From the history of charity in the Nizhny Novgorod province
in the period XIX - early. XX centuries
(Based on the materials of the Central Archive of the Nizhny Novgorod Region)
Dictionaries and reference books of pre-revolutionary Russia defined "charity" as "a manifestation of compassion for one's neighbor and the moral duty of the possessor to hasten to help the poor", as well as "doing good, caring for the decrepit, crippled, sick, poor". Here all the basic concepts of the phenomenon under consideration are laid down: firstly, the understanding of charity as a matter of good and also the duties moral; secondly, the care of benefactors should be surrounded by poor or sick people (that is, in modern terms, socially unprotected strata of society). Behind this understanding is a certain historical tradition of charity in Russia. Caring for the poor has always been one of the most important commandments of Christianity, and the clergy were able to carry out active charitable activities with significant funds, which consisted of the "tithe" deducted to the church (a tenth of all income) and contributions "for the memory of the soul." Prosperous laity also tried to follow the example of the clergy.
Was no exception and the Nizhny Novgorod region. On the pages of the "Nizhny Novgorod Chronicler" we find references to the merchant guest Taras Petrov, who at his own expense repeatedly redeemed many fellow countrymen from the Horde captivity, helping them return to their homeland. The handwritten synodics of the 16th-17th centuries of the Annunciation, Pechersk, Makaryevsky and other monasteries of our region indicate in detail how and on what days to “put fodder for church orphans” and give alms to remember the souls of deceased church lords and secular rulers. It also mentions monastic almshouses, in which the elderly and crippled warriors found shelter and food, or even simply “wretched people of the male and female sex.” At the same time, charity in the Nizhny Novgorod region had its own characteristics, the reason for which was the commercial and industrial nature of our region.
The rapid economic development of the Nizhny Novgorod Territory constantly attracted thousands of working people to the region. Every year, crowds of artisans arrived in Nizhny Novgorod, Balakhna, Gorbatov, Makariev. Not everyone immediately found a job; often the families of those who went to work were in poverty, having no help from the breadwinners; the inevitable industrial injuries led to the emergence of more and more "crippled", which the monastic almshouses could no longer support. These processes were aggravated in the 18th century, when the first large industrial enterprises-manufactories arose in the Nizhny Novgorod province, in particular, iron and cable production. In such a situation, private charity turned out to be ineffective, which led to well-known social upheavals (the peasant wars of St. Razin and E. Pugachev, urban uprisings and the actions of robber gangs on the Volga until the end of the 18th century, etc.). In other words, the economic development of the region led to an increase in the population, among which the number of poor people became more and more.
Adopted in 1775, the "Institution of the Provinces", among other things, tried to outline ways to solve problems of social security. First, private individuals were officially given the right to set up charitable institutions. Secondly, the state took over part of the care for the social security of the population. So, on the basis of the "Institution of the provinces" in the Nizhny Novgorod province in 1779 was created Order of public charity, which was entrusted with the responsibility of organizing almshouses, orphanages, workhouses and strait houses, as well as public schools, pharmacies and hospitals. The order was headed by the governor (ex officio), and the leadership included prominent provincial officials. Similar orders were established in other provinces of Russia. The creation of the Order of Public Charity was the first step towards the emergence of a system of guardianship bodies, which a century later were already widespread in Russian society.
concept "guardianship"(Old Russian “bake” - take care) has a long history in Russia, but by the beginning of the 19th century it expands its meaning - from caring for the fate of a particular person to caring for entire sectors of society. As conceived by the ruling circles of the Russian Empire, guardianships were intended to become a link between philanthropists and administrative authorities. This determined the status, goals and objectives, as well as the composition of the guardianship bodies both in the Nizhny Novgorod province and throughout the country. The committees of trustees (rarely councils) that had been operating since the beginning of the 19th century were created mainly as advisory bodies under the governor. The purpose of their creation was to improve the administrative management in the humanitarian sphere, that is, in education, social security, etc. Therefore, usually the highest officials of the province were included in the provincial trusteeship committees, and with the right of an advisory vote or as honorary members - representatives of the public, specialists in the field of education and health. The structure of the county trustee committees was similar, which were always headed (by position) by the administrative head of the county, and also included representatives of the public and merchants, known for their charitable activities. By creating guardianship bodies, the provincial and district administrations received an effective means of directing and distributing charitable assistance precisely to those sectors where this assistance, in the opinion of the authorities, was needed above all. And the personal participation of senior officials of the province and county in the committees of trustees not only ensured control over the receipt and expenditure of funds, but was also intended to stimulate the wider participation of the inhabitants of various classes (nobles, merchants, philistines, commoners, wealthy peasants) in charitable activities.
It was in this spirit that the Russian legislation on charitable institutions, adopted in the second half of the 19th century, was sustained. As you know, before the abolition of serfdom (1861), which marked the beginning of the era of the "great reforms" of Alexander II, charitable societies existed only in 8 cities of Russia. The liberation of the peasants from serfdom led, among other things, to the emergence of a large number of socially unprotected people - former yard servants who became unnecessary in the empty lordly household, "temporarily liable", who were unable to quickly find a job and pay the arrears, and the ruined and impoverished nobles themselves, mainly from small landowners, who quickly squandered the redemption certificates and drank “bitter” with grief. And along with this, the reforms ensured the rapid growth of Russian industry, which again and again attracted thousands of workers to the Nizhny Novgorod province. Our region was rapidly changing its appearance, becoming from a commercial developed industrial-industrial.
Population growth became more and more significant: according to official statistics, in 1866, 1,257,601 people lived in the Nizhny Novgorod province, in 1878 - 1,347,708 people, and by 1900 the number of inhabitants exceeded 1,650,000 people. Add to this seasonal workers, people who were not registered, but permanently residing in the province ... And all people needed housing (even if temporary), food (even the most modest), work (even the hardest!), As well as the opportunity if necessary, receive medical assistance, teach children the craft and literacy, which was becoming more and more in demand. The economic success of the region and the emergence of a prominent social group of successful entrepreneurs made it possible to generously allocate funds for charitable purposes, and the trusteeship bodies that were in force at that time made it possible to quickly direct funds for social needs. The legislative basis here was the decree of 1862, which granted the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) the right to allow the creation of charitable societies, and the Supreme Order of 1869, given in its development, which granted the Ministry of Internal Affairs the right to independently establish these societies. At the same time, the created charitable society, the charter of which was approved by the Minister of the Interior (after 1905 - by the governor), was obliged to regularly submit reports to the provincial government on its actions, capital, income and expenses, institutions and the number of people in them. Thus, the administrative authorities of the provinces and districts (all of them were part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs until 1917) determined the priorities in charitable activities and organized the investment of funds, constantly monitoring this process. Of course, far from everything that was planned was successful (and in the end it was not possible - this is evidenced by the social conflicts of the early 20th century, which culminated in a revolution that led to the collapse of the Russian Empire), but there was also a rational corn. Let's try to extract this useful historical experience by analyzing the specific areas of guardianship and charity in the Nizhny Novgorod province.
Guardianship in the field of education
Chronologically, the earliest (1803) was guardianship in the field of education . The territory of the Nizhny Novgorod and a number of other provinces was originally part of the Kazan, then the Moscow educational district, which was headed by a trustee - a high-ranking official of the Ministry of Public Education (MNP). At the provincial level, the Nizhny Novgorod provincial school council, also related to the department of the MNP and headed (by position) by the provincial marshal of the nobility and director of public schools in the province. The council included representatives from the MNP (usually the director of the gymnasium), from the spiritual department (rector of the cathedral), from the Ministry of the Interior (adviser to the provincial government), one or two representatives from the zemstvo. Judging by the surviving archival documents, the council controlled the financial and economic issues of the activities of educational institutions, monitored compliance with the general norms of trustworthiness of teaching staff and students, resolved controversial issues of appointing and dismissing teachers, and petitioned the trustee to encourage teachers. In its activities, the provincial school council relied on a network county school councils.
In addition, each secondary educational institution (gymnasium, Noble Institute) had its own board of trustees- an advisory body under the director, which had some analogy with modern parent committees. The board of trustees included (by position) the governor or vice-governor, several high-ranking officials whose children studied at this gymnasium, as well as representatives of the public (as a rule, from the zemstvo); in women's gymnasiums, the council also included the wives of these persons. Judging by the surviving "presence journals" (meeting minutes), the board of trustees resolved the issues of exemption from tuition fees, considered the possibility of introducing additional lessons, coordinated the admission of teachers. The competence of the council also included the coordination of reports on the educational and economic state of the educational institution, petitions for the encouragement of teachers, consideration of petitions from various people to admit their children to study outside the general grounds. In addition, in the affairs of the board of trustees of the Nizhny Novgorod Mariinsky Women's Gymnasium for 1900-1908, there are examples of council decisions on organizing the teaching of the Law of God for non-Orthodox students, on conflict situations between the class and the teacher, but such issues in the activities of the council rarely arose.
In general, in the field of public education, charity was a noticeable phenomenon. So, the well-known Nizhny Novgorod figure, merchant Ya.E. Bashkirov completely at his own expense expands the building of the Nizhny Novgorod Kulibino vocational school and the boarding house under it, for which he was thanked by the Nizhny Novgorod City Duma on October 13, 1906. The documents mention that the widow of the hereditary honorary citizen Ermolaev in February 1912 bequeathed all her property in favor of the People's University opening in Nizhny Novgorod.
Knyagininsky 2nd guild merchant P.I. Karpov at his own expense at the Stroganov Church in Nizhny Novgorod opened and maintained a school for 70 students. In addition, he donated 25 thousand rubles for the construction of a number of schools in the districts of the Nizhny Novgorod province. Nizhny Novgorod merchant F.A. Blinov donated his own house with outbuildings at the corner of Ilyinskaya and Sergievskaya streets for the real school. The Nizhny Novgorod Stock Exchange Society, at the expense of its members, approves the Minin Stock Exchange Charitable Society for grants to insufficient students in Nizhny Novgorod. The society gave funds to needy students and female students of Nizhny Novgorod educational institutions for renting an apartment, food, clothes, textbooks; arranged school holidays, excursions, trips for students with its capital. Each member of the society contributed at least 1,000 rubles to the cashier. Societies for helping poor students in Nizhny Novgorod also operated at the Nizhny Novgorod Gerken Women's Gymnasium, at the Khrenovskaya and Torsuevskaya gymnasiums, and at the Milov real school. The Society for Assistance to Needy Students of the Varnavin Women's Progymnasium and the Varnavin City School existed in Varnavin since 1910 at the expense of local benefactors. At a number of educational institutions of the province there were scholarships for students, bearing the names of the benefactors of this educational institution.
