Charitable Associations and the Formation of the Public Sphere in the Russian Empire in the 19th Century

Abstract

The author recreates the life cycle of a charitable organization in Imperial Russia. It based on the materials of a wide range of sources, primarily documents of the records of charitable associations, their reports, charters, minutes of meetings, etc., as well as archival documents and periodical materials. The author makes an attempt to identify the specific features and peculiarities of voluntary charitable associations, to find out their role in the formation of the public sphere of Imperial Russia. The author comes to the conclusion that charitable associations played a significant role in the formation of the public sphere. By developing effective forms of social assistance they contributed to the formation of values of altruism and solidarity in society, in the development of ideas and principles of service to one's neighbor, as well as the consolidation of representatives of various social groups and professional communities around them. By helping the people of various social and professional status, consolidating professional communities on significant tasks, charitable associations contributed to the formation of elements of civil society within the “soslovnoye” society. They were a model of partnership between society and the state in solving social issues. In the absence of a state social security system in pre-revolutionary Russia, the emerging mechanism of social assistance turned out to be very viable.