In the middle of the 19th century, the Amur region saw the beginning of the mass settlement and became involved in the economic activities of the country. A decree of the tsarist government was issued on the resettlement of peasants from the central provinces of the Russian Empire to the Far East.

The migrant peasants also brought with them a familiar, traditional way of life and economic activity. On the site of the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur stood the resettlement village of Permskoye, founded in 1860. This village was characterized by a gender division of labor, in which men’s and women’s jobs were clearly distinguished.

People started working from an early age. Boys of five or six years old were already riding well, driving the front horse when plowing and when harrowing — loosening the ground. At the age of twelve, they already helped adults in field work, during the fishing season, and got used to construction and cooperage. They learned their skills from their fathers and grandfathers. Girls of five or six years old were taught to spin, and then to weave. At the age of ten, they were already helping adults with cattle. The mother supervised her daughter’s labor education.

The wooden spinning wheel was an important device in the everyday life of peasant families. Two types of the design of this device were known. The Russian (horizontal) spinning wheel was placed on the base perpendicular to the floor. A reel with a flyer was attached from above and connected by belts to the wheel. The chukhonka (vertical) design was similar in principle to the Russian spinning wheel, the difference was only in the position of the wheel itself: it was attached to the base at an angle to the floor.

The spinning wheel was assembled from a wheel, a flat treadle, a bobbin with a spool, a wooden footman, and a leather drive band. Linen fiber or wool prepared for spinning was attached to a wooden blade, which was inserted into the upper part of the upright spinning wheel.

Such items could be found in almost every Russian village. The spinning wheel from the museum’s collection was made in 1923 in the Altai village of Kostin Log. It got into the Museum of Local Lore in 1983. According to its owner, the spinning wheel was made by a self-taught craftsman Vosmikov.