Grand Duchess Elizabeth Nikolaevna of Russia

At the table

Meal Customs in Peasant Households

Peasant families frequently ate from common dishes without individual cutlery, often eating in a set order led by the head of the household. Hygiene was minimal; dishes were typically rinsed in cold water after use rather than thoroughly washed.

What people wore

A single lifetime festive outfit

Peasants often prepared one high-quality outfit in their youth that was kept for their entire lives to be worn only on the most important feast days.

Getting around

Variable speeds of land travel

Travel speeds were generally slow, averaging about 50 to 70 kilometers a day, though elite couriers or royal carriages could achieve much higher speeds, sometimes reaching 18 kilometers per hour on favorable routes. During winter, sleighs often moved faster than wheeled vehicles on the packed snow and ice.

Work

Common jobs for Russian peasants

Many peasants worked as seasonal laborers, including 700,000 boatmen and longshoremen, 600,000 farmhands, 400,000 construction workers, and 400,000 cabmen. Others engaged in varied trades or factory work, often moving far from their native provinces for years to earn income.

Music

Traditional khorovod dances and reed instruments

In the Kursk region, women performed traditional round dances called khorovod or karagod while singing and playing kuvichki, a set of pan-flute pipes made of reeds of varying lengths.

Daily life

Lighting and window materials in peasant homes

Peasant huts were typically illuminated by a torch inserted into the crack of the stove or by simple wicks dipped in oil. Glass was expensive and often replaced by bull bladders in peasant homes, while wealthier villagers began using mica.