Kazan Province Research Articles

Landowner economy in the Kazan province in the first half of the 19th century

The article is devoted to the economic development of landowners in the Kazan province during the era of serfdom. The source base of the study contains published memoirs of representatives of the nobility, statistical publications, pre-revolutionary studies of the state of agriculture in private farms, as well as archival material containing economic descriptions of 12 districts of the province, compiled by local leaders of the nobility and individual landowners based on the questions of the questionnaire of the Free Economic Society in 1802. The author analyzed the natural and geographical factors that influenced economic life on the estates; characterized the working inventory and showed attempts to modernize it; studied the specialization of estates and identified the economy-forming industries; considered the features of the corvee and quitrent systems of peasant exploitation. In addition, the article shows examples of organizing market-oriented agricultural production. A conclusion is made about the subsistence nature of the landowner economy in the Kazan province in the pre-reform period, in which the sale of surplus did not mean the commercial nature of production. The availability of free labor deprived the incentive to introduce improved methods of land cultivation – use modern equipment, improved varieties of crops, as well as develop industries such as livestock and crop production. For citation: Mironova E.V. Landowner economy in the Kazan province in the first half of the 19th century. From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2024, vol.14, no.3, pp.118–136. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2024-14-3.118-136 (In Russian)

The activities of the police and public organizations to prevent the spread of prostitution in the late XIX – early XX centuries in the Kazan province

The activities of the police and public organizations to prevent the spread of prostitution in the late XIX – early XX centuries in the Kazan province

Урмай авылы мәхәлләләре тарихыннан (XVIII йөз уртасы – XX йөз башы)

The article analyzes certain aspects of the history of the Muslim community of the Urmaevo village. This settlement, which was part of the Kazan province before the revolution, is now part of the Komsomolsky district of the Chuvash Republic. The publication, based on archival sources, shows the history of the emergence of the Muslim community of the village, the construction of the mosque, and the procedure for appointing decree mullahs. It was revealed that in the Urmaevo village Muslim Tatars lived together with baptized Tatars. Two families of hereditary imams served in the community, who had difficult relationships with each other. Now the work of Imam Fakhretdin Sayfetdin Sultanov, who headed the first mahalla of the village for 65 years, is continued by his grandchildren.

The traditional ritual culture of the Mordvins-Karatai at the beginning of the XX century (based on the historical and ethnographicessay by Guriy Filippov «Mordvins are Christians. From the life of the village of Mordovian Karatai and the village of Mensitovo, Tetyushsky district, Kazan province» (1914))

The article examines the pre–revolutionary ritual culture of a small ethno-graphic group of Mordovian people – the Mordvins -Karatai. In 1914 G.A. Filippov, a representative of the Kryashen spiritual intelligentsia, published a historical and ethnographic essay «Mordvins are Christians. From the life of the village of Mordovian Karatai and the village of Mensitovo, Tetyushsky district, Kazan province», which presents the history of the emergence and ethno-cultural development of Karatai settlements. The author examines in detail the plots related to the conduct of traditional funeral and wedding ceremonies by local residents.

