Germans in Tomsk in the end of the 19 to the early 20 century: the 'German trace' in the city space

The article deals with the German population of the city of Tomsk in the late 19 to the early 20 century. It indicates that the Germans here were active in such areas as management, education, commerce, services, and other. The article also explores the institutional formation of their community which was based on the religious affiliation of the majority of the Germans in Tomsk - Lutheranism. In particular, during that period there were Lutheran church, school, charity-school, and a female charity society established in Tomsk. Special attention is paid to the ethnicization, i.e. the manifestation of German ethnicity in the city space. The German ethnicity is reflected in the names of commercial enterprises and their products, advertisements and news reports in the local press, as well as in city»s toponyms. Such presence of «Germanness» in the Tomsk city space, according to the author, indicates that the German Lutheran community enjoyed a comfortable position here and that the Germans were treated well by the local authorities and the general public. This can largely be explained by the contribution that they made to the city, constituting its most valuable human resource. The events of 1914 introduced certain changes to the situation. The clash of the Russian Empire with Austria-Hungary and Germany led to a rapid upsurge of anti-German sentiment in the country. The propaganda began to work hard on the concept of «German», turning positive ethnic stereotypes into the personification of hostility, disloyalty, and sabotage. The unfolded anti-German campaign hit hardest the Germans living in capital cities. Tomsk, in this regard, can be characterized as a favourable one to live in for the Germans. There is no evidence of German pogroms and other forms of overt harassment on the part of the local authorities or residents indicated in the sources. The only notable consequence of the change of ethnic sentiments in the country was that being previously very active, now the Lutheran community of Tomsk almost nullified its public activity. The Tomsk Germans started to advertise their ethnicity to a much lesser degree, trying to keep a low profile. The case of the Germans of Tomsk in the late 19 to the early 20 century shows that the ethnicization of the urban space by the «alien element» was taken not just calmly but with sympathy by the local population as the «aliens» were considered to bring excellence and high culture. Thus, positive connotations were associated with this ethnicity and its manifestations within the host city society. At the same time, the case in question allows us to note that such an external factor as the worsening of relations with the country of origin of an ethnic minority can significantly affect the perception and evaluation of the ethnicization process.

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