Gulyashshie lyudi and other social groups exempted from paying tyaglo behind the Urals in 17th century

The article analyses the documents of Verhoturie uyezd prikaznaya izba (uyezd government body) devoted to social groups exempted from paying tyaglo (the main direct tax to the state), who lived in Irbitskaya sloboda (settlement), one of Siberian settlements, in the 17th century. It studies the economic situation of these netyaglyy (tax-exempt) groups. The changes in their quantity and the duration of residence in one place have been investigated for the first time. It was found out that – contrary to the authoritative opinion of historian A.A. Preobrazhenskiy – the quantity of gulyashshie lyudi (homeless wanderers) engaged into day-work significantly decreased in the 17th century. On the other hand, new groups of netyaglyy (tax-exempt) people appeared in the last quarter of the century, such as bobyls (landless peasants) and others. They had small sedentary households, but they were not members of tyaglaya obshshina (taxed community).