LEADER 03765nam 2200577Ia 450 001 9910809625503321 005 20240418053214.0 010 $a0-299-23373-1 035 $a(CKB)2670000000016007 035 $a(SSID)ssj0000337854 035 $a(PQKBManifestationID)11252247 035 $a(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000337854 035 $a(PQKBWorkID)10293543 035 $a(PQKB)11111951 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC3444903 035 $a(OCoLC)550642720 035 $a(MdBmJHUP)muse12273 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL3444903 035 $a(CaPaEBR)ebr10348742 035 $a(EXLCZ)992670000000016007 100 $a20090305d2009 ub 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurcn||||||||| 181 $ctxt 182 $cc 183 $acr 200 00$aFour Russian serf narratives$b[electronic resource] /$ftranslated, edited, and with an introduction by John MacKay 205 $a1st ed. 210 $aMadison, Wis. $cUniversity of Wisconsin Press$dc2009 215 $axi, 215 p. $cill 225 1 $aWisconsin studies in autobiography 300 $aBibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph 311 $a0-299-23374-X 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $aIntro -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction Serfs as Writers -- Nikolai Smirnov "Autobiography" (1785) -- P. (Petr O.) "News about Russia" (ca. 1849) -- Nikolai Shipov "The Story of My Life and Wanderings: The Tale of the Former Serf Peasant Nikolai Shipov, 1802-62" (1881) -- M.E. Vasilieva "Notes of a Serf Woman" (1911) -- Index. 330 $aAlthough millions of Russians lived as serfs until the middle of the nineteenth century, little is known about their lives. Identifying and documenting the conditions of Russian serfs has proven difficult because the Russian state discouraged literacy among the serfs and censored public expressions of dissent. To date scholars have identified only twenty known Russian serf narratives. Four Russian Serf Narratives contains four of these accounts and is the first translated collection of autobiographies by serfs. Scholar and translator John MacKay brings to light for an English-language audience a diverse sampling of Russian serf narratives, ranging from an autobiographical poem to stories of adventure and escape. "Autobiography" (1785) recounts a highly educated serf's attempt to escape to Europe, where he hoped to study architecture. The long testimonial poem "News About Russia" (ca. 1849) laments the conditions under which the author and his fellow serfs lived. In "The Story of My Life and Wanderings" (1881) a serf tradesman tells of his attempt to simultaneously escape serfdom and captivity from Chechen mountaineers. The fragmentary "Notes of a Serf Woman" (1911) testifies to the harshness of peasant life with extraordinary acuity and descriptive power. These accounts offer readers a glimpse, from the point of view of the serfs themselves, into the realities of one of the largest systems of unfree labor in history. The volume also allows comparison with slave narratives produced in the United States and elsewhere, adding an important dimension to knowledge of the institution of slavery and the experience of enslavement in modern times. 410 0$aWisconsin studies in autobiography. 606 $aSerfs$zRussia$vBiography 606 $aSerfdom$zRussia$xHistory$y19th century$vSources 615 0$aSerfs 615 0$aSerfdom$xHistory 676 $a306.3/65092247 676 $aB 701 $aMacKay$b John$g(John Kenneth)$0818939 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910809625503321 996 $aFour Russian serf narratives$94109352 997 $aUNINA