Вклад Михаила Дмитриевича Рузского в изучение фауны птиц Волжско-Камского края

Mikhail Dmitrievich Ruzsky is one of the last encyclopedic scientists of the 20th century, known for his works on zoology, ichthyology and ornithology, hydrobiology, and entomology. Professor Mikhail Dmitrievich Ruzsky (1864-1948) is one of the country outstanding biologists and founders of the national science of ants, the first researcher of the myrmecofauna of Russia and neighboring countries. He made a significant contribution to the development of not only individual sciences, but also the formation of university education in Russia. The Kazan period of his biography is significant for his life and career. Mikhail Dmitrievich began his bird watching in Kazan and its surroundings while still being a very young researcher. His formation as a scientist began in Kazan Imperial University. Ruzsky had his first publications on birds in 1889, although he began conducting ornithological observations from the first years of university. The significant coverage of the territory allowed him not only to obtain new data on the distribution of birds in these areas, but also compare the lists of species and changes in their composition. His interest in studying fauna was influenced by the works of his predecessors - famous local historians and scientists of Russia - Pallas, Eversman, Bogdanov, and others. Ruzky gave the first list of birds of the Kazan province. In 1893, he presented his master’s thesis, Materials for the Study of Birds of the Kazan Province, whose results were published in the Proceedings of the Society of Naturalists of Kazan University. Ruzsky was the curator and collector of the Zoological Museum of Kazan University; within just one decade (from 1887 to 1896), he delivered 439 specimens of birds to the museum. His works made it possible to compile the first list of the avifauna of Kazan. He noted 56 species of birds directly inhabiting the city, and about 50 species found in the vicinity. A comparison of Ruzsky’s regional avi-faunistic lists with the data from recent years made it possible to present the dynamics and main changes that occurred in the composition of the bird fauna of the Volga-Kama Region over two hundred years. He was one of the organizers of the Kazan City Museum (now the National Museum of the Republic of T atarstan), chairman of its Council (1912), and having received the title of honorary member of the museum staff, he became director of the Natural History Department (1908-1913). Mikhail Dmitrievich was directly involved in the formation of the third Zoological Museum in Kazan located in the Veterinary Institute (now the Kazan State Academy of Veterinary Medicine), where he also worked for some time. The studies conducted on the avifauna of the Volga-Kama Region laid the foundation for subsequent large-scale work on both zoogeography, species distribution, and species ecology. In 1913, Mikhail Dmitrievich Ruzsky was elected professor of the Department of Zoology in Kiev and Tomsk Universities. He faced the choice and gave his preference to Tomsk devoting next 35 years of his life to working for the benefit of science in Tomsk University. The article contains 2 Figures, 13 References. The Authors declare no conflict of interest.

Microbiologists M.R. Sharipova and A.M. Mardanova are Talented Students and Teachers

The history of the formation and development of the microbiological discipline at the Imperial Kazan University began in the middle of the XIX century. Then the first attempts were made to control infectious processes in the Kazan province (cholera, influenza, smallpox). With the advent of the microscope, university researchers have gained a new opportunity to observe microorganisms. At the end of the 19th century, the issues of medical and general microbiology were widely discussed in the scientific community of the city. At the very beginning of the twentieth century, the Bacteriological Institute was opened at the Faculty of Medicine, which became the flagship of these studies. However, microbiological research began to develop at other faculties of Kazan University already under Soviet rule (the work of A.P. Ponomarev and his student S.I. Limanova-Kolosova). They mainly dealt with issues of ecological and geological microbiology. At the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the University Laboratory of Microbiology was headed by M.I. Belyaeva, who in 1969 achieved the opening of the Department of Microbiology as part of the Biology and Soil Faculty of Kazan State University named after V.I. Ulyanov-Lenin. She was the founder of a new modern direction — the study of enzymes of microorganisms. Her students, who later became professors, R.P. Naumova and I.B. Leshchinskaya, have already educated their talented followers. This article is devoted to a review of the scientific and pedagogical activities of professors M.R. Sharipova and A.M. Mardanova, employees of the Department of Microbiology of Kazan Federal University. Bangladesh Journal of Infectious Diseases, December 2023;10(2):104-109

«REGULATION ON FOREST PRESERVATION» AND ITS IMPLEMENTATION IN KAZAN GOVERNORATE IN THE LATE XIX – EARLY XX CENTURY

At the end of the XIX – the beginning of the XX century the development of forestry in Russia, including Kazan governorate, was to a certain extent determined by the state policy in this area and forest legislation then in force.
 
 The purpose of the study is to characterize the content of the “Regulations on Forest Preservation” dated 1888 and to analyze its implementation in the territory of Kazan governorate.
 
 Materials and methods. The work carried out is mainly based on the analysis of previously unknown archival documents extracted from the fund of Kazan Governorate Forest Protection Committee of the State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan and the fund of the Forest Department of the Russian State Historical Archive. Materials from published sources and scientific literature on forestry issues were also used. The research is based on the principles of historicism, objectivity and consistency.
 
