patronage

The article presents a case study of one of the important and least researched areas of self-government bodies’ social policy – charitable activities of the Zemstvo in Saratov province. The main attention is paid to the forms of childhood protection and the process of building up a system of Zemstvo’s assistance to orphans and children left without parental care. The paper places a significant focus on the history of creation of the Zemstvo’s orphanage and other institutions of social care for foundlings.

In this article the ancient and modern social work in Russia was analyzed. The author shows the history of social work in Saratov’s region since XVIII Century. Materials on the data of the rich actual sources including archives were prepared.

The article is based on the research which was carried out to study charity and patronage activity of Empress Maria Fyodorovna. Her active participation caused the appearance of far-reaching system of educational and social institutions. The analysis of the Empress correspondence and contemporaries’ evaluations are the foundation of the article.

The article is devoted to the problem of taking village under students’ patronage. The guidelines of this work are considered. The author supposes that the main purpose of the village patronage in the 1920s was gathering information for the government.