Symbolic and Behavioral Norms of Mourning in the Late 19th Century Russia (based on Literary and Ethnographic Sources)

The study explores the attitude towards death in the late nineteenth-century Russian Empire, and specifically focuses on the way people behaved when encountering the deaths of others. Within this framework a list of problems could be formulated. What was a common attitude towards death among peasantry; how would a peasant react if he or she encountered someone's death? The first part of the thesis aims to clarify this question using ethnographic materials collected in different parts of Russia during the last decades of the nineteenth century. The second part studies behavioral norms and taboos related to death which emerged during the period among educated urban classes. The analysis in this part is based on examination of several literary sources which illustrate common beliefs of the era. The study argues that among peasantry the Christian view of death became increasingly dominant towards the end of the century; while among urban population, on the contrary, the Christian view of death went into decline, and the meaning of rituals saw a devaluation. The wish to “seclude” oneself from death was reflected even on the linguistic level, while the spread of scientific views lead towards removal of certain cultural “taboos” related to death.