In addition to the actual educational process, the guardianship authorities in the field of education also encouraged charity aimed at supporting the teaching staff of educational institutions in the Nizhny Novgorod province. The committees of trustees of gymnasiums and colleges almost always exempt teachers from paying tuition fees for their children. To help improve the welfare of teachers, the provincial government in 1894 supported the initiative of the intelligentsia to create "Societies for mutual assistance to teachers and female teachers of the Nizhny Novgorod province". By January 1, 1903, the Society united 1262 members in its ranks and had branches in Arzamas, Gorbatovsky, Makaryevsky and Nizhny Novgorod counties. The best representatives of the local community were on the board; among them - the outstanding Russian statistician Nikolai Fedorovich Annensky (founder of the Society), Pavel Arkadievich Demidov (chairman of the provincial zemstvo council, for many years - chairman of the board of the Society), as well as G.R. Kilevein, A.A. Savelyeva and others. The authority of the leadership of the Society and the support of the provincial authorities made it possible, despite the obvious lack of funds from the treasury, to actively attract private donations. Thus, when completing the construction of a hostel for the children of teachers, the MNP was able to allocate only 300 rubles out of the required 5,000 rubles. The missing funds came from collections from concerts and lectures held in favor of the Society, from books and brochures published for charitable purposes. Among those who helped Nizhny Novgorod teachers with their work were outstanding people of that time: historian professor (later academician) S.F. Platonov, artist
V. Petrov-Zvantseva, writers A.I. Kuprin, T.L. Shchepkina-Kupernik, L.N. Andreev and, of course, the idols of local youth - Maxim Gorky and Fedor Chaliapin. There were also other, non-monetary forms of assistance to teachers and their families, including free medical care (practically all doctors of Nizhny Novgorod provided it to members of the society), the provision of medicines from pharmacies at reduced prices and apartments for teachers who came for holidays and vacations, the maintenance of libraries and replenishment of their periodicals and special editions. Wealthy residents of Nizhny Novgorod considered it very prestigious to transfer considerable sums to the Society's account to pay scholarships to the children of low-income teachers (in 1912 - 62 people at 11 rubles a month), to organize meals for them (“Lunch consists of two courses: the 1st is always meat ..."). Representatives of the administration regularly attended meetings of the Society, controlled the reports of the board.
Interestingly, not all types of education received active support from the authorities. The provincial administration took care mainly of primary, classical and real (including technical) education. It was in the educational institutions of this profile - public schools, gymnasiums and real schools - that committees of trustees were created in the first place. And, for example, musical education in Nizhny Novgorod and the province did not have guardian bodies, probably because it was considered not as priority as the general education of the population. Of course, the absence of official care from the authorities does not mean that there was no charity in this area. On the contrary, thanks to the generous help of patrons, musical life in Nizhny Novgorod flourished at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, giving Russia a number of big names of musicians.
Children's shelters
From the middle of the 19th century, documents of the Nizhny Novgorod provincial guardianship of orphanages, belonging to the department of the institutions of Empress Maria, which later became part of the system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The chairman of this body was ex officio the governor; The guardianship also included the vice-governor, the provincial leader of the nobility, the director of public schools, the chairman of the provincial zemstvo council, the mayor, directors of shelters, and usually the wives of senior provincial officials. The provincial guardianship relied on a network of county guardianships of orphanages. The composition of the county authorities was similar: the county marshal of the nobility, the police chief, the mayor and other officials. The trustees included representatives of the merchants and the intelligentsia as "honorary members", with the payment of an annual fee and after approval by the authorities.
The jurisdiction of the provincial guardianship included the Alexandrovsky shelter (opened on April 21, 1845), Mariinsky shelter (opened on November 20, 1851), a vocational school at the Alexander shelter, and an almshouse in the village. Klyuchishchi (opened April 23, 1905). The number of pupils in them was relatively small: for example, in 1914 (the beginning of the First World War) there were 45 boys in the Alexander shelter, 114 girls in the Mariinsky shelter, 14 pupils were in the Klyuchishchenskaya almshouse. At the same time, these charitable institutions had very significant real estate, including stone buildings. The budget for the trustees of orphanages was formed mainly from the treasury, and partly from charitable activities (for some years, for example, the ratio of 5/1 was recorded in the documents, respectively). There are cases when some state institutions took part of the costs of maintaining shelters (for example, the provincial administration of excise duties). Usually the membership fee was 200 rubles a year; some members of the board of trustees who were not engaged in entrepreneurship provided assistance to shelters in a different way (for example, medical care for orphans was free). In addition, quite a few Nizhny Novgorod businessmen, even without being members of the trustees, donated food, delicacies, holiday gifts to shelters for free, paid for children to attend entertainment events, etc.
Many private benefactors followed the example of the provincial guardianship of orphanages. Makarievsky 2nd guild merchant A.S. Kalinin-Shushlyaev donated his dacha worth 10,000 rubles to an orphanage. At the expense of hereditary honorary citizen M.V. Bochkareva, since 1911, a school for blind children operated in Nizhny Novgorod, located on Ilyinskaya Street in the philanthropist's own estate. In 1892, Nizhny Novgorod opened Shelter for poor children at the city Society for the Aid to the Poor, designed for 100 pupils of both sexes aged 4 to 12 years. Nizhny Novgorod City Orphanage named after M.F. and E.P. Sukharev (operated together with the women's almshouse of the same name) by 1905 had 59 children of both sexes. Since 1906, an orphanage under the Zhivonosnov parish guardianship has been operating for the charity of the poor children of “Millionka” (the area inhabited by the urban poor and tramps), bearing since 1911 the name of Archbishop Nazariy. This orphanage brought up 48 children of both sexes from 2 to 13 years old. The trustee of the shelter A.N. Zaitseva (the wife of a well-known merchant in the city), with her personal donations and the involvement of philanthropists, not only contributed to the material well-being of the shelter, but also helped arrange Christmas trees, sent toys and gifts for children. It is interesting to note that the entire Zaitsev family took part in charity: the young children of the trustee, Manya, Kolya and Olya, also annually made contributions to the shelter for their little scholarship holders. Finally, even the foundling shelter of the Nizhny Novgorod provincial zemstvo, which was in the most difficult conditions, was not ignored by benefactors. The names of the trustees of this shelter are preserved in the reports: the merchants Palkin, Ermolaev, and Agnia Nikolaevna Markova provided great assistance with food, but no less help came from unknown donors.
In general, the guardianships of orphanages dealt mainly with the financial and economic maintenance of orphanages (heating, lighting, clothing and food for orphans), and also considered applications for placement in orphanages, for encouraging employees of orphanages and donors. The forms of encouragement usually became gratitude “with publication”, a promotion, a medal (for example, in 1912, an honorary member of the Semenovsky district guardianship P.S. Stroinsky was awarded a gold medal “to be worn on the Annenskaya ribbon”).
The most striking example of the care of children was the history of the Nizhny Novgorod city named after Countess O.V. Kutaisova orphanage for minors. In 1874, Olga Vasilievna Kutaisova, the wife of the then Nizhny Novgorod governor, Count P.I. Kutaisova, transferred a capital of 25 thousand rubles to the creation and financing of a shelter for little orphans. The high social status of the trustee ensured her undertaking was supported not only by the governor, but also by Emperor Alexander II, who in 1877 ordered that the orphanage be named after Countess Kutaisova. When viewing archival documents, one gets the impression that after the Supreme “good”, private donors seemed to be competing with each other, who would do more for the shelter. So, the landlord M.N. Kolchigin ran a shelter in his house for free for the first three years. Then, when laying the foundation for his own shelter building, which provided for the placement of a school and an infirmary there, the merchant Ya.E. Bashkirov donated significant funds to the shelter and was elected an honorary member of its board of trustees. In 1880 (the year when P.I. Kutaisov completed his service as governor of Nizhny Novgorod), the founder of the shelter and her husband were elected honorary trustees of the institution for life. And besides them, the richest Nizhny Novgorod industrialists Ustin Savvich Kurbatov, Fyodor Andreevich Blinov, Nikolai Aleksandrovich Bugrov, merchants Andrei Evlampievich Zaitsev, Nikolai Nikitich Zhadovsky, and also the mayor Alexei Maksimovich Gubin were elected to the trustee committee. With them, the size of donations to the shelter amazed even the capital's benefactors: there were years when up to 60 thousand rubles were transferred to the institution - in money (nominal scholarships were especially prestigious), bank notes, building materials for repairs, products ... the best teachers, for whom the committee of trustees established a special salary increase. Within the walls of the orphanage, designed for 300 pupils, over the years of its existence, thousands of orphans grew up and studied - boys and girls, offended by fate at the very beginning of their lives, but warmed by the warmth of the hearts of philanthropists and again returned to society.
The success of charitable activities in orphanages was so obvious that this form of guardianship was preserved under the Soviet regime. After 1917, boards of trustees at orphanages were public bodies that had the goal of assisting in the upbringing, education and maintenance of orphans. The Council also exercised control over the quality of children's nutrition, the distribution of clothing and its safety, and the spending of funds allocated by the state for the maintenance of orphanages.
Social Security
Charity in the field of social security for the elderly and the poor was based on the centuries-old traditions of Ancient Russia. And in the 19th - early 20th centuries, as before, caring for the poor and infirm fellow countrymen was extremely important for the people of Nizhny Novgorod. Since 1779, these issues in the province were centrally dealt with by the Order of Public Charity, mentioned above, but in 1866 it was abolished in connection with the creation of a system of local governments. Since that time, social security has been transferred to the zemstvo and city administrations, and a centralized administrative and advisory body for control (the provincial guardianship committee) has not been created.
The decentralization of philanthropy in the field of social security by no means meant a weakening of attention to this problem. After the transfer of social institutions from the jurisdiction of the Order of public charity to the administration of the zemstvo, the Nizhny Novgorod provincial zemstvo continued to actively raise funds from private benefactors for the maintenance of hospitals, almshouses, obstetric institutions, etc. At the same time, public charitable organizations such as, for example, Nizhny Novgorod Society for Helping the Poor. As a result, in the second half - the end of the 19th century, a whole network of almshouses and societies for helping the poor appeared in the Nizhny Novgorod province. Almost all of these institutions were financed by private philanthropists, and to attract and control the correct spending of funds, the institutions created their own committees of trustees. The committees of trustees included representatives of local self-government (city and zemstvo councils) and philanthropists themselves, who, as a rule, established this almshouse. It was on this principle that the activities of the largest social security institutions in Nizhny Novgorod - the "Widow's House" and the "House of Diligence" were organized. A lot has been written about these institutions, but it is still worth briefly recalling the main stages of their history and the merits of their founders.
The building on Lyadov Square (former Monastyrskaya) still impresses with its size and thoughtfulness of forms. It is easy to imagine what respect this house aroused with its idea and implementation more than a hundred years ago: probably not everyone believed that such an impressive building would house not government offices or even an institute, but just an almshouse, which used to be wooden huts. wrecked. Meanwhile, the Charter city public name of the Blinovs and Bugrovs of the Widow's House in Nizhny Novgorod" (1887) stated: "The purpose of the Widow's House is to provide comfortable gratuitous apartments to indigent widows with their young children." The building was designed for 160 apartments (in fact, over 600 people lived in it), a hospital (with a children's department) and a pharmacy were created under it. Later, in 1907-1908, a vocational school was built at the Widow's House, designed to give a profession to children living here with widowed mothers. And all this institution, which required investments unheard of at that time, was entirely and completely built at the expense of private donors - the Nizhny Novgorod merchant families of the Blinovs and Bugrovs. The significance of charity was enshrined in the Regulations on the committee that was supposed to manage the Widow's House: general control was entrusted to the city duma (the mayor was the chairman of the committee of trustees ex officio), and "citizen philanthropists, through whose care and funds the Widow's House was established", became lifelong members of the committee. The Regulations determined that, in particular, “those persons who make significant donations worth at least one thousand rubles for the maintenance of the House” can become members of the committee (except for the founders - the Bugrovs and Blinovs). And donations were made annually - both in the form of cash "from various persons, for distribution into hands" (pay attention to the modesty of donors who did not consider it necessary to indicate their names!), And in the form of interest deductions from the capital placed in the bank and bequeathed Widow's House (the documents mention the "Goryachevsky", "Blinovsky" funds, etc.). Of course, there were other forms of gratuitous assistance to those who were being cared for in the House: events for children on the occasion of holidays, food supplies (and again, the Zaitsev family is mentioned here among the most generous benefactors), free repair of premises, etc. The benefactors took care of preparing the younger inhabitants of the Widow's House for an independent life, paying for their education not only in primary schools, but also in secondary educational institutions (gymnasium, real school, Noble Institute). The thoughtfulness of the architectural appearance, layout and internal equipment ensured the building a long life: the Widow's House, which became a student hostel, still remains a remarkable historical and cultural monument of Nizhny Novgorod. Once in the lobby of the building, guests were greeted by "portraits of the donors and builders of the Widow's House, hereditary guests of honor of the citizens of Nizhny Novgorod Aristarkh and Nikolai Andreevich Blinov and Nikolai Alexandrovich Bugrov - on a marble board under glass." Isn't it time to once again pay this tribute to the great benefactors of Nizhny Novgorod? ..
