Collection practices of Moscow old-believers' merchants of the 19th and early 20th centuries

The paper examines the role of Moscow merchants and industrialists in the history of Russian private collecting. Based on the study of this issue, there is a scholarly discussion about the importance of Old Believers in the development of capitalist relations in Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The interrelationship between Old Believerism, the economic upturn in textile production as well as the evolution of collecting practices in Moscow is showcased. The author concludes that the Old Believer and merchant ethos initially did not conflict with the collection of Russian antiquities and, from the 1840s onwards, with national painting. Since the beginning of the 20th century, in a changed economic situation, the Old Believer traditions of the Moscow bourgeoisie have receded into the background, giving way to European values and tastes. This, in turn, led to the emergence of the collector's identity as an independent participant in the art and antiques market, as well as in the cultural environment.