The article deals with the problem of social mobility in the Russian Empire of the late XVIII century. Despite the closed nature of the estate society of that time, there were frequent cases of transition from one estate to another in legislation and public practice. We consider these phenomena on the example of the transition of state peasants to merchants during the existence of the Vladimir viceroyalty (1778—1796). This process was spurred by the formation of new cities and the shortage of residents in them. The directions of transitions, the reasons that encourage peasants to change their social status are analyzed in detail: the restriction of the commercial and commercial activities of peasants, the opening prospects of the state in the merchant class, liberation aspects, etc. The reasons preventing the transition of peasants to merchants are also considered.: the system of payments for two states (old and
new), the state of the recruitment queue, the presence of arrears, procedural delays, etc. It is concluded that the peasants' increase in their social status was associated with potential benefits for both themselves and the state, however, this process was slowed down due to the inertia of fiscal policy, as well as the desire to preserve the class privileges of the merchants.
For citation: Lyapanov A.V. The influence of the state policy of the Russian Empire on social mobility (on the example of the state peasants of the Vladimir Viceroyalty (1778—1796)), Ivanovo State University Bulletin, Series: Humanities, 2024, iss. 1, pp. 106—115.