Akhutor (/ˈxuːtər/KHOO-tər; Russian:хутор,IPA:[ˈxutər]) orkhutir (Ukrainian:хутiр,IPA:[ˈxut⁽ʲ⁾ir]) is a type of rural locality in some countries ofEastern Europe; in the past the term mostly referred to a single-homestead settlement.[1][2] The term can be translated as "hamlet".[3][4]
They existed inCossack-settled lands that encompassed today'sUkraine,Kuban, and the lowerDon River basin while inKuban and Don region the wordkhutor was also used to describe new settlements (irrespective of the number of homesteads) which had detached themselves fromstanitsas.[5] In someCossack communities, these types of settlements were referred to asposyolok (Russian:посёлок) orselyshche (Ukrainian:селище). InRussia the term "выселки" (vyselki, literally, "those who moved away") was also used. Khutor remains the official designation of many Russian villages in these regions.
During theStolypin reforms in theRussian empire,Peter Stolypin envisaged richpeasants "privatising" their share of the community (obshchina (Russian:община) ortovarystvo (Ukrainian:товариство)) lands, leaving the obshchinas, and settling in khutors on their now individually owned land. A less radical concept was that of anotrub (Russian:отруб) orvidrub (Ukrainian:відруб): a section of formerlyobshchina land, whose owner has left theobshchina but still continued to live in the village and to "commute" to his land.[6] By 1910 the share of khutors and otrubs among all rural households in the European part of Russia was estimated at 10.5%. These were practically eliminated during thecollectivisation in the USSR.[1]
The origin of the word is not entirely clear. Assumed are borrowings fromHungarian határ (lit. "border"), to which the Slavs are reduced, or határ ("border, edge") — fromSerbo-Croatian; also fromProto-Iranic khȁtȃr (lit. "land belonging to the village") toUkrainian askhotar.[7]
According toMax Vasmer, the word entered the East Slavic languages from OldUpper German.[citation needed]
Nikolai Gogol's first major work is calledEvenings on a Farm Near Dikanka, where "farm" is a translation of "khutor" (Russian:Вечера на хуторе близ Диканьки,Vechera na khutore bliz Dikanki).[citation needed]