Goose-Fashion or Troika Harnessing: Features of the Road Tradition of Russia in the 19th Century

The circumstances of road travel in the Russian Empire (road daily life, road culture, traditional culture of travelling, road tradition of Russia) have started to be studied by historians and other specialists only recently. This scholarly direction is at the intersection of the history of everyday life with historical anthropology and ethnography. It is of considerable importance because it makes it possible to better understand how road traffic was organized in pre-revolutionary Russia, the largest state in the world, and what difficulties it was associated with. This topic can be studied using a variety of narrative sources (primarily, memoirs) and interpreting fiction texts that were created with a focus on authenticity (for example, based on childhood memories). This paper focuses on the opposition of two ways to harness horses to a carriage in Russia in the nineteenth century, both in winter and in summer (troika vs. goose-fashion). The author draws on historical sources related to the Russian North (including Vyatka Province), the Urals, Siberia, and other regions. The analysis traces the correlation between the methods of harnessing horses and the seasonal and climatic conditions of daily life. The author highlights the importance of a lot of equipped roads for the formation of a sustainable road tradition. Also, an explanation is offered as to when and for what reasons one or another harnessing option was preferred. All these data help make a conclusion about how the specific features of the historical and cultural tradition (in this case, the road tradition of Russia) are formed.