Entrepreneurial activities of the nobility in Samara province in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries 

Petr S. Kabytov, Doctor of historical sciences, professor, head of the subdepartment of Russian history, Samara National Research University (34 Moskovskoye shosse street, Samara, Russia), E-mail: don.kabytov2012@yandex.ru
Anastasia E. Mikhailova, Postgraduate student, Samara National Research University (34 Moskovskoe shosse street, Samara, Russia), E-mail: mixajlova2014@yandex.ru

Background. The examination of the functioning of commercial and industrial entrepreneurship in the Russian Empire as an economic phenomenon of the post-reform Russia necessitates the analysis not only of statistical data on the status of production branches but also of the social and legal aspects of pre-revolutionary business, especially the adaptation of the nobility in the context of the modernization of the country's agricultur-al sector. The purpose of the study is to identify the directions, forms, and scales of entre-preneurial activities of the nobility in Samara province. Materials and methods. The source base includes administrative documentation, statistical and visual materials, personal sources, and fiction literature. Results. The study of a complex of sources has established that the entrepreneurial activities of the nobility were heterogeneous, since they depended on the size of land ownership. It was found that the owners of large estates transitioned to intensification of agricultural production and combined farming with commercial and in-dustrial activities, organizing multi-sector businesses on their estates. Due to small land holdings and high competition, the minor nobility, mastering new entrepreneurial practices, were engaged in economic activities in the newly emerging sectors of the Samara province. Conclusions. The analysis of the commercial and industrial activities of the nobility in the post-reform era makes it possible to trace the participation of the nobility in the moderniza-tion of the economy, identify the evolution of their entrepreneurial practices, and reveal changes in the social space of the Russian Empire.

economic activity of the nobility, entrepreneurial practices, post-reform era, Samara province, diversified business, agricultural firms

Kabytov P.S., Mikhailova А.Е. Entrepreneurial activities of the nobility in Samara province in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries. Izvestiya vysshikh uchebnykh zavedeniy. Povolzhskiy region. Gumanitarnye nauki = University proceedings. Volga region. Humanities. 2024;(4): 5–19. (In Russ.). doi: 10.21685/2072-3024-2024-4-1