The Polish and Jewish People in the Work of Peasant Self-Government in the Right-Bank Ukraine in the Second Half of the 19th and the Beginning of the 20th Centuries

The abolition of serfdom in 1861 was the beginning of global reformations that dealt with the administrative and territorial division of the empire. According to the new division, the lowest territorial unit was a rural community (territorial community) in Kyiv, Podolia and Volhynia guberniyas, the highest – volost. The control of rural communities was performed by peasant self-government – volost and rural government which were formed and provided by peasants (members of the community). However, excepting community a ﬀ airs, the legislator charged the peasant self-government to execute a number of urgent functions in the government ( ﬁ scal, legal, police, static and educative functions). For that reason, the peasant authorities were degraded to the position of the lowest link in the hierarchy of the government. The peasant self-government was restricted by the

1 South-Western region (South-Western Krai) -in the Russian Empire in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, the part of Western region, the common name for three guberniyas (Kyiv, Podolia and Volhynia).

INTRODUCTION
With the introduction of the "Regulation on the peasants withdrawal from serfdom" in 1861, changes were introduced to the administrative and territorial division which primarily related to peasants.Additionally, the system of government undergone a transformation, the government gave peasants the right to be autonomous in the economic and administrative matt ers.The formation and upkeep of rural administrative units were put in the hands of the communities so that the government was relieved of supporting them.Meanwhile, the governance was concerned about the possibility of losing control over the village -the main tax resource.In order to prevent potential disobedience of peasants, the legislator approved rather weird construction of "peasant self-government", principles of which were involved restricting the "self-government".Due to that the rural communities were not autonomous at the stage of acquisition.The purpose of this article is to analyze the problem of participation of Polish and Jewish nationalities in peasant self-governments in the South-Western region in the second half of the 19th -the beginning of the 20th centuries.

HISTORIOGRAPHY REVIEW
The introduction and functioning of peasant self-government are of interest to the society of per-revolutionary Russia.In particular, the subject of discussion encompassed regulations concerning the creation of a new administrative division, the introduction of peasant community and volost.K. Aksakov declared against excessive interference of state authority in the election of members of peasant self-government 2 . 2 К.Аксаков, Замечание на новое административное устройство крестьян в России, Лейпциг 1861, s. 76-77.
The poet and publicist M. Ogarev sai bout non-independent of peasant self-government 3 .Such researchers as S. Latyshev and A. Yanovskyi, in their texts published in the "Encyclopedic dictionaries of Brockhaus and Efron" analyzed the legal terms of volost and rural government, as well as the scope of their cooperation with the governance 4 .However, the participation of the Polish and Jewish people hasn't become so far the main subject of the research.After January Uprising in 1863, anti-Polish rhetoric was spread in press which existed during the second half of the 19th century.In particular, "Vestnik of Yugo-Zapadnoi i Zapadnoi Rossii" press published articles of chauvinistic content, characterizing negative impact of the Polish on the formation of peasant self-governments 5 .
The Soviet historiography studied the activity of rural administrative units without emphasizing their ethnic composition.A feature of the Soviet researches was the defi nition of "kulak" formation of peasant self-government.In spite of one-sided negative assessment of peasant establishments, as "the organ of peasants oppression and exploitation", the Soviet works provide valuable materials of analytical nature.In this vein, scientist S. Bodnarevskyi analyzed the activities of volost establishments, determined the structure of peasant administrations, items of their costs and revenues, wage rates 6 .Researcher D. Poida in his monograph dedicated to peasant struggle for its land in the right-bank Ukraine, analyzed the population of this region.The scholar also studied the Polish presence among various classes which made it possible to notice the Polish transition from nobility to peasantry 7 .
In modern peasant studies, Ukrainian researches have paid considerable amount of att ention to the study of peasant self-government.Thus, the object of study of scientist I. Verkhovtseva were the organs of the aforementioned self-government (1861-1917)  of the Russian Empire 8 .The researcher analyzed the processes of rotation in peasant administrations and noted the lowest level of education of their workers 9 .Thesis work of historian A. Kasian devoted to volost ruling in the right-bank Ukraine in the second half of the 19th century, touches upon a question of Polish presence in the organs of peasant selfgovernment.However, we consider A. Kasian's statement about "non-Ukrainian" nature of volost ruling on the right-bank to be exaggerated 10 .The works of researcher Yu.Zemskyi are devoted to the problem of Polish factor in the right-bank Ukraine 11 .In one of monographs, the scholar studied the role of Polish declassed nobility in the society of the South-Western region, and pointed to its social and partly cultural assimilation with Ukrainian peasantry 12 .A thorough analysis of the situation of declassed nobility was made by French scientist D. Beauvois in his study about the struggle of Polish elite for the infl uence in the South-Western region in the second half of the 19th century 13 .Russian researcher L. Horizontov described the main stages of struggle between Russian statehood and Polish historical tradition in the 19th century.He touched upon the issue of removing Polish from public service in the Russian Empire 14 .

