REPORTING DOCUMENTATION AS A HISTORICAL SOURCE FOR STUDYING PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN FLOWER SHARES IN RUSSIA IN THE BEGINNING OF THE XX CENTURY

Abstract

The relevance of studying the participation of volunteers in «flower» events held by charitable institutions and public organizations and which became widespread at the beginning of the 20th century is associated with the need for a comprehensive analysis of this phenomenon as part of the history of volunteerism in pre-revolutionary Russia, which laid the foundation for the practice of such charitable events in modern time. The reports of these organizations are valuable sources containing information about the holding of numerous events: «Day of the Rose Flower», «Day of the White Flower», «Day of the Oak Leaf» and others, which covered the widest layers of the population at all stages of implementation. This article analyzes the annual reporting documentation on the activities of charitable institutions and public organizations for 1911-1915, which focuses on the study of voluntary participation of the population in public campaigns to collect charitable contributions in the early 20th century. The donations made by the townspeople, the monetary contributions of the merchants, ensured the life of numerous public organizations and charitable institutions - from shelters to hospitals and almshouses. Targeted collections were carried out in favor of the target audience of these institutions - orphans, tuberculosis patients, the disadvantaged, the unemployed, etc. The First World War helped revitalize the social movement, accumulating the efforts of volunteers to conduct charitable collections for soldiers of advanced positions, which have become traditional in peacetime.

Keywords

• volunteers
• charities
• charity events
• reporting documents
• social assistance