CC BY
61Date of publication: February 5, 2019 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.2542502
Historical Sciences
THE NOBILITY OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN THE XIX CENTURY:
RIGHTS AND DUTIES
A
Shkarubo, Sergey Nikolaevich1
Candidate of Philosophy, Associate Professor Moscow Aviation Institute, (National Research University), Volokolamskoe shosse, 4 Moscow, Russia, E-mail: serge_philosof@mail.ru
Abstract:
In article discusses the historical processes of the status of the nobility in Russia in the XIX century. It is shown that it was the nobility that was one of the socially significant groups of the pre-revolutionary society. Despite the fact that hereditary noblemen made up an insignificant share of the total population of Russia, they played an important and sometimes decisive role in state and public life. Particular attention is paid to the life of the nobility, their traditions, which were characteristic of Russian society in the second half of the XIX century.
For the international community, the article is of interest in the light of local historical studies, which indicate the main directions of the historical paradigms of the Russian nobility. The study of the status of the nobility in Russia will make it possible to more deeply and thoroughly explore the processes taking place with this social group in the 19th century in the context of the beginning transition from traditional (agrarian) to modern (industrial) society.
Keywords: state, estate, education, aristocracy, church.
I. INTRODUCTION
The relevance of the study is determined by the social, economic and political role of the nobility in the life of the Russian Empire. The nobility was a socio-political, to a certain extent, economic stronghold of the Russian statehood. The provincial nobility also performed additional functions as successors to the central government. The nobility was the only class who had the right to discuss the most important issues of the socio-economic life of the provinces and districts. Without the provincial nobility, it is impossible to imagine the activity of the entire state mechanism. In addition, the nobility was one of the educated classes. The nobility created and was the bearer of the so-called "provincial noble culture", an integral part of Russian culture as a whole.
Scientific interest in various aspects of the history of the nobility is dictated by the need to study the past, understand and understand the present. The research topic is topical because the nobility, by virtue of its estate position, mainly from its ranks, formed the elite, the best, most educated, prepared and directing force of the Russian pre-revolutionary society, ensuring the sustainable development of society. Therefore, it is necessary to take into account the evolution of the nobility, the tendency of its degradation, since this allows us to understand what caused the collapse of the Russian Empire during the 1917 revolution.
II. METHODOLOGY
The methodological basis of the work is the general scientific principles of research - historicism, objectivity and a systematic approach, which made it possible to study past events from the point of view of their scientific value, to identify common features and specific patterns of the nobility in the cities of the Russian province.
The author used special methods: comparative historical, structural-functional, statistical, problem-chronological, geniological, method of retrospective analysis, historical description, etc. The experience of the historical past is analyzed from the standpoint of objectivity, the relationship of events and phenomena, as well as their ongoing development in a specific historical setting.
III. DISCUSSION
Researchers studying the history of the nobility turned their attention to the internal and social status of the nobility in Russia. However, their opinions differed significantly. So, L.M. Savelov in his work "The nobility in its internal and social significance" spoke about the weakening of the political role of the nobility in autocratic Russia and explained it with the following reasons: first, the reforms carried out in the 19th century undermined the status of the nobility; secondly, the nobility was not ready to fight the revolutionaries; thirdly, the noble class did not find moral support in the government; fourthly, the nobility was divided into provincial societies, was not united and could not implement their ideas in the state. He stressed that only the nobility can lead the country out of the political crisis. The historian proposed concrete measures to strengthen the noble position. In particular, to legally strengthen the importance of cohesive noble societies, of noble dignity, to give preference to the special services of the emperor, to exclude unworthy people from the nobility, to eliminate the class of personal nobles, etc.
V.V. Yarmonkin considered it necessary to strengthen the influence of the nobility "in the state, public and personal life." He raised an acute question about the nature of their economic and political activities. He said that a nobleman without public service or without land and without means of subsistence loses meaning. The author emphasizes that a nobleman must necessarily be a landowner. V.V. Yarmonkin proposed specific measures to strengthen noble land tenure. In his opinion, it is necessary to create a daily literary and political newspaper devoted to land use, hold agricultural congresses of landowners and leaders of all nobles, and improve the activity of the State Noble Land Bank.
Many works were devoted to the influence of bourgeois reforms of the second half of the XIX century on the fate of the "nobility". Historians have differently evaluated these reforms. So, A. Pazukhin in his work "The current state of Russia and the class question" wrote: The whole domestic policy of Russia contr ibuted to reducing the authority of the nobility among other segments of the population. He saw a way out of this situation in the revival of the preemptive rights of the nobility, which again should be the basis of tsarism.