Bugrov and the Blinov brothers were not alone in their work and plans for the benefit of poor countrymen. In 1893, the Nizhny Novgorod Society for Aiding the Poor took the initiative to "arrange a shelter for begging children for 100 people." As a result, it was decided to open "House of industriousness" , the purpose of which is to give "to all those in need in Nizhny Novgorod, short-term assistance by providing them with work, food and shelter until a more durable arrangement of their fate by determination for permanent employment or placement in permanent charity." The idea was brought to life only thanks to the disinterested help of the Rukavishnikov merchant family. Hereditary honorary citizens Ivan, Mitrofan, Sergey, Nikolai Mikhailovichi Rukavishnikovs and their sisters Varvara Mikhailovna (married Burmistrova) and Yulia Mikhailovna (married Nikolaev) at their own expense equipped and provided the Society with three stone two-story buildings, a three-story stone outbuilding, services and a large piece of land. The House of Diligence, opened at the corner of Varvarskaya and Mistrovskaya streets, was named after Mikhail and Lyubov Rukavishnikov, the parents of the donors. The help of the family, of course, was not limited to this: the Rukavishnikovs regularly transferred significant funds for the maintenance of the House of Diligence, took a lively part in improving production activities, in organizing the education of children (a parochial school was opened here to a large extent at their expense), in organizing libraries, etc. The results were not long in coming: at the XVI All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition held in Nizhny Novgorod in 1896, the products of the House of Diligence received diplomas corresponding to gold and bronze medals. Evidence of public recognition of the usefulness and merits of the new institution was the visit to the House of Diligence by Emperor Nicholas II and his wife on July 19, 1896. After this visit, which prompted a series of follow-up visits by dignitaries, charitable donations came in at a very significant rate. This made it possible to equip a new building of the House by 1905 (in a somewhat rebuilt form it has survived to the present day), increase the number of convicts (usually there were 500-550 people here, and, for example, 63,594 people dined in 1903) and expand production (mats, mops, tow, life buoys, etc., exhibited at the Paris Exhibition in 1900). There were so many donors that only individual names can be cited: in addition to the Rukavishnikovs, whose donations amounted to tens of thousands of rubles, the House of Labor was assisted by the merchants Kurepin and Ermolaev, the Kamensky steamer, Archbishop Makariy, the Nizhny Novgorod Merchant Bank, the senior stockbroker Lelkov, the Bashkirov firms, Zhuravlev, Polyak and even. .. Chinese troupe! In general, according to the chronological list of members of the Guardianship Society for the House of Diligence, one can study the history of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants.
With private donations, a number of almshouses were opened for lonely, sick, elderly and crippled women. Among them: the Nikolaev-Mininsky public almshouse (maintained at the expense of the contributions of merchants Vyalov and Perepletchikov), the Aleksandrovskaya city public women's almshouse (existed on deductions from the profits of the Nikolaev public bank and on a fee from merchants of the 1st and 2nd guild, established by the verdict merchant society, as well as on zemstvo benefits). The Alexander Noble Bank, by decision of the board, transferred 1,500 rubles annually for the maintenance of the shelter. The Nizhny Novgorod philistine society maintained a Charity House for poor burghers, the funds of which consisted of donations and income from the society's events. Small almshouses are well-known in the districts of the Nizhny Novgorod province: in Balakhninskoye (the village of Gorodets - at the expense of the merchant of the 2nd guild Lazutin), Semenovsky (the village of Filippovo - at the expense of N.A. Bugrov), etc. So, to create the Filippovskaya women's almshouse (1894) Bugrov contributed a capital of 80 thousand rubles to state credit institutions, on the interest from which the almshouse existed. At the same time, using the right of a benefactor, Bugrov stipulated in the charter the confessional nature of the institution: “The almshouse ... is appointed for the care of forty elderly or crippled female persons from the Old Believers who accept the priesthood”; the device of a church or a chapel in its building was not allowed. The history of the institute founded in 1902 is also interesting. Societies for the care of the poor in the village. Sormovo Balakhna district (at that time Sormovo was not part of Nizhny Novgorod). Industrial development c. Sormovo made it possible for its wealthy residents to provide regular assistance to their poor countrymen. Income of the Company headed by V.N. Meshcherskaya (on her initiative it was created) and representatives of the intelligentsia (mainly employees of factories), usually amounted to 2-3 thousand rubles a year and consisted of donations from individuals, charity performances and concerts, as well as an organized "collection of unnecessary papers" (the only found in documents of this kind mentioning the collection of waste paper!). Assistance was provided, as a rule, in the form of cash benefits for food and treatment, in the provision of clothing and footwear; in addition, material assistance was provided to students from poor families. But at the same time, the Board of the Society paid attention to the cause of poverty (for example, the illness or lack of work of the head of the family) and refused to help drunkards.
Of course, not always living conditions in almshouses were as good as in the Widow's House or the House of Labor. An example is the “Overnight Shelter in Nizhny Novgorod”, which became widely known thanks to the work of M. Gorky, established by the City Duma on May 30, 1880. Designed to give the opportunity to "spend the night not in the open air" and intended "for all who come without distinction of condition, sex and age", the shelter was designed for 450 men and 45 women. The meager funds of the city budget for its maintenance were not enough, and again had to resort to charitable assistance. Only the donations of N.A. helped to make ends meet. Bugrov, in honor of whose father the shelter was named after A.P. Bugrov" ("Bugrovskaya rooming house"). Attracting additional funds turned out to be extremely difficult for the trustees - well-known Nizhny Novgorod merchants Akifiev, Frolov and Chernov.
Donations were usually made in two forms: either a targeted transfer of some amount (I.M. Rukavishnikov donated 2 thousand rubles to pay arrears from the property of poor homeowners), or the money was placed in a bank, and a percentage of the deposit went purposefully to the maintenance of a shelter, an almshouse etc. (for example, the Widow's House and the House of Diligence were maintained, including on a fixed percentage of capital placed in banking institutions). It is also a characteristic and remarkable fact that not only very wealthy citizens, but also people of average income, were involved in charity work. For example, collegiate registrar P.O. Troitsky in 1911, in an appeal addressed to the trustee of the Moscow educational district, declares that he is ready to support financially poor students and the educational institution itself, opened in Nizhny Novgorod by his son V.P. Troitsky.
healthcare
In the health sector, examples of charity are as frequent as in the field of social security, although here there has never been a provincial trustee committee. Apparently, there was simply no need for such an administrative and advisory body to attract donations to healthcare. A fairly generous gift from the Nizhny Novgorod landowner, retired colonel S. Martynov, who in the first half of the 19th century donated his land to the Order of Public Charity for the organization of a hospital, is known. After that, for many years the Nizhny Novgorod provincial hospital was called "Martynovskaya" as, indeed, the street on which it was located (now Semashko Street). The rapid development of medicine in the second half - the end of the XIX century led to the opening of new hospitals, the need for which was very high. And here the role of private donations manifested itself even more clearly. So, the vowel of the Nizhny Novgorod Duma, the merchant of the 1st guild D.N. Babushkin donated buildings, land, and 20,000 rubles to set up a city hospital in the Makarievskaya district in his own house. After the death of D.N. His grandmother's memory was immortalized by the installation of a memorial plaque on the building of his hospital and the introduction of a nominal bed in one of the wards. Knyagininsky 2nd guild merchant P.I. Karpov maintained until his death an infirmary and a shelter for refugees in Reshetikha. Nizhny Novgorod 1st guild merchant A.I. Kostromin donated 4,000 rubles for the repair of the 1st City Hospital.
To understand the role of private and public philanthropy in health care, let's turn to history. Mariinsky obstetric institution. It was established in memory of a visit to Nizhny Novgorod in 1869 by the heir to the throne, Alexander Alexandrovich (future Tsar Alexander III) with his wife Maria Feodorovna (her name was the institution). In those days, it became an urgent need to "deliver mothers in labor at the time of childbirth, with free maintenance and obstetric allowance", and ensuring "the continued existence of orphaned babies." The institution's governing board of trustees, headed by the mayor (ex officio), tried to attract not only private but also public donations. As a result, the income of the Mariinsky obstetric institution and the orphanage department founded under it in 1878 consisted mainly of deductions from the city budget and donations from the Nikolaev Public Bank. In 1873, the merchant Yakov Makarovich Korolev bequeathed 20 thousand rubles for the construction of a house at the Mariinsky obstetric institution for the stay of infants who had lost their mother. Interest from this capital, invested in a public bank, provided a significant part of the institution's expenses. At the same time, the annual increase in the number of patients at the Mariinsky institution (from 800 in the 1890s to 1800 in the 1900s) led to a significant increase in costs, which made private charity clearly insufficient.
And yet, the traditions of private donations in the field of healthcare were in demand in the extreme conditions of military operations waged by the Russian Empire. Reception from military hospitals and medical care for the sick and wounded required significant efforts not only of the state, but also of the public. Leafing through the reports of the Nizhny Novgorod local administration and the ladies' committee of the Society for the Care of the Wounded and Sick Soldiers (1878), infirmaries of the period of the Russian-Japanese (1904-1905) and World War I (1914-1918) wars, we again find on their pages the familiar names of philanthropists : merchants Bugrov, Zaitsev, Markova, Khlebnikov, representatives of the intelligentsia Karelin, Oliger, Torsueva ...
Confessional Charity
The Russian Orthodox Church was a constant subject of charity for citizens, regardless of the size of their capital: the most famous people of the city also donated to the temple (Zhivonosovskaya Church on Rozhdestvenskaya St. was repaired and equipped at the expense of the Rukavishnikov family, Spasskaya - the Bashkirov family), but also ordinary citizens, names which history has not preserved.
For the period from the second half of the 19th century, documents on diocesan care. So, at the spiritual consistory there was diocesan care for the poor of the clergy, subordinate to the spiritual department and headed (by position) by a bishop - bishop (archbishop). The patronage included representatives of the spiritual consistory (the governing body of the diocese). The duty of this body was to care (“charity”) for the families of poor clergymen, to pay them material benefits, to place their children in educational institutions on preferential terms, etc. The guardianship budget was formed from deductions from the treasury for the maintenance of the spiritual department, as well as from private donations (the ratio of these two parts of the budget is not traced from the documents).
