Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal. 2025. № 3 (55). P. 194—210

 

HISTORICAL SCIENCES

Original article

UDC 94(470.44)“18/19”(=112.2)

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2025.55.12

The German population of Volsk in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries: headcount, occupation, participation in the social and economic life of the city

Maria R. Slizhevskaya, Postgraduate Student
Saratov State University, Saratov, Russia, mariaslizhevskaia@yandex.ru, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0304-1225

 

Abstract

In the period under study, Volsk became one of the few towns in the Saratov Province, where the German diaspora was formed. This article deals with the problem of the daily life of the German inhabitants of Volsk at the turn of the XIX — XX centuries, which has not been studied before. Particular attention is paid to the main sources of replenishment of the urban German population, its number and composition, professional and social activities, relations with the rest of the local population. In the German environment of Volsk there were active and authoritative citizens, who often acted for the benefit of the urban environment, but their relations with the other residents of the city were mainly of a business nature. The fact of a high level of integration of Volsk Germans into the local socio-cultural environment is stated.

Keywords

Ethnic group, Volga Germans, Saratov Province, Volsk, urbanisation, social activity.

Acknowledgments: The author is very grateful to M. A. Sokolov-Brekhuntsov for assistance in working with the collection of the Central Library of Volsk

For citation:

Slizhevskaya M. R. The German population of Volsk in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries: headcount, occupation, participation in the social and economic life of the city. Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal, 2025, no. 3 (55), pp. 194—210. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2025.55.12.

The full text of the article PDF (Russian)

 

