Women In 16th Century Russia

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In the 16th century, common jobs for Russian women included cooking, cleaning, and raising their children that they had with their husbands. The Russians treated their children well. They educated their young men in language, etiquette, and basic household chores before being apprenticed off to a professional to learn their trade. They taught the girls to be complacent wives. Their mothers trained them in tending the hearth, cooking, cleaning, and making clothes for their future family. The girls could read and write, but were almost never educated to the same standard as their male counterparts.
In Russia, they based the children's surnames on the father’s first name. For instance, Ivan IV’s son’s surnames were all Ivanovich, and his daughters’ surnames were the feminine variation, Ivanova whereas Ivan’s surname was Vasilyevich because his father’s name was Vasil.
Moscow was a huge trade center in the 16th century, being the capital of Russia. They traded mainly in precious metals, fabrics, jewels, and pearls. The most affluent Muscovites had quite a selection of foods to choose from that the average citizen of Moscow only enjoyed on special occasions, including savory pies, baked goods, and ale or mead. For normal people on normal days, though, Russians ate bread and other grain-based …show more content…

The first problem was the poor soil quality in that area which was notably very dry and infertile, except around the river Don, which was several kilometers south of Moscow. The second problem was the weather extremes in Russia, with brutally cold winters and hot and unpredictable summers, it was extremely difficult to grow crops. Fortunately, the area around the river, the soil was richer and more suitable for growing grain crops, vegetables, and fruits. The river also provided ample fishing and attracted waterfowl and other game animals that found their way to the Muscovite dinner

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