SOCIAL COMPOSITION OF FORTRESSES OF THE BELGOROD LINE AS OF 1678

The article is devoted to the analysis of the social composition of the population of the fortresses of the Belgorod line in 1678. The main source of the work was the inventory of cities in 1678, which recorded various categories of the service and townspeople of Russia. The author analyzed the information on all the fortresses of the Belgorod line and made general conclusions. The heterogeneity of the various counties of the vast southern region is recorded: in some there is a wide variety of service categories of the population, developed crafts and trade, and a large number of landowners. In other regions, the social composition was very poor. There were a lot of these regions. Such fortresses were only military outposts on the border. They were of strategic importance, but their economic potential was low. Obviously, the emergence of many small fortresses was dictated by military necessity and their full development was impossible. These small fortresses did not have the opportunity to develop. Subsequently, already in the 18th century, most of them would become rural settlements. However, the significance of these fortresses was very great for their time. These small fortresses helped to ensure the stable development of major military and economic centers. Fortified cities such as Kursk, Voronezh, Yelets, Kozlov were able to take the path of urbanization precisely because they were protected by many small military settlements. This was their historical role.