The Aksakov Family before and after the Peasant Reform
Download paperDoctor of Philology, Professor at the Chair of History of Russian Literature and Journalism, Faculty of Journalism, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
e-mail: ruslit.msu@yandex.ruSection: Essay
The article recreates the economic life of writer S.T. Aksakov’s family in the pre-reform and post-reform time. The people around them considered the Aksakovs to be a well-to-do and even rich family, which was not true and which is confirmed in our article by family correspondence. Difficult life circumstances taught all family members to be thrifty and respectful to the money earned with the labor of serfs. All the Aksakovs were supporters of the abolition of serfdom, although the reform brought them a reduction in income by half and eventually led to the sale of the estate near Moscow that had been bought in 1843 — Abramtsevo, acquired by merchant S.I. Mamontov. The transfer of the noble property to the representatives of the “third estate” is a typical situation for post-reform Russia.
References:
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