Law of Boris

Truth is Stranger than Fiction

Yep, you read the title correct and it does appear the old addage of truth is stranger than fiction
takes on a whole new level of wierdness as it appears we HAVE been down this road before ...
in fact over 400 years ago ... in Russia.
The Boyars, or nobles, were not faithful in observing their contracts, for though they hired
labourers for the year, they capriciously dismissed them if the harvest failed. So a dude named
Boris Godounof usurped power during a revolution upon the murder of his nephew and the
peasants flew to arms. His Law, known as Law of Boris forbade employers to dismiss any
persons who were working for them by contract but also forbade travel so that others would not
gather en mass. Thus the free serfs were bound to the soil, and their masters were bound to
keep them, and in this manner slavery (ie: usufruct: a personal servitude) was first introduced.
In my opinion: Usufruct is actually a means by which want is eliminated in exchange for a
personal servitude ... just look at the last line of the Declaration of Independence ... all work for
the common welfare while at the same time advancing their own spiritual being: a personal
servitude for a higher purpose: a free will choice and not all will choose this way of life.
So, we have a culmination of events: First, the Boyers were not particullary honorable in the
contractual dealings and Secondly, during the 1600's Russia experienced a devestating famine.
Hundreds of thousands of bodies lay ded in the streets and the peasants were turning to
cannabalism of their wives, children, and families to survive. So, like any other distressed time
in history, the peasants, not being the most educated of all people, approved of the law of
Boris, which assured them maintenance at the cost of their employers, but did not foresee its
consequences, but they resisted the ordinance which deprived them of locomotion by confining
them to their villages.
After Boris, Peter the Great made the landed estates heriditary; giving the nobles more than
just the usufruct, and the peasants rebelled under Catherine the Great when another dude
called Pugatscheff, the celebrated Cossack of the Don, raised the standard of freedom for he
detested slavery and relates a story of Alexander the First:
A nobleman who enjoyed the company of Alexander once requested an estate and the serfs
upon it as hereditary possessions. "The peasants of Russia," said the Czar, "are for the most
part slaves. I need not expatiate upon the degradation of such a condition. Accordingly, I have
made a vow not to augment the number; and have laid it down as principle that will not give
away the peasants as property."
When the French entered into Moscow, Alexander called upon the peasants to defend their
ancestral hearths and expel the invader, promising the peasants liberal institutions as reward for
their valour and patriotism. The result is recorded in history. But when they went demanded
performance, like all politicians, Alexander renigged.
10th March, 1813 Proclaimation: "as the peasant serfs constitute the lowest class of the
inhabitants of Russia, and do not enjoy any privileges, they cannot be deprived either of honour
or good name" and then turned the provisional government into military disctricts.
Enter Emperor Nicholas, whom in regards to serfdom was a reformer, earnest and sagacious,
http://www.iamsomedude.com/lawofboris.html[12/8/2015 10:17:26 PM]

and, in this respect, his policy did credit to his head and heart. The peasants, effectually cowed
and down-trodden, had so far lost the tradition of the earlier freedom of their class, that they
adopted this humble formula:
"We serfs belong to our lords and masters, but the land of the country belongs to us. The land
is there to feed us it belongs to the people and the Csar, who had only given the nobles the
usufruct."
It must be remembered that Peter the Great made the land hereditary, and thus gave the
owners more than the usufruct. Arbitrary power, ever insatiable, always seeks to push its
boundaries to the verge of injustice and this was proved in 1887 when the lords exacted
such a heavy burden that a large portion of the peasants were absolutely destitute, without
plough or harrows, or cattle to till the soil. In 1888, Emperor Nicholas appointed a Board on
Inquiry and authorized it to make a searching investion into the condition of the sefs, not only
in this interests of humanity, but also in the interests of agriculture.
The reforms that came about do honour to the memory of the Emperor Nicholas, and his was
justly beloved by the serfs, who regarded him as their father as well as their Czar.
It has been urged by those who never felt the iron that freedom: for though he is not owner of
the field he cultivates penetrates the soul of the slave, that the serf does not desire or of the
house he inhabits, yet he is free from all anxiety as to his material existence; his master must
find him seed corn when the harvest fails, oxen for his plough if the beasts of burden die, and
new house when the old one is burned ... the Age of Reformation for the usufruct.
So what you have is the EVOLUTION of a THOUGHT, an IDEA that refused to die, even when
met with violent opposition from those who would be adervsely afffected, in this case the
Boyers, or nobles. When you read about Law of Boris, it would probably be best if one keep in
mind what is being read is the evolution of a thought born out of necessity to save a nation and
its people from extinction: EXACTLY what has been put into place here in America with
conclusion of the Civil War; this RUSSIAN HISTORY parallels the events that took place during
the United States: OCCURRING AT THE SAME TIME. Makes even more sense with one
remembers Russia stood as ally of united States of America during the Civil War. Maybe this is
why both Russia and United States are pitted against each other by interests who seek their
mutual destruction; the Boyers, or nobles, seek their revenge? or the Kazzarians? or maybe it is
the Kardashians?
Truth is definately stanger than ficiton.
Click here to go back

All works herein are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
License.

http://www.iamsomedude.com/lawofboris.html[12/8/2015 10:17:26 PM]