Poliude

the annual rounds of the subject population (liudi) made by Old Russian princes, boyars, and members of the princes’ retinue for the collection of taxes and contributions in kind. The practice existed from the tenth to the 13th century. It is mentioned by the tenth- and 1 lth-century Arab writers ibn Rusta and Gardīzī, by the tenth-century Byzantine emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus, and by the Old Russian authors of 12th-century chronicles and gramoty (documents and letters). According to Constantine Porphyrogenitus, these rounds were made between November and April. Apparently, the princes visited each pogost—the administrative and economic center of the territorial units—and the local population provided food and shelter. The princes also sat in judgment at each pogost.