Trade in the structure of private entrepreneurship on the territory of the South Ukrainian provinces of the Russian Empire (second half of the 19tth beginning of the 20th century)
Authors: Shliakhov Oleksii 
Published: June 2023

The aim of the article: to find out the role of representatives of different classes and ethnic groups of the population of the Kherson and Yekaterinoslav provinces of the Russian Empire in the development of stationary trade in the second half of the 19th – early 20th century, to determine the number and conditions for the functioning of various trading establishments in the region, the level of their profitability. Research methods: historical-genetic, comparative-historical, retrospective. Main results: it is noted that the trade sphere of activity concentrated in the post-reform period the bulk of business, enterprising people of the southern Ukrainian provinces. At the same time, the number of trading establishments that were in sole ownership or the property of trading houses in the territory of Kherson and Yekaterinoslav provinces at the end of the 19th century was approximately 19.5 thousand. It was found that representatives of the business circles of the region most often created guild stores that sold manufactory, haberdashery, etc. And the stores of Kherson region had the most significant income among such establishments – 25.9 thousand rubles per year. According to social characteristics, among the merchants of the South of Ukraine in the modern period, there were representatives of the merchant class with a significant margin from others. It is noted that representatives of almost all groups of the multinational population of the South were involved in trading activities, although this primarily concerns Russians, Jews, Germans and Mennonites. At the same time, no doubt, the role of business people of Ukrainian origin was also noticeable in this. One way or another, the entrepreneurial activity of representatives of different ethnic groups of the population of the region was primarily aimed at making a profit, which means that economic interest naturally dominated among all businessmen. Concise conclusions: it is noted that the development of private entrepreneurship in the field of trade played a decisive role in the formation of the capitalist market in the region, the genesis of commodity-money relations in the post-reform period. The practical significance: is to create a proper basis for a systemic reconstruction of the history of the development of entrepreneurship in the southern Ukrainian provinces of the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries. Originality: the author used a wide range of published (both act and narrative) sources and carried out their comprehensive analysis. Scientific novelty: A regional-sectoral approach to the study of entrepreneurship in the trade sphere of Ukraine in the imperial period is proposed. For the first time, the main directions of business strategies of entrepreneurs of the South in the trade sector at the end of the 19th – beginning of the 20th centuries are presented comprehensively, their class, property and ethnic composition are characterized. Type of article: research article.