Child homelessness and neglect in the Russian empire in the second half of the XVIII–early XIX centuries. article: analysis of legislative acts ; Дитяча безпритульність і бездоглядність у Російській імперії в другій половині ХVІІІ–на початку ХІХ ст.: аналіз законодавчих актів

Abstract

This article contains the historiographic analysis of legislative acts of the Russian Empire on the problems of child homelessness and neglect since the second half of the eighteenth till the beginning of the nineteenth century. Scientific research in this sphere helps to enrich the knowledge about the development of public charity institutions during this period, to identify the potential source of legislative acts , to complete the picture of the national history of philanthropy. It is the advent to power of Catherine II that initiated largescale reforms of the charity sphere, which demonstrate the legislative sources clearly. The analysis of the given complex of sources illustrates the approaches of public policy in the sphere of custody of homeless and neglected children. The dynamics of state support for child welfare institutions, a gradual transition of the initiatives of financial support from the state to individual philanthropists were shown. It was the philanthropy that opposed the growth of homelessness, increased the educational and cultural level of the local population. In the mentioned period of the Russian Empire there were laid the foundations of rather balanced and efficient system of public charity that was controlled by the Emperor, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and reflected their policy at the local level. The authors noted that the legislation as for homeless and neglected children has begun to form since the second half of the eighteenth century, the defining principles of policy in the sphere of the destitute were laid. The following analysis of the legislative body of material acts not only as a valuable historical source in the sphere of custody, but also as an interesting example of statist policy, a lesson in the meaning of avoidance of replication of previous mistakes. ; У статті розглянуто законодавчу діяльність Російської імперії щодо дитячої безпритульності та бездоглядності у другій половині ХVІІІ–на початку ХІХ ст. щодо Зазначено, що система інституцій опіки над дітьми в Російській імперії формувалася поступово та була сегментарною, не маючи єдиного відомчого підпорядкування. Лише з другої половини ХVІІІ ст. законодавство про дітей, які залишилися без піклування батьків, почало системно складатися, були закладені визначальні принципи політики щодо нужденних, що діяли до 1918 р.