Daily leisure activities of provincial townspeople of Kazan and Vyatka provinces at the turn of the XIX – early XX century: balls, masquerades, dance evenings

Shabalina Serafima Sergeevna Postgraduate student, Department of General and National History, Elabuga Institute of KFU 89 Kazanskaya str., Yelabuga, Republic of Tatarstan, 423600, Russia simaguard@yandex.ru

The daily life of the townspeople, how they spent their free time, is a part of history that has not yet been fully studied. This is a wide field of activity for researchers. In addition, today in historical science there is a special interest in studying the everyday life of society in the past years. This will make it possible to understand the formation of the worldview and attitude of the people. 

In this study, attention is focused on the leisure activities of urban women of the Kazan province in the second half of the XIX – XX centuries. On the basis of archival materials, an attempt is made to summarize and systematize the available material.

Speaking about the leisure activities of provincial townspeople, first of all, they usually mean representatives of the upper class, because they are the ones who embody the culture of the era. The first population census conducted in 1897 showed that "2,170.665 inhabitants of both sexes live in Kazan province, of which 1,059,388 are men and 1,111,277 are women" ^[12]. The results indicate that there were 9.5% more women than men in the province. During this period, women took an active position and took part in the entertainment events of the province.

From 1890 to 1990, the number of nobles in Kazan increased by almost a thousand from 3069 to 4060 people. The location and accessibility of the main administrative institutions, important cultural and educational centers were important to them. For example, in the central part of Kazan "the mansions of such prominent figures of noble self-government as P. Demidov (Gruzinskaya Street), A. Kazakov (Bolshaya Krasnaya Street), A. Lebedev (Lyadskaya Street), D. Terenin (Nagornaya Street) and others are located" ^{[10, p. 24]}.

The contribution of the nobility of Kazan to social and cultural life was noticeable and contributed to the transformation of the city. Interest clubs are starting to open everywhere. It is the clubs that become the center of the leisure life of provincial townspeople.

One of the regular activities that were carried out on the territory of the clubs were dance evenings, balls and masquerades.

Masquerades were especially popular. However, they were only called masquerades because men preferred not to wear masks. Men, as a rule, wore tailcoats to balls, and women loved a domino suit.

Women paid a lot of attention to their appearance. Fashionable costumes, dresses, hats, hairstyles, etc. were published on the pages of periodicals at that time.

You can also find articles on how to behave in society, at receptions, what to wear, how to comb your hair, how to walk properly: "Too tight clothes, a tight corset deprive the gait of grace. The tense position of the figure gives the impression of a moving automaton..." ^{[3, p. 12]}.

We find a lot of information about leisure options in A.N. Zorin's monograph "Sketches of urban life in the pre-revolutionary Volga region" ^[7]. In it, the author describes in detail the features of provincial everyday life.

Masquerades and balls were held in clubs. Admission to the ball cost 50 kopecks for women and 1 ruble for men, during masquerades the price was 1 ruble for both sexes ^{[7, p. 209]}. Only a part of the citizens belonging to the elite could afford to attend such events.

Dance evenings were held on yachts in the summer. The cost of the visit was in the range of 0.25-1 ruble ^[8].

The balls were held from October to February. During this period, an average of 50 balls and masquerades were organized in Kazan. In 1910, this number grew to 140.

Balls and masquerades were of particular importance for public life. It was believed that it was necessary to make a decent impression on others. The balls were carefully prepared. When children reached adulthood, they were solemnly introduced into the secular circle at such events. It was a kind of initiation ceremony. In order for young people not to lose face at their first evening and at subsequent ones, dance training courses were created for them at clubs. At the balls, there was an assessment of profitable future parties for children, boys and girls were looked at, assessing their manners, appearance, ability to behave in society and make an impression.

There were also rooms at the balls where visitors could hold secret meetings. The dances were different: from the waltz to the quadrille. Specially trained people were engaged in following the course of the dance and announcing the mandatory movements for everyone.

Undesirable elements at the balls were ladies with dubious reputations. Although at that time, a certain frivolity in behavior becomes normal. This is confirmed by the content of articles, theatrical productions, and others.

Many women have taken lovers. This is evidenced by the stories published in the periodicals. For example, in the 10th issue of The Ladies' World from 1910, Bourget's story "Accomplice" was published, which describes a meeting of lovers in a crowded place ^[5].

Almost all women with wealth subscribed to magazines for women. At the beginning of the twentieth century, provincial wealthy townspeople lead a fairly liberated life, not caring much about what the surrounding people think of them. This is evidenced by an article in the magazine "Ladies' World", which describes a modern woman: "the guiding incentive for which is primarily the freedom of love <...> it is a freedom strong by selfishness, complacency and lack of chastity" ^[6]. That is why visiting places of entertainment became very popular with women of that era.

The propaganda of the lack of moral principles was also demonstrated on stage. Theater has become another form of leisure for women. A mandatory element of the magazines were articles-reviews about upcoming theatrical events in the city, as well as reviews of performances. Here is a short excerpt from a play that was popular in 1916. One of the actresses, resting in a female company, asks the head waiter to invite men to them: "Oh, how incomprehensible you are… Do you have men's companies carousing here? When they get bored, do you invite ladies to them? Well, here we are today. We got bored, and we asked you to invite men to join us. Have you finally understood?!" ^[6]. This has brought into fashion among women complete freedom in matters of leisure activities.

