Authors

Discussion

A result of the Moscow fire of 1812 was an influx of peasant traders and merchants from the surrounding areas, which had been partially populated by the schismatics, many of whom were Old Believers. It was their creed of religious expression, with its adherence to the old beliefs including sobriety, economy, industriousness, together with a social responsibility that later led to their economic strength. The Old Believers clashed with the tsarist bureaucracy over commercial and religious matters. Irrespective of the work carried out by Platon II, to accommodate the differences between the Orthodox Church and the Old Believers, this was compromised by Nicholas I who deprived the community of their chapels, books, icons and priests in order to protect society against ‘schismatic infection’. The Old Believer entrepreneurs who emerged in Moscow included Soldantenkov, who financed the translation of foreign books into Russian, the Bakhrushin family, Morozov and Tretyakov, all involved in textiles, and Mamontov, active in the development of rail transport. By the 1850s they were affluent enough to enjoy a style of life formerly reserved for the aristocracy and landed gentry. In 1863 a critical article appeared in the satirical magazine Iskra stating that: ‘Art must benefit the people and must be needed by the people...’ This message found a receptive readership within the Moscow merchants and, in particular, with Tretiakov and Mamontov. With their Old Believer background they saw it their moral responsibility to invest in the social welfare of their workers and their education through the arts.