Russian Province Research Articles

‘Biography’ by Ibrahim Makhmudov: a Soviet Party Leader Views on a Rural Muslim Community of the Early 20th Century

The author analyzes the memoirs of Ibrahim Makhmudovich Makhmudov (1893-1970), an Astrakhan Yurt Tatar, one of the active builders of the Soviet system in the Tatar villages of the Astrakhan region. Shortly before his death, in 1969, I.M. Makhmudov completed a handwritten version of his memoirs, in which he reflected aspects of the daily life of the Muslim community of the Yurt-Tatar village of Zatsarevo in 1900-14. Based on the personal observations, Makhmudov compiled memories of the last decade and a half of the quiet life of the Tatar-Muslim community of a provincial Russian town before the turbulent events of wars and revolutions that ended with the establishment of Soviet power. The author of the memoirs, as an eyewitness and bearer of cultural tradition, comprehensively and deeply, sometimes scrupulously, covers the events of the early 20th century in a closed Muslim community - the mahalla. However, his assessments to these events and lifestyle area also assessments of a Soviet party leader, who both was an atheist and a person with a huge life experience in the struggle for the ideals of Soviet power as well as a convinced supporter.

The Contribution of Merchants to the Formation of the System of Female Education in the Russian Province (based on the Materials of Vologda Province in the Second Third of the 19th century)

The Contribution of Merchants to the Formation of the System of Female Education in the Russian Province (based on the Materials of Vologda Province in the Second Third of the 19th century)

Министр м.и. хилков в истории российской провинции рубежа XIX-XX веков: по материалам Вятской губернии

The paper examines the biographical aspects and official activities of the Minister of Railways of Russia Mikhail Ivanovich Khilkov (1834-1909). Being a representative of a well-known princely family and having completed military service, he became an active figure in the era of the great reforms of Alexander II - participated in the peasant reform in the Tver Province. Later, he gained experience in railway construction and work in America and Europe, served in the Anglo-American company for the construction of the Transatlantic Railway. After returning to Russia, he held high state positions, was involved in railway construction and finally appointed Minister of Railways in April 1895. In the paper, special attention is paid to the construction of the Perm-Kotlas railway through the Vyatka Province, the arrival of M.I. Khilkov in the Vyatka Province in June 1898. The author concludes that the railway construction associated with the activities of Minister Khilkov was a landmark event in the economic transformations of the Russian Provinces.

Первые женщины-врачи на службе Саратовского земства (конец XIX – начало XX в.)

Introduction. The gender aspects of modern medicine determine the research interest in the activities of the first female doctors in Russia. In contrast to private practice, the work of doctors in the zemstvo played an important social role. Therefore, the object of this study is the activities of the first female doctors in the service of the Saratov zemstvo. Methods and materials. The source base of the study was the materials of the zemstvo periodicals and office-work documentation (journals of zemstvo meetings, reports of councils, protocols of medical congresses). The historical-systemic method made it possible to consider the professional activities of the first female doctors of the Saratov zemstvo in the context of the formation of the system of women’s medical education in the Russian Empire. With the help of the historical-comparative method, the general features of the professional activity of V.I. Bukhovtseva, A.I. Sukhodeeva, and E.A. Kharizomenova were defined. Analysis and results. The authors established the first female doctors appeared in the service of the Saratov zemstvo at the turn of the 1880–1890s. The entry of women into the zemstvo service was hampered by restrictions on the independent medical practice, the termination of medical courses in 1887, and hard working conditions in the Russian provinces. However, the activities of V.I. Bukhovtseva, A.I. Sukhodeeva and E.A. Kharizomenova at the Saratov zemstvo demonstrated the organizational and research abilities of the first female doctors, their awareness of the medical and social problems of the Russian hinterland, and active participation in sanitary and educational work. Restoration and development of higher medical education for women at the turn of the 1890–1900s became the main factor in the increase in the number of female doctors in the zemstvo service, the expansion of their professional competencies, and the increased role in the development of the health care system. Authors’ contributions. The study of zemstvo office documentation and periodicals containing information about the activities of the first female doctors in the Saratov province was carried out by Candidate of Historical Sciences, associate professor O.S. Kitsenko. Information about the number and place of service of female doctors in the Russian medical lists of 1883–1916 analyzed by the Candidate of Philosophical Sciences, associate professor R.N. Kitsenko.