Another popular form of leisure was the so-called family evenings, when not only adults but also children were allowed into clubs. In the daily newspaper Kamsko-Volzhskaya Rech, dated December 29, 1913, we find a note about one such event dedicated to the upcoming celebration of Christmas. A new club was operating, in which this event took place, according to the following schedule: from 18:00 to 23:00 children could play near a huge Christmas tree hung with gifts, dances for adults were organized from 21:00 ^{[8, p. 9]}. About 700 people took part in such "family evenings" in one event.

The residents of Kazan, belonging to the upper stratum of society, liked to organize expensive receptions on a variety of occasions. At such receptions, women demonstrated their outfits, knowledge of etiquette, and the ability to conduct a conversation. At the same time, all new trends in fashion life were discussed.  The most striking banquets attended by prominent people were reported in local newspapers the next day ^[11].

The press wrote about which events should take place in which club. For example, in Vyatka Speech No. 249 for Thursday, November 21st, 1913, we find the following list of events:

"In a public meeting. Today is November 21st, tea party and restoration of paintings by the apparatus.

At the railway club. There's a performance tonight. There are "No. 13" and "The bride in the quarry".

In the people's house. Today is the closing of the winter season. The play "Hot Heart" is on.

At the commercial club. There's a tea party at the club tonight. There is a masquerade on Saturday."^[4]

Clubs were very popular in the Kazan province, and the openings of new clubs were reported in newspapers and magazines. There were also open debates on the need to organize a club on the pages of the periodicals. The article "About the new club in the mountains. Vyatka" is written on behalf of the opponent of the opening of a new club, as a response to the previous article. In it, the author lists the standard events for clubs: "according to existing customs, the club hosts: a library, performances, entertainment evenings, then cards, billiards (usually a game of interest), lotto and other games, a buffet with beer and other alcoholic beverages" ^[1].

Card games for money are becoming another of the hobbies of the late XIX – early XX centuries. At the same time, they played both men and women. The clubs received a good income from this. Since it was possible to purchase sealed decks of playing cards only from them. The price of one such deck in the club was 2 rubles before 1901 and 2 rubles 50 kopecks after), when it could be purchased outside the club for only 92-95 kopecks) ^{[7, p. 508]}.

The amounts that the guests lost were indicated in large letters already at the entrance to the club. As A.N. Zorin emphasizes, "gambling and gambling debts were spread up to the top of society" ^{[7, p. 503]}.

Especially massive and noisy evenings in clubs were organized for the upcoming holidays. For example, on October 1, a large dance evening took place at the Narodny Dom, during which two jokes were shown on stage. After the performance, there were dances with prizes. At the end of the evening, a screening of films was organized (up to 10 paintings were shown).

Another hobby of women was visiting fortune tellers and palmists. Predictions became the subject of discussion. The popularity of such leisure is evidenced by advertisements in magazines, as well as articles (For example, "Occult Science" ^{[5, p. 31]}.

The struggle for women's rights is an important stage in history. At the end of the XIX – beginning of the XX century, some women spent their leisure time at lectures, where the most important questions were discussed about how and how a woman should change and how society should accept her. Among the main topics for lectures were: "The woman of today and tomorrow", "Modern woman", "Evening of poets", "The fate of a woman", "The soul of a woman", "A woman about herself" and others ^{[6, p. 3]}.

In the Kazan periodical Vyatka Speech No. 254 for November 27, 1910, we find a note dedicated to the upcoming women's Congress ^[3]. It states that more than 600 participants have signed up for the congress and continue to sign up. The fact that there is no room capable of accommodating everyone obliges the bureau to suspend recording. However, visitors from other cities will still be recorded. Women wishing to take part in the upcoming event come from the Caucasus, Lithuania, Vladivostok and Kainst. The newspaper even noted the topics of upcoming reports, among which: "A woman on the stage" by Grinevskaya, "A woman as a wife and mother in the fight against alcoholism" by Grigoriev, "On the activities of women in correctional institutions and prisons" by von Kube, etc. ^[3]. Of particular interest in this regard are the topics that will be announced in sections 2 and 3. The third section deals with issues of women's civil and political rights, and the second deals with the economic situation of women and ethics.

Thus, the problem of the daily leisure activities of provincial townspeople of the Kazan and Vyatka provinces at the turn of the XIX – early XX century requires detailed study. It allows us to better understand many aspects of history that have not yet been studied. Special attention should be paid to everyday life and leisure, which are the most important part of everyday life. A detailed study of these aspects of life allows us to understand how the worldview of the people changed, what influenced, what ideas were relevant to society. The main leisure activities for women are balls, masquerades, and dance evenings. The women prepared for them very carefully. It was in the clubs organizing such events that all the news and trends were discussed. The analysis of archival materials made it possible to study the interests of women at the turn of the XIX – early XX century. The research material can be used for a more in-depth study of women's everyday life, the study of the evolution of the gender issue, in the process of a comprehensive study of the history of the Kazan and Vyatka provinces, as well as the history of Russia as a whole.