 Study results. The “Regulation” paid the main attention to proper management of the economy in protective and water-conserving forests. They were subject to mandatory saving from exhaustion and extermination. At the beginning of the XX century there were more than 200 such protective forest estates in Kazan governorate. Direct control over the forest resources conservation in the governorate was conducted by Kazan Forest Protection Committee, which was assisted by the ranks of the state forest administration, forest guards, police and other institutions. The number of forest estates subject to the forest protection law in Kazan province increased significantly over time. This was accompanied by the establishment of state control, primarily over the forests of private individuals and peasant rural societies, clear regulation of the volume and order of forest use, reforestation and other fundamental aspects of forestry. Gradually, the effect of the “Regulation” spread to almost the entire forest area of the governorate, regardless of the category of forest owners.
 
 Conclusions. In general, implementation of the “Regulation on Forest Preservation” had, undoubtedly, a positive impact on the condition and development of forest protection legislation and Russia’s forest industry, including Kazan governorate of the period under review.

Tatar jewelry business of the Kazan province of the early XX century in the context of professional development

The article deals with the historical and cultural component of the Tatar jewelry business of the Kazan province at the beginning of the 20th century. The purpose of the article is to present a comprehensive historical and cultural analysis of the Tatar jewelry of this period: to create a general picture of the development of the jewelry craft, its interaction with professional cultural traditions, and consideration of the decorative and symbolic meaning of jewelry. To address the issues raised, a typology of jewelry typical of Tatar jewelers during the study period was carried out, technical and technological features were identified, decorative and technical solutions were described, and everyday and social aspects within the profession were highlighted.

Re-Islamization of baptized Tatars during the revolutions of the early 20th century: on the example of the Apazovo village of the Kazan district

The article examines the difficult period in the history of the Apazovo village of the Kazan district of the Kazan province – 1905–1917. During the first Russian revolution baptized Tatars renewed their movement to return to Islam. We used different focuses to analyze this rural community: socio-economic ties, an Orthodox parish, an illegal Muslim community, leaders and outsiders of a religious movement. Markers of the Muslim subjectivity of the population of Apazova were different religious practices. Conflicts and conformity in the community correlated with different phases of the 1905–1907 revolution. There are the main motives that led to the change of religious attitudes. It is important that in addition to external forces (Orthodox missionaries, Muslim Tatars), the religious movement had internal resources: an active middle generation and the female factor. Fot citation: Gabdrafikova L.R. Re-Islamization of baptized Tatars during the revolutions of the early 20th century: on the example of the Apazovo village of the Kazan district. From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2023, vol.13, no.2, pp.53–72. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2023-13-2.53-72 (In Russian)

10 years of leadership: the activity of the Kazan provincial leader of the nobility S.N. Terenin (1846–1897)

The article is devoted to the service of S.N. Terenin as the leader of the nobility of the Kazan province from 1887 to 1897. Previously, the reconstruction of his biography and social activities in Russian historiography was not carried out, and this study is the first attempt to analyze the service of Stepan Nikolaevich Terenin as a provincial leader of the nobility. Based on the office documentation of the noble self-government bodies, the author shows the main directions in Terenin's work. In addition to solving current issues, the activities of the provincial leader of the nobility had a pronounced social orientation. Helping the nobles during their studies in secondary educational institutions, caring for the elderly and sick nobles who were left without the support of relatives, assigning allowances and lump-sum payments – all this has become one of the forms of social protection for representatives of the upper class who find themselves in a difficult financial situation. In addition to short-term measures provided to the nobles and of a situational nature, projects were developed to strengthen the economic well-being of the entire estate. The result was petitions to the government and the satisfaction of some petitions of the Kazan nobility. For citation: Mironova Ye.V. 10 years of leadership: the activity of the Kazan provincial leader of the nobility S.N. Terenin (1846–1897). From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2023, vol.13, no.2, pp.73–82. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2023-13-2.73-82 (In Russian)

Book review: Mironova Ye.V. Laishevsky district in the middle of the 19th – early 20th century: monograph (Kazan, 2022)

