BRIDGES, ROBBERS, BEGGARS (FEATURES OF THE ROAD TRADITION OF RUSSIA IN THE 18TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURIES)

Abstract

The “culture of the road”, the “traditional culture of travel”, the “road tradition” of Russia, the circumstances of road movements in the Russian Empire have been studied by historians and other specialists only recently. However, this topic is important because it allows better understanding how traffic was organized in pre-revolutionary Russia, what difficulties and dangers it was associated with. Shaky, unreliable bridges on roads and the constant attacks of robbers were two significant circumstances that made traffic difficult. In this article, attention is drawn to those robberies that took place near bridges. There were many such cases in the 18th - early 20th centuries. This topic can be studied using a variety of narrative sources (primarily memoirs), some archival documents, and also interpreting those fiction texts that were created with a focus on authenticity (for example, based on the author’s childhood memories). Road bridges were located in low places and ravines, where a path became narrow. Bridges were often in a bad state. Travelers were forced to slow down and even get out of their vehicles. So it was very convenient places for robbers to attack. On the other hand, bridge as a mythologically significant point of the way was associated in popular reception with “evil spirits”. And robbers were perceived by the people like sorcerers and “evil spirits”. Not only robbers, but also beggars usually crowded near bridges. Professional beggars and robbers had a lot in common. In general, it turns out that in folk culture the mythological (the image of a robber in mythological narratives and folklore) can well correspond to the pragmatic (the choice of places for aggressive attacks).