To the initial biography of M. Posen: analysis of the archival case «Of two different Posen brothers».

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to introduce into the scientific circulation and analyze the description of the archival case regarding the conversion to Christianity of the famous figure of the Great Reforms of the middle of the 19th century, the author of one of the first projects to solve the peasant question, Poltava landowner M. Posen and traced and trace the initial stage of its inclusion in the administrative and social structures of the Dnieper Ukraine and the Russian еmpire. The research methodology is represented by a complex of scientific approaches and methods. A post-generational approach, a logical method, was involved in the work, with the help of which the essence and mechanisms of social adaptation of vortices were revealed. Methods of analysis and synthesis of source material were also used; the method of generalization to create a holistic image of the relationship of the imperial elites with eddies in the age of modernization changes, the institutional method to reveal the relationship of state, public and religious institutions to converted Jews, the problem-chronological method to establish the sequence of changes in faith-telling within two generations of a Jewish family. The scientific novelty lies in the introduction into scientific circulation of a number of sources from Russian archives that became inaccessible to Ukrainian scientists due to the war. The prospects of further studies by domestic historians of the «Cases of two different Posen brothers» consist in the involvement of this case in the reconstruction of M. Posen’s initial career, the study of the history of the transformation of identities, studies of Judaica and other branches of historical science. Conclusions. The published sources make it possible to significantly clarify and expand ideas about the biography of M. Posen and his family, to refute the versions established in historiography about his origin and the beginning of his career as an imperial official, to outline the personal traits and circle of acquaintances that allowed him to enter the imperial elite and make a successful career.