Vera Opochinina

At the table

Kvass as the universal drink

Kvass, a fermented drink made from rye flour and malt, served as the universal daily beverage for the lower classes.

What people wore

Everyday men's clothing and footwear

Ordinary men typically wore a skewed-collar shirt (kosovorotka) belted over trousers, with bast shoes (lapti) being standard everyday footwear.

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

Declining wages for Volga boatmen

Earnings for Volga boatmen dropped significantly due to industrialization, falling from about 300 rubles per season in the 1810s to between 60 and 90 rubles by the 1830s. This decline forced many formerly prosperous villages into poverty as traditional crafts were replaced by newer methods.

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

Sourcing drinking water

Most city residents lacked their own water source and relied on water carriers who transported water from rivers or lakes, which was often contaminated. Even well water in towns was frequently dirty and contained significant limestone impurities.