The phenomenon of the mining settlement (on materials of the Petrovsky Factories)

The article considers the main regularities of the existence of mining settlements as a special kind of settlements. The author revealed that the general characteristic feature of the mining plants was the orientation toward ensuring the state's defence needs. The emergence and peculiarities of the functioning of mining settlements are directly connected with rational decisions of local and central authorities. Priority in the activities of mining plants remained the industrial production, often at the expense of the domestic needs of their inhabitants

Prisons in the Empire: specific features of the Russian penitentiary system in the 19th and early 20th centuries (a case study of Olonets province)

The article describes the basic laws of the penitentiary system’s formation in the Olonets province. The author identifies main problems that existed in the operation of prisons in the province as well as the ways of interaction of various departments in re-education and social adaptation of prisoners. The changes occurred in the prison system as results of the February Revolution of 1917 were studied

Customary law and public order support between the 18th and the early 20th centuries (on materials of the Olonets province)

The article reviews the problems of the customary law functioning in the northern village. Popular ideas about legality and justice were combined with the regular application of Russian laws significantly complementing them. The appearance and the beginning of the active activity in the villages of the Olonets province of the professional police gradually, though not radically, changed the situation. The effect of the norms of state law became more and more stable, and the time-honored peasant legal traditions were a thing of the past. At the same time the formation of personnel and the definition of the main activities of rural police occurred under the significant impact of customary law

Russification in the 19th and early 20th centuries: the specific features of the process (on materials of the European North of Russia)

The article deals with the problems of Russification as a natural process, prior to the state policy of Russification. It was revealed that it has become an unavoidable phenomenon associated with economic development, urbanization, the spread of Orthodoxy, and bourgeois reforms. Consequences of Russification are related to changes not only in the linguistic field. They also involved traditional rituals, folk stories, and architectural styles. The process of studying the elements of Russian culture by the representatives of Finno-Ugric Peoples was accompanied by significant changes in the culture of Slavic immigrants through the contact with the locals

Gendarmes of the Olonets province: the specifics of professional activity (19th and the early 20th centuries)

The article describes problems of the Olonets gendarmerie administration’s creation and activity. The author reveals peculiarities of formation of the cadre personnel and defines the definition of the range of tasks, and the evolution of their priority objectives. Considerable attention is paid to the division of powers between the police and the gendarmerie. In the first decade of the existence of the Olonets gendarmerie, the tasks of the secret police were to fight against the Old Believer’s influence and the supervise over the officials of the provincial administration and the local clergy. From the 1870-s the main activity of the gendarmerie was the struggle against the revolutionary movement

Provincial Jewish communities in the 19th and early 20th centuries: Judaism as the forty of identity

The article considers the main regularities of formation and activity of Jewish communities in provincial cities of Russia. It was revealed that servicemen became the basis for the formation of religious communities of Jews. Subsequently, the number of Jewish communities has increased significantly due to a significant influx of exiles and the arrival of Jewish merchants. The existence of Jewish religious communities was the subject to detailed legislative regulation. At the same time, a number of significant problems could not be solved. In particular, training of rabbis was extremely difficult. The difficulties were also in preserving the traditional way of life, the native language

The characters of Karelian epic songs: from paganism to Christianity

The article deals with the problem of changing scenes in Karelian epic songs influenced by the spread of Orthodoxy in areas of Olonets and Arkhangelsk dioceses. The initial idea of the world creation is saved, enhancing support the realities of parish life closely associated with the Christian ideas. Ultimately, epic songs allow the situation to go through the culture shock associated with abrupt and significant change in the outlook of the inhabitants of Northern Karelia

Cult of icons in the 19th – early 20th centuries: social aspect (on the materials of the European North of Russia)

The article considers the significance of the icon-worshiping phenomenon in the religious life of the European North of Russia. The main attention is paid to the control over the distribution of icons, carried out mainly through the police activities. Another significant problem considered in the article was the presence of miraculous images in the daily life of peasant communities. The third aspect is connected with the existence in the northern dioceses of numerous icons that do not correspond to church canons

Russian-Swedish confrontation in Karelia (18th – early 20th centuries)

The article discusses the main events and the course of the Russian-Swedish confrontation in the secondary but significant theater of military operations closely adjacent to the northern borders of the Russian Empire. Specific features of a variety of military activities as well as the position of the local population on the issue of participation in the fight against external enemies are identified. The main attention is focused on the three conflicts between Russia and Sweden during the 18th century. As the result of the confrontation there were the victories of the Russian arms and the interconnection of Finland to the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 19th century

The Orthodox parish as a mnemonic community (on the materials of the European North of Russia)

The article deals with the main regularities of the memory of the faithful. We revealed specific features that distinguish the memory of the believers from other types of collective memory. Presented memory levels are associated with both the daily life, and with the professional activities of the clergy. It was established that the existence of believers’ memory is not without contradictions, related to the written and oral memory of being, as well as attempts to modify memory based on the current situation