Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich of Russia

At the table

Flavoring food during Lenten fasts

To add flavor to Lenten dishes, peasants used hemp or linseed oil, and hemp seeds were used to make a milk-like substance for flavoring soup. Mushrooms were also an essential part of the diet during fasts, with families consuming them in various forms including salted, dried, and fried.

What people wore

Peasant Footwear and Versatile Fur Coats

Peasants frequently wore bast shoes made from tree bark, but wealthier individuals wore leather boots for important occasions. In winter, both rich and poor favored sheepskin coats, which were often worn year-round and served multiple roles, including as bedding.

Getting around

Railways revolutionized long-distance travel speed

The railway between St. Petersburg and Moscow, opened in 1851, reduced travel time between the two cities from four days by carriage to 22 hours by train.

What it cost

The rising cost of bread

As bread prices doubled to 3 kopecks per pound, a worker consuming three pounds daily faced an effective annual tax of 16 rubles just to cover the rising cost of bread.

Music

Khorovod communal round dance

The khorovod was a popular communal round dance where up to a hundred people moved in a circle, often in a sunwise direction.

Daily life

Weekly Steam Baths and Water Access

The home had no plumbing or running water; families relied on pails of water and prioritized a weekly steam bath, often held in the stove itself or a dedicated bath-house. If a steam bath was unavailable, peasants would crawl into the heated oven to bathe.