Paradoxes of the Russian Empress Catherine the Great's Writings for Children

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-159
Author(s):  
Sara Pankenier Weld
Keyword(s):  
Fairy Tales ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Russian History ◽  
The Future ◽  
Enlightenment Project ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Ideological Context

An ‘enlightened despot’ who ruled the Russian empire as an absolute autocrat despite a tenuous claim to the throne, Catherine the Great embodied innumerable paradoxes during her long reign. This article examines the little-known fairy tales Catherine wrote for her grandsons to reveal the possible and impossible child she posits, envisions and instantiates through her writings for a young audience. Placing these works in a broader intellectual and historical context illuminates the paradoxes of the impossible infans she cultivates as part of an Enlightenment project and reveals how Catherine's writings for children (re)enact a kind of repossession of the child. Catherine's treatment of childhood within and without her texts reflects her ideological aims as a writer, ruler and matriarch. In addressing and attempting to instantiate an impossible child, whether an enlightened subject of her empire or an ideal absolute monarch of the future, Catherine reveals paradoxes that contrast with the reality of vulnerable young individuals in the historical record. These real children from the annals of Russian history offer an illuminating contrast for the impossibly idealised child protagonists constructed by Catherine's writings for children and shed light on the ideological context in which her treatment of childhood is embedded.

On the history of the title and surname inheritance of Counts Perovsky by Mikhail Mikhailovich Petrovo-Solovovo in 1907: legal norms and archival reconstruction of circumstances

2019 ◽  
pp. 250-259
Author(s):  
Kseniia Donik
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Transfer Process ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Local History ◽  
Historical Narrative ◽  
Legal Norms ◽  
New Information ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Russian Empire

We highlight unknown circumstances of the title and surname transfer of Counts Perovsky to M.M. Petrovo-Solovovo – a statesman, a representative of an ancient aristocratic family who owned an estate in the Kirsanovsky County of the Tambov Governorate on the basis of new archive sources that were not previously introduced into scientific circulation. In various local history interpretations, modern periodicals that somehow transmit a historical narrative about the last owner of the Karay-Saltykovsky estate, there is a wide variety of versions of how M.M. Petrovo-Solovovo became Count Perovsky (mainly the title inheritance from mother is men-tioned). The purpose of this study is a detailed reconstruction of the titled surname Perovsky transfer in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century. Methodologically the study is based on historiographic criticism of documents and analysis of legislation on noble surnames based on the data of genealogical studies of different years. We pay special attention to the historical context of the analyzed events. We prove that the transfer initiative came from M.M. Petrovo-Solovovo’s aunt – maid of honor of the Empress, Countess V.B. Perovskaya, who, having previously secured the permission of the emperor, was able to begin the formal transfer process, although under the law as a female person she did not have such rights. We introduce new information both in Russian genealogical historiography as a whole, and in the history of the Petrovo-Solovovo clan and Tambov’s local history in particular.

“Owners of a mutilated affair”: establishment of a support system for military invalids in the Russian Empire during the First World War

2020 ◽  
pp. 148-159
Author(s):  
Svetlana V. Bukalova ◽  
Pavel P. Shcherbinin
Keyword(s):  
Military Personnel ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
First World War ◽  
Russian History ◽  
World War ◽  
Working Ability ◽  
Public System ◽  
The First World War ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
First World

We describe emerged in the Russian Empire an organizational basis of support for the First World War invalids. The policy of charity for military invalids generated with the participation of official, public and charitable elements. We reveal the complex relationship between the main actors in this process – one of the “crown” charity committees (Special Commission of Grand Duchess Xenia Alexandrovna), the Central bodies of the County Union and the Union of Cities, and local self-government. Using archival materials, the main guidelines for creating a war-mutilated charity system are identified. We determine the leading approaches to the architecture of the state and public system of support to former military personnel who have lost their working ability. In addition, we discuss in details the topic of war-mutilated registration, which was sup-posed to be the first stage of building a national system of care for war invalids, but it was never carried out. We also focus on the financial aspects of supporting military invalids. We conclude that the system for the war-mutilated charity could have become the first fully implemented direction of state social policy in Russian history, but it failed to realize its potential due to political contradictions between the official government and liberal associations.

THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE ENTERPRISE SECTOR IN ESTONIA - A HISTORICAL APPROACH TO A CONTEMPORARY TRANSITION

1996 ◽  
Vol 04 (03) ◽  
pp. 317-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
KARI LIUHTO
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Soviet Union ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Reverse Transformation ◽  
Historical Approach ◽  
The Third ◽  
The Soviet Union ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Russian Empire

This article analyses the transition of the Estonian enterprise sector in the twentieth century. The starting shot was first fired for the transformation of the Estonian enterprise sector when the country gained its independence from the Russian Empire in 1918. The independence was followed by a 20-year-long transformation of the enterprise sector, which was, however, ended by the Estonian annexation to the Soviet Union in 1939. The incorporation of Estonia to the Soviet Union signified the beginning of a completely reverse transformation. The third important period of transformation in the Estonian enterprise sector began at the end of 1991 when Estonia separated from the disintegrating Soviet Union. The purpose of this article is to describe these periods mentioned above and draw a summarized comparison between the first and the present transformation. Integrating a historical approach to this contemporary transformation may facilitate in comprehending the present trends of development and even predict the future.

scholarly journals I, the Undernamed Fedor Dostoevsky... (Oath of Service Loyalty, August 20, 1841)

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 5-19
Author(s):  
Boris Tikhomirov
Keyword(s):  
Russian Empire ◽  
Main Body ◽  
Official Document ◽  
Engineering School ◽  
Special Place ◽  
Service Loyalty ◽  
Archival Document ◽  
The Future ◽  
Printed Text ◽  
The Russian Empire

The publication introduces into scientific circulation an archival document that occupies a special place in the biography of Fedor Dostoevsky. It is a so-called “sworn list” dated August 20, 1841, that contains an Oath Declaration with twenty-one signature autographs (including Dostoevsky's signature) of students of the lower officer class of the Main Engineering School, who were recently (two weeks prior) awarded the first officer rank — field engineer-ensigns (class XIV, according to the Table of Ranks). During his studies at the Main Engineering School, Dostoevsky took the oath twice — in 1838, after being assigned to a conductor company, and in 1841, when switching to officer classes. The text of the Oath Declaration was legally approved and published in the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire as “Form of the national oath of allegiance to citizenship.” Dostoevsky’s autograph under the printed text of the Oath Declaration leads researchers to construe it as a personal official document, which necessitates its inclusion in the main body of the academic Complete Works of the writer. Twenty signature autographs of Dostoevsky’s classmates under the Oath Declaration, as well as the signature of the priest who swore them in, allow us to significantly expand the understanding of the future writer's environment during his studies at the Main Engineering School.

scholarly journals “Carbonarists in the Tsar’s guard!”: Uprising of December 14, 1825 in the European Press: Documents from the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire and the State Archive of Turin

2020 ◽  
pp. 602-614
Author(s):  
Rafael A. Arslanov ◽  
◽  
Elena V. Linkova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Public Opinion ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
The State ◽  
State Archive ◽  
European Public ◽  
Archival Documents ◽  
Mechanisms Of Formation ◽  
The Russian Empire

The article studies perception of the uprising of December 14, 1825 in the Western European public opinion as reflected in the press. The source base of the study consists of archival (including previously unpublished) documents found by the authors while working in the State Archive of Turin, and also of the considerable fond 11 “Foreign newspapers,” stored in the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire. The authors investigate and summarize assessments of the Decembrists’ uprising that appeared in the European press in late 1825 – early 1826 and identify the origin of the newspaper information. Working with archival documents, the authors have used a number of methods that are typical for both historical research (retrospective, analytical, comparative methods) and source studies (heuristic, textual, and hermeneutic methods). These methods allow the authors not only to analyze the documents and determine their epistemological value, but also to comprehend their content in historical context. The article concludes that the European public opinion not just showed interest in the events in St. Petersburg, but also tried to analyze them, to identify their sources and their consequences for Russia and Europe. There were two trends in the coverage of the Decembrist uprising. Firstly, publicists repeated the information received through official channels. Secondly, journalists were inclined to believe that the revolutionary tendencies that emerged in the Russian army after the Napoleonic wars were characteristic of all European countries. The accumulated scientific material allows the authors to come to certain conclusions that are valuable for studying not just the uprising on the Senate square on December 14, 1825, but also mechanisms of formation of the image of Russia on the international arena.