References

1. Adres-kalendar’ Saratovskoi gubernii na 1900 god [Address calendar of Saratov province for 1900]. Saratov, Parovaya skoropechatnya Gub. pravleniya Publ., 1900. 486 p. (In Russian)
2. Adres-kalendar’ Saratovskoi gubernii na 1902 god [Address calendar of Saratov province for 1902]. Saratov, Parovaya skoropechatnya Gub. pravleniya Publ., 1902. 437 p. (In Russian)
3. Arndt E. Natsional’nyi kostyum nemtsev Povolzh’ya (konets XVIII — nachalo XX veka) [National costume of the Volga Germans (late 18th — early 20th century)]. Moscow, MSNK-press Publ., 2015. 160 p. (In Russian)
4. Bekker V. Vospominaniya o Saratovskoi gubernii [Memories of the Saratov province]. Moscow, Tip. T. T. Volkova i Komp. Publ., 1852. 76 p. (In Russian)
5. Bobyleva S. I. “Nemetskii vopros” v otsenke rossiiskogo obshchestvennogo mneniya vtoroi poloviny XIX veka [The “German Question” in the assessment of Russian public opinion in the second half of the 19th century]. Klyuchevye problemy istorii rossiiskikh nemtsev: materialy X Mezhdunar. konf. Mezhdunarodnoi assotsiatsii issledovatelei istorii i kul'tury rossiiskikh nemtsev [Key problems in the history of Russian Germans. Proceed. of the X Internat. conf. International Association of Researchers of the History and Culture of Russian Germans]. Moscow, MSNK-press Publ., 2004, pp. 47—57. (In Russian)
6. V vol’skii mestnyi komitet Rossiiskogo obshchestva Krasnogo Kresta [To the Volsk local committee of the Russian Red Cross Society]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1905, no. 585. May 4. (In Russian)
7. Vol’sk, 7 noyabrya [Volsk, November 7]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1901, no. 91. Nov. 7. (In Russian)
8. Vol’skii correspondent, 1901, no. 3. Apr. 11. (In Russian)
9. Vol’skii correspondent, 1901, no. 6. Apr. 18. (In Russian)
10. Vol’skii correspondent, 1902, no. 106. Dec. 21. (In Russian)
11. Vol’skii correspondent, 1902, no. 131. Feb. 17. (In Russian)
12. Vol’skii correspondent, 1903, no. 115. Jan. 9. (In Russian)
13. Vol’skii correspondent, 1905, no. 546. Jan. 23. (In Russian)
14  Gorodskie dela [City Affairs]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1901, no. 54. Aug. 10. (In Russian)
15. Gosudarstvennyi arkhiv Saratovskoi oblasti [State Archives of the Saratov Region] (GASO). F. 176. Op. 1. D. 22.
16. GASO. F. 176. Op. 1. D. 476.
17. GASO. F. 427. Op. 1. D. 135.
18. GASO. F. V-1. Op. 1. D. 2043.
19. GASO. F. V-1. Op. 1. D. 2067.
20. GASO. F. V-1. Op. 1. D. 2121.
21. GASO. F. V-1. Op. 1. D. 2310.
22. Denningkhaus V. Revolyutsiya, reforma i voina: nemtsy Povolzh’ya v period zakata Rossiiskoi imperii [Revolution, reform and war: Volga Germans during the decline of the Russian Empire]. Saratov, Nauka Publ., 2008. 248 p. (In Russian)
23. Dolgikh E. V. Gorodskaya povsednevnost’ rubezha XIX—XX vv.: struktura obshchestvennogo byta [Everyday urban life at the turn of the 19—20th centuries and its structure]. Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Ser. 8, Istoriya — Moscow University Bulletin. Ser. 8, History, 2010, no. 1, pp. 49—64. (In Russian)
24. Eliseeva I. I., Dmitriev A. L. Pravitel’stvennaya statistika Rossii v kontse XIX — nachale XX v.: problemy i reformy [Governmental statistics in Russia in the second half of the nineteenth and beginning of the twentieth centuries]. Vestnik Sankt-Peterburgskogo universiteta. Ekonomika — St. Petersburg University Journal of Economic Studies, 2019, no. 1, pp. 113—152. DOI: 10.21638/spbu05.2019.105. (In Russian)
25. Ershov A. Ocherk chernorabochego dvizheniya v Saratovskom krae [Essay on the labor movement in the Saratov Region]. Saratov, Izd-vo P. Kochergina Publ., 1909. 58 p. (In Russian)
26. Ivleva T. V. Zakonodatel’stvo rossiiskogo gosudarstva v otnoshenii rossiiskikh nemtsev [Russian state legislation with respect of the Russian Germans]. Vestnik Krasnoyarskogo gosudarstvennogo agrarnogo universiteta — Bulletin of Krasnoyarsk Agrarian University, 2012, no. 5, pp. 464—470. (In Russian)
27. Pleve I. R., German A. A., Illarionova T. S. (et al.) Istoriya nemtsev Rossii [History of the Germans of Russia]. Moscow, MaVi grupp Publ., 2020. 648 p. (In Russian)
28. Kanavina N. V., Shalaeva S. S., Shalaeva N. V., Pryakhina T. M. Istoriya v kamne: kul’turnoe prostranstvo provintsial’nogo goroda kontsa XVIII — nachala XX v. (na primere arkhitektury g. Vol’ska) [History in stone: the provincial town’ cultural space of the late XVIII — early XX cent. (on the example of the Volsk city architecture)]. Obshchestvo: filosofiya, istoriya, kul’tura — Society: Philosophy, History, Culture, 2021, no. 11 (91), pp. 47—53. DOI: 10.24158/fik.2021.11.8. (In Russian)
29. Karagodina O. A., Litvinova I. N. Natsional’noe predprinimatel’stvo v yuzhnykh volzhskikh provintsiyakh nachala XX veka (na primere gorodov Kamyshina, Tsaritsyna i posada Dubovka) [National entrepreneurship in the southern Volga provinces in the early XX century (by the example of Kamyshin, Tsaritsyn and Dubovka posad)]. Manuskript, 2019, no. 8, pp. 31—35. DOI: 10.30853/manuscript.2019.8.5. (In Russian)
30. Nelipovich S. G. Problema neloyal’nosti rossiiskikh nemtsev v konfliktakh XX v.: istoriografiya voprosa i krug istochnikov [The problem of disloyalty of Russian Germans in the conflicts of the 20th century: historiography of the issue and range of sources]. Nemtsy Rossii i SSSR. 1901—1941 gg.: materialy mezhdunar. nauch. konf. [Germans of Russia and the USSR. 1901—1941. Proceed. of the Internat. sci. conf.]. Moscow, Gotika Publ., 2000, pp. 365—380. (In Russian)
31. Ob’’yavlenie [Announcement]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1905, no. 653. Oct. 31. (In Russian)
