Assemblies

in Russia, balls and gatherings arranged in the homes of aristocrats during the reign of Peter I. In a ukase of 1718, it was stated that assemblies serve “not only for entertainment but also for business, because here people can meet one another and discuss every need.” Women were obligated to participate in assemblies, and thereby the previous enforced seclusion of women of the boyar class was abolished. The assemblies struck a blow against the cultural backwardness of the Russian dvorianstvo (nobility or gentry). The clergy had its own assemblies. A. S. Pushkin provided a vivid depiction of an assembly in The Negro of Peter the Great.