THE DISPLACEMENT OF POLISH FROM PRIVILEGED STATUS, THEIR SOCIO ECONOMIC POSITION
The socio-political situation in the Russian Empire changed for the worse hrough for the inhabitants of Polish nationality in the second half of the 19th century.Discrimination policy against the Polish people, 8 introduced by Nicholas I, continued to manifest itself during the 19th century and was not abolished even during the World War I. Thus, the representatives of Polish nationality were removed from leading duties on the public service, restricted access to higher educational establishments 15 .In the second half of the 19th century, the situation of the Polish people in the Empire was complicated by the reaction of the governance to Polish rebellion in 1863 that refl ected on the right-bank Ukraine.The rebellion in Kyiv, Podolia and Volhynia guberniyas was evident through the formation of armed groups, confl icts with police and military 16 .The sympathy of local nobility for rebels was also expressed by means of peaceful actions -women were wearing mourning clothes and set a memorial service for those killed in January rebellion 17 .All this led to the appropriate steps of starting the rebellion -reducing the number of the nobles, restrictions on possessing the land, removing from public duties.Thus, in the decree of December 10, 1865, the Polish people were forbidden to buy land in nine western guberniyas, including guberniyas in the South-Western region 18 .In the decree of July 4, 1863, it was no longer possible to recognize cases of noble Polish birth 19 , so those who did not prove their aristocratic status became taxable (peasants or bourgeois)."Chynshovyky" 20 were also enlisted to the peasantry, among which 13,200 were ethnic Polish 21 .They mostly lived on the landlord's leasehold and did not have the possibility to buy allotment.Peasant communities were unwillingly admitt ed to "chynshovyky" and due to lack of communal ownership of land in Kyiv, Podolia and Volhynia guberniyas, new members of the community were not provided with land 22 .DOI:10.17951/rh.2021.51.387-402 From the mid-1860s to the beginning of the 20th century the number of the Polish in peasantry grew almost twice.So, in 1860s-70s there were 92,026 ethnic Polish among all peasants (including "chynshovyky"), and there were 156,086 people in the beginning of the 20th century.The total number of Polish in Kyiv, Podolia and Volhynia guberniyas as well as their part in peasantry and administrative structures are presented in Table 1.So, in the second half of the 19th century, the Polish people faced the problem of preserving noble privileges in the South-Western region.Unwillingness to go down social ladder brought Polish to the presence of "free professions" like advocacy, medicine, pharmacy and merchants24 .But, not all declassed nobility had the opportunity to get proper education and start their own business, so for most military service seemed to be a good option 25 .Some representatives of Polish nationality worked in the administrative structures, mainly offi ce workers.Thus, the establishments of peasant self-government, volost governance and peasant government became one of the options to obtain the means of subsistence for the intelligent category of Polish population.DOI:10.17951/rh.2021.51.387-402

