As Englishman John Perry walked through the streets of Veronezh, Russia at the tail end of the 17th -century, he encountered a man he had known for some time, but whom he hardly recognized. The man was a carpenter with whom Perry, an engineer who served in the court of Peter the Great, had worked before. For as long as Perry had known him, the carpenter, like most Russian men of the day, had worn a long beard and untrimmed mustache. Fresh from the barber, the carpenter now had a smooth face.
Perry exchanged a few pleasantries with the man and then asked what he had done with his beard. In response, the clean-cut carpenter pulled the beard from his breast pocket and explained that he would keep it someplace safe and that one day it would be placed back upon his face in his coffin. That way, when he reached the pearly gates, St. Nicholas (who as we all know has a beard that’s long and white) would know him.
The carpenter had become the latest victim of the tsar’s beard tax. Peter the Great had recently returned from what Wikipedia calls an “incognito” tour (meaning, I can only assume, that he wore a big bushy fake beard) through Europe in an attempt to drum up international support for his military campaign against the Ottoman Empire. His efforts failed (because obviously 17th-century Europeans hated beards), but Peter had learned his lesson and on September 5, 1698, he issued a beard tax on the men of Russia (thus, essentially outlawing “No shave November.”)
And it was hefty, too. Wealthier citizens were required to pay 100 rubles per year (that’s something like, well, a lot of rubles, I bet). The rest of the citizens had to pay a Copek (which is also probably a lot of Copeks) for the privilege of sporting a beard. In addition to the right to keep their whiskers (and incur the wrath of the tsar), payment of the tax also bought the unshaven a medallion they had to wear as proof of their legal right to bear registered whiskers. Evidently, concealing a beard inside your breast pocket did not require additional licensure.
The only men exempted from the law were the clergy who were allowed to maintain long beards and traditional dress, as the rest of the country embraced modern fashion trends. Even so, the clergymen were pretty hacked off about the whole thing and launched a pamphlet campaign, claiming that Peter (the Great Heretic) had gone much too far.
Like often happens with poorly handled calls to conservative ideals, the young men of Russia thumbed their noses at the outraged clergymen and happily got up early for work so they’d have time to shave every day. The real reason, of course, for the radical support of the misguided policies of the tsar was that the young ladies of Russia responded positively to the change.
I doubt such a tax would ever fly today, though, at least not here in the US where the beard has now taken on social icon status and the men who wear them are far more likely to carry a duck call and a shotgun than to wear a medallion.
And I can’t speak for all ladies, but for me personally, I don’t mind so much. Now, I’m not a big fan of long bushy facial hair, but a nicely trimmed beard tells me that while a man cares at least something for personal hygiene, he is also practical and confident enough to forego the daily ritual of shaving. I wouldn’t want to begrudge him that option.
So I asked my husband (a handsome and neatly trimmed bearded fellow) what he thought about a beard tax. His anger at such a concept was as swift and unyielding as was that of the pamphlet-wielding Russian clergymen of old. I have to admit, the tax does seem remarkably unfair because men who wear beards already have to make great sacrifices in order to do so.
For example, this past weekend, when our family cooked out at the grandparents’ house, we made s’mores, which we all enjoyed immensely. All, that is, except for my husband, who when questioned by our boys as to why he wasn’t eating one of the gooey treats, replied by explaining that a bearded man must avoid melted marshmallow when he is far from his own shower.
Historians have suggested that the Russian beard tax was a part of Peter the Great’s attempt to modernize (meaning Europeanize) his country, but there may have been a few practical advantages to the law as well. Regardless of his motive, Peter’s tax was more or less successful. And it wasn’t finally repealed until 1772, by which point John Perry’s carpenter friend had probably long since carried his beard into Heaven.
Author Sarah Angleton 
A tax on beards? Unimaginable. Unforgivable.
Agreed. I’m thinking of making a tee shirt with a picture of the beard medallion, for all of my bearded friends. You know, that way you’d be covered, just in case.
Reblogged this on MowryJournal.com and commented:
The whole idea of taxing beards is simply ridiculous. And who decided he should be called “Peter The Great?” Sounds like a huge mistake to me.
Thank you!
Medallion translation (exact): “Money taken”.
