Entrepreneurial practices of the nobles of the southern Ukrainian provinces of the Russian Empire at the end of the XIX century – beginning of the XX century

Abstract

In the post-reform era, the entrepreneurial activity of enterprising individuals, which also included representatives of the nobility, was actively developing in the Ukrainian ethnic lands of the Russian Empire. The Aim and the Subject of the Study – to find out the main areas of business interests of the nobles of Katerynoslav region and Kherson region at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, to determine the production volumes of their enterprises and to establish the level of profits they received in business practices. Research methods used: historical-genetic, statistical, diachronic. Scientific novelty: on the basis of a wide range of sources, the peculiarities of entrepreneurial activity of representatives of the nobility in industry, trade and agriculture of Southern Ukraine in the post-reform period were characterized. Main material and results. It is noted that in the modern period, mechanical engineering and steam engines, as well as the development of trade and money relations and the capitalist market, turned noble entrepreneurship into a source of sufficiently fast and reliable profit. The business activities of the nobles of Kherson and Katerynoslav provinces developed mainly in such areas of the economy as the brick and food industry, as well as in agriculture. It is emphasized that the share of noble enterprises in the factory industry of Katerynoslav province at the beginning of the 20th century was 8.6 %, and in Kherson region – 7.8 %. At the same time, government statistics recorded the activity of 64 large and medium-sized noble plants and factories in South of Ukraine, 19 of which had an annual production volume exceeding 100,000 krb, their owners can be attributed to the big bourgeoisie, among whom there were also ethnic Ukrainians. It is noted that noble entrepreneurs received the highest profit in such industries as clothing manufacturing (up to 23 %), brick production (18–19 %) and in the flour milling industry – 15–18 %. Conclusions. The process of the development of capitalism in the post-reform period, the spirit of entrepreneurship at that time significantly in fluenced the psychology of the nobility, changed the views of representatives of the «noble estate» on business activities, when even representatives of famous noble families no longer shied away from resorting to rather risky, and sometimes dubious, arrangements. It is emphasized that representatives of the nobility played a significant role in the industrial development of the region, the implementation of industrial modernization of southern Ukrainian provinces.