THE STRUCTURE OF PEASANT SELF GOVERNMENT
Peasant self-government was introduced by the "Regulation on the peasants withdrawal from serfdom" in 1861 and extended to all categories of peasants (former serfs, state peasants).According to the administrative division, the lowest territorial unit was rural community 26 which was the part of the highest administrative unit -volost 27 .That's why, peasant self-government took place on two levels -of a volost and of a rural community.A volost government was carried out by three levels of authority: volost assembly, court and government.The volost governance was the executive branch of peasant self-government in volost, which was formed of an elder (starshina), his assistant, tax collector and all chiefs of villages (village starost) 28 .All candidates mentioned above were elected through volost peasants who owned land, farm, and permanently lived within volost, not younger than 25 years old, of no criminal background.The election of candidates took place once every three years, except for a tax collector (annually).Re-election of servants was not prohibited on the assumption of their agreement.The candidate could resign from the position off ered by the community only in three cases: 1. if he was over 60 years old; 2. if he had served three-year term; 3. if he was poor health 29 .Hired workers, such as keepers, public watchers (churchwarden, head of grain warehouse, etc.), clerks were appointed by the chiefs of administrations 30 .
The rural community was managed by rural gathering and rural government which consisted of a starost, a tax collector and workers: a village clerk, keepers and public watchers of public structures 31 .Volost government was headed by a volost elder, the rural one was headed by a starost.These candidates were approved by state servants and such a leader for the peasant administration in the South-Western region DOI:10.17951/rh.2021.51.387-402 was a "myrovyi poserednyk"32 .The main responsibilities of "myrovyi poserednyk" were: to control over introduction and activities of peasant self-government, to remove or approve servants elected to the peasant government, to give permission to run volost meetings, to considerate all complaints against peasant servants.So, a peasant self-government was formed through elections of rural community members but was under the control of state government.

THE ROLE OF VOLOST CLERK PISAR IN THE STRUCTURE OF PEASANT SELF GOVERNMENT
A clerk was important fi gure in peasant self-government.He dealt with paperwork of the structure: he registered the orders of volost elders, verdicts of volost gatherings and volost court, made lists of family, reserve and retired military ranks, warriors, military cavalry.He also recorded tax collection in his tax notebook, income and expenditure books 33 .Also, volost structures participated in supporting volost educational and medical institutions and kept relevant documents, which were designed by the clerk 34 .It was possible to obtain sales and purchase agreements, obtain a property in volost government, appropriate books were kept with the recording of witnessed documents 35 .N. Astyrev aptly pointed out that, in fact, a clerk conducted all cases directly related to six ministries: the ministry of internal aff airs, fi nance, military, justice, education and state property 36 .The clerk was personally responsible for the authenticity of paperwork of rural structures and in case of violation, he was punished with fi ne, dismissal or arrest 37 .The clerk, as an employee, reported to an elder or starost, but in fact he became the head of those structures where the elected servants were illiterate.The illiteracy of heads of peasant administrations was the problem of imperial scale, so there was 41% of illiterate volost foremen and 81% of illiterate rural heads in 1880 38 .Instead of signature rural servants put a seal with applicable prints "volost elder", "rural starost", "volost court" 39 .However, the possession of seals did not guarantee the power in the hands of rural leaders.We meet many cases became with the participation of volost clerks in various scams, where "wise" servants skillfully forged for their own gain.For instance, in 1905, Tereshchenko, a clerk of Mliiv volost of Cherkasy uyezd of Kiyv guberniya, wrote down the decision contrary to the volost court decision and gave it to the judges for the confi rmation with the seal.As the judges could not read, the mistake became known only when it was time to enforce the ordinance 40 .In 1887 the case of Romanovskyi, volost clerk of Skvirskyi division L. Susky was given publicity.Taking advantage of illiteracy of tax collectors, he forged reports, and having found any shortcomings, he forced the collectors to cover from their own funds 41 .
Nevertheless, clerk's work in peasant administrations was not paying a big fortune for an educated and honest person.In the late 19th century, a clerk at a volost governance received 290 rubles per year, an assistant of volost clerk received 30 rubles per, a peasant clerk received 42 rubles per year 42 .The amount of salaries increased and in 1912-1913 clerks received 300 to 600 rubles per year 43 .However, the salary of a clerk in comparison with the employees of guberniya governments (such as an accountant or secretary received 750 rubles per year in the end of the 19th century 44 ) was lower, moreover, the amount of work and responsibility increased every year.

