On the Question of the Everyday Life of the Nobility at the end of the 17th – beginning of the 18th centuries

The study of the everyday life of the noble class during the reign of Peter the Great acquires particular relevance due to the fact that the previous historical development of Russian society predetermined qualitative changes in the life and structure of life of the nobility — representatives of the privileged class of the Russian people. The significance of this work is determined, therefore, by the insufficient knowledge in the context of modern scientific research of certain aspects of the everyday life of the Russian nobility at the end of the 17th — beginning of the 18th centuries. The work pays special attention to such components of the daily life of the Russian nobility as the legal and economic position of this class in society, its cultural ideas, and everyday life. The author makes an important conclusion that changes in the everyday life of the Russian nobility were greatly influenced by the penetration of elements of European culture into the court environment, on the one hand, which were actively introduced into everyday social practice, and on the other, which received a certain refraction on the basis of Russian traditions. The author pays special attention to the connection between the assemblies introduced under Peter I — the prototype of the noble ball, organized in European traditions, and qualitative changes in the life of the Russian nobility. Despite the fact that the era under study was the heyday of the noble class, the “Europeanization” of not only the consciousness, but also the life of the Russian nobility, according to the author’s conclusion, the growth in the standard of living of the class under study was carried out in parallel with the expansion of the official duties of its representatives, the need to constantly increase the educational level.

Source: Seleznev P.S. (2024). On the Question of the Everyday Life of the Nobility at the end of the 17th – beginning of the 18th centuries. Bylye Gody. 19(1): 29-39

Source web-site: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1709214786.pdf