Issue 2 (91)
| STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES OF ELECTORAL BEHAVIOR OF THE RUSSIAN NOBILITY IN THE FIRST THIRD OF THE 19TH CENTURY | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 2026 | Number | 2 (91) |
| Pages | 30-40 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 94(47)”18” | BBK | 63.3(2)5 |
| Authors | Timofeev Dmitry V. |
Topic | THE RUSSIAN NOBILITY: INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP STRATEGIES |
| Summary | The article analyses the strategies of behavior of the Russian nobility during the elections in the noble assemblies of the first third of the 19th century. The research focuses on the content of arguments used in appeals to the emperor, ministers or the noble assembly to justify the inclusion of candidates in electoral lists, the cancellation of decisions not to approve the results of voting or dismissal from elected office. The author shows that public rhetoric about honor and the “common good” was combined with utilitarian actions to get access to administrative and financial resources. A comparative analysis of petitions, complaints, public appearances, and projects shows that in the event of conflicts with the governors, recognition of the importance of “common opinion” led to the formation of a strategy for publicly appealing for support to both the noble assembly and the imperial-level government institutions. The same ideological attitude served as a justification for the contradictory patterns of electoral behavior. On the one hand, there was consolidation, and on the other, intra-group differentiation of the nobility. As a result, elections, initially based on the principle of freedom of personal expression, could have been accompanied by the strengthening of patron-client relations between wealthy nobles and those whom they, using collusion and bribery of electors, “determined” for elected positions. Along with this, the motives and reaction of government institutions to the strategy of avoiding service in elected positions are shown. The revealed strategies of electoral behavior clearly demonstrate the heterogeneity and multiplicity of behavioral attitudes among the Russian nobility in the first third of the 19th century. | ||
| Keywords | social history, history of public thought in Russia in the first third of the 19th century, Russian nobility, noble assemblies, strategies of electoral behavior, elections | ||
| References |
Biktasheva A. N. [Governor as Victim: Clashes of Provincial Nobility, Local Society and Central Power in the First Half of 19th Century]. Saratov: Saratovsky gos. Univetsitet Publ., 2012, iss. 5, pp. 71–84. (in Russ.). Kupryanov A. I. Vybory v russkoy provintsii (1775–1861 gg.) [Elections in the Russian Province (1775–1861)]. Moscow: Institut rossiiskoy istorii RAN, Tsentr gumanitarnykh initsiativ Publ., 2017. (in Russ.). O’Mara P. Russkoe dvoryanstvo vremen Aleksandra I [The Russian Nobility in Age of Alexander I]. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie Publ., 2023. (in Russ.). Timofeev D. V. [Electoral Conflicts and Group Solidarity of the Russian Nobility in the Reign of Alexander I]. Quaestio Rossica, 2020, vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 1274–1291. (in Russ.). Timofeev D. V. [Russian Constitutionalism and Elections in Noble Assemblies Under Alexander I]. Quaestio Rossica, 2022, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 848–866. (in Russ.). |
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