Abstract: This article refers to the memoirs of Countess Praskovya Sergeevna Uvarova as the source that sheds light on the peasant reform of 1861 in the Uvarovs  family estate, as well as allows assessing the degree of participation of the representatives of enlightened society in the Great Reforms of 1860s–1870s, determines the impact of these reforms upon the personal story of the author of memoirs. Understanding the events of everyday life alongside the scale of the figure of Countess P. S. Uvarova of the selected source are valuable for reconstructing the landmark events and processes in the country, one of which was the abolition of serfdom in 1861. The article employs biographical method to reconstruct the personal story of P. S. Uvarova and the historical events of that time through her emotional experiences. This opens a new perspective on the events of the past. Analysis of the source describes all the stages of the reform, from the announcement of the Manifesto of February 19, 1861 and response of the enlightened society, to the measures on land development is a single county through the prism of the direct participant of these events.

Abstract: This article examines the reflection of events of the period of civil war and intervention in the memoirs of the countess P. S. Uvarova “The Past. Long Gone Happy Days”. These reminiscences are the testimonies of a witness on people and events of the late XIX – early XX century that allow understanding the life of academic community from inside, the routine of professional historians and amateur regional ethnographers. On the other hand, the narrative about the last years in the native country allow viewing the everyday life of Uvarovs family in the conditions when the routine has been destroyed. Reference to the personal sources revealing the new pages and milestones of the phenomenon in question allows seeing it through the eyes of a person from the past, find out what was happening and what felt the author. The peculiarity of P. S. Uvarova’s memoirs consists in focusing not on the everyday minutiae that is common to women, but on the reasoning which purpose is to preserve and translate the representations on the core values of life that were relentlessly destroyed by the revolution to the future generations.