Institutionalisation of social risks of digitalisation of the educational space of universities in the provincial cities of Russia

The article analyses the problem of institutionalisation of social risks of digitalisation of the educational space of universities in the Russian provinces. The risk- generating nature of digitalisation is emphasised, the conclusion about risk as digitalisation systemic element, that includes not only threats, but also significant opportunities for development, is substantiated. The task of managing risk genesis is formulated, the neces sary condition of which is the institutionalisation of risks. The institutionalisation of social risks of digitalisation of the educational space of universities in the provincial cit ies of Russia is interpreted as a system of actions of actors in the educational space taken to prevent undesirable consequences of the risks of digitisation and digitalisation and to use their creative potential, including the establishment of corporate norms and behavioural standards, the definition of structures that ensure their implementation in risk situations. Three main tasks of institutionalisation are considered: definition of norms and rules of risk management; formation of institutions implementing it; development and implementation of corporate standards of behaviour in risk situations.

Social inequalities in famine mortality in the manorial system of the tsarist Russian province of Livland in the mid‐1840s

AbstractBy relying on longitudinal data on two rural parishes in the Russian Baltic province of Livland, the article analyses two questions concerning famine's short‐run effects on mortality in a manorial system: (1) whether there is evidence of a social gradient in mortality during the famine of 1844–6 and (2) whether the manors could protect the peasants against the hardships. The analysis reveals that neither the status of a farmer peasant nor the landlord saved the local inhabitants from an increased risk of dying during the famine of 1844–6. The conventional assumptions about the protective effect of the higher socio‐economic status or type of manor against subsistence crisis found very little support in the study.

In the Shadow of the Eastern Neighbour. Finland in the Security Policy of Russia and the Soviet Union from Peter the Great to Contemporary Times

Throughout its history, Finland’s relations with Russia have generally been determined by Russian attempts to secure control over the eastern part of the Baltic Sea region. In medieval times, it was mainly about the control of trade routes, especially between Novgorod, and Western Europe and Byzantium. After the founding of the new city of St. Petersburg by Peter the Great in 1703, the rulers of Russia were faced with the problem of ensuring security to that city. From a Russian point of view, it became vitally important to gain control over lands on the eastern side of the Baltic Sea. When Finland became a Russian province in 1809, it seemed that the Baltic security dilemmas of Russia had fi nally been resolved. However, the collapse of Tsarist Russia in 1917 changed that particular situation. Finland became independent, and Russia’s border moved east to the outskirts of St. Petersburg (renamed Petrograd during World War I). For the leaders of the Soviet Union, which had replaced the Romanov Empire, World War II provided an opportunity to try to regain lost Finnish territories. Although the Red Army did not manage to conquer Finland, during two wars (occurring between 1939–1940 and 1941–1944), the post war settlement saw the Soviet-Finnish border shift back westwards. Finland also had to reckon with the requirements of the USSR’s security policy and make it a priority of its own foreign policyAfter the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Finland modified its policy of neutrality and adopted a doctrine of non-alignment that has remained in place to this day. However, the increase of tensions in international relations in recent years, due to Russia’s aggressive foreign policy threatening its neighbours, has forced Finnish statesmen to rethink their country’s security policy. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Finland, together with Sweden, decided to apply for NATO membership. The ratification procedure is ongoing. The aim of this paper is to analyse, in a longer historical perspective, what Finland’s place was as regards the Russian and Soviet security policy, from Peter the Great to our times. The methodological approach refl ects the chronology of events which have occurred in the eastern part of the Baltic Sea region in the last 300 years. They are described to provide readers with necessary facts, and create the background for conclusions on the reasons for the Russian/Soviet policy towards Finland and, in a broader sense, the northern coasts of the Gulf of Finland.

Legal Basis for the Functioning of Confessional Schools of Muslims in the Middle Volga Region in the Post-Reform Period

The article analyzes the legal foundations of state policy in relation to confessional schools of Muslims in the inner provinces of Russia in the second half of the 19th early 20th centuries. In accordance with this, the goals and essence of such fundamental documents as the Rules “On measures for the education of foreigners inhabiting Russia”, “Rules on the establishment of an educational qualification for clergy of the Mohammedan confession in the district of the Orenburg Spiritual Assembly” are considered in detail. Attention is paid to the attempts and features of establishing control by state bodies over the mektebe and madrasah. The mechanisms of their implementation and the attitude of the Muslim population towards them are shown.

