A burlak (Russian: бурлак) was a Russian epithet for a person who hauled barges and other vessels upstream from the 17th to 20th centuries. The word burlak originated from Tatar word bujdak, 'homeless'. According to another version the word originated from old middle-German bûrlach (working team with fixed rules, artel).
Burlaks appeared in Russia at the end of sixteenth century and beginning of the seventeenth century. With the expansion of freight-hauling, the number of burlaks increased.
The chief of a burlak gang was called Vodoliv (Russian: Водолив), next in line was the Dyadya (Russian: Дядя, captain), followed by the Shishka (Russian: Шишка, first in the line of haulers), while the last in line was called Kosny (Russian: Косный, last in the line of haulers).[citation needed]
There were seasonal burlaks, who worked from spring to autumn, and temporary burlaks, who worked occasionally. Burlaks did not work in winter, when most Russian rivers were frozen over.
A typical symbol of a burlak was a spoon on a hat.
The main areas of the burlaks' trade in the Russian Empire were the Volga river, from Moscow to Astrakhan, the White Sea route (Belomor’e), from Moscow to Arkhangelsk, and the Dnieper river, in Ukraine.
A burlak (Russian: бурлак) was a Russian epithet for a person who hauled barges and other vessels upstream from the 17th to 20th centuries. The word burlak originated from Tatar word bujdak, 'homeless'. According to another version the word originated from old middle-German bûrlach (working team with fixed rules, artel).
Burlaks appeared in Russia at the end of sixteenth century and beginning of the seventeenth century. With the expansion of freight-hauling, the number of burlaks increased.
The chief of a burlak gang was called Vodoliv (Russian: Водолив), next in line was the Dyadya (Russian: Дядя, captain), followed by the Shishka (Russian: Шишка, first in the line of haulers), while the last in line was called Kosny (Russian: Косный, last in the line of haulers).[citation needed]
There were seasonal burlaks, who worked from spring to autumn, and temporary burlaks, who worked occasionally. Burlaks did not work in winter, when most Russian rivers were frozen over.
A typical symbol of a burlak was a spoon on a hat.
The main areas of the burlaks' trade in the Russian Empire were the Volga river, from Moscow to Astrakhan, the White Sea route (Belomor’e), from Moscow to Arkhangelsk, and the Dnieper river, in Ukraine.