The review describes the content of the monograph devoted to the study of the history of the Laishevsky district of Kazan province in the second half of the 19th – early 20thcentury on the basis of a comprehensive analysis of a wide range of published and unpublished sources stored in the collections of the State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Lobachevsky Scientific Library of KFU, the Russian State Military Historical Archive and the Russian State Historical Archive. The reviewer shows the scientific and practical significance of the study, which chronologically covers the period from the time of the Great Reforms of Alexander II to the revolutionary events of 1917 inclusive. Both advantages and disadvantages are noted in the disclosure of some plots, a detailed consideration of which would enrich the content of the work. For citation: Murtazina F.G. Book review: Mironova Ye.V. Laishevsky district in the middle of the 19th – early 20th century: monograph (Kazan, 2022). From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2023, vol.13, no.2, pp.117–122. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2023-13-2.117-122 (In Russian)

Дворянство Казанской губернии второй половины XVIII века: чиновный состав и размер душевладения

The study is based on the materials preserved in the Fund 1355 (Economic Notes to the plans of the General Land Survey of the Russian Empire) of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (RGADA). These economic notes, compiled at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries, indicate the rank of landowner, and the number of souls according to the 5th revision. Service records (form lists) from the Fund 1349 of the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA), years 1798-1802, had been used for the description of Kazan bureaucracy. At the end of the XVIII century, according to the 5th revision in the Kazan province, there were 1010 landowners, of which 465 were women. Most of the landowners were retired, this shows that the nobles actively used their right not to serve, granted to them by the Manifesto of 1762. Of those who served, a little more than half were in the state service, or served in garrisons, which they entered after active military (army or guards) service. Most of them retired in officer ranks. No more than 7.5 percent of nobles had general ranks of 1-5 classes. More than 20 percent of Kazan nobles owned at least a hundred souls, large landowners owning more than 500 souls compiled 5 percent. Many landowners (more than 19 percent) owned estates in other regions of the Russian Empire, most of all such estates were in the Nizhny Novgorod province. There were about 3 percent of titled nobles. The number of Kazan nobles educated at the Kazan gymnasium varies from 6 percent (in 1781) to 4 percent at the end of the 18th century. Moreover, this number of students of the Kazan gymnasium exceeds the total number of pupils of other educational institutions (primarily cadet corps). Median numbers show that nobles entered the service on average at the age of 14 (most - from 12 to 16), and received the first class rank at 21, more than half - from 18 to 24 years old. The vast majority of nobles entered military service, and then retired; a small part continued to serve in the civil service.

Kazan Trachomatous Institute in historical retrospective: background and circumstances of its opening

The article is devoted to the study of the prerequisites and circumstances of the first trachomatous institute establishment in Russia, designed to stop the spread of a dangerous infectious eye disease in one of the key regions of the RSFSR the Republic of Tatarstan. The initial period of the spread of trachoma in the Russian Empire, dating back to the first quarter of the 19th century, is characterized, and the first steps in the study and treatment of trachoma in the Kazan province are defined. On the basis of archival documents, many of which were not previously introduced into scientific circulation, the authors analyze a significant layer of historical information that sheds light on a number of facts that have not been previously published or studied. The prerequisites that characterize the formation of the attitude of the Kazan scientific community to the need to organize the fight against a new spreading disease trachoma on a large scale, have been identified. For the first time, prosopographic data on the first leaders of the institute were clarified, it was convincingly proved that, contrary to popular belief, it was not V.V.Chirkovsky, but A.G.Agababov who became the first director of the Trachomatous Institute in Kazan. Materials on the circumstances and conditions of the actual opening of the trachomatous institute in 1922 are given. The features of the fight against trachoma in the period preceding the opening of the trachomatous institute, starting with the activities of E.V.Adamyuk, representatives of the Kazan Governorate and special medical commissions, ending with the formation of a specialized scientific and clinical infrastructure, are identified.

