The social representation of the volost clerk in Tomsk province (late 19th - early 20th century)

The article analyzes the role of the volost clerk in the system of local peasant self-government, as well as his relationship with state authorities. Based on modern research outcomes, materials of volost boards and data from periodicals, the author reconstructs the social image of the volost clerk. On the one hand, the articles reveals numerous abuses on their part, negligence in the performance of their duties, immorality, arbitrariness and bribery. This behavior obviously did not allow peasants to consider volost clerks as full-fledged members of the community, which even at the beginning of the 20th century still remained a rather closed, with its own foundations and orders. Often the volost clerks were perceived by their status as higher than the volost foremen, to whom they were directly subordinate according to the law. On the other hand, peasants turned a blind eye to minor violations of these officials because of the informal connections of volost clerks with representatives of the highest echelons of power. Peasants often used their services to draw up petitions since they were the most educated and knowledgeable persons in the self-government. In other words, their professional qualities, competence and knowledge of local and all-Russian legislation, their ability to successfully solve the problems of both an individual peasant and the community as a whole, turned rural residents to perceive him as a guardian of the interests of the peasant population. Nevertheless, some favor from the higher authorities did not make a big difference for volost clerk, he remained an alien element both for the system of local selfgovernment and for the system of imperial government.