The Musical Culture of the Russian Province in the Mirror of Prerevolutionary Periodicals

From the positions of systemic analysis, the author of the article determines the role of periodical press as an important source of research of the musical culture of the prerevolutionary Russian province. Against the background of the development of humanitarian knowledge, the studies of the musical provinces actualize the issue of the base of its scholarly field related to source studies. Particularly periodical press contains the basic information about the musical life of the prerevolutionary period of Russian history in all of its diversity. The periodical publications — from the capital cities and the periphery, the general and the specialized varieties — are specified on the basis of an elaborated classification. Emphasis is given to various printed material, different in its indication of genre, devoted to musical life in various cities of the Russian Empire — analytic sketches, survey correspondence, articles on music history, and informational-advertising production. The question is broached of the genre-related and stylistic transformation of musical journalism from descriptive overviews to articles of a problem-based culturological character. The participation of the activists of musical culture from a number of Russian cities in the formation of the areal tradition of musical criticism, the intensification of artistic connections between the provinces and the two Russian capital cities, the evolution of musical life in different cities (for example, in Odessa, Tiflis, Kharkov, etc.) — all of these are disclosed in the article. The musical periodical press of various provincial regions of Russia, represented by materials that are diverse in their genre and territorial affiliation, which has undergone a significant transformation of its content during the course of the entire 19th and the early 20th century, has made a significant contribution to the formation and the development of Russian music criticism and Russian musical culture in general.

ПРОСЛАВЛЕНИЕ ИВЕРСКОЙ ИКОНЫ БОЖИЕЙ МАТЕРИ В АРХИТЕКТУРЕ (НА МАТЕРИАЛАХ ОРЛОВСКОЙ ГУБEРНИИ)

The purpose of the article is to consider the features of the glorification of the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God in the architecture of the period of the Grand Ducal Couple Sergei Alexandrovich Romanov and Elizaveta Feodorovna Romanova. The article describes the history of two architec-tural projects to glorify the Moscow shrine – the Iveron Icon of the Mother of God, embodied with the partici-pation of the Moscow Governor-General, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna, as well as representatives from their entourage. The significant contribution of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich to the development of the "Russian style" in architecture is mentioned, and individual architects and engineers – to its popularization in the Russian province. The decisive role of the Moscow Governor-General, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, in the creative fate of some architects and engineers is traced. The methodology of studying this topic includes a number of stages and approaches, which may vary depending on the specific task in the study. As a result, the author concludes that the spread of the "Russian style" in the regions of Russia was due to the state patronage and the highest support of this architectural direction.

«Жил в Москве я, столице мира…»: Москва в поэтической географии Александра Галича

The author considers a lengthy program of research (that will be continued in a series of articles) on the artistic geography (geopoetics) of Alexander Galich, one of the brightest representatives of the author’s (bard’s) song of the 1960s—1970s. The construction of Galich poetic world actualizes the opposition of the center / periphery, while Moscow (or another capital replacing it) acts as the frequency expression of the structural center, and the periphery can be represented as a) the Russian province, b) a place of memory, c) the space of otherness. This article is devoted to the description of Moscow as a component of this poetic system, the establishment of a circle of motives associated with Moscow, and their role in the Galich plot building. According to the conclusions, the capital in the artistic world of the poet, as a rule, has a negative connotation. In the poetic subsystem of Moscow, the motives of departure and arrival are emphasized, and the metropolitan space is primarily associated with the departure (exile) of the hero, and arrival or static stay in Moscow is morally devalued as the lot of a layman, a loser or a careerist. At the same time, Moscow is presented as the native, “home” space of the hero. Such a paradoxical negative assessment is associated with the idea of the world shattered as a result of historical catastrophes.

«Денежные воры» в России: об истории развития фальшивомонетничества в Курской губернии во второй половине XIX – начале XX века. По архивным материалам

