About Charity

In the second half of the 19^th century on the appearing of a big number of large gold miners, the owners of ships, still houses, trade houses and other enterprises, gaining large income, charity became widely spad.

The Balandins, the Gadalovs, the Danilovs, the Kuznetsovs, the Kytmanovs, the Perepletchikovs, the Shchegolevs, the Savins, Yudin and others – almost none of the large cultural and public projects in the province happened without these people’s support. The Siberian patrons invested their capitals into the creation of free hospitals, dining halls for the poor, pharmacies, museums, theatres and even organization of scientific expeditions.

However, it should be remembered, the merchants’ charity and patrons’ activity had  contradictory motivation. Besides sincere wish to help to the neighbor, devout religiosity, commitment to special honour code, according to which charity was regarded as a moral obligation to the society, there was another side as well. Political positions, awards, public recognition, given for their charities of life, opened great opportunities of getting various privileges in their entrepneurial activity from the authorities. 

Perhaps, this was the reason why the sincerity of the beneficent bourgeoisie didn’t arise any trust in the public’s appciation. In the newspapers and books of those times the were called none other than “archinniks”, “the Kolupaevs and the Razuvaevs”, “well-fed profiteers”, “Tit Titych” and etc.

In the photo: the Kuznetsovs and Shchegolevs families.
Based on the materials: my.krskstate.ru and bibliofond.ru