Than lived to the kobrinchena earlier?

Kobrin → Outstanding persons → Alexey Mikhaylovich Martynov

Just as once any dance began from an oven, so, having taken in head to glance in the past of our city, surely it is necessary to use voluminous volume "Audits of Kobrin Economy" of 1563. This oldest reference book contains invaluable data on some aspects of life of Kobrin district of quatercentenary prescription. Thanks to the data provided there is an opportunity to gain a reliable impression about employment of citizens during so remote era. Agriculture was an immemorial profession of overwhelming mass of the podatny population (and it is 347 families). Along with them there was small "layer" (to 10 percent) which in addition was engaged on terminology of that time in various "rukomesla".



First of all it is mysterious why suddenly in the city appeared fourteen reznik (butchers). It is unlikely, their activity intended only for local needs. At the same time there were four millers and on two representatives of such popular professions as tailors, smiths, carpenters yes fishermen. This rather poor list becomes isolated shorniky, sedelniky, shapovaly, the bricklayer, a Sagittarius (the hunter?) and even the gunner knowing modest castle artillery.

However, it is possible to claim with confidence that the provided list would be incomparably more substantial if not fatal accident: the part of sheets of the manuscript of the document relating to the central part of the city was lost. As during that era in Kobrin there was a monastery, several orthodox churches and recently the first Catholic church appeared, naturally, there was a considerable quantity unaccounted in audit church a parable - priests, deacons, sextons. Equally as persons of shlyakhetsky estate with the serving domestic servants initially were not considered. Also members of the city administration and trade are not called.

The data imprinted in the document of 1792 and covering 245 families will be the following stage of our fluent review. Naturally, the attentive reader can have a lawful bewilderment: how so - over two hundred years ago in the city there lived 347 families of petty bourgeoises and suddenly there was on the whole one hundred less? Apparently, in it the chain of the disasters which fell upon Kobrin in a beginning of the century is guilty. The huge fire exterminated the most part of structures, then devastating morovy craze (plague, cholera?) claimed a set of the lives, and, at last, the heavy contribution imposed by the Swedish conquerors and which thoroughly ruined city treasury. All this in total brought the city to unprecedented decline, and the population - to an impoverishment. As a result Kobrin was deprived by the decision of diet in 1766 the city rights and privileges, having come to the category of royal table estates.

In confirmation of told special interest causes distribution of citizens on a property status. Rich men called only 11 families, well-founded-15, srednezazhitochny - 59 while the vast majority appeared at the level of poverty. In Audit it is reported only about 31 farmers, and are called 25 in general landless. And at the same time in the city there were 129 oxen and only 36 horses. What was become with hundreds of traditional petty bourgeoises-zemlerobov? Infinite questions...

And still this time the list of handicraftsmen is incomparably more interesting and various. There was new, besides the most numerous profession of shoemakers in number of 15 people. Possibly, citizens more and more began to enjoy an exchange of self-made lykovy bast shoes for more graceful leather footwear. Closely they are followed by 12 tailors and 11 potters. Already since then present Proletarskaya Street began to be called Pottery or Potter's. Become rather popular crafts forge and tanning occupation. Carpenters there were 6, three stove-setters and as much butchers. 2 burgomasters though it is an administrative position, 2 wine makers are mentioned. And only on one representative of the most rare professions: doctor, barber, cook, painter, baker, chimney sweep, clerk, glazier, laundress and soap maker. Kobrin's life gradually changes, and it is reflected in more motley picture of employment of the population. Like the previous list, here too there are no data on the shlyakhta living in the city, clergy, administration and "shopkeepers" about whose number it is only possible to guess.

And at last, we will step in imagination in a century and we will look, than our fellow citizens at the end of XIX - the beginning of the 20th centuries were engaged. In "The big encyclopedia" under Yuzhakov's edition (the edition of 1903) it is written that Kobrin - the district city of the Grodno province on the river Mukhavets and Kobrinka. Inhabitants - 10365 people. Two orthodox churches, church, pick. Houses 850, from them 150 uninhabited. Factories and plants - 24. Six hospitals on 135 beds, including 3 soldiers of hospital. Two bookstores, library and two (!) printing houses. Educational institutions - 4, among them district school, parish and two private.

Incomparably more detailed data on employment of citizens are provided in materials of the First All-Russian population census of 1897. At that time from total number of inhabitants (10915 people) there were more than 4 thousand gramoteev. Studied in higher education institutions of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Warsaw - 22, at high schools of Brest, Pinsk, Bialystok - 129 as own high school was absent. In administration, court and police in total there were 85 employees. Isn't that so, tremendous preponderance of bureaucracy! Besides it must be kept in mind that Kobrin of that time was an administrative center of the extensive county borrowing 4620 sq. versts with the population in 185 thousand. Entered it, besides the present area, Zhabinkovsky, Drogichinsky, Ivanovo. And it at long distances, disgusting roads, scanty cable and total absence of telecommunication. But order was kept, taxes were raised, "bureaucrats" coped with the duties well.

Further, unfortunately, not to avoid rather tiresome list of the professions occurring in Kobrin a century ago: legal profession - 8 people, clergy - 21, teachers and tutors - 73, day workers - 429, from them 283 persons - female servants. Living with the income and real estate - 209, prisoners - 75, farmers - 194. 12 people, and construction repair work - 538 were engaged in processing of flax!

It would be desirable to pay attention of readers as far as the statinformation of both pre-revolutionary Russia, and pre-war Poland was public in full sense. To take at least the annual "Memorable book of the Grodno province". In it it is possible to find the most interesting data, including on quantity and a kind of crimes on counties, the list of military units of garrison of the Brest fortress etc. That is all those data which later, already in Soviet period, were not subject to disclosure. It is unambiguously possible to tell also about the Polish statistics publishing the most detailed year-book. In it such materials which at us are considered as an indisputable prerogative only of a narrow intimate circle of officials were located.

A. Martynov

Martynov, And. Occupations of citizens in the past: staronk_ g_story_ / A. Martynov//Kobrynsk_ vesn_k. – 1994. – 5, 9 lyutag.



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