Who and where "came in large numbers" to Moscow 150 years ago: Migration of the XIX century

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

“If you talk to a casual acquaintance somewhere in a tram or a theater, you will certainly find out that he came here recently … There are less than 10% of native Muscovites who were born here. All the rest - who came from the provinces”- this is a quote from an article published in 1913 in the newspaper“Voice of Moscow”. Mass migration here began in the middle of the 19th century, and most of today's native Muscovites are descendants of those settlers.

For the first time, Muscovites encountered a wave of migrants in the 1860s, immediately after the abolition of serfdom. The population of the city then did not reach half a million, when suddenly crowds of visitors from the provinces of Central Russia flocked here: Smolensk, Kaluga, Tula, Ryazan, Vladimir, Tver, Yaroslavl. In just a few decades, the number of residents increased exactly three times - by 1900, statistics showed already 1.2 million Muscovites. Roughly the same processes took place in St. Petersburg. Scientists were already surprised at that time: in the 1880s, 72% of Moscow residents could not call it their hometown, the same indicator for St. Petersburg was 70%. Of the European capitals, only Paris enjoyed the same popularity among migrants. In Berlin, for comparison, there were only half of those who had come in large numbers, and in London - even less, about a third, so Russia was then the European leader in this matter.

They came to big cities, as they do today, in search of a better life and high-paying jobs. New factories and factories demanded workers, and the middle class in those years just had a fashion for a large number of servants, so the influx of labor from the hinterland was welcome. Many came to Moscow only for the summer season - at this time they hired workers for numerous construction sites and for annual road repairs. The regular change of pavements was a real treasure not only for the theft of money by officials, but a way to survive for the army of hired workers.

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Interestingly, there were few women among that wave of newcomers, and as a result, there was a clear imbalance in the demographic situation - usually there are a little more than half of women, while in Moscow at the turn of the epochs there were only about 40% of them. But the population became noticeably younger, because mainly young and healthy people came to work.

Of course, the native Muscovites were not delighted with such a large number of people who had come in large numbers. It was in migration that they saw the reasons for urban sanitary problems and epidemics, a lack of housing and a rise in apartment prices, crime and prostitution. The difference from the present is probably the fact that the ethnic composition of migrants was then homogeneous. But the newcomers were distinguished by their rudeness of manners and extreme backwardness. Recent villagers were mostly illiterate and did create a lot of problems. It was in those years that a negative attitude of Muscovites to newcomers developed, and, to be fair, the situation on this issue has not changed much in more than a hundred years.

Of course, the ancient city was not ready to receive such a large number of people at once. The indigenous people were not in vain worried about cleanliness and sanitary order - those who arrived were sometimes forced to live in terrible conditions. In those years, huge factory dormitories arose, but huge rooms for several dozen people and very modest "amenities" made this housing not a very good option. Most migrants rented rooms, corners or separate beds in apartments, and this also created a crowded population. In publications of those times, they often complain about the decline in morality, inevitable with such a lifestyle: or: Small apartments, in which ten people lived, were called the jokers of that time "the den of the Australian savages."

Although such a settlement was still considered not the worst option - those who were less fortunate were forced to huddle where they had to and or settled in the Khitrovka area, where there was the cheapest housing. The delights of this "special" district of Moscow were legendary. At that time, cheap shelters also served as a place where contractors hired workers. In 1880, a huge metal shed was built specifically for the labor exchange. Gradually Khitrovsky market became the crime center of Moscow:

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(V. Gilyarovsky, "Moscow and Muscovites")

It is interesting that even then registration of visitors was compulsory in Moscow. The guidebook "Moscow Calendar for 1872" explains this issue:. If they settled in private houses or apartments, then the registration was made through the owner. A residence permit was issued by the police for travel more than 50 versts from the place of permanent residence for a period of more than six months. So, probably a hundred and fifty years ago, the problems of the army of illiterate migrants were the same as today. However, despite all the problems associated with the settlers of that period, historians today argue that without them Moscow would be completely different: most of the buildings built in the second half of the 19th century were actually created by these people, and almost all of today's “native Muscovites”are their descendants.

And in prozolzhenie historical-metropolitan theme 20 interesting facts about Moscow and Muscovites, which were noticed by Gilyarovsky.