The Aksakov Labor Assistance Circle as an Experience of Commemorative Practice

Abstract

The article presents the results of a research based on modern methods of memory studies. These results complement the history of Russian commemorative practices in the early 20th century with economic and industrial examples. New forms of cultivating historical memory emerged with modernization processes. Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the death of S. T. Aksakov (1909), the nobility of Samara province organized the Aksakov labor assistance circle. Its main activity was setting up educational workshops named after the writer in the village described in his works under the name of Bagrovo. Sources about the Aksakov circle and these workshops are archival documents, published reports, and other materials. The nobility paid tribute to the memory of the outstanding writer and the bygone era of flourishing of provincial “nests of the gentry” by purchasing the Aksakov estate from the Peasant Bank; by creating conditions there for teaching crafts; by taking care of the historical house with a garden. Practical needs and search for funds for maintenance forced the organizers to turn to the zemstvo for assistance. The initiative of the nobility received material and moral support from Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. This resulted in the emphasis on the loyalist dimension of the memorial events in Samara region. The research of the experience of the specific commemorative practice contributes to the general understanding of social, cognitive, and ethical communications between history and historical memory, prompting further studies of the problem.