Russian class and madrasah in 1870–1917: the history of confrontation (on the example of the city of Chistopol, Kazan province)

In 1870, special rules for organizing the system of education for non-Russian schoolchildren appeared in the Russian Empire. This was a sign of the beginning of intensive work aimed to integrate the Tatars into the general imperial social and cultural system. One of the articles of the law on March 26, 1870 called for the opening of Russian classes at the madrasah. In 1875, 11 Russian classes functioned at the different madrasahs in the Kazan province. But most of the Russian classes worked in Kazan. In the city of Chistopol, where a large Tatar community lived and the famous madrasah worked under the patronage of Muhammad-Zakir Kamalov, the Russian class was opened only in 1881. Kamalov perceived the new changes negatively, so in Chistopol, in the 1880–1890s, there was a conflict arosed between the supporters of a religious figure and the officials of educational control. One of the participants in the conflict was Mir-Sa‘id Yunusov, the teacher of the Russian class. In the article, we reconstructed his family and work cases on the basis of archival documents. Besides, we used Qayyum Nasiri's memories of the experience of organizing the Russian class in Kazan as an analogy. The writers Fatih Karimi and ‘Ayadh Ishaqi also studied at the Chistopol Madrasah in the late 1880s and early 1890s, so we used materials related to their lives for our work. The author concludes that the Russian-class madrasah of Chistopol case was mainly caused by the arrow of age and personality problems.

G.F. Miller’s Dictionary “Description of Pagan Peoples Living in Kazan Province, such as Cheremis, Chuvash and Votyaks...” as a Valuable Source for Studying the Tatar Language of the 18th Century (based on LingvoDoc material)

This article presents the results of an analysis of three dictionaries by G.F. Miller, which were created in the 18th century and are hosted on the LingvoDoc platform (lingvodoc.ispras.ru). Miller’s manuscript dictionaries from the collection of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Documents (RSAAD) are introduced into scholarly discourse for the first time. The analysis reveals: 1) in the 18th century, all consonant transitions in the Tatar language had already been completed; 2) at this time, some vowels (known as the Volga region vowels) had not yet completed their transition process, and for [*o] and [*u], this process had not even begun; 3) in the 18th century, dialectal zones were already identified in the Tatar language; 4) the 1791 period Cyrillic-script dictionary differs in innovations from modern Tatar language and Latin-script dictionaries; 5) Latin-script dictionaries are closer to the modern Tatar literary language.

Бактериолог и ректор Императорского Казанского университета Н.М.Любимов в воспоминаниях друзей и коллег

Nikolay Matveyevich Lyubimov is a well-known scientist, teacher, public figure, doctor. He took an active part in the development of medicine (in particular, bacteriology) in the Kazan province. He served as rector of the Imperial Kazan University. The article presents previously little-known facts about the childhood, youth and other periods of N.M.Lyubimov’s life, told by childhood friends, colleagues and students at a solemn meeting on the occasion of his death.

Ранее неопубликованные планы Болгарского городища XVIII–XIX веков

Research objectives: To analyze two previously overlooked plans of the village of Bolgary in the Spassky district of the Kazan province of the 19th century (copies of plans originally from the 18th century). Descriptions with explanations of the plans are given, visual information from cartographic sources is analyzed, and new details related to the history of the Bulgarian saltpeter plant of the second half of the 18th century are revealed. Research materials: Two cartographic sources of the 19th century from the funds of the State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan, several published cartographic sources of different eras, a comparative analysis of maps and plans. Results and novelty of the research: An analysis of the information in the cartographic sources presented here supports the argument that these plans of the village of Bolgary were drawn up with the aim of dividing the lands of the peasant community of the village of Bolgary. All the currently known plans of the 19th–20th centuries pursued more historical and architectural goals for the purpose of studying the Bulgarian settlement and its monuments. In the foreground, the stone buildings inside the Bulgarian settlement, with the exception of the Large Minaret, the structure between it, and, the Assumption Church (Cathedral Mosque), are localized in nine buildings or their remains. Three more buildings are listed on the territory of a small town, but the most interesting elements are four stone buildings that are drawn outside the ramparts of the settlement, in the southeast. The second plan reveals for the first time that the Bulgarian Saltpeter Plant was run by the artillery team of the Kazan Military Department. The buildings of the Bulgarian Saltpeter Plant occupied an area of one tithe of 636 fathoms or 1.38 hectares. Also in the background, there are ten more “stone ruins”, although some of them are possibly mills.

