Ivan Sakharov: Tula's “posad man” of Russian science

The article examines the professional life of Ivan Sakharov, a vivid representative of what is known as “nonprofessional” direction in Russian historical science in the first half of the 19th century. He studied the history of Tula Province and actively collected and published the folklore of the Russian people. The author analyzes the intellectual atmosphere of the Russian provincial society in the 1820s and the social, political and spiritual factors that encouraged its citizens to study local history. The most significant ones were the 1812 Patriotic War and the publication of “The History of the Russian State” by N. Karamzin. The article highlights I. Sakharov’s life experience and his personal traits as well as his worldview as an intellectual of non-aristocratic origin. The author shows how Sakharov’s character influenced his research, his love for folklore and, finally, his publishing business. I. Sakharov exemplifies the characteristic mentality of “posad” people, a social group in the urban population of Russian province. Unlike the “raznochintsy” (people of non-noble origin) in the after-reform time who mostly shared revolutionary and democratic outlook whereas the “posad” people in the 1830s had conservative and nationalist views.