32. Okonchivshii kurs Real’nogo uchilishcha [Graduated from the Real school]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1905, no. 559. Feb. 25. (In Russian)
33. Otkrytie bratstva Arkhistratiga Mikhaila pri Vol’skom real’nom uchilishche [Opening of the Brotherhood of Archangel Michael at the Volsk real school]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1902, no. 155. Apr. 24. (In Russian)
34. Otchet po kontsertu, dannomu gg. lyubitelyami 5 aprelya 1901 [Report on the concert given by the amateurs on April 5, 1901]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1901, no. 12. May 2. (In Russian)
35. Otchet po spektaklyu, dannomu 28 dekabrya 1904 goda v zale kluba v pol’zu Vol’skogo obshchestva vspomozheniya bednym [Report on the performance given on December 28, 1904 in the club hall in favor of the Volsk Society for assistance to the poor]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1905, no. 542. Jan. 14. (In Russian)
36. Pamyatnaya knizhka Saratovskoi gubernii na 1907 g. [Commemorative book of the Saratov province for 1907]. Saratov, Parovaya skoropechatnya Gub. pravleniya Publ., 1907. 368 p. (In Russian)
37. Pervaya vseobshchaya perepis’ naseleniya Rossiiskoi imperii, 1897 g. T. 38. Saratovskaya guberniya [The first general population census of the Russian Empire, 1897. Vol. 38. Saratov province]. St. Petersburg, Tip. S.-Peterburgskoi tyur’my Publ., 1904. 250 p. (In Russian)
38. Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiiskoi imperii. Sobr. 2. T. 46. Otdelenie pervoe. 1871 [Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire. Coll. 2. Vol. 46. Section One. 1871]. St. Petersburg, Tip. II Otdeleniya Sobstvennoi E.I.V. Kantselyarii Publ., 1874. 935 p. (In Russian)
39. Polozova I. V. Staroobryadcheskaya regional’naya traditsiya: obshchee i spetsificheskoe [Old-believers’ Regional tradition: the similarities and the differences (the history of old-believers’ communities in the Saratov region)]. Izvestiya Saratovskogo universiteta. Novaya seriya. Ser. Istoriya. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya — Izvestiya of Saratov University. History. International Relations, 2018, no. 2 (18), pp. 264—269. DOI: 10.18500/1819-4907-2018-18-2-264-269. (In Russian)
40. Prodaetsya dom [House for sale]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1905, no. 674. Dec. 21. (In Russian)
41. Prodaetsya i sdaetsya [For sale and rent]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1905, no. 670. Dec. 11. (In Russian)
42. Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi istoricheskii arkhiv [Russian State Historical Archive]. F. 1276. Op. 1. D. 112.
43. Slizhevskaya M. R. Obraz saratovskogo nemtsa-predprinimatelya rubezha XIX—XX vv. v literaturnom nasledii I. Ya. Slavina [The image of a Saratov German entrepreneur at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries in the literary heritage of I. Ya. Slavin]. Ezhegodnik Mezhdunarodnoi assotsiatsii issledovatelei istorii i kul'tury rossiiskikh nemtsev [Yearbook of the International Association of Researchers of the History and Culture of Russian Germans]. 2023, no. 1 (13), pp. 14—22. DOI: 10.33466/2500-0063-2023-1(13)-14-22. (In Russian)
44. Spisok del, naznachennykh k razboru v zasedanii Vol’skogo uezdnogo s’’ezda na mai 1901 [List of cases scheduled for consideration at the meeting of the Volsk uyezd congress in May 1901]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1901, no. 18. May 18. (In Russian)
45. Spisok del, naznachennykh k razboru v zasedanii Vol’skogo uezdnogo s’’ezda na avgust 1901 [List of cases scheduled for consideration at the meeting of the Volsk uyezd congress in August 1901]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1901, no. 54. Aug. 10. (In Russian)
46. Spisok del, naznachennykh k razboru v zasedanii Vol’skogo uezdnogo s’’ezda na sentyabr’ 1901 [List of cases scheduled for consideration at the meeting of the Volsk uyezd congress in September 1901]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1901, no. 72. Sept. 23. (In Russian)
47. Spisok del, naznachennykh k razboru v zasedanii Vol’skogo uezdnogo s’’ezda na oktyabr’ 1901 [List of cases scheduled for consideration at the meeting of the Volsk uyezd congress in October 1901]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1901, no. 82. Oct. 7. (In Russian)
48. Spisok del, naznachennykh k razboru v zasedanii Vol’skogo uezdnogo s’’ezda na dekabr’ 1901 [List of cases scheduled for consideration at the meeting of the Volsk uyezd congress in December 1901]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1901, no. 106. Dec. 16. (In Russian)
49. Spisok del, naznachennykh k razboru v zasedanii Vol’skogo uezdnogo s’’ezda na mai 1905 [List of cases scheduled for consideration at the meeting of the Volsk uyezd congress in May 1905]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1905, no. 587. May 11. (In Russian)
50. Spisok del, naznachennykh k razboru v zasedanii Vol’skogo uezdnogo s’’ezda na iyun’ 1905 [List of cases scheduled for consideration at the meeting of the Volsk uyezd congress in June 1905]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1905, no. 599. June 12. (In Russian)
51. Spisok del, naznachennykh k razboru v zasedanii Vol’skogo uezdnogo s’’ezda na sentyabr’ 1905 [List of cases scheduled for consideration at the meeting of the Volsk uyezd congress in September 1905]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1905, no. 633. Sept. 21. (In Russian)
52. Spisok chlenov mestnogo otdeleniya Rossiiskogo obshchestva Krasnogo Kresta [List of members of the local branch of the Russian Red Cross Society]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1902, no. 126. Feb. 6. (In Russian)
53. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1891 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical review of the Saratov province for 1891. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1892. 113 p. (In Russian)
54. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1892 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical review of the Saratov province for 1892. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1893. 101 p. (In Russian)
55. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1893 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical review of Saratov province for 1893. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1894. 133 p. (In Russian)
56. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1894 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical review of Saratov province for 1894. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1895. 121 p. (In Russian)
57. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1895 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical review of Saratov province for 1895. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1896. 113 p. (In Russian)
58. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1896 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical review of Saratov province for 1896. Appendix to themost humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1897. 227 p. (In Russian)
59. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1897 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical overview of Saratov province for 1897. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1898. 119 p. (In Russian)
60. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1898 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical overview of Saratov province for 1898. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1899. 123 p. (In Russian)
61. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1899 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical overview of Saratov province for 1899. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1900. 86 p. (In Russian)
62. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1903 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical overview of Saratov province for 1903. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1904. 94 p. (In Russian)
63. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1904 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical overview of Saratov province for 1904. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1905. 84 p. (In Russian)
64. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1905 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical overview of Saratov province for 1905. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1906. 84 s. (In Russian)
65. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1911 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical overview of Saratov province for 1911. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1912. 79 p. (In Russian)
66. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1913 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical overview of Saratov province for 1913. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1914. 78 p. (In Russian)
67. Statisticheskii obzor Saratovskoi gubernii za 1914 god: prilozhenie ko vsepoddanneishemu otchetu Saratovskogo gubernatora [Statistical overview of Saratov province for 1914. Appendix to the most humble report of the Saratov governor]. Saratov, Tip. gub. pravleniya Publ., 1915. 78 p. (In Russian)
68. Ustav o nakazaniyakh, nalagaemykh mirovymi sud’yami: s dopolneniyami po 1 yanvarya 1879 [The Charter on punishments imposed by justices of the peace: with amendments up to Jan. 1, 1879]. St. Petersburg, Tip. M. Stasyulevicha Publ., 1879. 332 p. (In Russian)
69. Tseny rynochnye na khleba i inye zhiznennye produkty [Market prices for bread and other necessities]. Vol’skii correspondent, 1901, no. 91. Nov. 7. (In Russian)
70. Cherkaz’yanova I. V. Vykhodtsy iz nemetskikh kolonii v Peterburge: sposoby adaptatsii v gorodskoi srede [Immigrants from the German colonies in St. Petersburg: ways to achieve success in a new space]. Vestnik Omskogo universiteta. Ser. Istoricheskie nauki — Herald of Omsk University. Ser. Historical Studies, 2024, no. 2 (42), pp. 148—153. DOI: 10.24147/2312-1300.2024.11(2).148-153. (In Russian)
71. Cherkaz’yanova I. V. Rol’ Aleksandra Klausa v podgotovke kolonistskoi reformy 1871 g. [The role of Alexander Klaus in the preparation of the colonial reform of 1871]. Etnicheskie men’shinstva v istorii Rossii [Ethnic minorities in the history of Russia]. St. Petersburg, Leningradskii gos. un-t im. A. S. Pushkina Publ., 2021, pp. 298—307. (In Russian)
72. Cholakhyan V. A. Sotsial’nyi kontekst modernizatsionnykh protsessov v Saratovskom Povolzh’e v kontse XIX — nachale XX v. [Social context of modernization processes in Saratov Volga in the late XIX — early XX centuries]. Izvestiya Saratovskogo universiteta. Novaya seriya. Ser. Istoriya. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya — Izvestiya of Saratov University. History. International Relations, 2014, no. 4, pp. 114—120. (In Russian)
73. Shmukker M. M. Gorod Vol’sk v proshlom i nastoyashchem: istoriya goroda i ego zhitelei 1760—1917 gg.: (rukopis’) [The city of Volsk in the past and present: the history of the city and its inhabitants 1760—1917: (manuscript)]. Samizdat. 299 p. (In Russian)