special place is occupied by the issue of "syabrs" -under this name small Russian landowners are mentioned in landownership documents.It is believed in science that the "syabrs" were members of informal rural communities, the first landowners who actively populated this region.The authors of the article clarify: they were called "syabrs" only in the case of joint ownership of part of the land, forest or reservoir.This tradition of common ownership ("syabrovoe") survived until the second half of the 19th century.The arable lands of the "syabrs" were officially in individual use, but in reality they were cultivated collectively.The main source for writing the article was the refusal books of southern Russian districts of the 1630s and 40s.Additional documents were also used: office materials from the Belgorod table and customs books.The authors consider various methods of economic development of the South of Russia and come to the conclusion that the "syabrs", receiving virgin ("wild") lands for use, used all opportunities for the exploitation of natural resources: they fished, hunted, extracted honey and tar.Various methods of economic activity contributed to the formation of a single market and the development of this rich and fertile region.As a result, the effectiveness of collective efforts to develop new "wild" spaces in the South was manifested in the fact that Russia, despite external threats and wars, was able to gain a foothold in these lands, build a defensive line and move further to the Black Sea.