THE SPECIFICS OF THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF RUSSIAN MERCHANTS IN CENTRAL ASIA IN THE LATE IMPERIAL PERIOD (ACCORDING TO THE MEMOIRS OF NIKOLAY A. VARENTSOV)

Abstract

The paper describes the business trip of the Moscow merchant Nikolay A. Varentsov to Central Asia in 1891 from the perspective of the history of everyday life. The published memoirs of Varentsov served as the basis of the study. Certain aspects of the daily life of Russian merchants, presented in these ego-materials, have not yet become the object of research, which makes the presented work valuable. In addition to these materials, other documents were used in the study, including those of personal origin (diaries, travel notes, historical and geographical essays, etc.), which logically supplement and confirm Varentsov's story about the specifics of solving business problems in the Asian direction. The purpose of the study is to identify and analyze the features of the life of Russian merchants in the urban environment of the khanates of Central Asia in the late 19th century during their visits on trade matters. The author of the memoir went on his journey reluctantly, sharing the idea common among Russian people that Asia was a very distant and dangerous place. Varentsov emphasized the problem of recruiting employees for managerial positions, which was relevant for businessmen. While inspecting the Central Asian representative offices of the Moscow Commercial and Industrial Association, located in different towns of the region, the visitor learned about the dangers to the traveler posed by wild animals and robbers. Participating in negotiations with local merchants and representatives of the administration, Varentsov, despite his will, experienced certain traditions of the Turkic peoples. The research showed a number of differences between the conditions of professional activities of merchants who traded with the Asian khanates during the period of their independence, and entrepreneurs operating in the late 19th century. For example, by the time of Varentsov’s trip, camels, which had previously been the only transport capable of delivering merchants and their goods to the markets of Central Asia, had already lost their leading positions to rail transport.