The History of Uman Region in the Biography of the Meyendorff’s Family

Abstract

The article systematizes and compares with other historical sources some fragments from the history of the Uman Region that were discovered in the memories of Maria Meyendorff about her family. First of all, it is a description of estates in the villages of Tomashivka, Yagubets, and Vilshan Slobidka of the Uman District in the second half of the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, the lifestyle of an aristocratic family and its adaptation in the environment of the Ukrainian peasantry, life vicissitudes during the years of social transformation. Based on the memoirs of M. Meyendorff, the biography of Yuri Fedorovych Meyendorff, who was elected three times as the Chairman of the Zemstvo Administration of the Uman County from 1911 to 1919 is compiled, which expands knowledge about the activities of the local self-government body – the Uman Zemstvo. Information about the murder of Yuriy Meyendorff’s brother gleaned from the memoirs of M. Meyendorff verified the reports of the periodical press and the diary entries of the contemporary public figure P.F. Kurinnyi about the death and funeral of the head of the Uman Zemstvo.

The article clarifies the real reason for the appearance in the village of Tomashivka of the Uman District of representatives of the baronial family Meyendorff, which was connected with the entire Russian aristocracy, and illustrates the process of adaptation of representatives of the social elite to rural life. The stories that supplement the history of the Uman villages Tomashivka, Vilshana Slobidka, and Yagubets are highlighted from the memories. With regard to Vilshanaya Slobidka, the area where the Meyendorffs’ estate was built is described in detail, the technology of building a house modeled on the construction of peasant huts is described, information is given about the construction of a dam and the creation of a garden irrigation system, and the robbery and destruction of the estate is reported. The article collects materials that make up a complete picture of the personality of the Chairman of the Zemsky Board of the Uman District – Yurii Fedorovych Meyendorff and his wife Nataliya Mykolaivna, who was a well-known philanthropist in the Uman Region. She took care of the school, opened a hospital for the peasants, supported the prisoners of the Uman prison, took care of the reading room and the village choir. Her great merit was the organization of handicrafts, the activities of which brought income to the peasants.

The reasons for honoring the memory of N.M. Meyendorff by the inhabitants of the village of Tomashivka, whose grave is still cared for by the villagers, are highlighted. Confirmed information about the location of Yurii and Natalia Meyendorff’s house in Uman.