Posad

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Market Square in Pavlovsky Posad near Moscow, circa 1900.

A posad (

Sergiev Posad
.

During the 1920s administrative territorial reform in the Soviet Union, posads were converted into urban-type settlements.

History

The posad was the center of trade in

Ancient Rus. Merchants and craftsmen resided there and sold goods such as pottery, armor, glass and copperware, icons, and clothing; as well as food, wax, and salt. Most large cities were adjoined by a posad, frequently situated below the main citadel and by a river. Posads were sometimes fortified with earthen walls.[2]

As posads developed, they became like

taxes and perform other duties to the state. Leaving the posad required the permission of an elected official. Until the 18th century, the posad had its own elected assembly, the "posadskiy skhod," though the wealthiest members of the posad tended to dominate the governance of the community in "a tight self-perpetuating oligarchy."[3]

A number of posads evolved into towns. Those by a kremlin often gave rise to local

Sergiev Posad is named after the nearby Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra
.

See also

References

This page is based on the copyrighted Wikipedia article: Posad. Articles is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license; additional terms may apply.Privacy Policy