Проблема подброшенных детей на фоне модернизационных процессов Российской империи в конце ХІХ – начале ХХ вв. (на примере подроссийской Украины)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to outline the scale of the tossing of newborn children in sub-Russian Ukraine in the end of 19th – early 20th centuries, to determine the causes of this phenomenon, the participation of the state and the public in caring for social orphans and measures to combat this deviation. The methodology of the research is based on a combination of general scientific (analysis, synthesis, generalization, comparison, systematization) and special-historical methods (historical-structural, constructive-genetic, historical-comparative) with the principles of objectivity, historicism, and consistency. Scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that for the first time in domestic and foreign historiography the problem of foundlings in the Russian Empire of the end of 19th – early 20th centuries (on the example of the sub-Russian Ukraine) is comprehensively considered, including the reasons for the throwing of children, the scale of this phenomenon is outlined, the effectiveness of state and public institutions in caring for social orphans is determined. Conclusions. Tossing children is a natural phenomenon for a society that is going through the processes of modernization and urbanization. It is based on socio-economic and psychological factors. Population growth in the Russian Empire and sub-Russian Ukraine in particular, which became possible as a result of the abolition of serfdom in 1861, the completion of the industrial
 revolution in the 1880s, the active development of capitalism, the spread of emancipation movements and trends in the development of Western culture in society, legal prostitution status, etc. caused the degradation of the institution of marriage and the beginning of the devaluation of the family as the basis of a patriarchal society. The overwhelming majority of mothers leaving their children to fend for themselves are rural girls who could not find a high-paying job in the city, became victims of fraudsters and gentlemen. At the end of the 19th century, local governments (zemstvos) and public organizations took an active part in the creation of orphanages. The state did not have time to centrally respond to new challenges of society and did not carry out work to prevent the throwing of children. Police work was ineffective. The high morbidity and mortality of foundlings in orphanages were caused by an unsatisfactory level of medical care and excessive bureaucratization of the state apparatus.