Bees and Beekeeping in Imperial Russia in the Early Modern Era

• In Event: Of Honeybees and Horses: Animals and Society in East European History

Abstract

The early modern era saw important changes for Imperial Russia, but a hidden corner of this history is that of honeybees. Tree beekeeping and its products had played a robust role in the pre-modern political economy and culture; major economic and environmental shifts led to the 17th and 18th century relocation of beekeeping from forests to bee yards; early modern representations of bees in Imperial Russian elite and government circles began to coalesce into a new political-cultural landscape, while the bee culture of the narod in different regions showed continuity with past eras. How did “westernization” shape elite understandings of the honeybee? This presentation is part of a larger study of bee husbandry and products through the centuries and the cultural meaning of the honeybee in Russia.

Author

• Catherine Black Clay, Shippensburg U