The study and analysis of archival documents allows the authors to conclude that in the Kursk gubernia of the second half of the 19th – early 20th century there acted solitary criminals, producing and distributing counterfeit money independently, as well as criminal groups. Source base of the study is materials of the State Archive of the Kursk Region and those of the State Archive of the Russian Federation. The following methods have been used in the research: chronological, comparative-legal, method of synthesis, analysis and systematization. The study is to determine the specifics of the development of counterfeiting in the Kursk gubernia in the second half of the 19th - early 20th century. The novelty of the study is due to introduction of previously unused archival materials and use of comprehensive approach. The first counterfeiters appeared in the Russian state simultaneously with single monetary system formation. As this socially dangerous phenomenon developed, a mechanism was created to counteract the counterfeiting trade. It included legal and organizational measures. In the Council Code (Sobornoye Ulozheniye) of 1649 there was a chapter devoted entirely to protection of coins from forgery. Counterfeiting in Russia gained momentum in the second half of the 19th – early 20th century in the heyday of professional crime, when a tight-knit and well-consolidated “caste” of professional criminals was formed, including criminal community of professional counterfeiters. In the Code of Criminal and Correctional Punishments of 1845, forgery of a “exterior minted” coin was cited, tools and methods of counterfeiting banknotes were detailed. The Criminal Code of 1903 prohibited manufacture and sale of counterfeit money on professional basis (as a livelihood). Legal measures against counterfeiting were supplemented by organizational ones, such as creation of the Special Archive of Certificates on Cases of Manufacture and Sale of Counterfeit Money at the St. Petersburg District Court, and by educational work among the population on ways to recognize genuine money. However, counterfeiting was developing not only in major cities of the empire, but also in the Russian provinces, as numerous archival data proves. Counterfeit banknotes, as a rule, were passed off in urban areas (for example, in Oboyan, Kursk), which allowed criminals to evade criminal prosecution for a long time. Both paper money and coins were subject to falsification. They were produced by drawing, printing, coinage copying, casting, changing the ratio of precious and base metals in coin alloy. Special devices were often used to manufacture counterfeit money. However, the counterfeiters were not professionals of their craft, and thus counterfeit money were easily detected and recognized by law enforcement officers and population.

Lecturers of readings for the people in the Russian provinces at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries: a psychological and axiological portrait (on the example of materials from the Tula province)

Lecturers of readings for the people in the Russian provinces at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries: a psychological and axiological portrait (on the example of materials from the Tula province)

Как железнодорожное сообщение во второй половине XIX – начале XX века помогало распространять революционерам антиправительственную литературу (на примере Курской губернии)

Importance. In the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries, an unstable internal political situation was observed in Russia. The activation of the oppositional political forces was facilitated by unresolved topical problems for society (for example, the peasant and workers’ question). The «awakening» of the population was facilitated by agitation and propaganda activities organized by left-wing political parties, such as the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party and the Socialist Revolutionaries. At the same time, the spread of anti-government literature across the country was, as a rule, by rail. The study of the experience of agitation and propaganda work (on the example of a typical Russian province) will not only enrich the historical sphere of scientific knowledge, but also assess the effectiveness of the implemented mechanisms for the dissemination of revolutionary literature in the historical conditions. This is the purpose of this study. Materials and methods. In the process of working on the topic, the following methods of scientific cognition were used: analysis, synthesis, generalization, chronological and comparative-historical methods. Results and Discussion. It is determined that oppositional political parties used railway lines as an effective «means» of delivering revolutionary literature to provincial regions. Conclusion. However, such propaganda and agitation activities did not always lead to the desired result, and the local population was wary of the discovered «finds» in the form of revolutionary leaflets, appeals, proclamations, pamphlets, etc.

Ethno-cultural Traditions of the Descendants of Ukrainian Settlers in the South of the Far East of Russia: A Review of the Ethnolinguistic Expedition

This article explores the results of the research on preservation of ethnocultural traditions among the descendants of Ukrainian settlers in Primorye, based on ethnolinguistic expedition conducted in June, 2023. The expedition was carried out jointly with a senior researcher at the Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dr. G.P. Pilipenko. The route of the expedition included the rural settlements of the Pri-morsky Territory: Rettihovka, Chernigovsky district, and Khorol, Khorolsky district. The choice of the surveyed territories was due to the fact that here in the late XIX ―early XX century compact settlements of immigrants from the Russian provinces of the Russian empire were formed. The predominance of the Ukrainian population in the surveyed areas, located in the fertile steppe zones of the Khanka lowland, similar in landscape to the places where the settlers came from, contributed to the formation of loci of traditional culture, which showed a high degree of stability in the process of adaptation to new environmental, climatic and socio-economic conditions. The purpose of the field study was to collect information on the material and spiritual culture of Ukrainian settlers and their descendants in Primorye territory, to fix the degree of preservation and variability of the original traditions among representatives of different generations in the conditions of the adaptation processes. During the expedition, the ethnographic collections of Khorol local museum of history were observed. On the basis of the data obtained, elements of ethno-cultural traditions were identified in terms of family and calendar rituals, folklore, narratives about the first settlers in Primorye. Recollections of household culture, holidays, children’s games were recorded, and peculiarities of dialect were noted.