For the purposes of religious and moral education and enlightenment in the Nizhny Novgorod province, a number of brotherhoods were established, whose members were actively involved in charity work. Nizhny Novgorod Orthodox Brotherhood in the name of the Holy Right-Believing Grand Duke Georgy Vsevolodovich, established in 1883 "with the aim of maintaining existing and opening new parochial schools" and managed by a council mainly of clerics, managed to attract and direct financial assistance from many landowners in the counties of the province for the needs of schools. So, according to the report for 1889-1890, Count A.D. was mentioned among the donors. Sheremetev, N.E. Stogov, L.I. Turchaninov, who provided premises and building materials for schools; monetary donations were made by the merchants A.F. Sapozhnikov, P.A. Soklov, A.I. Nikolaev; Philistines, rural priests, and retired soldiers provided all possible material assistance to schools through the brotherhood. Brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius, created "to promote the religious and moral education of poor students of the Nizhny Novgorod gymnasium" and assisted them with cash benefits, clothes and shoes, free medical care, etc., also attracted generous benefactors to cooperate. Large subsidies were allocated by the Rukavishnikov family mentioned above, each member of which paid a nominal scholarship to high school students who lived in the fraternity hostel. MM. Rukavishnikov, who assumed the duties of chairman of the Council of the Brotherhood, made the main contribution of 17 thousand rubles, the interest from which went to the maintenance of the brotherhood; he also built a house for the fraternal hostel at his own expense. Monetary donations were made by representatives of the local clergy, intelligentsia, and merchants. The activation of the influx of donations was also facilitated by the fact that the Nizhny Novgorod Bishop and Governor officially adopted the name "patrons of the brotherhood of Saints Cyril and Methodius." The goals were the same Minin Brotherhood, which contained in Nizhny Novgorod a city elementary school, a vocational school, a shelter for the poorest students. The most prominent benefactors here were the merchant A.A. Zaitsev (chairman of the fraternity council and superintendent of the vocational school) and D.A. Obryadchikov, who bequeathed to the brotherhood capital, from which more than 1.5 thousand rubles of interest deductions were received annually. A considerable part of the income was made up by the annual contributions of the members of the brotherhood - officials, teachers, wealthy philistines. In addition, the brotherhood received subsidies from city and estate self-government.
In the province there were also parish guardianship, consisting of local clergy and volost elders as "permanent members" (that is, ex officio), as well as parishioners elected for a certain number of years. These guardianships acted as an advisory body for managing the parish and resolved issues of financing and maintenance of churches, transferring money to almshouses, and monitoring parochial schools. Judging by the documents, private donations played a significant role in the budget of these trusts. An example of parish charity can be, for example, the activity guardianship at the Nizhny Novgorod Trinity Upper Posad Church. According to the report for 1913-1914, the guardianship, which consisted mainly of clerics, using its authority, managed to collect 1351 rubles 99 kopecks in a year (the last pre-war one). In addition to large contributions from merchants D.G. Morozov and V.M. Burmistrova, as well as rental income, there were often small donations (up to 10 rubles) from less well-to-do parishioners. The collected money was spent on helping poor parishioners and the poor, burying the poor, as well as on the repair of the church, the purchase of liturgical literature, etc. Both income and expenditure were public: annual reports were published (this was the general rule). Of course, the parish guardianships in the counties acted in exactly the same way (it is curious that in some of them Fr. John Ilyich Sergeev, John of Kronstadt, who usually donated 100 rubles at a time, is listed among the benefactors).
In the Nizhny Novgorod province, confessional charity was widespread until 1917 not only among the parishioners of the Russian Orthodox Church, but also in all the national-religious communities that existed at that time in our region. And this is no coincidence: after all, in all religions of the world, helping poor fellow believers is the first commandment. And this commandment was sacredly observed by the Nizhny Novgorod Old Believers - zealots of ancient Orthodox piety. Here again there is reason to recall the families of the Bugrovs and Blinovs, who spent large sums of money both for the common good (“Widow’s House”) and for the benefit of the Old Believers (temples and chapels, almshouses in the Semenovsky district, schools for teaching icon painting and book painting, skillful embroidery, liturgical singing according to the ancient canon). And how many generous donors, who preferred to remain anonymous, annually sent funds and supplies to the Trans-Volga monasteries “to feed the elders and old women”! Today, only the old skete synodiks keep the names of those benefactors for whom prayers were offered up in the deserts of Kerzhen for many years...
The commandment to help the needy has always been observed by the Muslims of the Nizhny Novgorod province - mainly Mishari Tatars, usually referred to in the documents of those years as “Sergach Tatars” (until 1917 their number was about 70-80 thousand people with a noticeable predominance of the rural population). Mosques and madrasahs were opened with funds collected annually from prosperous merchants at the fair and wealthy peasants in the villages of the Sergach district and in Nizhny Novgorod itself, and assistance was provided to needy families. Archival documents have preserved the name of the akhun of the Nizhny Novgorod Sokolov Mosque, a spiritual mentor who made a great contribution to the organization of charity among Muslims. In Nizhny Novgorod, relatively small but very influential communities of Catholics and Lutherans had their own parish charitable societies (their total number did not exceed 1.5-2 thousand people; the ethnic composition was, respectively, Poles and Lithuanians, Germans). And although among the parishioners of the church and the church there were many people with material wealth (nobles, officials, officers), nevertheless, donations were always collected here - for the maintenance of the temple, to help families who had lost their breadwinner, to pay scholarships to low-income students, to dowry for brides and etc. The organizers of parish charity were almost always representatives of the clergy. Today, in an old poor photograph in the "Address Calendar" you can see the priest Peter Varfolomeevich Bitnoy-Shlyakhto - a young man with a lush head of hair of light blond hair and a wide smile. It was to him that Nizhny Novgorod Catholics owed so much, but today even we, archivists, do not know how his life turned out after 1917... An outstanding educator and figure of national culture, Rabbi of Nizhny Novgorod and Vladimir Baruch Zakhoder (1848-1905) stood at the origins of the charitable society in the Jewish religious community (the number of Jews in the province ranged from several hundred people in the 1880s to 3 thousand people in 1914). On the initiative of B.I. Zakhoder, the building of the Nizhny Novgorod Synagogue (1881-1883, Bolotov per., 5) was built on private donations from all parishioners - an interesting architectural monument; at the expense of the merchant G.A. Poyalok and his sons opened and operated the spiritual school "Talmud-Torah"; a society for helping the poor also arose, the first chairman of which was a well-known philanthropist, a merchant of the 2nd guild, G.M. Becker. There is evidence that donations for the benefit of the poor were also collected in the very small Armenian and Karaite communities of Nizhny Novgorod.
Thus, the individual initiative of the Nizhny Novgorod residents apparently played a large role in patronage activities at the local level - in parish councils (both Orthodox and other confessions), as well as in district guardianships for the poor. Unfortunately, the documents of the district trustees for the poor, which were subordinate to local governments (city dumas and councils, volost boards), have been poorly preserved (for example, there are references to holding charity concerts by the “Fourth Kanavinsky district guardianship for the poor”). It can only be stated that the work of these bodies became more active during the First World War (1914-1918). The budget of these guardianships, as well as the refugee councils and committees operating in Nizhny Novgorod since 1915 (Tatyaninsky, national-religious, assistance to the families of the victims, etc.) was formed not so much at the expense of the treasury, but at the expense of private charity.
Charity in the penitentiary system
It just so happened in Russia that from time immemorial people imprisoned have evoked the most sincere compassion. And therefore it was considered a manifestation of high piety "to give alms to the unfortunate with prayer" (remember "Provincial essays" by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin!), to find funds "to help the prison inmates", or even just say a sympathetic word to them. Perhaps, behind this was a not fully conscious desire to prevent the condemned from becoming embittered at the whole world, to relieve their sinful souls with mercy and repentance. Or maybe there was also an understanding of the innocence of many of the poor fellows who were in prisons and prisons: after all, this often happened in Russia. It was not for nothing that in all social strata of Russian society there was a proverb: "Don't renounce prison and the bag" ... Be that as it may, in the Nizhny Novgorod province in the 18th-19th centuries it was customary to release prisoners on Sundays to collect alms and feed - from prison, county "prison castles", from prison companies ...
Since 1819 there has been guardianship in the penitentiary (prison-correctional) system. During this period, the Nizhny Novgorod provincial guardianship committee on prisons, subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), and later to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). The minister who headed the guardianship in this area on a national scale was called the "president of the guardianship"; the provincial committee was headed by a governor (less often a vice-governor), who was called "vice-president"; members of the committee (the highest provincial officials of the departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice) were called "directors". In its activities, the provincial committee relied on a network of county committees, which included the administrative and police leadership of the counties. For trustee activities in women's prisons, the committees included the wives of senior officials of the province. In addition to committees, in the period before the reforms of the 1860-1870s. existed guardianship at the Nizhny Novgorod prison company, which was led by the commander of the garrison battalion (that is, local internal troops), with similar functions.
The committees dealt almost exclusively with the economic issues of the maintenance of prisoners, and also considered the petitions of prison officials for incentives, and conducted business correspondence on the repair of prison buildings. The budget of the committees was formed from funds allocated to the correctional system by the treasury. A significant part of the documentation of the committees is financial statements and reports, from which, for example, it follows that in 1863, 7 kopecks of daily allowance were issued for the maintenance of one prisoner in the Nizhny Novgorod province (for comparison: in Moscow - 6 kopecks, St. Petersburg - 9 kopecks, Kazan - 4 kopecks). Much attention was paid to increasing the profitability of the prison department at the expense of the labor of the prisoners themselves; private donations, judging by the documents, were insignificant. In the protocols of the provincial committee, there are acts of examining the sanitary and hygienic condition of the cells (there are complaints about closeness, stale air, etc., a ban on drying clothes in the cells on stoves); there are also recommendations to read literature on religious and moral topics with prisoners more often, but such materials are relatively rare in archival funds.
As a result of the actions of the system of trustee bodies, private charity practically disappeared from the penitentiary system by the beginning of the 20th century. The prison committees, having turned into purely administrative and advisory bodies, stopped attracting donations from private individuals, interrupting the centuries-old tradition of merciful assistance to prisoners. Therefore, it is natural that in the memoirs there are repeated complaints about the abuses of these officials, and, in general, against members of the committees of trustees of prisons.
Charity and caring for people's sobriety
In 1894-1897, organs were created guardianship of national sobriety subordinated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It must be admitted right away that this case was relatively new: the traditions of charity in this area did not develop, and the usual church teachings about the dangers of drunkenness were practically not supported by private donations (for non-Orthodox communities in our region, the problem of drunkenness was not relevant at all). And the level of development of medicine until the end of the 19th century was such that it was not necessary to count on a cure for alcoholism, and therefore there was no need to donate to special hospitals. But by the end of the 19th century, the problems of alcoholism in Russia began to be clearly recognized by the authorities, which caused an “initiative from above”.
In the Nizhny Novgorod province was created and began to operate provincial committee of guardianship of people's sobriety based on a network of county committees. The provincial committee was headed ex officio by the governor (actually, at the beginning of the 20th century it was headed by a vice-governor; in particular, many of the committee's initiatives are associated with the name of vice-governor S.I. Biryukov). The committee, also ex officio, included the highest provincial officials of various departments: the manager of the provincial committee of state property, the manager of excise taxes, the head of the provincial gendarme department, the chairman of the district court, the bishop, the director of public schools (from the Ministry of Public Education), as well as representatives of the zemstvo and the head of local self-government - the mayor. The composition of the county committees was similar, where all the administrative-police and spiritual leadership of the county was also present. The composition of the committees (especially county ones) also included competing members from the merchants and the intelligentsia, but their influence was insignificant.
