Issue 2 (91)
| THE YOUNG BOLOTOV-TOLSTOY FAMILY IN THE LATE 19TH CENTURY: THE WAYS OF SOCIAL ADAPTATION FOR THE IMPOVERISHED NOBILITY | |||
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| Year | 2026 | Number | 2 (91) |
| Pages | 50-58 | Type | scientific article |
| UDC | 94(47)”18” | BBK | 63.3(2)5 |
| Authors | Druzin Mikhail V. |
Topic | THE RUSSIAN NOBILITY: INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP STRATEGIES |
| Summary | Through the reconstruction of the early stage of the biography of the future Perm governor Alexander Vladimirovich Bolotov (1866–1938), from his graduation from the Imperial College of Law in 1888 to his appointment as zemstvo chief of the Novgorod Uezd in 1899, the article examines the problems faced by representatives of the impoverished hereditary nobility. One of the solutions to the problem of lack of financial resources could be a successful marriage. However, A. V. Bolotov chose Stepanida Sergeevna Tolstaya (1863–1922), an equally noble but impoverished member of the Tolstoy family. Bolotov pinned his hopes on the social connections of her father, S. I. Tolstoy, a member of the Council of the Minister of Internal Affairs, and their wealthy relatives, and in general on the possible patronage of Tolstoy’s acquaintances from the social circle. On the part of S. S. Tolstaya, who turned 32 in 1895, marriage with A. V. Bolotov was seen as the last hope for a personal life in the absence of a rich dowry with three unmarried sisters. The diaries of A. V. Bolotov and S. I. Tolstoy, as well as their family correspondence pro-vide an opportunity to see the life of a young noble family from the inside with all their problems, adversities and joys. A. V. Bolotov turned out to be the person unable to make a career in the civil service or in private enterprise, thus ensuring the well-being of the young family. But the strength of the wife’s character and the support of her relatives were enough to keep the family together and, ultimately, help her husband achieve his desired goal of obtaining a high and lucrative position. | ||
| Keywords | Russia, late 19th century, noble family, Alexander Vladimirovich Bolotov, Stepanida Sergeevna Tolstaya, marriage of convenience, patronage social connections | ||
| References |
Bystrykh T. I. [Alexander Vladimirovich Bolotov]. Permskie gubernatory: traditsii i sovremennost’ [Perm Governors: Traditions and Modernity]. Perm’: Izdatel’stvo Permskogo universiteta Publ., 1997, pp. 145–149. (in Russ.). Druzin M. V. [“In View of This, in the Interests of a Numerous Population...”. A Letter from Governor of Perm A. V. Bolotov to Minister of the Internal Affairs P. A. Stolypin on the State of the Ural Mining Industry. 1908]. Vlast’, obshchestvo i reformy v Rossii v XIX — nachale XX v.: issledovaniya, istoriografiya, istochnikovedenie [Power, Society and Reforms in Russia in the 19th — Early 20th Centuries: Research, Historiography, Source Studies]. Saint Petersburg: Nestor-Istoriia Publ., 2009, pp. 328–358. (in Russ.). Druzin M. V. [The Unknown Bolotov]. Smyshliaevskiy sbornik: issledovaniya i materialy po istorii i kul’ture Per’mi [Smyshlyaev Collection: Research and Materials on the History and Culture of Perm]. Perm’: [s. n.], 2018, iss. 8, pp. 64–69. (in Russ.). Korelin A. P. Dvorianstvo v poreformennoy Rossii. 1861–1904 gg. [The Nobility in Post-Reform Russia. 1861–1904]. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1979. (in Russ.). |
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