Provincial Russia in the Age of Enlightenment

by Rostislavov, Dmitrii Ivanovich; Martin, Alexander M.

• ISBN13: 9780875805924
• ISBN10: 0875805922
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-02-01
• Publisher: Northern Illinois Univ Pr

Summary

The memoir of Dmitrii Ivanovich Rostislavov-a mathematician, teacher, and social critic-offers a rare firsthand view of provincial Russia in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Translated into English for the first time, these extraordinary observations reveal much about daily village life and the cultural milieu of the time. An acute observer, Rostislavov discusses social and ethnic relationships as well as matters pertaining to education, law enforcement, religious practice, and folk beliefs. Rostislavov's account of his own education is a harrowing description of coming of age in a Darwinian world of violence and cruelty. Coarse, impoverished schoolboys, brutal and corrupt teachers, and callous landlords formed a harsh environment characterized by sadistic corporal punishment and bitter class hatreds. Variously humorous, elegiac, and passionate, his narrative shows why even those from relatively privileged backgrounds came to detest the authoritarian order of the old regime. In a probing analysis of the Russian national order, Rostislavov found the twin evils facing Russia to be the coarseness of traditional society and the authoritarianism and corruption of the regime and its representatives. Russia's hope for the future, he believed, lay with cultural changes that would ultimately raise the society's moral level. Illustrations, maps, and an introduction illuminating the historical context accompany this remarkable account of life in provincial Russia.

Author Biography

Alexander M. Martin, translator and editor of Rostislavov's memoir, also provides an insightful introduction. Associate Professor of Modern European History at Oglethorpe University

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	ix
Acknowledgments	xi
Translator's Introduction	xiii
Endnotes	x1
Preface: My Goals and Intentions in Writing My Memoir	3	(3)
My Family Background	6	(8)
The Village of Palishchi and Its Environs	14	(10)
A Village Household	24	(8)
Corporal Punishment at Home	32	(6)
My Early Education	38	(5)
My Family Moves to Tuma	43	(10)
Outlaws and Law Enforcement	53	(29)
Our Home Life in Tuma	82	(4)
Hospitality	86	(11)
Household Work	97	(6)
Agricultural Work	103	(9)
Community Life in Tuma	112	(11)
How the Clergy Would Tour the Parish	123	(9)
The Kasimov Church School	132	(23)
The Church-School Students	155	(7)
My Life in Kasimov	162	(11)
Society in Kasimov	173	(13)
The Tatars of Kasimov	186	(9)
Governor-General Balashov	195	(13)
The Merchant Riumin	208	(11)
The Death of the Tsar	219	(2)
Endnotes	221	(4)
Bibliography	225	(6)
Index	231