In the post-October period, historians, in their writings, mainly described landlord and peasant land tenure and agriculture.
The works of A. B. Shestakova contained observations about the death of small landowners-nobles. At the same time, he advanced the thesis of the progressiveness and sustainability of large-scale land use; In
his opinion, this became the basis for the creation of a large socialist economy in the form of state farms and communes. He argued that with the development of capitalism in the countryside, the power of feudal oppression weakened. Soviet historiography of the 1920s and 1950s focused on analyzing the class struggle. So, A. B. Shestakov, I. Vermenichev, S. M. Dubrovsky in his writings showed the goals and nature of the participation of the peasantry in the revolution, the struggle of the peasants for the elimination of landlordism. Researcher O.N. Chaadaeva first turned to the study of the nobility as a class opponent of the peasantry. Taking into account the activities of the Union of Landowners in 1917 and the agrarian policy of the Provisional Government, O. N. Chaadaeva concluded "the inability of the nobility to solve the agrarian question, in her opinion, only the socialist revolution carried out a fair and complete solution to the pressing issue in favor of the working peasantry".
Monograph A.P. Korelina "The nobility in post-reform Russia" is the first general study of the history of the Russian nobility in Soviet historiography. Based on statistical data, the author studied the socio-political and economic situation of the nobility, the activities of the corporate organization. The historian singled out the evolution of the socio-economic and political status of the nobility, the differentiation of the estate, its role and place in the system of Russian absolutism, the attitude of tsarism towards the ruling class. A.P. Korelin addressed issues relating to land tenure and land tenure of landowners, the participation of the nobility in the zemstvos and the socio-political movement.
Thus, the conducted historiographic analysis of the problem of interaction between noblemen and urban society in provincial Russia shows a weak degree of its scientific elaboration, the absence of a comprehensive study of the nobility in the cities of the Russian province.
IV. RESULTS
A study of the problem in the 19th century showed that, despite the beginning of capitalist reforms in the country and the democratization of all spheres of life, the provincial nobility continued to maintain a dominant position in state bodies at both the provincial and district levels. Nobles considered the main social activity for themselves to serve in government bodies, local governments, engaged in educational and charitable activities.
The nobles of the county cities did little business, giving this palm to the traditionally developed merchants. A rather large noble class suffered from disastrous, one might say impoverishment, to such an extent that these representatives of the upper class could not even get an education due to high tuition fees. There was only one thing left for them: hard physical labor to earn a living. Representatives of the upper class actively began to master the general, mass professions of teachers, doctors and lawyers.
In the early 1860s. nobility in government was relatively high. If the share of nobles in the total population of the region ranged from 1 to 1.5%, then in state bodies this percentage reached almost 70%. The ratio of these indicators suggests that on the eve and with the abolition of serfdom, the nobility constituted the social basis of the bureaucracy. Selective analysis of official service records of officials indicates that the hereditary nobility in the total number of officials was 50-55%, personal nobles 15-20%. In the course of the reforms, the qualitative composition of the bureaucracy began to change markedly, and the tendency of a general reduction in the representatives of the highest class among state employees began to appear. The percentage of hereditary nobles was reduced to 38-40%. Nevertheless, it was largely filled with personal noblemen, that is, immigrants, primarily from among priests, officials, and other categories of the population who, thanks to their faithful service to the state, were able to achieve discharges, which implies receiving personal, life-long nobility. Personal nobles, according to our calculations, accounted for about 20% of all workers. The general decline in the share of the nobility occurred, in our opinion, due to the fact that the upper class could no longer equip the entire dynamically growing administrative apparatus of the provincial and district levels with nobles. The main requirement for a candidate to fill a vacancy in a public servant is the availability of appropriate (at least at the county school level) education. Due to social
stratification, the number of noblemen who, for material reasons, could not receive sufficient education, increased as a result of a reduction in the proportion of people from the upper class in the public service.
Following the abolition of serfdom in 1864, Zemstvo reform followed, entailing a further change in the estate-right status of the nobility. The upper class lost the monopoly on the formation of local government. However, the nobility could not accept this disadvantage.
Having made all efforts and using the preserved authoritative legislative privileges, the nobility was able to subjugate the work of the district authorities. Thus, throughout the entire post-reform period, the composition of the main executive body of the Zemstvos — provincial governments of the Zemstvo was overwhelmingly noble. It was possible to keep the nobles leading positions at the county level. Thus, the posts of the chairmen of district zemstvo governments were mainly occupied by noblemen, fulfilling the government's instructions for the unconditional leadership of the upper class by local governments at all levels. This cannot be said fully about the composition of the boards of county local governments. If in 1871 the share of noblemen in the composition of county governments, including their chairmen, was 86.4%, then already in 1894 this share fell to 71.4%, and there were no purely noble Zemsky councils. This clearly confirms the trend towards the democratization of local government in the context of bourgeois social reform. Realizing that no one can better represent their interests in self-government bodies, except for their own representatives, all segments of the local population began to actively use their legitimate right to elect their representatives as members of district councils.
