The Boratynsky family in 1917: the nobility in times of crisis

Ye.V. Mironova

273-281 p.



The article examines the life of representatives of the Boratynsky noble family in Kazan Governorate in 1917–1918 – A.N. Boratynsky, K.N. Boratynsky, and O.A. Ilyina. Based on the memoirs of O.A. Ilyina and K.N. Boratynsky, the feelings, thoughts and living conditions of the nobility are shown; their short biographies are presented before and after the described events. The Boratynsky are of interest because they were one of the most prominent noble families in the time period under stury according to their material, cultural, and social significance. Different types of of the family members’ behavior in this period have been identified: K.N. Boratynsky accepted the revolution, stayed in Russia and continued working in education; O.A. Ilyina and her husband took the new government extremely negatively and ran away from Kazan captured by the Bolsheviks; A.N. Boratynsky perceived the Bolshevik coup negatively as well, however, showed no active resistance trying to instill courage among his family and friends through his example and was subsequently shot. The study presents examples of internal attitudes, which had an impact on the response to the revolutionary events. It is concluded that the clash of noble and peasant type worldviews can be shown on the example of the Boratynsky.


Keywords: history, Kazan Governorate, 1917, February revolution, October revolution, the nobility, the Boratynsky, everyday life, historical anthropology


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About the author: Yelena V. Mironova is a Candidate of Science (History), Research Fellow, the Department of Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of Tatarstan, Sh. Marjani Institute of History of the Tatarstan Academy of Sciences (7, Baturin St., Kazan 420111, Russian Federation); yelena.mironova@yandex.ru