Clerical Servants of the Nobility Corporation of the Second Half of the XIX – Early XX Centuries

Abstract

The system of worldview and values traditional for the Russian bureaucratic apparatus was characteristic of the clerical servants of the noble corporations.  On the materials of regional archives the authors carried out a socio-economic characterization of clerical servants of noble corporations. The analysis of form lists on service with the help of the prosopographical method allowed to reveal demographic characteristics, class affiliation, level of education, material and property status of clerical servants. It is noted that the representatives of the nobility prevailed in the chancelleries of estate self-government bodies, which was a form of material support and social patronage of the corporation in relation to the impoverished nobility. It is pointed out that the main staff of clerks was represented by young people who had no significant life and service experience. It is proved that the advancement up the social ladder, the desire to build a career through diligence and hard work was due, first of all, to the financial insecurity of clerical servants.