Analyzing the activities of local governments, it is necessary to note their significant role in the development of economic infrastructure, the construction of railways, as well as institutions of public education, medicine, selection and placement of personnel of teachers and medical workers in them. Service teacher or doctor had the status of the state. This applies especially to employees in the field of education. A detachment of teachers was the largest detachment of the intelligentsia. For good service in the field of science, as in any public service, were given ranks and orders. This profession was quite prestigious. Analyzing the state and development of education in Russia, it becomes clear that the percentage of noblemen among teachers of gymnasiums was especially high, many noble teachers worked in county schools offering primary education. The number of secondary schools grew, resulting in an increase in the number of full-time teachers' positions in them, which were actively filled by nobles. Along the way, it should be noted that among the male teachers there were many personal nobles. This suggests that many people from non-noble estates (especially from the priests), becoming teachers, their impeccable service acquired their personal nobility.
Supervisors have manifested themselves in the education of women teachers of female gymnasiums and gymnasiums. Often, in female secondary schools, pedagogical teams were entirely composed of women, for example, in the cities of Novy Oskol, Grayvorone, Fatezh, Koroche. Women teachers for the service did not give ranks, they were attracted by the high thoughts of serving their people.
An analysis of the female composition of female secondary school teachers clearly shows that most of them came from hereditary nobles or families of officials, whose parents were personal nobles, the percentage of which was 52% of the number of working women.
The number of noblemen also increased in the county schools located in each county town. During the 19th century, the number of class officials above the ninth grade (titular adviser) increased noticeably in this type of educational institutions, which also indicates that noblemen took precedence in these higher elementary schools.
Noble economic activity was under the auspices of the state, which traditionally did not change throughout the period under study. The privileges provided by the state to the nobility for selling products of their own enterprises, the absence of competition in the bread market, led to the rooting of the habitat of the nobility-landowners for the majority of people, who do not care much about introducing various agrotechnical innovations that required large financial expenditures at the initial stage of introduction in their estates. This causes, in our opinion, the cautious attitude of the nobility to the development of industrial entrepreneurship and the change of the old agronomic technology, for example, three-field crop rotation, or more intensive fertilization of the soil.
Studying the social role of the nobility, it is necessary to emphasize the uniqueness of their activities not only in the management of the estate. Many noble societies, in particular the Middle Volga Region, took an active part in local self-government, were engaged in beautification of the provinces, such amazing ensembles of the estates of Princes Golitsyn, Aksakov, Ogarev, Orlov-Davydov became centers of provincial culture and education. The nobility in the XIX century in the presence of old economic traditions could not be compared with the upcoming new socio-political relations. This difference embarrassed the nobility during the peasant reform, and also forever defined the upper class as a conservative force.
V. CONCLUSION
The development of the nobility is inextricably linked with the development of the Russian state. The beginning of the nobility of the estate of self-government laid in 1875 the statutes of the nobility. According to the charter, the provinces received the right to create bodies of city self-government. The corporate organization of the nobility was finally established in 1831, when the Provisions on noble meetings and elections were adopted.
The nobility became the only group of the population of the Russian Empire, having the right to electoral institutions and the experience of democratic voting. 1875 can be considered the starting point of the formation of a civil society in Russia; It is not by chance that the principles of voting at noble meetings were borrowed in 1864 when creating zemstvos. In the longer term, the tradition of holding temporary congresses and the work of the permanent governing bodies elected at the congresses continued during the Soviet period.
In the course of the territorial reform of Alexander II, the self-government of the nobility was excluded from the system of local self-government. But the estate itself continued to play an important role in local self-government, as representatives of the nobility occupied leading posts in zemstvos.
The nobility has always been the support of the monarch in foreign and domestic policy. In their reports to the emperor, provincial meetings of the nobility emphasized loyalty to the throne and the special status of their estate, which, in their opinion, was an intermediary between the king and the people. Especially the support of the nobility became noticeable in the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries. with the advent of political terror and social change in the country: the murder of Alexander II, the first revolution, the dissolution of the emperor of the first and second State Dumas.
By the end of the 19th century, the nobility of Russia needed to create a body that could unite all the provincial noble societies of the country. The state allowed only informal meetings of provincial leaders. Later they turned into an organization uniting nobility, but it never became the political representation of the whole class.
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