Yuri Shorin
The Belarusian and Great Russian populations of the Smolensk province differed significantly not only in their language but also in their physical appearance. The well-known researcher of the Smolensk region, Y.A. Solovyov, in his brilliant book “Agricultural Statistics of the Smolensk Province” (1855), provides a comparative characterization of two varieties of the Smolensk people: “Tallness, strength, healthy appearance, liveliness in movements, a more beautiful type of men and women – these are the signs of the Great Russian population in the eastern districts. In contrast, in the western areas, the peasants are characterized by short stature, which poses a significant difficulty during recruitment. Their external appearance is apathetic, often sickly, their movements sluggish, and in everything, clumsiness and awkwardness are evident.”
A similar description is found in the multi-volume publication “Russia. Complete Geographical Description of Our Fatherland,” published in 1905 under the editorship of V.P. Semenov: “It is not difficult to distinguish a Belarusian from the other two varieties of the Russian tribe – Great Russians and Little Russians. First of all, he is of medium height, rather squat; he is not as broad and solid as a Great Russian. Data on the height of recruits, developed by Prof. D.N. Anuchin, provide the following average heights: Smolensk Province – 1,634 mm, Vitebsk – 1,642 mm, Mogilev – 1,637 mm, Minsk – 1,634 mm.”
Y.A. Solovyov explained the relative short stature of the Belarusian population of Smolensk by economic reasons: “Poor bread, scanty food, cramped and smoky huts filled with people and domestic animals cannot contribute to the development of physical strength. On the contrary, in the eastern districts, there are more conveniences for life and a greater degree of satisfaction.” This assumption can be agreed upon. The scarcity of harvests and the great poverty of the Smolensk peasantry certainly did little to promote the development of a heroic physique.
At the same time, the authors of the multi-volume “Russia” enter into a remote dispute with Y.A. Solovyov regarding the lack of beauty among Belarusians: “The Belarusian is characterized by a light skin color, and women often have very delicate facial features. Light or light-brown hair is predominant among the Belarusian population, as well as gray or blue eye color. Thus, the Belarusian lacks the tall stature and slenderness of the Little Russian, and the poise and dignity that adorn the Great Russian type. Despite this general impression, which is made upon meeting a typical Belarusian, it is very favorable for him: there is noticeable softness in the facial features, which is successfully complemented by the gentle gaze of gray or blue eyes; all this harmonizes very well with the somewhat fragile, at first glance, physical structure of the entire organism.”
Descriptions by Smolensk priests of the appearance of their parishioners, made in the early 20th century, are very similar. “Physically, the people are not stately or well-fed, but they have regular, beautiful facial features, with hair color being light brown and partly light” (the village of Lyakhovo, Smolensk district). “They are thin, fair-haired, with a long face outline, long neck, and narrow chest” (the village of Suslovichi, Krasninsky district). “In their appearance, they fall far short of the Great Russians (inhabitants of Gzhatsk and Yukhnov districts). They are thin, with long faces, sharp noses, long necks, and narrow chests” (the village of Pushkino, Dorogobuzh district). “Considering their physique and way of life, one can say that the parishioners are more Belarusian than Great Russian: they are thin, fair-haired, with sharp noses, long necks, and narrow chests” (the village of Zaozerye, Belsky district).
The physical type of the population of Smolensk determined the general psychological makeup and soul of the people. Y.A. Solovyov, describing the character of the Smolensk peasantry, sharply divided the Great Russian and Belarusian districts: “In the eastern part of the province, one can see the daring of the Russian peasant, sometimes combined with a wild revelry of life. There is the resourcefulness for which the Russian man is so famous. Activity, concern for the fate of his family, and ingenuity in finding means of livelihood are evident in everything. All this disappears in the western part of the province, populated by Belarusian peasants, with a folk type that is apathetic and sluggish, with a disregard for the conveniences of life, a lack of resourcefulness, and finally, with patience and a kind of good-naturedness not out of awareness but out of laziness.”
And what did the rural priests write about this? Let us present several characteristics of the peasantry of the Belarusian districts of the Smolensk province. “In their movements, there is neither lightness, nor agility, nor energy during work” (the village of Suslovichi, Krasninsky district). “In their movements, there is no particular lightness and agility, but during urgent work, they can be energetic. When leaving for a foreign land, they part heavily with their homeland and, longing in a foreign land, hurry to return home; they are reluctant and indecisive about enterprises and activities other than the usual ones; few dare to engage in other work besides forestry and agriculture; they are little inclined to revelry and amusements and, due to the scattered nature of the settlements, are not very sociable” (the village of Zaozerye, Belsky district). “In development, the people are not quick-witted, but of soft disposition, neighborly, accustomed to poverty, and submissive… The language is poor, speech is sluggish; concepts are vague, thoughts are not resourceful” (the village of Lyakhovo, Smolensk district).
