Structure and profitability of the noble household according to the estimated descriptions of the State Nobility land bank at the end of XIX century (according to the materials of the Kazan province)

Abstract

Introduction. The study of the processes that took place in the post-reform era in the noble economy is one of the main foundations of the analysis of the capitalist evolution of the agrarian sphere of the late XIX – early XX centuries. After the reform of 1861, the local nobility, adapting to the needs of the time, switched to new forms and methods of management, which led to significant changes in the production structure of their estates. Materials and Methods. The study was carried out on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of the valuables contained in the files of the Kazan branch of the State Noble Land Bank, extracted from the fund of the specified credit institution, located in the vaults of the National Archives of the Republic of Tatarstan. Results. The information contained in the appraisal list makes it possible to successfully consider the structure of estates, their material base, as well as the degree of profitability of the main branches of economic activity. Of course, not all inventories contained detailed information about the pledged property, many of them lacked some elements, in particular, there could be no listing of income and expenses and other valuable information, but in general they revealed the structure, degree of capitalization and profitability of the noble households Kazan province of the period under review. Discussion and Conclusions. As a result, the study showed that, by the end of the 19th century, noble economies were rather large economic complexes with a well-developed material and production base, where labor was most often carried out on the job of civilian workers, or wasp processing, most of the estates had a variety of agricultural machines and inventory, horse breeding was quite developed, livestock breeding was less developed.