Nikolai Fedorovich Grauert – a Councilor of the Kazan City Duma

Abstract

In Russian historiography, the officials of Tsarist Russia have long been portrayed as refusing progressive ideals and pursuing their personal goals, i.e., as being unconcerned with the public good. However, this perspective on the history of Russian officialdom has led to the neglect of many distinguished individuals who contributed immensely to the public life of their country. Due to their active roles in both local and public self-government of Russian provincial cities and the exceptional impacts they made on the urban well-being of the Russian Empire, there has now been a growing interest in their biographies among researchers. One such individual is Nikolai Fedorovich Grauert, once a prominent public figure in Kazan. He served as a member of the Kazan City Duma and the City Council (from 1897 to 1916), participating in a number of city executive commissions (those related to school, theater, and forestry management). Despite his fruitful work in the public service, N.F. Grauert’s biography has never been specifically addressed. He happened to be involved in the events in October 1905 that took place in Kazan and thus was labeled by the state authorities as a culprit of the Kazan “upheaval.” Here, using archival sources, N.F. Grauert’s biography is reconstructed. His role as the chairman of the City Council’s School Commission for improving the situation with urban education, as well as in expanding the school network to promote universal education in Kazan, is emphasized.