Historical and Demographic characteristics of prisoners of Kherson governance in the first half of the 19th century (based on clerk documentation materials)

Abstract

Th e purpose of the research is to establish the number and dynamics of priso ners in the prisons of the Kherson province in the fi rst half of the 19th century, to analyze the age distribution of prisoners, gender distribution, social origin of prisoners, distribution of prisoners into diff erent categories depending on the crimes committed. Th e research methodology is based on the principles of a concrete-historical approach or historicism. Quantitative research methods, historical-comparative method, interpretation method, general scientifi c methods of analysis and synthesis were used in the research. Th e scientifi c novelty of the study lies in the fact that this study is the fi rst attempt to form a comprehensive picture of the number and composition of prisoners in the Kherson province in the fi rst half of the 19th century, based on statistical data from the two largest cities of the province – Odesa and Kherson. For the fi rst time, the study analyzed the distri- bution of inmates of the Odesa prison castle by age and crimes committed. Th e obtained data were compared with the Kherson prison castle, which made it possible to identify trends common to the two cities regarding the composition of prisoners and their number. In turn, these results were considered in the context of the entire Southern Ukraine and other Ukrainian provinces within the Russian Empire. Conclusions. It was found that the majority of prisoners were men, while only a fi ft h were women. Th e basis of the prison “population” of the two main prisons of the Kherson province was made up of persons imprisoned for violating the population localization system and minor property crimes – theft and fraud. Th is was a typical situation for Southern Ukraine, where the population of cities was rapidly increasing and attracting new immigrants, which was refl ected in the number of arrestees. A comparison with other Ukrainian provinces made it possible to es- tablish that, in relation to the number of citizens, the number of detainees in Odesa and Kherson was not an exception to Ukrainian provinces.