FORMATION OF THE “OLD” ROMANI POPULATION AND ITS INTEGRATION IN THE RUSSIAN CLASS SYSTEM I (e-paper)

FORMATION OF THE “OLD” ROMANI POPULATION
AND ITS INTEGRATION IN THE RUSSIAN CLASS SYSTEM
IN THE XVII-XVIII CENTURIES
Marianna Smirnova-Seslavinskaya
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences

 

Migration factors, ways and terms, residence areas of the “old” Romani population of Russian Empire (Servi/Servitka Roma, Russka Roma, Vlaxurja/Vlaxy, Sibirska Roma, Finska Roma), as well as the state policy towards Roms are analysed. Modern structure of the Russian Romani population and au hor's periodization of its formation are adduced. Areas joining to the Russian Empire (results of the Russian- Polish war of 1654-1667, Great Northern War of 1703-1721 and Poland partitions of 1772-1794) played a crucial role in the “old” Romani population formation, as well as social and economic regional privileges in Slobodskaya Ukraine (2nd half of the XVII c. – 1th half of the XVIII c.) and Novorossia (since the last quarter of the XVIII c.). Besides demographic factors, the cause of the Servi and Russka Roma spread in central and eastern parts of Russia in the middle XVIII century is the tig tening of social and economic policy in Slobodskaya Ukraine, with the abolition of the privileges and the attempts to attach the Roms to the land. Since 1765 the state policy aims at the Roms integration in
the class system (in the XVIII c. mostly as peasants) and limits their mobility. The study is based on a chival and printed sources, dialectological studies data, author’s field materials.