The priest of the village of Pushkino, Alexander Konokotin, vividly depicted his parishioners: “In movements, they are clumsy, lazy even during work, indifferent to everything around them. Even if some misfortune occurs in the house, they do not immediately get up from their lair (if, for example, he is lying down), but first, they will dream while lying down and talk: ‘How did this happen!?’ Indifference never leaves them: they are indifferent to atmospheric phenomena, and they are also indifferent to death itself: ‘Dying is nothing,’ they say, ‘as long as they don’t dissect me,’ – it seems that they only fear dissection.”
Y.A. Solovyov pushes the opposition of the psychological types of the Great Russian and Belarusian populations of Smolensk to the absolute, proving the absence in Belarusians not only of mobility and energy but also of intelligence, as well as practical acumen: “The Great Russian peasant is more developed. He has been to various places. He is resourceful; all kinds of work are easy for him: both agricultural and industrial. He can be a good carpenter, blacksmith, factory worker, and so on. He is perceptive and understanding; he will grasp the most complex matter at first glance – it just needs to be explained to him. It is not easy to deceive him; rather, he will deceive you. It is also not easy to offend him. He is brave and persistent. In contrast, the Belarusian peasant, living at home or working on highways and railroads, learns nothing. If he takes up some craft, he always occupies the last place in it. His dullness and lack of understanding are exemplary. It is very common to encounter a Belarusian peasant who cannot even count. He is so confused in his concepts that both in words and in life, he constantly contradicts himself. He is patient out of cowardice and laziness.”
Of course, it is difficult to agree with such a derogatory view of the Belarusian population. In the next major statistical study of Smolensk, published in 1862, its author M. Tsebrykov, commenting on Y.A. Solovyov’s judgments, writes: “However, one cannot categorically deny the Belarusian tribe its ability to engage in crafts and industry and accuse it of a complete lack of enterprise. We know that in many landlord estates of the Belarusian districts, there are their own workshops: blacksmith, locksmith, carpentry, carriage-making, etc., where landlord peasants – Belarusians – work, and moreover, with such skill and precision that they deserve the approval of experts.”
The village of Ivonino, Yelninsky district. A volost watchman with his wife
Let us present one more vivid sketch of the character of the Belarusian population of Smolensk. It is contained in the essay by S.V. Maximov “Belarusian Smolenshchina with Neighbors” (Picturesque Russia. Vol. 3. 1882). “In the region of the Desna, the lean, rather tall, strong-built, dark-haired steppe dweller, a Little Russian, is contrasted by the fair-haired Belarusian, of small stature (rarely above 2 arshins 3 vershoks), weak in build, with a sluggish gaze, light eyes, and white clothing. The steppe dweller has shaved his beard, lowered his mustache, and walks on his long legs with that slow gait which is so characteristic and distinctive of him, showing complete carelessness of character with the confidence that there is no need to hurry and no reason to run. The Belarusian, with a sparse beard shaped like a wedge, at the same market differs in agility and ease of movement, a tendency to be cunning and distrustful in trade transactions. But even in him, there is a certain looseness with a touch of sluggishness, so characteristic of any lazy person. However, this is only at first glance: in essence, the self-satisfied, lordly laziness of the steppe dweller is nothing but the natural calmness of a well-fed person who has received everything he desired and at the same time is deprived of any hope of obtaining anything greater. The land abundantly rewards his labor – hence a certain kind of submissiveness and impulses towards merriment, because there is something to drink and at the same time no place for this innate homebody to go. Belarusian carelessness also seems deceptive: in essence, he is the most hardworking person, whom the poor soil and nature-stepmother have taught to unparalleled patience, boundless readiness for any work; but he has lost his hands. He has tried many things and found no success anywhere; excessive labor has exhausted his strength, and constant misfortunes have brought him to despair. He has come to seem apathetic only because nature endowed him with too soft and tender character, and he turned out to be devoid of any energy due to the historical reasons that preceded him. The Belarusian drinks vodka and gets drunk to insensibility not because vodka is cheap for him and ‘I have money,’ but rather directly from an inescapable and inexhaustible sorrow.”
Summarizing the observations on the body and soul of the Smolensk peasant, one can conclude that the scarcity of soil and the harshness of the climate determined both his appearance and moral qualities. The limitation of means of existence and the possibility of acquiring them inevitably led not only to physical thinness and short stature but also to apathy, stifling initiative and enterprise. Destructive and devastating wars, which periodically devastated the Smolensk region, also did little to contribute to the satisfaction and self-activity of the inhabitants. For a long time, the Smolensk people did not live but survived in the most difficult natural and social conditions. However, the character of the people changed along with the historical epoch. The abolition of serfdom, the development of capitalism, the growth of cities, and the industrialization of Russia made corrections to the habitual image of the Smolensk peasant. Indeed, in this case, the eastern districts of the province found themselves ahead of the rest. This will be discussed in the next publication.