Autobiographical and Epistolary Heritage of the Merchants of the Regions of Russia: The Latest Research Areas and Perspectives of Study

The article is devoted to an overview of the latest trends in the study of the written heritage of the merchants of Russia. The author examines the principles and approaches to the study and publication of merchant autobiographical and epistolary texts set forth in the works of the last two decades. Special emphasis in the article is made on the study and publication of the written heritage of merchants from different regions in the context of the complex ethno-cultural structure of Russian society in the modern era. The main trends in the study of memoirs and epistolary complexes of the Russian merchants of the 17th - early 20th century are highlighted, and their main publications are characterized. The observations and remarks make it possible not only to characterize the current state of the study of the written heritage, cultural level, mentality and self-consciousness of the merchant class, but also to outline the prospects for such research area. The author comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to conduct complex interdisciplinary research, including historians, literary scholars, linguists, and carried out through the use of modern technical methods of working with handwritten texts.