* VILLAGE GATHERING*

VILLAGE GATHERING



 Novgorod and Pskov Veche, as known to every schoolboy, have been little studied. It is incomprehensible to modern Soviet people.
   What is it? A constitutional assembly? A parliament? The executive and legislative authority of the feudal republic? Neither one nor the other. The Veche can be understood only by making sense of the Russian communal self-government. Village gatherings were its practical realization. Note: self-government, not arbitrariness. In the first case, we are talking about common interests; in the second - about the selfish and personal.
 It is clear that such phenomenon of Russian life, as a village gathering, was implementing primary social, military, political and economic responsibilities and had it's own aesthetic, following the general notion of the Russian people of harmony and beauty.
   The necessity of a gathering ripened gradually, not immediately, but when it finally matured, was enough the smallest initiative to launch the meeting. People would gather themselves feeling such a need.
   In other cases, people were called by police constables or by a distinctive ringing of the bell (of the fire or the enemy raids were unique bell rings. A police constable nimbly and a bit solemnly walked through the street and heralded people to the gathering. Announcing is the first part of this custom. After announcing or bells ringing, people slowly, usually dressed up, come together at a predetermined place.
   Everybody had a right to participate in the gathering and express themselves, but not all dared. When the general commotion was raised, everybody began to yell, even kids. The elderly, often deliberately, was leaving such an uproar. However, the cries and the noise does not always mean a mess. When it came to serious matters, loudmouths stopped talking and joined the general opinion because common sense gained the upper hand even in violent and noisy gatherings. The most ancient kind of gathering is a meeting in the refectory when the adults came together at the table and decided military, trade and economic affairs. Later, this custom has teamed up with Christian Te Deum, as many wooden churches were built with the refectory - a particular room at the entrance to the church. As for us, strangely enough, at the rural peasant gathering was not a committee, neither the chairman nor the secretaries. The same common sense, tradition, and unwritten rule managed the proceedings. Since the opinion of the fairest, intelligent and experienced people was more important than all the other views, these people were listened to more, although sometimes brawlers took over. After listening to all and discussing the details, the gathering declares a so-called sentence (decision). On the need, money would be collected, and the most venerable and most reliable participant would be assigned execution of a case (for example, go with a petition).
 Of course, the decision was binding for all. Formal proceedings of village gatherings changed dramatically with the introduction of the paper documentation. If the meeting participants spoke open what was on their mind ( you cannot put a spoken word into the case ), then with the introduction of the paper logging, people began to speak gently, and this way and that way, some have ceased altogether to speak.
   The power of paper - the power of bureaucracy - has always been hostile to communal settings with its openness and directness, with its sometimes unruly but forgiving speakers.
 The bureaucratization of village meetings created new, utterly alienness to the Russian spirit speakers. Therefore, even such a supporter of European regulations and "politeness," as Peter the Great, had to issue a decree prohibiting talking from the paper. "So that stupidity of speaker was visible to everyone" - sounds like this final part of the order. Moreover, with the introduction of a paper trail on gatherings, many advocates of justice, in general, have stopped going to sincere people. Demagogues had all the more freedom. It is fascinating from all angles, including the artistic, how collective farm meetings were held. However, the protocols preserved in the archives reflect little of the peculiarity of these gatherings. Indeed, the collaborative farm meetings and the postwar years had a distant ritual attribute. The custom of festive gatherings existed until recently in most Northern collective farms. Those meetings were concluded with a heavy, everyday dinner meal. All participated in this dinner, from little kids to old folk. Those who could not come were brought food from the public table.