Socio-economic characteristics of landed nobility of the Middle Volga region in the second half of 19th - early 20th centuries

The article deals with the analysis of the socio-economic development of the landed nobility of the Middle Volga region. They grew in number due to the high birth rate in the families of the nobility by birth. In 1867-1897 the increase in the number of the personal nobility of the Middle Volga region considerably lagged behind the growth in the number of the nobility by birth. It should be noted that more than 80% of the nobility by birth of the region lived in cities. The government needed to strengthen its social support throughout all tiers of Russian society, with a clear attempt to restrict access to the nobility. The main process in the sphere of landowning among the noblemen of the Middle Volga region in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries was to mobilize the nobility landowning of the region under study, that is, to reduce the landownership of the gentry and to concentrate land in the hands of the merchantry, the business peasantry and other representatives of the rural bourgeoisie. Throughout the post-Reform period, the landlords retained the position of the main sellers, as well as the largest buyers of land. The redistribution of land among the nobility was influenced by the market development of agrarian relations in general and landlord production, in particular. At the same time, the transfer of land into the hands of capitalized landlords facilitated the development of their farms. In the first twenty years after the abolition of serfdom, the private landownership in the Middle Volga region accounted for a quarter of all agrarian areas. Judging by the wealth of the nobility in the region, it can be stated that in the second half of the 19th century the economic situation of the landowners was very stable, which served as the basis for the high positive dynamics of the growth of the gentry class in the three governorates under study. Therefore, in 1867-1897 the increase in the number of personal nobility and government officials in the Middle Volga region amounted to 106.7%.