Catherine The Great Ends Beard Tax

Catherine The Great Ends Beard Tax

In 1698, Tsar Peter I, known as Peter the Great, established a beard tax.
He declared that all the men in Russia had to lose their beards.

This was a massively unpopular policy with many, including the Russian Orthodox church.
They claimed going around without facial hair was blasphemous!

Figuring he could make money for the state while still allowing people to opt to keep their beards, Peter imposed a beard tax.

For nobility and merchants, the tax could be as high as 100 rubles annually.
For commoners it was much lower, as little as 1 kopek.
Those paying the tax were given a token, silver for nobility and copper for commoners.

The tax raised an average of 3,588 rubles annually, from 1705 to 1708.

However, from a financial standpoint, the tax was unsuccessful due both to the relatively low number of people unwilling to shave their beards ~ and an overestimation of the ability of the Russian state to administer and collect the tax.

On the 6th April 1772, Catherine The Great formally repealed the hated Beard Tax.

It is thanks to Catherine, that many Russian men continue to wear their beards with pride to the present day!
Huzzah!!