A. A. Chapaev. On the Unobvious Consequences of March 1, 1881: On the Issue of the Creation of the Society of Lodging Houses in St. Petersburg and the Role of Dr. N. N. Dvoryashin // Petersburg Historical Journal, no. 4, 2025, pp. 184–192.

DOI: 10.51255/2311–603X_2025_4_184

Abstract:

The article examines the role of Dr. N. N. Dvoryashin in the process of establishing the Society of
Lodging Houses in St. Petersburg, one of the most important public organisations that emerged in the capital of the Russian Empire in the last third of the 19th century. The significance of this institution for St. Petersburg as the primary industrial center of the country is considerable. The organisers of this society furnished seasonal workers with affordable and hygienic lodging, a provision that would otherwise have exposed the workers to a considerable risk of illness, homelessness, and criminal exploitation, effectively transforming them from contributors to the city’s economy to a burden on its resources and, in some cases, a potential threat to its stability. Notwithstanding, the implementation of Dr. N. N. Dvoryashin’s concept required a period exceeding a decade. The subject of providing assistance to the homeless was first addressed by him in 1869. However, for there to be any change, events had to unfold in the most unanticipated manner. Indeed, the sequence of events was tragic, yet it proved conducive to the actualisation of the aforementioned concept. It was only after N. N. Dvoryashin’s proximity to the deathbed of the emperor that he was able to initiate the registration of his charitable society. In this regard, particular attention is warranted by the manner in which this process was influenced by the shift in the perception of his personality, contingent on the historical circumstances in which he was destined to become a direct participant.

Key words: history of helping the homeless, charity, civil society, Alexander II, N. N. Dvoryashin, role of personality, biography.

Author:

Chapaev, Andrey Aleksandrovich — head of the humanitarian programs of the NGO “Nochlezhka”, postgraduate, The Saint Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences (St. Petersburg, Russia).
E-mail: a.chapaev@mail.ru

References:

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Dunaeva, Ju. V. (ed.). Istoricheskaya biografiya: Sovremennye podkhody i metody issledovaniya [Historical Biography: Modern Approaches and Research Methods. In Russ.]. Moscow, INION RAN, 2011. 172 p.

Grinin, L. E. Rol’ lichnosti v istorii: istoriya i teoriya voprosa [The Role of Personality in History: History and Theory of the Issue. In Russ.]. In Filosofiya i obshсhestvo. 2011. No. 4, pp. 175–193.

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