The inner estates stratification and the sources of nobility reinforcement in the Middle Volga region in second half of the XIX - early XX centuries: historical and legal aspects

The article deals with the problems of the inner stratification of the nobility in the post-reform period. The nobility class was divided into two groups: hereditary and personal nobility, the differences in their legal status are described. Based on the materials of the Middle Volga region the author analyses the structure of the hereditary nobility, the sources of its reinforcement, and the procedure for the acquisition of this legal status.