The tasks of the committees were: organizing explanatory work about the dangers of drunkenness, creating conditions for sober leisure (permissions to open tea houses, organizing and holding theater performances, folk festivals, etc.), monitoring compliance with the rules of the alcohol trade. The budget of the patronage of people's sobriety was formed at the expense of deductions from the treasury, fees from the sale of moral literature, from the financial activities of opened tea houses, as well as private donations. However, judging by the documents, public participation in the activities of these committees was insignificant (except for the attempts noted by the gendarmerie to use legal meetings in tea houses for revolutionary work). The estimates of the committees have been preserved in the archival funds. For example, in 1909, the Nizhny Novgorod provincial committee of guardianship of people's sobriety approved the parish in the amount
25,000 rubles (mainly funds from the treasury and from tea houses) and expenses in the same amount (for the maintenance of the same tea rooms and free public libraries). At the same time, charitable fees amounted to 600 rubles, and the expenses for office work of the committees were 500 rubles a year! It is characteristic that the committees annually asked for an increase in revenue from the treasury.
The situation on the ground was no better. So, "Special Nizhny Novgorod Fair Committee for the Guardianship of People's Sobriety", established in 1901, submitted almost all reports with a significant excess of expenditure over revenue. An example is a tea house on Samokatskaya Square: in 1907, income - 627 rubles 08 kopecks, expenses - 945 rubles 05 kopecks; in the Lubyanka Garden in the same year, income was 7,143 rubles 08 kopecks, and expenses were 10,765 rubles 75 kopecks. It became clear that without regular private subsidies, just selling tea with sugar and lecturing on the dangers of alcoholism, the guardianship of people's sobriety would not be able to exist for a long time. And there were practically no private donations - and this despite the solid representation of fair figures in the committee (P.M. Kalashnikov, F.A. Mazurkevich, A.A. Titov) and the membership of the police chief himself (of course, by position, and not at the behest of the soul). Sobriety societies were also opened in rural areas, for example, in the villages of Pavlovo (1899) and Shapkino (in the parish of the Kazan Church, 1908) of the Gorbatovsky district, in the village of Bolshoye Pole (in the parish of the Zosima-Savvatievsky Church, 1912) of the Makaryevsky district, etc. , but it seems that things did not go beyond the registration of charters ...
The activity of guardians of people's sobriety in the late 19th - early 20th centuries is, although negative, but still a very important historical experience, testifying to the deliberate doom of any undertaking that does not rely on popular support.
Charity in emergencies
Some charitable societies were of an emergency nature, with funding from both private donations and the treasury. An example would be Nizhny Novgorod provincial charitable committee active during the famine of 1892. The committee members were: Governor
N.M. Baranov (chairman), bishop, a number of prominent officials of the provincial government, representatives of the merchant class (in particular, N.A. Bugrov, P.I. Lelkov), intelligentsia
(V.G. Korolenko), zemstvos (N.F. Annensky), doctors, etc. The committee organized the opening of free people's canteens, the issuance of loans in money and grain for those in need, controlled the dispatch of medicines (through the society of doctors), and encouraged donations in every possible way. It is interesting to note that, thanks to the governor's support, significant funds came not only from individuals, but also from officials of official institutions, educational institutions (“subscription fees”).
Essays by V.G. Korolenko “In the year of hunger”, written in the hot pursuit of the events (they were published as a separate book already in 1893), provide an opportunity to get to know the activities of the Nizhny Novgorod provincial charitable committee and its results, to feel the atmosphere of the Committee’s meetings, to see the practical work that was carried out by those who were not indifferent to someone else's misfortune people. Among them was Vladimir Galaktionovich himself: “At the end of February 1892, on a clear frosty evening, I left Nizhny Novgorod along the Arzamas highway. I had about a thousand rubles with me [comparable to the annual income of a small parish guardianship. - B.P.], placed at my disposal by kind people for direct assistance to the starving, and an open letter from the provincial charitable committee, which, for its part, was pleased to provide me with instructions that completely coincided with my intentions. (...) I had to spend three months in the county, not looking up from this addictive work, and then return there again, until the new harvest ... ”. A talented writer and deeply decent person, Korolenko described what the surviving official documents of those years are silent about. From the pages of the essays, the reader is presented with a thirteen-year-old peasant girl Feska, who “does not eat according to the law” (because she was not included in the list of diners in the free canteen), residents of the village of Dubrovka (“Write everyone in a row! .. We are all poor! What we are residents!”), the peasant Maxim Savoskin, who died of starvation typhus (“Inside” did not accept anything, and soon Savoskin died”), the need of the Pralevo peasants (“Listashka is dying ...”). And next to this - the soullessness of bureaucratic orders that doomed entire villages to starvation (“Alas! - it turned out that the gentlemen of the zemstvo chiefs hastened to reduce loans in all families in which someone used the canteen. I already knew about this, but I hoped to achieve (and achieved) the abolition of a strange order that made all private charity completely pointless. ”); arbitrariness of the county authorities, whose actions nullified the results of private charity (“... From the province, people are indicated on the spot who agreed to take over the running of canteens, and these people, upon submission of estimates, were sent money through the county guardianship to open canteens. But then something completely unexpected happened: the guardianship, instead of transferring the money to its destination, sequestered it and transferred it to the zemstvo plots. sent to a certain task, found themselves isolated from the people who asked them”).
Reflecting on his experience of participating in the work of the Nizhny Novgorod provincial charitable committee, V.G. Korolenko wrote: “There are two methods of helping the population within the limits of private charity. The first is when an intelligent person who lives or at least settled for a long time in a needy village enters into direct, more or less close communication with those whom he helps. In this case, he can add moral support to material assistance, he can give to people whom he knows and who know him, everything he is capable of, everything that is at his disposal from moral and material resources. (...) Without a doubt, this is the most sympathetic, complete and humane form of charity, establishing a certain reciprocity between the receiver and the giver, and finally bringing the greatest satisfaction to both parties. (...) However, there is another method, and, according to the circumstances, it fell to my lot. No matter how good, no matter how beneficial moral communication and reciprocity, however, even a piece of bread, in itself, is a great blessing where it is not enough ... ".
The essays of the great righteous writer of the Russian land, cited in such detail here, help to understand a very simple, in essence, thing: private charity, bumping into bureaucratic obstacles and government prohibitions, is doomed to failure, but any good undertakings of the administration are doomed to failure in the same way. without broad public support.
Thus, charity and guardianship in the Nizhny Novgorod region have a long tradition, and their manifestations were multifaceted. This was a very honorable business, and persons who manifested themselves in this field enjoyed great respect in society. There are cases when the titles of honorary trustees were specifically requested. For example, documents testify that in 1866 an official of the excise department A.K. Kirkor donated 100 silver rubles to orphanages and, pledging to transfer 50 silver rubles annually in the future, filed a petition with the Nizhny Novgorod provincial guardianship of orphanages to enroll him in the number of honorary members of the guardianship. The official's request was granted.
It should be noted that the governors of Nizhny Novgorod and officials of provincial governments welcomed the manifestation of charity. There were several possible forms of encouragement for regular large-scale charity: expression of gratitude in writing, welcome address, diploma, cash incentive (one-time or "salary increase"). The committees of trustees had the right to present especially distinguished "honorary members" to government awards: a written "expression of the highest gratitude", a valuable gift (for example, a ring with an imperial monogram), orders and medals. Information about all forms of encouragement was necessarily entered into the "form list" (personal file). From archival documents it is known that the honorary member of the guardianship of orphanages V.E. Sapozhnikov for his "excellent diligent" service was awarded the orders of St. Stanislav 2nd and 3rd degree, St. Anna 2nd degree; merchant of the 2nd guild A.A. Vesnin, who donated 10,000 rubles to the Nativity Church in Nizhny Novgorod, received "gold medals to be worn on the chest on the Stanislav and Anninsky ribbons." As the highest recognition of merits in the cause of charity, the Nizhny Novgorod industrialist Ya.E. Bashkirov, who was awarded the title of "honorary citizen" in 1898, was elevated to hereditary noble dignity by a personal decree of Emperor Nicholas II of June 13, 1912 ("in consideration of outstanding charity and social activities").
And in conclusion, let's try to answer the question: why, in those distant times, did our fellow countrymen so actively strive to help their neighbor? What motivated people who donated money (sometimes a lot!) for the benefit of the poor? This question, which inevitably arises when working with documentary materials on the history of Nizhny Novgorod charity, deserves special consideration.
First of all, we must resolutely reject the version of granting benefactors the right to preferential taxation. There were no tax benefits for people involved in charity in pre-revolutionary Russia and could not be! (The introduction of the principle of "compensation for losses incurred from charitable activities" is incompatible with the very concept of a good creation). Further, one must understand that both before 1917 and after, all people were different, which means that everyone could have their own, personal motives that did not coincide with the rest. And very often one can only guess about these motives, because people not only did not explain them in official documents, but often would not be able to explain them, acting unconsciously, obeying the dictates of the soul and the traditions of previous generations. It is quite obvious that for many Nizhny Novgorod residents the main reason for significant donations for the public good was the desire to fulfill the religious commandment to help one's neighbor (it is no coincidence that we began the essay by mentioning these commandments). But it is also quite obvious that at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries, for that part of Nizhny Novgorod society that had moved away from religion (and there were many of them among the intelligentsia), religious motives did not play a decisive role. But after all, even atheistically minded revolutionary democrats have always made their contribution to the cause of helping their neighbor: let us recall the selfless work of V.G. Korolenko in that hungry year of 1892, let us remember M. Gorky, never mentioned in the “duty clip” of Nizhny Novgorod philanthropists, who, with his literary fees, helped everyone who turned to him, literally saved people from starvation, paid for studies and treatment for those in need; let us also remember the selfless deeds of many teachers, doctors, agronomists, engineers... Therefore, it would seem more correct to speak of moral motives for charitable activities: after all, the ideals of selfless service to society were equally dear to people with very different convictions.
It is very likely that some personal circumstances and subjective motives could also influence participation in charitable activities. Judging by the documentary evidence of those years, among the trustees who generously donated large amounts of money, there were many people who were single, who did not have heirs or a family at all (bright examples are N.A. Bugrov and V.M. Burmistrova), and therefore sought to secure posthumous gratitude for themselves. fellow countrymen with good deeds. By the way,
ON THE. Bugrov, who was distinguished by great worldly wisdom and flair, spoke in the last years of his life about the possibility of a social cataclysm in Russia (“The authorities, the police, and the army will sweep away everything”); it is possible that these sentiments explain the amazing generosity of the "manufactory-advisor" in relation to the Seima peasants and the absolutely paradoxical help to the revolutionary movement.
In some cases, class solidarity could become an incentive motive. As you know, until 1917 Russia was a class state, which could not but affect charity. In our province, examples of collective estate charity are known: for example, the Nizhny Novgorod noble deputy assembly allocated funds for the creation of the Women's Noble Hostel, to help the families of poor nobles and the maintenance of their children in the Nizhny Novgorod Cadet Corps and the Alexander Noble Institute. There were also examples of private charity: for example, the widow of Staff Captain Karataev, E.D. Karataeva, transferred to the creation of a hostel for the charity of poor nobles and a shelter for their children the buildings that belonged to her, and both institutions were maintained, including on interest from the capital placed by her in the Alexander Noble Bank. To the shelter for charity of poor nobles M.B. Prutchenko, vice-governor and former manager of the Treasury, donated 15,000 rubles at a time. Finally, spending on public benefit could become a kind of form of repentance: it seems that the generosity of the landowner S. Martynov and members of his family was caused by a desire to atone for the sin of his son Nikolai, who killed the poet M.Yu. in a duel in 1841. Lermontov.