Yes. It is the other side that allegedly says “The beard is a superfluous burden.” As I don’t speak Russian, I wasn’t sure which side was actually displayed here. Thanks!
Ah yeah, the other side. I kinda forgotten that those medallions, coins, etc usually have 2 sides. 🙂 Well, it is 21:24 here in Finland and I’m almost done for today.
No probs. Always happy to help with a bit of translations. 🙂
Great post, Sarah. So informative. Beards and facial hair can convey political messages, as well as being a personal preference. One of the first things my husband did after returning from Vietnam and being discharged from the Air Force was grow sideburns then later a beard. More than 40 years later, he still has both. And looks as handsome as ever.
I love that! Thanks for reading.
Interesting little footnote. These small incidences were always what made history so rich and interesting for me.
Me, too. I can’t claim to be a history buff, but I am a storyteller who likes history. Thanks for reading!
At least they didn’t think of taxing baldness … as well as toupees.
There were ways, as you demonstrate, of escaping the beard tax.
It’s true. One could buy the right to have a beard. A bald tax would be tremendously unfair. But I might be able to get behind a toupee tax 😉
I found myself fascinated by the this info…
I commend your choice of pictures too. Thank you for this hairy adventure 🙂
It’s hard to beat a coin that sports a beard and mustache. I must say I like “hairy adventure” much better than hair-brained post.
I heard about the tax on beards having been put forward by clean shaven men. I reckon they were just jealous. Who doesn’t want a Rasputin or a Santa Claus on their chin?
According to contemporary accounts, the ladies of Russia weren’t too thrilled with the beards, but if we can consider Boney M. a reliable source (and I think its safe to say we can), the ladies also liked themselves some Rasputin. Thanks for reading!
Well you learn something new every day.
Thank you for being so informative 🙂
thaaaaaaaaaaanx
You’re welcome? I honestly had no idea that beard history was so important to folks.
I loved this story. Loving history can be quite fascinating. I believe that Peter the Great while on this trip learned the art of canon making and brought it back to Russia. This ended up with Russia making canons and not depending on Europe for them. Later when there was a war Russia was independent of the European yoke and could fight Europe.
That’s great! Those are the kind of admittedly more important historical details I tend not to put in my posts. Thank you for classing it up a bit!
Reblogged this on Jaggi.
Thank you!
Very interesting read! My hubby has a well trimmed line beard, but sometimes in the winter, things get all outta hand =-) I call him ‘My Jesus’ when that happens.
Congrats on gettin’ pressed!!
Thanks! My husband occasionally sports the scraggly look as well. Still handsome, just a little fuzzier.
If we institute a beard tax in the Equal Rights, Equal Opportunity climate of today’s USA, will it apply to women, too? It seems to me feminists might be outraged if women were excluded, and they certainly don’t need anything more to be angry about. But perhaps a beard tax would be an easier sell to the general public if it applied to women only, and excluded men.
Hmm. Maybe. Though I could certainly not be considered the mouthpiece for the feminist movement, I’m thinkin’ that a tax on female facial hair would face a pretty steep uphill battle.
I’d guess that all the cosmetics companies would donate millions to political PACs to get a female beard tax passed. What could more in the self-interest of L’Oreal and the like than to bring back the Peter the Great tax, but for women this time? If you use your blog to kick off the “female beard tax” campaign, you’ll probably get lots of advertisers from the cosmetics industry and make a fortune. Go for it!
Not sure I’m ready to take up that call.
YES! YES! a “toupee tax” a “female chin whisker tax” a “male hairy back tax” and a “plumber’s butt-crack tax”. Sign me up! Great post Sarah : )
Thank you. Wow! You are enthusiastic! Maybe a little harsh, but “plumber’s butt crack” should definitely be taxed. Or at least carry a large fine.
Great post.
http://tshirtlegend.com/
Thanks!
Congrats on being Freshly Pressed! *cheers and throws confetti*
As for the beard tax, hmmm. They’ve taxed some weird stuff, but that has to take the cake!
Thank you! And yes. When I came across this story, I had to share it.
Reblogged this on Android Bethy.
Thank you!
…Beard tax.
…
The fug?!
Indeed. Thanks for reading.
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