Collective Political Portrait of Landlords of the Oryol Province

Abstract

Within the previous work during the launch of the project “Implementation of the reform from February 19, 1861 in the Oryol province (experience of computer analysis of mass sources)” the topics touched upon were not only the ones which were based on the analysis of mass sources, but also some scenarios related to the aspects of the socio-economic situation in the region were developed. The work was continued, and some observations made during the preliminary study are given in the presented article. The key point here is the discussion of problems related to the “determination of the grounds” for the development of the position of the provincial nobility with regards to existing at that time correlation of interests between the supreme power, bureaucratic reformers and landowners. The author attempts to outline a collective portrait of the representatives of the landowning and agrarian-industrial local nobility of the Oryol province. This period in question was the peak of the political activity of the local nobility, a time when subjective and personal factors in the preparation of the peasant reform were fully manifested. The representatives of the Oryol nobility had different motives that determined their attitude to the upcoming abolition of serfdom. The study of a wide variety of differences in the views of the local nobility, the analysis of the factors that determined their views in these conditions, will help broaden the understanding of the foundations of the upcoming transformations and the level of historical responsibility of the main estate of the country.