An analysis of the composition of trustees in various committees and societies of the Nizhny Novgorod province made it possible to identify an interesting feature: from the merchant class, they were almost exclusively bakers, flour millers, shipowners, clothing and footwear manufacturers, owners of light and woodworking enterprises - in a word, those who, in the conditions of our region, did not had a monopoly on their products. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, such entrepreneurs were helped to survive in the fiercest competition in the Russian market by government contracts (“state order”, in modern terms). The decision to grant government contracts was made locally by administrative authorities, that is, ultimately, the governor - the "head of the province" and the indispensable (by position) chairman of almost all trustee committees, who was obliged to report to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for their work. Is it not in the desire to gain fame and favor with the authorities (and eventually get a coveted contract) that lies the secret of the activity with which some Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneurs rushed into guardianship? .. For comparison, we note that monopoly manufacturers of certain types of products in the region - for example, vodka king” A.V. Dolgov or the owners of chemical plants of the Salolin Joint-Stock Company are “not noticed” in active charity work ...
And yet, I think, the main thing was not in this, but in the system of mutual assistance that literally permeated Nizhny Novgorod society until 1917. Almost all residents of the Nizhny Novgorod province, young and old, were involved in this system to one degree or another, participating to the best of their ability in the work of trustees with monetary contributions, the provision of free services, fundraising and attracting donors. Not only merchants, but also officials of all ranks, the intelligentsia (nobles and raznochintsy), the clergy, student youth, townspeople and rural residents became participants in charity events. Honor was surrounded in society by people who for years disinterestedly helped the poor. It is in the upbringing of the traditions of highly moral public service that, in our opinion, lies the most important historical experience of Nizhny Novgorod charity.
Nizhny Novgorod philanthropy is not one century old. Houses donated to the city by merchants or industrialists are still alive. Entrepreneurial businessmen knew the value of money, but they never spared thousands to help the needy and their native city.
Genius Sponsor
The name of the craftsman, the self-taught Ivan Kulibin, thundered throughout Russia. As you know, he created and presented to Empress Catherine the Great an outlandish clock, where little men play a whole performance. From such a gift, the queen was amazed and immediately complained to the inventor to manage the mechanical workshop of the Academy of Sciences.
And few people know, thanks to whom Russia learned about Kulibin's talent! The merchant of the first guild, Mikhail Andreevich Kostromin, offered the master to make a watch for the arrival of the empress in Nizhny Novgorod, moreover, he paid for all the materials and supported the family of the legendary self-taught for the entire time of work. The merchant himself asked for an audience with Catherine's favorite, Count Orlov. It was then that Kulibin presented the clock to the empress.
The empress did not forget the generous merchant - she presented the patron with a thousand rubles, a silver mug with her own portrait and a dedicatory inscription.
The merchant Kostromin was a peasant, he made a fortune with his ingenuity and enterprise. He had amazing flair and generosity. The memory of the merchant Kostromin remained in the city - a mansion with columns on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya, 4. Now there is an educational theater.
Caring for the tramps
The noble deed of Nikolai Bugrov, a representative of a well-known Old Believer merchant family, is still reminiscent of the building of the City Duma, now the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court on Bolshaya Pokrovskaya, 1.
Bugrov bought the theater building on Blagoveshchenskaya Square (now Minin and Pozharsky Square) Photo: Public Domain
Bugrov, a philanthropist and philanthropist, presented the palace to his native city, however, under funny circumstances. The merchant bought the theater building on Blagoveshchenskaya Square (now Minin and Pozharsky Square) and… a week later presented it to the city government. He explained that his late parents lived on this place - they say, it’s not good when instead of the father’s house there is a theater. Bugrov, on the other hand, partially sponsored the construction of a pompous palace-terem here, where the city duma was located.
The merchant did not skimp on direct monetary assistance. They say that only alms he distributed 10 million rubles in his life.
The Bugrov family came up with the idea to create a doss house for 500-800 people at the foot of the Kremlin. Every wanderer could find here an overnight stay, a pound of free bread and a mug of boiling water. It was strict in the rooming house: "Do not drink vodka, do not sing songs, be quiet." Maxim Gorky sang this house in the play "At the bottom".
Nochlezhka Bugrov Photo: Administration of Nizhny Novgorod
Nowadays, various departments have been in the building of the rooming house for a long time. Now the historical house was bought by a Nizhny Novgorod businessman.
And next to this building - the legendary tea "Pillars". Merchant Dmitry Sirotkin invited the writer Maxim Gorky to arrange a house on the street. The tannery is a daytime haunt for the tramps and the unemployed. The fact is that tramps were expelled from the nearby Bugrovskaya rooming house in the morning, and they were allowed back only in the evening - for order. And during the day they could warm themselves in the tea room, eat for 3 kopecks. A library, a free dispensary were opened in Stolby...
Not for the pocket - for the heart
Helping the suffering, donating considerable sums to help the destitute was the norm for the Nizhny Novgorod merchants. With the money of entrepreneurs on the street. Ilinskaya appeared the first orphanage, and on the square. Lyadov built the "Widow's House" for widowed poor women and orphans - by the way, with the help of the same Nikolai Bugrov, who also attracted relatives of the Blinov merchants to the cause.
The widow's house on Lyadov Square. Early 20th century photo Photo: Public Domain
The merchants opened educational institutions, built temples, and installed water pipes. One of the gifts to the city is the Nativity Church of the 18th century, built by the merchants Stroganovs (its style in architecture was called “Stroganov Baroque”).
Nikolai Alexandrovich Bugrov(1839-1911) - the largest Nizhny Novgorod merchant, baker, financier, homeowner, philanthropist and philanthropist, donated 45% of his net income to charity.
For all that, Bugrov the merchant
There was a resourceful businessman, -
In the evenings, raging with fat,
He did not turn into a spender,
Knew: he has income,
No matter how you drink them, or eat them,
Do not ruin his whim,
And where did the income come from?
From those closets and corners
Where from labor lived sweat.
That's where the merchant was the catch
And a real hunt!
From here he rowed profits,
Hence the copper pennies
Flowed into merchant backwaters
And turned into millions
No, not pennies, but rubles,
Merchant's faithful profits.
Enriched the merchant-big man
A poor people who did not live in paradise,
By turning money into power,
In someone else's strength - not in your own.
Demyan Bedny
“A millionaire, a major grain merchant, the owner of steam mills, a dozen steamboats, a flotilla of barges, huge forests, N. A. Bugrov played the role of a specific prince in Nizhny and the province.
An Old Believer of "priestless consent", he built in a field, a mile away from Nizhny Novgorod, a vast cemetery surrounded by a high, brick fence, in the cemetery - a church and a "skete" - and the village peasants were punished with a year in prison under Article 103 of the Code of Punishment of Criminal "for the fact that they arranged secret "chapels" in their huts. In the village of Popovka, Bugrov erected a huge building, an almshouse for the Old Believers - it was widely known that sectarians-"scholars" were brought up in this almshouse. He openly supported secret skete sketes in the forests of Kerzhents and on the Irgiz, and in general was not only an active defender of sectarianism, but also a strong pillar on which the "ancient piety" of the Volga region, the Urals, and even some part of Siberia relied.
The head of the state church, the nihilist and cynic Konstantin Pobedonostsev, wrote - I think in 1901 - a report to the tsar about the hostile, anti-church activities of Bugrov, but this did not prevent the millionaire from stubbornly doing his job. He said "you" to the eccentric governor Baranov, and I saw how, in 1996, at the All-Russian exhibition, he clapped friendly on Witte's stomach and, stamping his foot, shouted at the Minister of the Court Vorontsov.
He was a generous philanthropist: he built a good overnight house in Nizhny, a huge building for widows and orphans with 300 apartments, perfectly equipped a school in it, arranged a city water supply system, built and donated a building for the city duma to the city, made gifts to the zemstvo with forest for rural schools and in general did not spare money for "charity" deeds. "
Maksim Gorky
In the overnight house of N.A. Bugrov. Photo by Maxim Dmitriev
At Bugrov's doss house. photo by Maxim Dmitriev
Back in the 1880s, the Bugrovs, father Alexander Petrovich and son Nikolai Alexandrovich, built at their own expense a doss house for 840 people, a widow's house for 160 widows with children, and also participated in the construction of a city water supply system. In memory of this, Sofronovskaya Square was put "Fountain of Benefactors" with the inscription: " This fountain was built in memory of honorary citizens of the mountains. Nizhny Novgorod: F.A., A.A., N.A. Blinov, A.P. and N.A. Bugrovykh and U.S. Kurbatov, who, with their donations, gave the city the opportunity to build a water pipe in 1880, provided that it was used forever free of charge by residents of Nizhny Novgorod".
Rooming houses and libraries were opened for these tramps.
Nizhny Novgorod tramps. Photo by Maxim Dmitriev
The prudent N.A. Bugrov was not in the habit of donating cash to charity - both income from real estate and interest from a "perpetual" deposit served as a source of funds for her. Houses and estates belonging to Bugrov in Nizhny Novgorod served not only his personal interests. The income from real estate, which he donated to the city, was directed to help the distressed and needy. So, in 1884, Bugrov donated to the city a manor on Gruzinskaya Street and capital in the amount of 40 thousand rubles for the construction of a public building that would bring an annual income of at least 2,000 rubles. This money was intended annually, for eternity, in aid to the fire victims of the Semenovsky district".
Fistfight at Bugrov's doss house. Photo by Maxim Dmitriev
The same principle was used by Bugrov when financing the famous Widow's House, opened in Nizhny Novgorod in 1887. In addition to interest on large capital (65,000 rubles) in the Nikolaevsky Bank, the shelter's budget was replenished from income (2,000 rubles per year) brought by two Bugrov houses on the street. Alekseevskaya and Gruzinsky per., which the merchant presented to the city. On the proposal of the governor N.M. Baranov dated January 30, 1888, the Highest Imperial permission was given to give the Widow's House the name " Nizhny Novgorod city public named after Blinovs and Bugrovyh Widow House" .
N.A. Bugrov’s assistance to the starving in the disastrous years of 1891-1892 looks large and expressive, especially against the background of a general, often formal, approach. He agreed to sell all the purchased bread to the Provincial Food Commission at the procurement price of 1 ruble. 28 kop. per pound, i.e. completely abandoning profits (at that time, Nizhny Novgorod landowners kept the price of bread at the level of 1 rub. 60 kop.)
The Bugrovs paid special attention to the education of talented children. In particular, a scholarship was established in the city of Semenov "for a peasant boy with outstanding abilities" - the first to receive it was a student from. Khakhaly Nikolai Vorobyov in 1912
“Give me power,” he said, screwing up his healthy eye to the subtlety of a knife blade, “I would stir up the whole people, the Germans and the British would gasp! to black people. You succeeded in your business - here's honor and glory to you! Compete further. And what, along the way, stepped on someone's head - it's nothing! We don't live in the desert, without pushing - you won't get through! When we raise the whole earth, yes Let's push to work - then life will be more spacious. Our people are good, with such people you can topple the mountains, plow the Caucasus. Only one thing you need to remember: after all, you yourself will not lead your son to a dissolute woman in the call sign of his flesh - no? you can’t immediately dip your head into our bustle - he will choke, suffocate in our acrid smoke!
