Muzhik and Muscovite

Muzhik and Muscovite: Urbanization in Late Imperial Russia examines the profound social and economic transformations wrought by urbanization in Moscow during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through an in-depth case study of the empire’s second-largest city, the book investigates the tensions between the traditional rural culture of the muzhik (common people) and the modernizing aspirations of the Muscovite (educated elite). The author explores how Moscow's rapid demographic and economic growth, fueled by waves of rural migration, gave rise to complex challenges, including overcrowding, inadequate housing, and labor instability. These issues not only tested the capacity of municipal authorities but also exposed the gulf between the expectations of urban reformers and the lived realities of first- and second-generation migrants.

Framing urbanization as both a local and systemic process of modernization, the book delves into the evolving relationship between Russia’s educated elite and its lower classes. It examines the elite’s attempts to impose discipline and modern values on an often resistant labor force, motivated by fears of idleness, immorality, and social disorder. Using Moscow as a microcosm, the study reveals how industrialization and urban expansion were accompanied by an ethos of individual and societal reform among administrators, professionals, and philanthropists. Drawing from municipal reports, census data, and contemporary accounts, Muzhik and Muscovite offers a richly textured narrative of a city grappling with the contradictions of tradition and modernity, illuminating broader themes in the history of Russian urbanization and social change.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1985.