Crime rate in the peasant community in the late XIX - early XX centuries

The article analyzes the deviant behaviour in the traditional peasant society at the turn of the XX century. The authors consider the reasons of worsening of criminal situation in the Russian Empire during the post-reform period. The paper considers the most typical crimes in the peasant community and peasants' and police's attitudes to them. It is concluded that any reformations in the society change its traditional morality, the new living principles often conflict with the old ones, which leads to the transformation of ethics.