Maxim Gorky “N.A. Bugrov”
Presidium of the Congress of Old Believers with N.A. Bugrov in the center
Introduction
In the old "Scribe Books" among the townspeople of Nizhny Novgorod, "the best people" are named, that along the Volga "they go up and down by ships and who trade in all sorts of goods in large quantities." Resourcefulness and the ability to conduct business created glory for the Nizhny Novgorod merchants. Favorable conditions, and sometimes, on the contrary, the most difficult obstacles contributed to the advancement of the most capable and stubborn people from the people to the merchant class, the first ranks of industrialists and financiers. Especially many talents appeared in Russia in the last century during the post-reform period. The strongest were people from Old Believer families, where the upbringing was very harsh. Such immigrants became the backbone of the Nizhny Novgorod merchants.
Were strong and tenaciousmerchants Bugrovs . The Bugrovs are an eminent merchant family, and its entire history is inseparable from the Nizhny Novgorod fair. This connection went along two main lines: work at the fair and trade at it. The founder of the Bugrov company, Petr Yegorovich, began to work for the fair. In his youth, he babbled on the Volga and worked hard for the good of the fair, pulling merchant ships to the Macarius. When he "made it into the people" and became a transport contractor, he helped build a fair in Nizhny Novgorod, supplying rubble stone and other building materials. P.E. Bugrov began the main trade of his company at the fair - bread. Since 1829, he was the first in the Nizhny Novgorod province to establish a commodity flour-grinding production, having set up four large mills on his native river Linda, became the largest flour mill and launched a wide grain trade, primarily at the fair. Countrymen P.E. Bugrova, who inhabited the area of the villages of Kantaurovo, Tolokontsevo and Sitniki, rolled excellent felt boots and bright hats (made from the delicate wool of a young sheep). But they had serious difficulties with the sale of products, which was cleverly used by buyers, robbing handicraftsmen. Petr Yegorovich helped fellow countrymen: since 1832, he organized the sale of felted products at the fair on favorable terms for them. P.E.'s greatest fame Bugrov acquired as a skilled building contractor. Construction works at the fair were considered the most profitable, because they were stable and well paid. The fair building contract consisted of two parts. The first is to build, maintain, dismantle, repair and store bridges until the next season. And there were many. The main one is the pontoon bridge across the Oka. Then two bridges to the Grebnevsky sands, 12 bridges across the bypass canal: four passing and eight pedestrian. The second part - temporary wooden structures, which included eight premises for the police, the Cossack barracks with officers' rooms, bunks, a kitchen, a stable, a shed, lance machines, a manger for feed and a watch box; 23 Cossack pickets with shelters for horses; two fire sheds with towers, rooms for teams and horses; five guardhouses: three common, one for non-commissioned officers and one Cossack; premises for lamplighters and a sweeping team (janitors). These are only obligatory buildings, and in addition to them, many others were required, the construction of which arose according to unforeseen needs. For a long time, the venerable Nizhny Novgorod merchants Pyatovs and Michurins alternately held the fair building contract. Peasant Bugrov was at first unable to compete with them. But his credibility in business circles helped. The fair building contract was so extensive that V.K. Michurin in 1847 himself attracted Peter Yegorovich to his subcontractors. In this work, Bugrov delved into the content of the contract in detail and at the next auction in 1850 he threw down the gauntlet of a challenge to all competitors from the merchant class. A large deposit was required to participate in the auction. Pyotr Yegorovich took a big risk by mortgaging his house on the Nizhne-Volzhskaya embankment, valued at 11,754 rubles, and in a bitter struggle wrested this prestigious contract from the merchants' hands. The merchant A.M. stubbornly bargained with him. Gubin. Bugrov defeated him with just one ruble: Gubin agreed to perform in a row for 81,601 rubles, and Bugrov took a row for 81,600 rubles in silver (in banknotes, the amount is 3.5 times more). This prestigious P.E. Bugrov tenaciously held it in his hands until his death in 1859, each time at the next auction held four years later, beating his competitors with a reasonable price and high quality workmanship. Unfortunately, his heir, son Alexander, failed to keep this profitable contract. But he found his place at the fair. Owning extensive forests, Alexander Petrovich became the main supplier of building materials to the fair, supplying it with all kinds of timber. A.P. Bugrov significantly expanded flour-grinding production, placing two powerful mills in a new location, on the river Seimas. As a result, the role of the Nizhny Novgorod fair in the sale of grocery products of the Bugrov company increased. In 1870, the Bugrovs rented 10 trading places at the fair, mainly in the flour row. But the fair, which was empty for ten months of the year, was often devastated by fires, especially its wooden part. After a big fire in 1872, the fair office sold all the trading places outside the main house and the Gostiny Dvor into private hands. Merchants willingly agreed to this, but new construction was allowed only stone. The Bugrovs skillfully took advantage of this. They did not begin to restore all their former trading positions, but on a busy place, at the beginning of Moscow (now Soviet) street, they erected three stone two-story trading buildings. The location was very good, close to the train station. It was possible to trade here not only during the fair season, but all year round. These houses were built so soundly that to this day they fulfill their trade mission (Soviet, 20). The grandson of Peter Yegorovich, Nikolai Alexandrovich, took an active part in the improvement of the fair. By the 80s of the 19th century, the main fair house with its two outbuildings was so dilapidated that the commission for its reconstruction came to a disappointing conclusion: "no repair can be achieved so that the house and the outbuilding are adapted to the modern requirements of the fair." Therefore, the members of the commission "considered it more rational to dismantle the existing buildings to the ground and build one common new building." An all-Russian competition for the project was announced, the best one was selected and received the first prize. To oversee the quality factor of construction, an authoritative commission was formed from the most respected merchants, which included N.A. Bugrov. As a result, the monumental building of the main fair house was erected in just one year and consecrated on June 15, 1890. For active participation in the reconstruction of this beauty of Nizhny Novgorod, Nikolai Alexandrovich Bugrov was awarded a high government award - the Order of St. Stanislav II degree. Nikolai Alexandrovich himself was content with little: his usual food was cabbage soup and porridge with brown bread, he dressed in the usual merchant's outfit - a sheepskin coat, a frock coat, boots, slept on the stove or skirts. He had dozens of steamboats, steam mills, warehouses, moorings, hundreds of acres of forest, entire villages. He built the famous rooming house for the homeless, a shelter for widows and orphans, spared no expense in building churches, hospitals and schools. As you can see, the whole life of the Bugrovs, from the founder of the company, Peter Yegorovich, to his grandson, Nikolai Alexandrovich, is inextricably linked with the Nizhny Novgorod fair. They invested a lot of effort into it, they increased their capital on it.
No less importantmerchants Rukavishnikovs . In 1812, merchant Grigory Rukavishnikov arrived in Nizhny Novgorod from Balakhna. At that time, an unknown businessman was not going to waste time on trifles and knew for sure why he was going to the capital of the province. He was on his way so that in decades his descendants would proudly bear the title of "steel kings". For five years, Gregory managed to firmly settle in the city. By 1817, Rukavishnikov already had three shops at the Nizhny Novgorod Fair and a wholesale trade in iron. In 1822 the merchant built his steel factory. Grigory Rukavishnikov made sure that his son adequately and competently continued his work. At the age of 19, Mikhail Rukavishnikov became the head of his father's factory. For over 40 years, Mikhail Grigoryevich Rukavishnikov has been engaged in the manufacture of high-quality steel, traded it and gave his business a real scope. Rukavishnikov's steel was traded in St. Petersburg, Yaroslavl, Moscow, Transcaucasia, and even delivered to Persia. Manufactory-adviser, the first guild merchant Mikhail Grigoryevich Rukavishnikov became one of the most influential people in the city, but did not lose his quickness of mind and desire for change. He was constantly aware of all the innovations and adopted the best experience. The only Nizhny Novgorod entrepreneur, he subscribed to the Manufactory and Trade magazine and the Manufactory and Gornozavodskiye Izvestia newspaper. For strictness and rigidity in business, workers and office workers respectfully called Rukavishnikov an iron old man. Although they could well be called the "golden old man." Mikhail Grigorievich amassed a huge fortune - after his death, he left his sons five million rubles each (incredible money at that time). Nizhny Novgorod should be grateful to Rukavishnikov for his extensive charitable activities. The merchant, who knew how to count money, spared no expense to help those who really needed it. At the expense of Rukavishnikov, the Mariinsky Women's Gymnasium and orphanages were maintained. One of Rukavishnikov's sons, Ivan Mikhailovich, was a member of the board of trustees of the Kulibino vocational school, a member of the board of the House of Diligence, and a member of the committee of the Widow's House. In 1908, donations from Ivan Mikhailovich Rukavishnikov built a stone house - a hostel for boys leaving the Widow's House (according to the charter of the house, boys who were 15 years old were deprived of the right to live there). He also built a school where the children of widows learned the craft. Together with his brothers and sisters, Ivan Mikhailovich built the House of Diligence (now it is the old building of Nizhpoligraf). The building accommodated more than 200 beggars, who, for pinching tow and scratching bast, received a small daily wage, an overnight stay and food twice a day. Every year, Ivan Mikhailovich appropriated a thousand rubles in favor of poor Nizhny Novgorod brides. Donated to the zemstvo barracks in the colony of the mentally ill in Lyakhov (until recently there was a "Rukavishnikov's barrack") and for contagious patients in Far Konstantinov. In 1900 he donated two thousand rubles for juvenile delinquents in the colonies. After the death of Ivan Mikhailovich, a will remained: about 200 thousand rubles - for churches, various charitable and educational institutions; 75 thousand rubles - for the device at the Widow's House of a shelter for boys. One of the sons of M. G. Rukavishnikov - Vladimir Mikhailovich - was a juror of the City Duma. Since 1875, he maintained at his own expense a school for 40 boys and a chapel, spending up to 40 thousand rubles a year. The school recruited capable children from all over the country and put them on full support: clothed, fed, educated (general and musical). After school, the boys became choristers of the choir of the Trinity Church, the money for the construction of which was also given by the Rukavishnikovs. The most talented students became soloists in the capital's opera houses. A graduate of this school, Pavel Koshits, sang at the Bolshoi Theater, and the cousin of Alexei Maksimovich Gorky, Alexander Kashirin, served in the famous church choir of Rukavishnikov. One of the most picturesque houses in Nizhny Novgorod (now it belongs to the historical and architectural museum-reserve), located on a slope, belonged to Sergei Mikhailovich Rukavishnikov. The house was intended only for the family of Sergei Mikhailovich, a tax was taken annually from the owner to the city treasury - 1933 rubles, the most significant amount in the city. In 1903, electricity was provided in it - in the first of the private houses in Nizhny Novgorod. Sergei Mikhailovich also generously donated money to charity, mainly for the needs of monasteries and churches. After his death, a dinner for the poor for a thousand people was organized in the House of Diligence, and visitors to the overnight shelter were given money. At the end of the 19th century, the Rukavishnikovs built a huge two-building bank building, which fronted on Rozhdestvenskaya Street (now the Volga River Shipping Company is located there), and on the Nizhne-Volzhskaya embankment with the other. So the memory of the glorious family of Nizhny Novgorod merchants is adequately imprinted in the architecture of our city.
