Waste and its role in changing the nature of alcohol consumption by the peasantry in post-reform Russia (1860–1890s)

Relevance . The article is devoted to the study of otkhodnichestvo as a factor in changes in the nature of alcohol consumption by the peasant population of post-reform Russia. The relevance of the topic is determined by the need to study the consequences of the abolition of serfdom and the abolition of tax farming, including changes in the culture of drinking. Despite the fact that the fact of increased alcohol consumption among otkhodnichestvo has already been noted in Russian historiography, the mechanisms and nature of this connection remain insufficiently understood. The purpose of the work is to consider otkhodnichestvo as a specific factor of the post-reform period, which determined the change in the nature of alcohol consumption by peasants. Objectives to characterize the features and typology of otkhodnichestvo; to establish a cause-and-effect relationship between involvement in seasonal work and changes in alcohol practices; to indicate the functions of alcohol among otkhodnichestvo, which entailed the transformation of traditional alcohol practices. The research methodology includes the principles of historicism, scientific objectivity and consistency, supplemented by the analysis of statistical data on seasonal work and alcohol consumption (statistical method) and the study of sources used to reconstruct the motives and circumstances of alcohol consumption by seasonal workers (narrative method). Results . The abolition of serfdom, land shortages and low incomes pushed peasants to work, destroying their traditional social ties. In the conditions of heavy physical labor, isolation from the community and family, alcohol acquired new functions for seasonal workers: it served as a stimulant to maintain performance, a means of psychological release, a way to overcome stress, as well as an element of group solidarity and adaptation in a new social environment. Conclusion . Seasonal work was a powerful factor that transformed the traditional sporadic drinking culture of the peasantry into systematic alcohol consumption in the wasteland, associated with the need to adapt to the changed socio-economic situation. This process had a significant impact on the social structure of post-reform Russia.