СТАНОВЛЕНИЕ И РАЗВИТИЕ РЕКЛАМЫ В РОССИЙСКОЙ ПРОВИНЦИИ В ПОСЛЕДНЕЙ ЧЕТВЕРТИ XIX ВЕКА (ПО МАТЕРИАЛАМ ГАЗЕТЫ «ЕКАТЕРИНБУРГСКАЯ НЕДЕЛЯ»)

The article deals with the formation and development of newspaper advertising in the Perm province in the last quarter of the 19th century. The advertisements placed in the first private newspaper of the region called “Yekaterinburgskaya Nedelya” (“Ekaterinburg Week”, 1879–1896) are analyzed. The main functions of advertising, its content, features and significance are shown. Newspaper advertising, which makes it possible to present the maximum amount of various information in the minimum number of text units, was a kind of “cut” of the daily life of a provincial society. Advertising products demonstrate the relations between material and spiritual needs, range of interests, leisure and work activities of the inhabitants of the Russian provinces. A significant place in the newspaper was given to private announcements that did not have a pronounced nature of advertising, but were such in essence. They were called upon to help the population of the province in solving a number of everyday problems. Newspaper advertising successfully fulfilled its main task – it stimulated the sale of goods, sales growth, thereby activating the development of market relations in the region. This testified to the natural process of commercialization of the press, including the provincial one. A certain imprint on the advertising products of the first private newspaper of the Perm province was imposed by the mining specificity of the region. Being a barometer of the social life of the region, “Ekaterinburg Week” reflected on its pages the changes that took place in the process of the formation of the advertising business in the Russian Empire in the last quarter of the 19th century.

Spatial modelling of soil humus content using the drone-based measurements

The aim of the study was to assess the potential of spatial modeling of soil humus content through measurements with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), using digital relief model combined with geostatistical and regression methods. Location and time of the study. The study area was in the Middle Urals (Perm municipal district of the Perm region) in the southern taiga zone of the Central Russian province. The key area of the surveyed territory is located on the educational and scientific experimental field of the Perm State Agro-Technological University (56°34-37'N and 57°92-93'E). Soil samples were taken with a drill from a depth of 0–20 cm in May 2023. Methods. The survey data was obtained using the drone DJI mini 2 UAVS from a height of 50 m. The orthophotoplan and digital elevation model of the key site were made using the Drone Deploy software. The object of research was the soil cover of the site, represented by sod-podzolic soils. The soil humus content was determined using potassium digestion method. The UAV data processing was performed using the QGIS 3.22 system and SAGA 9 software. Spatial modeling was carried out using the geostatistical method “Ordinary Kriging” employing the Geostatistical Analyst tool of the ArcGIS 10.8 geographic information system. Results. Humus content in in the 0-20 cm soil layer varied from 0.9 to 3.0%, following normal distribution, thus allowing using the normal labels method without data transformation. The U-shape indicated a strong trend direction from north to south and from west to east. The correlation analysis showed the association of humus content with the morphometric parameters, the correlation coefficient ranging from -0.48 to 0.75. A regression equation was constructed for predicting soil humus content by using the parameters with the maximal correlation coefficients such as height (ELEV), distance to watercourses (Channel Network Distance) and relative position of the slopes (Relative Slope Position), having the correlation coefficients of 0.75, 0.75 and 0.66, respectively. This equation was found to model spatial humus with a relative divergence from Kriging interpolation of -0.6…-1.1%. Conclusions. The use of highly detailed UAV images to establish the influence of geomorphological conditions on soil properties allows not only to determine their spatial distribution, establish relationships with surface elevations, distance to watercourses, but also to simulate property changes in properties due to anthropogenic intervention, which, among other things, can enhance water erosion.

THE FOUNDATIONS OF CLASS CORPORATIONS AS A SOURCE FOR THE STUDY OF THE PROVINCIAL SOCIETY OF RUSSIA OF THE XVIII AND 19TH CENTURIES. (ON THE MATERIALS OF THE STATE ARCHIVE OF THE SMOLENSK REGION)

The article provides information on materials reflecting the history of estate corporations of the Russian province of the 17th and 19th centuries. on the example of the Smolensk region, contained in archives. Information on the archives of both the central (RGADA, WGIA) and regional (GEO) archives is characterized. There is a fragmentation and insufficient information on the estates of Smolensk, contained in archival documents.

Formation of the Cultural Identity of the Russian Province Territory (On the Example of the City of Murom)

Formation of the Cultural Identity of the Russian Province Territory (On the Example of the City of Murom)

Institutions and Agricultural Change after the Serf Emancipation in the Tsarist Russian Provinces of Estland and Livland

Institutions and Agricultural Change after the Serf Emancipation in the Tsarist Russian Provinces of Estland and Livland