Guardianship of the noble estates in the Penza province in the first half of the XIX century

The article is devoted to the transformation of the nobility’s guardianship institution in Russia in the first half of the nineteenth century. The authors investigate the reasons of the establishment of a guardianship under Alexander I, and the changes in the proxies of guardians in the reign of Nicholas I. Guardianship was established in the 1830s as the instrument of the support of the nobles who found themselves in the difficult circumstances. In early 1850 it was considered as a tool of control over the nobility. The transformation of the guardianships functions corresponded with the main trends of the internal policy of the period. In the second quarter of the nineteenth century when states control over the nobility intensified, there were still traditional causes for the establishment of a guardianship. Guardianship was usually established in the cases of the minority of the heirs or in the circumstances of the property disputes of the nobles. The analysis of the archival documents of the Penza province has allowed concluding that the real situation in this sphere was far from the legal norms. As considered bodies of guardianship demonstrated the formalistic approach in their work. They only formalized the transfer of the estates to the guardians and reported to the civil chambers. They didn’t concern about financial situation and well-being of patronized or about moral qualities of that nobles who got a status of wards because of the difficult situation. The cases of abusive activities of the guardians also took place.