Merchants of Russian Northwest: Raising Donations for Militias (1806-13) and the Impact of War on the Communes

Rivista Europea di Studi Napoleonici e dell'Età delle Restaurazioni. 2022. Vol. 1. No. 9-23.

Belan M.

This article explores how merchant communes of three towns of St. Petersburg province
supplied the money donations and other help for the organization of two militia in 1806-07 and 1812-
13 – the first experience of national monilization in Russia. The merchants represented the upper
class of the urban commoners. The merchants were excused conscription, but during the wars with
France their communes were ordered to provide significant donations for the militias. The merchant
elites determined the amount of the donation, and not the governor of the province, or the commune
itself. Then all members of the commune contributed equal shares. The donations for the first militia
(it remains little studied) in 1807 were raised rather fast, and there were a lot of additional
contributions. The families of the local elites donated money, provisions, munition, and weapons –
besides their mandatory shares. However, during raising donations for the 1812 militia the situation
was worse in some towns: the merchant communes began to contract due to growing taxes and the
disruptions caused by the continental blockade and wars. Especially difficult was the year 1812, when
the war disruptions and financial mobilization, undertaken by the government, left many town
budgets empty, which put a lot of pressure on the merchants and their trades. Some communes
contracted by a third and even more. Especially visible were the losses of the local elites: arrears on
merchants grew, and even most prominent families, registered for generations, had to leave the guild
after 1812.

Keywords: малый город, Отечественная война 1812 года, Patriotic war of 1812, купечество, 18th century Russia, donations, пожертвования, народное ополчение, Наполеоновские войны, Россия XVIII-XIX вв., 19th century Russia, Russian small town, People's Militia