scholarly journals MUTUAL CREDIT SOCIETIES OF NADDNIEPER UKRAINE IN THE CREDIT SYSTEM OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE (SECOND HALF OF 19th — EARLY 20th CENTURY)

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (39) ◽  
pp. 415-428
Author(s):  
S. Orlyk ◽  
G. Palchevich ◽  
M. Orlyk
Keyword(s):  
Economic History ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Banking System ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Credit System ◽  
Historical Sources ◽  
The Russian Empire

Abstract. The problem of attracting financial resources for the growth of small and medium-sized businesses was and remains relevant at all stages of the market economy development, which actualizes market research in the historical context. The article provides a historical retrospective to the problem of the mutual credit societies (MCS) creation and activity in 9 Ukrainian governorates, that were part of the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries. The present paper makes attempt to examine the mechanisms and structure of lending, which was carried out by MCS in general. The objective is to establish the state of MCS’ development in the Ukrainian governorates. The paper also identifies the role of MCS in the lending system that had developed in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries in the Russian Empire. It was used several scientific methods which includes an interdisciplinary approach and are characteristic of research in the economic history field. Various historical sources like published statistical data and archival documents and materials were used. The study has found that the establishment and activity of MCS were focused on providing short-term loans to small and medium-sized businesses, that has been operating in governmental and provincial uyezd towns and cities where the banking system was poorly developed. It was carried out the analysis of development dynamic of quantitative and qualitative indicators of MCS activity. It was determined that the MCS share in the credit system of the Russian Empire constituted 5% in 1914. The study has found that rate of the MCS creating practice was influenced by many factors, which were mainly associated with unsuccessful financial reforms, belated legal regulation and weak episodic state support. The change in the structure of the credit-deposit and other operations provided by MCS has been processed. The range of banking services provided by MCS to their members and other clients was investigated. It has been proved the value of the historical experience of MCS crediting and the possibilities of its use to provide financial support for the development of domestic business are outlined. Keywords: Russian Empire, credit, crediting, loan, bank, mutual credit societies (MCS), banking system. JEL Classification B17, N24 Formulas: 0; fig.: 8; tabl.: 1; bibl.: 35.

scholarly journals Political Terrorism in the Russian Empire in 1901-1911 and Its Role in the Historical Memory of Russia

2020 ◽  
pp. 51-56
Author(s):  
Т. Rocchi
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Historical Memory ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Russian Revolution ◽  
Socialist Revolution ◽  
Criminal Violence ◽  
Political Terrorism ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
The Revolution

The first outbreak of mass political terrorism in the 20th century took place in the Russian Empire, especially in the First Russian Revolution of 1905-1907. However, these events have not received proper attention in the historical memory of Russia and Europe and in the history of world terrorism. The author examines the factors enabling the continued existence of a huge “blank spot” in the memory of Russia and the world. The under-evaluation of the significance of terrorism in the first decade of the 20th century is closely connected with the under-evaluation of the First Russian Revolution as an independent revolution. In the Soviet Union, historians emphasized that the Revolution of 1905-1907 was “the dress rehearsal” for the Great October Socialist Revolution of 1917. In post-Soviet Russia, many historians and publicists consider the Revolution of 1905-1907 “the dress rehearsal” for the “Golgotha” of 1917. There is a strong tendency to idealize the autocracy and right-wing movements and to demonize socialists and liberals. Many solid monographs and articles about terrorism are now being published in Russia. However, we still do not have exhaustive investigations covering the entire period of terrorism between 1866 (attempted assassination of Tsar Alexander II on April 4, 1866 by the revolutionary D.V. Karakozov) and 1911, examining the ideologies and tactics of different parties and movements, the government’s policies on political crimes, the relationships of society, especially among different political movements, to terrorism, and the differences between terrorism and other types of mass violence such as mass protest movements of different strata of the population and criminal violence. Only through a painstaking and multi-sided analysis of the terrorist phenomenon in the European-wide historical context we can determine the place of terrorism in the historical memory of Russia and Europe.

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