METRIC BOOKS AS A SOURCE FOR STUDYING DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL PROCESSES IN ZAPORIZHZHIA IN THE LATE 18th - EARLY 20th CENTURIES

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.26661/

Keywords:

metric books, church, historical source, civil records, social status

Abstract

The article draws attention to the metric books that were kept at churches in the Zaporizhzhia region from the end of the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century, and contain not only official information about a person, but also a great deal of other information. The mass of documents that make up the metric books stored in the State Archives of Zaporizhzhia Region is characterized. The specifics of their chronological and territorial reflec- tion of historical events are indicated. Three nominal groups of metric books are distinguished, differing in the chronology of events, the place of compilation, and the specifics of fund formation. Attention is drawn to the peculiarities of metric books kept by representatives of different religions. The powerful potential of this type of historical source for covering the history of demographic and socio-economic processes is explained and illustrated. It is claimed that the books give an idea of the size of settlements, their administrative subordination, and the religious affilia- tion of the population. Based on the listed characteristics, it is possible to establish the nationality of a part of the inhabitants of a settlement. The earliest surviving metric books indicate which category a settlement belonged to, whether it was a state-owned or privately owned village. Due to the preservation of the metric books of individual churches, it seems possible to track the following over several decades: changes in population size, the spread of epidemic diseases, birth rates by year and month, the number of marriages and deaths, age at marriage, life expectancy, etc. The sources reveal changes in the social status of the population. In particular, their belonging to the peasant, Cossack, bourgeois, and merchant class- es is indicated. When indicating military status, the place of service and military unit were usually indicated. The foreign citizenship of the person was also indicated. Professional characteristics (for example, teacher) or educational level (student, seminarian) were also mentioned. There is information available with the surnames of clergy who made the recordings, which allows us to establish the duration of service of these individuals in a particular settlement, at a particular religious unit, etc.

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Published

2025-12-19

Issue

Section

Historiography. Source Studies

How to Cite

METRIC BOOKS AS A SOURCE FOR STUDYING DEMOGRAPHIC AND SOCIAL PROCESSES IN ZAPORIZHZHIA IN THE LATE 18th - EARLY 20th CENTURIES. (2025). Zaporizhzhia Historical Review, 7(59). https://doi.org/10.26661/