Conflict of Military Governor A.N. Muravyov with Nizhny Novgorod Nobility during the Peasant Reform

Abstract

The author analyzes complex relationships between military governor of the Nizhny Novgorod province A.N. Muravyov and the local nobility during the preparation and implementation of the peasant reform of 1861, as well as the trace that they left in historical memory twenty years later. There are considered the personalized mechanism of interaction between the government and society at the micro-social level, the method of resolving conflicts, including through appeals to higher authorities. The subjective and objective reasons for the enmity are revealed, including the experience of confrontation between the main protagonists during the Decembrist uprising, the consistent expansion of the circle of participants in the conflict, due to the inclusion of the governor’s supporters among the nobility after his resignation. The purpose of the study is to identify the peculiarities of social behavior of officials and noblemen through the analysis of correspondence between government officials and local nobility. The author found that the bureaucracy was always guided by the viewpoint of the monarch, and members of the nobility were much more independent in words and actions. This type of behavior was consistent with the privileged role of the upper class in the Russian Empire, especially in the pre-reform period. The conflict between the military governor and the local nobility was reflected in the controversial memories of A.N. Muravyov and his contribution to the abolition of serfdom in the Nizhny Novgorod province. The officials remembered A.N. Muravyov as an exponent of the will of the Tsar Liberator.

Keywords

• great reforms enlightened bureaucracy
• nobility
• abolition of serfdom
• historical memory
• social interaction