‘Despite My Aversion for the Knack Writing, I Wished to Leave a Verbatim Record of My Conversations with the Minister for Future Readers.’ Letters of M. I. Kazi, Director of the Baltic Works
| 16 March 2021
Posted in
Publication of archival documents
УДК 94(47)«1864-1900»
DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2018-1-181-192
Denis G. Kovalevsky
Soviet Union fleet admiral N.G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
Elena D. Tverdyukova
Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation
‘Despite My Aversion for the Knack Writing, I Wished to Leave a Verbatim Record of My Conversations with the Minister for Future Readers.’ Letters of M. I. Kazi, Director of the Baltic Works
Abstract
The article studies materials on armored shipbuilding in Russia in the late 19th century. The source base of the study is unpublished letters of the Director of the Baltic Works (Baltic Ironworks, Shipyard and Engineering Works) M. I. Kazi addressed to a retired official of the naval department A. E. Konkevich, who wrote articles about the Navy under the name A. E. Belomor. M. I. Kazi held the post from 1877 to 1894. Kazi’s letters related his activities in 1893 and delivered his opinion on the forthcoming reform of Admiralty factories, and particularly on the idea of merging the administration of the Baltic Shipbuilding and Mechanical Plant with that of the Obukhov Steel Mill. Kazi debated the project of the ‘Regulation on the Management of Works of the Ministry of the Navy,’ on the basis of which the merger of the administrations was to proceed. Apart from his opinions, Kazi’s letters contained fragments of his conversations with Minister of the Navy, Admiral N. M. Chikhachyov, whose ministerial activities he disparaged. The article also introduces a letter from P. P. Tyrtov, head of the Main Directorate for Shipbuilding and Supplies of the Ministry of the Navy, to M. I. Kazi, inducing him to consent to the assignment of the rank of Active Privy Councillor. Kazi’s answer is cited fully, as it characterizes the personality of this extraordinary man, who greatly contributed to the creation of Russian armored cruisers. Letters are indicative of the ways and morals of state officials. They offer a psychological portrayal of a Russian naval officer against the background of building capitalism in Russia. M. I. Kazi’s desire to convey to future generations his opinion on the events he witnessed and participated in, contributed to the motivation of the publishers.
Keywords
Archive, historical source, documents of management and record keeping, M. I. Kazi, Baltic Works, armored cruisers, Ministry of the Navy, reform.
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References
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About the authors
Kovalevsky Denis Georgievich, PhD in Engineering, researcher, Soviet Union fleet admiral N.G. Kuznetsov Naval Academy, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, +7-921-308-59-07, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Tverdyukova Elena Dmitrievna, PhD in History, professor, St. Petersburg State University, Institute of History, professor, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, +7-921-947-62-26, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Submitted 6.06.2017, published:
KOVALEVSKII, D. G., TVERDYUKOVA E. D. “Pri vsem otvrashchenii k mekhanike pis'ma, mne khotelos' ostavit' po vozmozhnosti dlya budushchikh chitatelei doslovnuyu kopiyu svoikh razgovorov s ministrom”. Pis'ma upravlyayushchego Baltiiskim zhelezodelatel'nym sudostroitel'nym i mekhanicheskim zavodom M. I. Kazi [‘Despite My Aversion for the Knack Writing, I Wished to Leave a Verbatim Record of My Conversations with the Minister for Future Readers.’ Letters of M. I. Kazi, Director of the Baltic Works. In Russ.]. Vestnik arhivista / Herald of an Archivist, 2018, no. 1, pp. 181-192. doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2018-1-181-192