THE PROBLEM OF JEWISH TENURE IN THE POSITION OF A CLERK PISAR
According to the "General regulation" of 1861, a clerk was assigned by the chiefs of peasant administrations themselves 45 .However, "myrovyi poserednyky" very often intervened and recommended their own DOI:10.17951/rh.2021.51.387-402 candidates.In fact, the direct supervisor of the volost was the "myrovyi poserednyky".He took an oath of faithful service from the volost head, had the authority to punish or remove him from offi ce, or dismiss any employee of the peasant administration 46 .Also a "myrovyi poserednyky" was overseeing the appointment of clerks.The invasion in the work of peasant self-government was not condemned by either the presence of guberniya or the governors of the region, as they were interested in preventing "unreliable" persons from entering peasant structures.The Jewish people were the most politically "unreliable" in the South-Western region.Mostly literate residents of towns and sometimes villages, the Jewish helped peasants in writing the documents they needed.For example, in 1895 Faim Rovinskyi, a teacher of Jewish children in Pavolochki of Skvurckyi uyezd, wrote appeals, lett ers to the government structures and sometimes complaints against volost and peasant servants for locals of the surrounding villages 47 .A Jew could be hired as a clerk in case of lack of educated candidates among members of peasant community.Thus, in 1901, Jew Khaim Kapitanskyi was a clerk in Mankovskyi volost governance of Uman district of Kyiv guberniya.Volost elder explained that Khaim was assigned temporarily, as volost documentation urgently needed to be put in order because they could not fi nd a candidate for the position of clerk for a long time.By the decision of Kyiv gubernskyi in peasant aff airs, Khaim was dismissed from the position of a clerk.It is interesting that in this case volost peasants complained about the service of a Jew in Mankovskyi volost governance, suspecting dishonesty in running fees.The investigation showed that the Jewish clerk made a mistake only in the calculation of land taxation which led to the reduction in the amount of peasant tax.Servants who assumed funds, were tax collectors elected from peasants 48 .
There was no offi cial ban on Jews holding positions in peasant selfgovernment.But, Jews in the service of volost government caused distrust not only among the peasantry.Provincial government was wary of non-Christians serving as clerks, that's why it made allowances in gaps in law.In the "Regulation on the peasants withdrawal from serfdom" it was stated that representatives of non-peasant estates, residents of other communities were allowed to work as clerks and other hired positions on the assumption of proper reputation 49 .Therefore, by separate decrees peasant governmental authorities, and sometimes governors, restricted the access of "undesirable" persons to peasant self-government.In particular, in Podolia gurberniya, by personal recommendation of the governor, Jews and even converts to Christianity were not allowed to become clerks 50 .In Kyiv and Volhynia guberniyas, the assignment of clerks took place only with the approval of "myrovyi poserednyk" in the end of 19th century.

SERVICE OF THE POLISH PEOPLE IN PEASANT ADMINISTRATIONS
Representatives of another nationality, the Polish, applied for the place of volost clerk.Before the reform in 1861, the Polish were observed as of peasant servants in the right-bank Ukraine.According to the revision in 1839, it is known that in Kyiv and Podolia guberniyas most of uyezd and volost authorities who ruled the peasants were Polish 51 .After reforming the peasant government, according to rather chauvinistic publication "Vistnik of South-Western and Western Russia", the work of peasant self-government in the right-bank Ukraine was usurped by the Polish 52 .However, inspection conducted in 1898 for the presence of Polish and Catholic employees in volost government in Kyiv, Podolia and Volhynia guberniyas showed a small percentage of them.There were 30 volost clerks in Kyiv guberniya (Polish by nationality, but of Orthodox faith), there were 9 clerks of Polish ethnicity in Podolia, who got Orthodoxy, but their wives were Catholic and there were no clerks of Polish origin in Volynia, but 18 of them were married to Polish Catholics 53 .Persons who were threatened with losing their jobs due to ethnic or religious "unreliability" appealed to governor general not to dismiss them, justifying their position in every possible way.The former volost clerk of Radomyshl uyezd, G. Shuliavskyi of Catholic faith asked not to dismiss him from the post of commissioner secretary, as it was his only source of income.Petitioner pointed to his previous work as a clerk in volost government and begged to consider his large family -a wife and fi ve children who were of Orthodox faith 54 .Later, V. Krezhanivskyi, volost clerk from the same uyezd, who was married to a Polish woman, appealed to the 49 ПСЗРИ, t. 36, nr 36657, s. 158. 50 ЦДІАК, f. 442, op. 693, spr. 368, s. 36. 51 Л.Е.Горизонтов, op. cit., s. 45. 52 А. Касян, op. cit., s. 101. 53 ЦДІАК, f. 442, op. 697, spr. 306, s. 6-9. 54 ЦДІАК, f. 442, op. 694, spr. 34, s. 27.

Table 1 .
Polish population and its representation in peasantry and administrative structures in the right-bank Ukraine in the beginning of the 20th century 23 .