Former Members of the Old Regime". Barnaul Merchantry after 1917

The article is devoted to destinies of pre-revolutionary Barnaul merchants and their families after 1917. The object under the investigation is the social group of merchants and their families, first of all guild merchants and representatives of other social layers who were engaged in business either in the town of Barnaul or in the district. The author aims to find out whether former merchants used to live in their previous places of residence or moved to other locations, who of them were repressed, who emigrated, how many of the old regime merchants succeeded in adaptation in new conditions of Soviet Russia. To reveal the topic the author presents reminiscences of the merchants' descendants (of the Andronovskys, the Vinokurovs, the Fedulovs, the Bezshapkins, the Sukhovs). The author had an opportunity to meet some of them and take down their evidences (Adam Andronovsky, G.N. Davydova-Makarova). Highly valuable for the topic under investigation are archive files of persons, deprived of suffrage in the 20s, which are preserved in the State archive of Altai region and brought in the scientific research for the first time. The author comes to the conclusion that in the years of the First world and Civil wars many merchants and members of their families changed their places of living and moved to other Russian towns and abroad. Among those who left for other towns of Russia were the former steamship owner Ye.I. Melnikova, the widow and daughter of A.I. Vinokurov, the millinare, the merchant I.I. Fedulov with all his family. During the Civil War many of Barnaul merchants served in the White army. On the whole Barnaul merchantry supported the White army with money and goods. Rather a large group of pre-revolutionary merchants appeared to be in emigration, in China, in the USA, Europe. The three Vinokurov brothers and their families, M.A. Morozov, P.I. Fedulov, V.M. Vershinin, the Andronovskys also emigrated, as well as members of the Sukhovs families and others. Some merchants were repressed in the 20s -30s. A.A. Vinokurov and V.S. Petkevich were executed by shooting, E.V. Eldeshtein and the daughter of the merchant I.I. Fedulov - Galina Ivanovna were repeatedly arrested. A big enough group of pre-revolutionary merchants and their family members remained in Russia. The loss of the most part of property led to the change of their social status, and some of them became people of fringe groups. A number of pre-revolutionary merchants tried to set to commerce again in the years of NEP and opened small works. But the period of NEP is known to be short, and people, engaged in business, were later deprived of the right to vote. Nevertheless, some of the former merchants and members of their families were able to adapt to new conditions of the soviet power and gain a deserved position in the society.

Keywords

Authors

References