Another clan of merchants of the Nizhny Novgorod land -Bashkirovs
. Their trading house "Emelyan Bashkirov and Sons" became widely known. Emelyan Bashkirov started his "business" trading in hay at the bazaars. Having earned good money, he moved his family to Nizhny Novgorod and expanded the scope of the business - he began to trade in consumer goods outside his native province, going along the Volga to Astrakhan. A few years later, having increased his capital to 10 thousand rubles, he enrolled in the Nizhny Novgorod 1st guild of merchants and in 1871, together with his sons Nikolai, Yakov and Matvey, opened his trading and flour milling enterprise - the Nizhny Novgorod trading house "Emelyan Bashkirov and Sons ". The entrepreneur himself was illiterate: he could not sign the constituent documents, asking his friend, the Nizhny Novgorod 2nd guild merchant Pupkov, to do it for himself, but the sons of Bashkirov signed with their own hands. The main achievement of the Bashkirov trading house was that, just a few years after its foundation, it was awarded the right to constantly supply flour to the “main baker” of the country, entrepreneur Filippov, who had a bakery and the most popular bakery in Moscow on Tverskaya. In an effort to modernize the flour milling industry, the Bashkirovs equipped a mill in Blagoveshchenskaya Sloboda with a new powerful elevator, the construction of which spent almost 100 thousand rubles. They invested in the development of their cargo fleet, as well as in the expansion of distribution networks through which they sold their own products. In 1891, after the death of their father, the Bashkirov brothers decided to divide the family capital, which at that time amounted to 9.5 million rubles, into three equal parts. Having received more than three million each, they founded their own flour-grinding and trading companies: Nikolai - in Samara, Yakov and Matvey - in Nizhny Novgorod. The mill in the Kunavinskaya Sloboda went to the middle brother, Yakov. The high quality of the Bashkirov flour (it was considered the best in the country) was repeatedly noted at exhibitions and fairs, including gold medals in Vienna, Paris and London. At the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in 1896, the flour of the Bashkirovs received the highest award and entrepreneurs were granted the right to mark their products with the State Emblem. Over time, Yakov Bashkirov's "Flour-grinding Association" became the supplier of the Romanov imperial court, and he himself was granted the noble title and the title "Honorary Citizen of Nizhny Novgorod".
Following Bugrov, they established an 8-hour working day at their enterprises, provided workers with free space in the barracks at the mills, were the first in Nizhny Novgorod to introduce childbirth benefits, and took care of improving the general literacy and skills of workers. In 1912, the first "health insurance fund" appeared in Nizhny Novgorod, which was organized by Matvey Bashkirov at his mill. The children of deceased workers were given a one-time allowance of 30 rubles, for the funeral of members of the workers' families - 6 rubles each, women in childbirth - 4 rubles each. When the Polytechnic Institute, evacuated from Warsaw, moved to Nizhny Novgorod, Matvey presented its rector with a check for half a million rubles - the most generous donation among Nizhny Novgorod merchants. Matvey Yemelyanovich was considered the uncrowned king of Nizhny Novgorod, but this man, who had enormous wealth and significant financial power, always tried to remain in the shadows. Yakov Bashkirov was also a generous philanthropist: he donated to the construction of churches, helped the city theater, a real school, built women's and men's vocational schools. The latter, located in Kunavin, later became known as Bashkirovsky. In 1908, flour millers from the Volga region opened a school in Nizhny Novgorod for the training of qualified specialists - grain millers, fitters, and millers - on the basis of the miller's school, which had long been successfully operating at one of Yakov Bashkirov's mills. There were only four such schools in Russia: in Nizhny, Odessa, Warsaw and Minsk. Now in the building of the former Bashkir School (on Priokskaya Street, house No. 6) the Prioksky branch of the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation is located. After almost 100 years, the work of the Bashkirov flour millers in our city is continued by the Nizhny Novgorod Flour Mill OJSC, the largest flour producer in the region, which occupies the buildings of the former Bashkir mill in Kunavin. They are listed under No. 96, 96 A and 94 on the street. International and are among the oldest industrial buildings in Nizhny Novgorod.
In the context of rethinking traditions, at a turning point in the rapid development of capitalism, it was not easy to become such a large-scale and popular among Nizhny Novgorod figure of his own formation, as a millionaire seems to be.Dmitry Vasilievich Sirotkin.
Sirotkin, Dmitry Vasilievich (1865-1946) - the largest figure of the Old Believers, chairman of the council of the All-Russian Congresses of the Old Believers of the Belokrinitsky consent, chairman of the council of the Nizhny Novgorod community. One of the richest ship manufacturers in Russia and a stock trader. Born in the village of Ostapovo (Astapovo), near the village of Purekh, Balakhna district, Nizhny Novgorod province. His parents - Vasily Ivanovich and Vera Mikhailovna - were peasants of this village. Starting with the trade in "wood chips" and handicrafts, his father then started two small steamboats, Dmitry Vasilyevich worked as a cook on the Volya steamboat as a child. Married in 1890 to the daughter of a Kazan merchant-steamer Kuzma Sidorovich Chetvergov, with the help of his father-in-law in 1895 he bought his first tugboat. Then he acquired the ownership of the oil transportation business of the company S.M. Shibaev (4 tugs). In 1907, the "Commercial, Industrial and Shipping Association of Dmitry Vasilyevich Sirotkin" was formed with a capital of 1.5 million rubles (15 steamers, about 50 non-steam ships, including more than 20 barges). In 1910, D.V. Sirotkin became the managing director of the Volga large steamship company. Since 1907 - Chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod Exchange Committee. Since 1908 - Chairman of the Council of Congresses of Shipowners of the Volga Basin. By 1913, Sirotkin became chairman of the joint-stock shipping company "Along the Volga". For the construction of the administration building, he bought a plot of land at the corner of Nizhny Novgorod Otkos and Seminarskaya Square, and ordered the construction project to the Vesnin brothers. This building has been preserved, it is located on Verkhne-Volzhskaya embankment, 1, it now houses the medical institute. According to the project of the Vesnins (with the participation of S.A. Novikov), next to the government building, in 1913, the construction of a residential building was begun, in which Sirotkin intended to "live for four years", and then donate to the city to host the Art Museum (which is now located there) . Sirotkin was a significant church benefactor. He financed the construction in his native village in 1913 of an Old Believer church designed by the architects of the Vesnin brothers. He was one of the donors to the Church magazine. On his donations, the Nizhny Novgorod community existed; the prayer house where services were held also belonged to Sirotkin. Since 1899 - Chairman of the Council of All-Russian Congresses of the Old Believers of the Belokrinitsa hierarchy. In 1908, advocating an increase in the rights of the laity in the Church, he came into conflict with Bishop Innokenty of Nizhny Novgorod and Kostroma. After a long struggle, the general meeting of the community members on September 12, 1910 forced Sirotkin to step down as chairman. Following this, in 1910, Sirotkin resigned from the post of chairman of the Council of Old Believer Congresses. The delegates of the 10th Congress by a majority of votes asked him to stay. Being the mayor, he proposed to Gorky to arrange a daytime shelter for the unemployed, the famous "Pillars". The money for the device was allocated by the Duma and the well-known philanthropist N.A. Bugrov. In 1917, Sirotkin built an Old Believer almshouse with a temple in the memory of his deceased mother on the street. Zhukovskaya (now - Minin Street), at which he kept the church choir at his own expense. March 29, 1913 Sirotkin was elected mayor of Nizhny Novgorod for a four-year term. Refused the mayor's salary. Soon a major scandal began related to Sirotkin's belonging to the Old Believers. In Nizhny Novgorod, on May 7, 1913, at the celebrations on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the royal dynasty, a prayer service was held in the presence of the king. Since New Believer priests served, the mayor defiantly did not baptize. The second time he was elected mayor for 1917-1920. The elections were held on February 7, 1917, and already in early September, D. V. Sirotkin was replaced by the mayor of the Provisional Government. During his tenure as mayor in Nizhny Novgorod, the construction of a sewage system began, the tram and electric facilities were bought into the ownership of the city, and a city bakery was opened. DV Sirotkin took part in the opening in 1915 at the People's University. In the autumn of 1917, from the "Political Union of Old Believer Accords" he became a member of the Provisional Council of the Republic ("Pre-Parliament"). In November 1917, he ran for deputies of the Constituent Assembly on the list of the Union of Old Believers, but was not elected. In 1918-1919 he was in the White South, mainly in Rostov-on-Don. Played an important role in local business circles. At the end of 1919 he left for France. In the 1920s he settled in Yugoslavia with his family, where he lived on the income from the operation of two small steamships. Almost nothing is known about the last years of his life.
Become less famousmerchants Blinovs . The "clan" of the Blinovs - Nizhny Novgorod merchants of the 19th - early 20th centuries - is known throughout Russia. And for good reason. The former serfs Blinovs were able to become the largest entrepreneurs in the Russian state in a short time and prove themselves as successful industrialists and generous benefactors.
Who would have thought that the well-known merchant dynasty of the Blinovs came out of serfs. Nevertheless, as early as the beginning of the 19th century, the Blinov peasant family from the Balakhna district of the Nizhny Novgorod province belonged to the Nizhny Novgorod prince Repnin. The first mention of the founder of the merchant dynasty in Nizhny Novgorod is found in the list of persons who were issued a certificate for 1846 for the right to trade. The document reads: "Nizhny Novgorod province of Balakhna district to the peasant Fyodor Andreevich Blinov, freed from Prince Repnin." Apparently, already in that distant time, the former serf was a fairly wealthy man. He became one of the first shipowners who began to use steam traction in his enterprise instead of a burlak strap. It is known that in the 50s of the 19th century, the entrepreneur Blinov owned three steamboats: the Voyevoda tugboat, the Lev capstan and the Golub steamboat. A little later, Fyodor Blinov has three more iron tugboats: the “namesake” of the owner - “Blinov”, as well as “Assistant” and “North”. In addition, Blinov's trading flotilla had a considerable number of iron and wooden barges. How could a person who until recently was a simple peasant manage to amass such a huge fortune in a short time? Most researchers believe that Fedor Andreevich made his main capital primarily on contracts related to the transportation and sale of salt. Blinov's barges delivered salt from the lower reaches of the Volga and from Perm to Rybinsk and further along the Sheksna, the Mariinsky system to St. Petersburg. By modern standards, the volume of traffic was significant. For example, in just one season of 1870, 350 thousand pounds of Astrakhan sedimentary salt (eltonka) were exported on Blinov's ships. Even at the Perm salt works at that time, less salt was produced than was involved in the trade turnover of the Nizhny Novgorod merchant. In contracts for the transportation of salt and bread, Fyodor Blinov was assisted by his brother Nikolai. The third of the brothers, Aristarchus, was also involved in salt trading. In the “pocket of Russia”, the Balakhna peasant settled down thoroughly. Back in the early 50s of the 19th century, Fyodor Blinov built a complex of stone buildings on Sofronovskaya Square in Nizhny Novgorod. In addition to the residential building, there were shops, as well as a horse mill for grinding salt. Blinov's straw mill was, by the way, the only one in the Nizhny Novgorod province at that time. It employed eight hundred workers and annually produced salt worth 42,000 rubles. The only thing that somewhat interfered with the merchant in his affairs was the true faith in God - a faith according to which only the pre-Nikon postulates of Orthodoxy were honored. Being an Old Believer, Blinov often experienced harassment from the authorities. But no religious difficulties could prevent the Blinovs from becoming one of the richest people in the Nizhny Novgorod region. And they left a memory of themselves not at all because of their attachment to "Plyushkin" hoarding, as the Old Believer habit of all schismatic merchants was often interpreted to save the money they earned. The surname of the Blinov merchants has forever associated itself with high-profile patronage affairs.
