The Legal Standing and Functions of Free (Unattached) People in Muscovy in the 17th Century
( Pp. 30-37)

This article examines the legal status, socio-economic role, and functions of free unattached people (volnye guly) in Russian cities during the 17th century — a population category that occupied an intermediate position in the estate hierarchy of the Muscovite state. Free people, who were not legally bound to state service, urban tax obligations (posad tyaglo), or serfdom, possessed formal freedom of movement and choice of occupation, yet lacked a stable position within the system of estate regulation. Based on a comprehensive analysis of archival sources — including chancellery records (prikaznoe deloproizvodstvo), obrok (tax farm) registers, cadastral and census books of cities, and military recruitment documents — the article reveals a paradox in their status: despite minimal legislative regulation, free people possessed a spectrum of civil rights that did not fundamentally differ from those of members of taxable estates. State policy toward free people was constructed on resolving the contradiction between fiscal interests (preservation of urban tax obligations) and administrative-military needs of the state. Analysis of free people's role in military organization reveals a significant transformation over the century: from being the primary source for staffing traditional service ranks (pribornyye sluzhilye) to serving as a personnel base for forming «new formation» regiments (polki novogo stroya). The geographic concentration of free people in major commercial and craft centers testifies to their gravitational pull toward cities offering economic opportunities and military mobilization accessibility for the state.

Barsukova, A.V. (2026). The Legal Standing and Functions of Free (Unattached) People in Muscovy in the 17th Century. History and Modern Perspectives, 8(1), 30-37. 10.33693/2658-4654-2026-8-1-30-37. EDN: ABDWIB

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free unattached people, legal status, legal capacity, administrative services, military organization, Code of 1649, personnel reserve, urban population of the 17th century..