SOLDIERS’ UNREST DURING MOBILIZATION IN THE TERRITORY OF TATARSTAN DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR (by the documents of the State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan)

The purpose of the publication is to restore the event and the ethno-psychological aspects of mobilization of 1914 in Kazan province within the territories that are currently administratively make part of the Republic of Tatarstan. The novelty of the work consists in studying the issue of soldiers’ unrest and illegal actions of other social strata of Kazan governorate during soldiers’ conscription in July 1914. Unpublished archival sources of the State Archive of the Republic of Tatarstan were the basis for studying the aspects of the issue of coordinating the actions of power and municipal state structures in the person of municipal government and local military leadership with various ethnic and social groups of the local population during conscription at the beginning of the First World War. The destructive component of soldiers’ unrest and riots is considered in the context of social conflict theory developed by the political analyst T. Skochpol and the concept of functional intra-ethnic conflict created by the cultural studies scholar, sociologist and ethnologist S.V. Lurie. The issues of the dynamics in the expression of deviant behavior of conscripted servicemen in Kazan, Laishevsky, Spassky and Chistopol uyezds of Kazan governorate are elucidated. Attention is paid to the social, ethnic, psychological and religious motives of the lower ranks’ riots in the region. Such an important aspect of the problem as the causes of unfavorable mobilization course within the borders of the governorate at the beginning of the war is studied. The article identifies and touches upon the issue of the main forms of social aggression in the soldier masses, the trigger of which was introduction of the “prohibition law”.

TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE LANGUAGE OF COMMUNICATION AND SCIENCE IN THE PROFESSIONAL SPACE OF THE UNIVERSITY INTELLIGENTSIA OF THE EARLY SOVIET PERIOD

The article studies the problems of the transformation of the language practices of the university intelligentsia of the Kazan province / Tatar ASSR in the 1920s-1930s. The forms and practices of changing the communicative space of the university intelligentsia of the early Soviet period are considered. A number of fundamental questions have been raised about the effectiveness and consequences of the policy of the Soviet government in the field of socio-cultural transformations. Since the study of language practices is based on a phenomenological idea of socio-cultural transformations, and on the analysis of a number of archival documents, the article presents a number of communicative practices of the intelligentsia itself, as well as forms of change in the language professional space by the authorities. The paper concludes that the scientific intelligentsia, under the pressure of external circumstances, was forced to take an active part in the formation of a new language and change itself.

REVIVAL OF THE NEWSPAPER “KHYPAR” AFTER THE FEBRUARY REVOLUTION OF 1917

The article discusses the prerequisites for the recommencement of publishing the Chuvash newspaper “Khypar”. The events after the February Revolution of 1917 are accompanied by the beginning of unifying the forces of the Chuvash intelligentsia. The leading role in this process was played by a privat-docent at Kazan University, N.V. Nikolsky – the founder of the first Chuvash newspaper “Khypar”. The aspirations of the Chuvash intelligentsia to revive the national periodicals were implemented only after the February Revolution of 1917. The founder of “Khypar” was the Society of Indigenous Ethnic groups of the Volga region, created by the founder, publisher and the first editor of the newspaper N.V. Nikolsky and his like-minded people who represented the peoples of the Volga region and the Urals. The editorial active core again involved the socialist revolutionaries. Material and financial support for the periodical was provided by hundreds and hundreds of homelanders, as well as by Kazan provincial and uyezd zemstvos. “Khypar”, published in the period from 1917 to 1918, quite matches the characteristics of a democratic newspaper, since it adhered to various points of view and it was financed with people’s money. Until its closure by the left Socialists in February 1918, the newspaper was the ideological and informational mouthpiece of the Chuvash national movement. Its pages covered in detail the work of the All-Chuvash congresses and other socially significant events. The activity of N.V. Nikolsky in the zemstvo government gave new impulses to the development of the revived newspaper and the national movement of the Chuvash. Attention was also paid to the work of the Society (Union) of Indigenous Ethnic groups of the Volga region. Public activity of N.V. Nikolsky, inspired by the ideas of the revolution, was reflected in his work as the head of the zemstvo government of the multinational province, where there were regions that occupied a significant place in the world civilization. Until July 20, 1918 N.V. Nikolsky was the head of Kazan province and had broad powers.