Piatina

(also, zaprosnye i piatinnye den’gi), an extraordinary tax introduced in Russia by the government of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich in order to rebuild the economy, which had been destroyed by the foreign intervention of the early 17th century. The piatina was equal to one-fifth of a net annual income and was based either on personal movable property or on an estimate that took into account both movable property and real estate.

The first extraordinary tax, levied by the zemskii sobor (assembly of estates) in 1613, was voluntary and affected only the monasteries, great feudal lords, and rich merchants. The collected sums were insufficient, however, and the zemskii sobor in April 1614 imposed the first piatina on the artisans and tradesmen of each town and district. The tax was compulsory for the great lay and ecclesiastical feudal lords. The piatina was collected six times between 1614 and 1619.

The tax was imposed again in November 1632, at the outbreak of the Russo-Polish War of 1632–34, but the government was dissatisfied with the results of the levy and decreed a second one on Jan. 29, 1634. This time a special office was created to collect the tax. During the Russo-Polish War of 1654–67, the piataia den’ga was twice levied on the middle and lower classes of the urban population; other groups were taxed at the rate of 50 kopeks per household.