Based on the rare diary of an 18th-century Russian provincial merchant, A Russian Merchant's Tale presents a revealing portrait of Russia's little-known commercial class. By recording his daily contacts with a wide array of individuals from lords to laborers for more than 40 years, Ivan Alekseevich Tolchënov opened a window onto the education, work, birth, death, marriage, business, civic, holiday, and religious practices of a social group about which little has been known. Using the tools of microhistory to interpret the diary, David L. Ransel vividly brings to life Tolchënov's self-construction, his relations with family and society, and his entire world of aspirations, achievements, and failures. Challenging prevailing stereotypes of Russian merchants as tradition-bound and narrow-minded, A Russian Merchant's Tale offers important new insights into the social history of imperial Russia.
| ISBN: | 9780253352361 |
| Publication date: | 25th March 2009 |
| Author: | David L Ransel |
| Publisher: | Indiana University Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 320 pages |
| Series: | Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies |
| Genres: |
Memoirs European history History of other geographical groupings and regions |
Based on the rare diary of an 18th-century Russian provincial merchant, A Russian Merchant's Tale presents a revealing portrait of Russia's little-known commercial class. By recording his daily contacts with a wide array of individuals from lords to laborers for more than 40 years, Ivan Alekseevich Tolchënov opened a window onto the education, work, birth, death, marriage, business, civic, holiday, and religious practices of a social group about which little has been known. Using the tools of microhistory to interpret the diary, David L. Ransel vividly brings to life Tolchënov's self-construction, his relations with family and society, and his entire world of aspirations, achievements, and failures. Challenging prevailing stereotypes of Russian merchants as tradition-bound and narrow-minded, A Russian Merchant's Tale offers important new insights into the social history of imperial Russia.
A Russian Merchant's Tale features in the following genres: Memoirs, European history, History of other geographical groupings and regions
A Russian Merchant's Tale is available in Hardback, Paperback
A Russian Merchant's Tale was written by David L Ransel and published by Indiana University Press
A Russian Merchant's Tale has 320 pages
Yes it is part of Indiana-Michigan Series in Russian and East European Studies series