Bajorų žemvaldžių sudėtis Kauno ir Vilniaus gubernijose XIX a. antrojoje pusėje

LTStraipsnyje nagrinėjama Kauno ir Vilniaus gubernijų bajorų žemvaldžių stratifikacija pagal valdomos žemės plotą ir jų tautinė / konfesinė sudėtis. Aptariama, kaip šios visuomenės grupės sudėtį perteikė skirtingi šaltiniai, sudaryti XIX a. 8 deš. – XX a. pradžioje – centrinės valdžios, vietinės administracijos ir iždo, bajorų luominių institucijų ir statistikos komitetų dokumentai, taip pat atskleidžiama, kaip susidarė informacijos apie bajorų luomą netolygumai ir skirtumai. Daroma išvada, kad bajorų žemvaldžių stratifikacija (stambūs, vidutiniai ir smulkūs bajorai) atspindėjo bendrą luomo raidos tendenciją – jis smulkėjo ir nyko. Bajorų žemvaldžių tautinė sudėtis buvo marga, tačiau susidariusi rusų dvarininkų grupė mažai keitė jos tradicinę tautinę sudėtį, susiformavusią XIX a. pirmojoje pusėje. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Bajorai žemvaldžiai; Dvarininkai; Nedvarininkai; Statistika; Tautybė; Noble landowners; Landed nobility; Nobility without the manor; Statistics; Nationality.

ENArticle dwells on the stratification of noble landowners in Kaunas and Vilnius provinces based on the size of the domain and their ethnic / confessional makeup and reveals how the composition of the social group in question was presented in various sources compiled in the 1870s – early 20th century, namely, documents issued by the central government, local authorities and treasury chamber, nobility estate institutions and statistics. Thus, the attempt is made to identify the reasons accountable for the discrepancies in information regarding the numbers and makeup of noble landowners. Hence the complications of inquiry into the composition of noble landowners in the second half of the 19th century arise from the nature and content of sources rather than their deficiency. During the long period of time no adequate landowner’s record keeping system which would facilitate the year over year comparison of data and track changes in the social group in question was available. Undoubtedly, the data accumulated at various occasions, even when attempts were made to collect the most accurate information, are fragmentary and of qualified reliability. There is little reason to talk about the concealment or falsification of information except perhaps data related to the “course of Russian land-ownership”. However, inaccuracies could have appeared in any of the information providing links. Information presented in the article covers not all sources that feature statistical data related to the nobility of Kaunas and Vilnius provinces and their land-ownership. However, all types of sources and the nature of information contained in them have been discussed. Considerable drawback of the abovementioned sources is their inability to provide plausible information on the dynamics of the makeup of noble landowners, especially in cases related to the inner fluctuations in the social stratus.They contain almost no data on the landless nobility thus making it difficult to establish the proportion of landowners within the nobility. All statistical sources, however, suggest common yet clearly differentiated social status of noble landowners. Noble landowners in Kaunas and Vilnius provinces fell in two major groups, namely, landed nobility (pomestnoje dvorianstvo) and nobility without the manor (bespomestnoje dvorianstvo). The main distinction between them was the nature of their property. Stratification of noble landowners (major, middle and minor nobility), despite the differences in the relation of the strata observable in different sources, reflected the main trends in the evolution of the estate – it was fining down and gradually disappearing. The ethnic composition of noble landowners was rather diverse. The sources single out the Polish / Catholic, Russian / Orthodox, German / Lutheran and Tartar / Muslim nobility. The majority of them were of local origin and the newly formed group of Russian landlords had little influence on their traditional ethnic composition which formed in the first half of the 19th century. [From the publication]