improve their quality of life. Suny cites the convention of the agricultural commune, wherein village life was organized around a coalescing of family units, with the elected village assembly dealing with everything from taxation and distribution to personal morality. Different parts of Russia had somewhat different organizational setups, and redistribution of provincial lands after emancipation took different forms in various regions (Worobec 37-39). Some local redistribution occurred within families, with sons' families under the authority of their fathers and later, as required, being subject to redivision of inherited lands among siblings' (brothers') families (Worobec 11). These "lands" were modest enough, since most of the farming was subsistence level and not mainly supplied to markets. Family needs had to be met first (Suny 9 et passim), a situation whose importance was made urgent by the short agricultural season. Social and politi
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