The Mordovian village of the Alatyrsky district in the first quarter of the XVII century

In the article a type of settlements, occupations, social groups of mordovians-erza of the Alatyrsky district are investigated. It is revealed that economic activity has exerted impact not only on development of new land spaces, but also on character of settlements of mordovians-erza: she began to move from forest settlements, not available for the enemy, on coast of the big and small rivers, on big forest glades where there were in prosperity fertile chernozem and inundated lands, and also haying grounds for cultivation of a livestock and the richest forest grounds-ukhozhai for trade occupations, forest beekeeping and hunting. The mordovian village of the Alatyrsky district in the first quarter of the XVII century on social composition of the population had non-uniform structure, legal status of inhabitants varied from taxable to a privileged position: peasants, bortniki, the lonely peasants who don't have an allotment, military population, murzy, the knyazya lived in settlements of edge.