CHARITABLE ACTIVITY OF TATAR ENTREPRENEURS DURING THE WORLD WAR I: BETWEEN CIVIL DUTY AND ETHNO-CONFESSIONAL MISSION

The article studies the history of the charitable activity of Tatar entrepreneurs during the World War I, when the community had two tasks: 1) to make traditional donations in favor of their coreligionists; 2) to help citizens, regardless of their confession. The ideas of ethno-confessional community and the need to modernize the Tatar socio-cultural sphere were the basis of charity work of Tatar entrepreneurs at the turn of the 19th – 20th centuries. During the war, they sought a balance between the ethno-confessional mission and general civil duty. The article includes various examples of Tatar entrepreneurship charity in different regions of the Russian Empire. Entrepreneurs participated in the organization of hospitals, shelters, and donated to the servicemen and their families. A special charity event of those years was Red Star Day (an analogue of the Red Cross). At the same time, in conditions of spy fever (including Pan-Islamism), Tatar philanthropists sometimes demonstrated indecisiveness even when it was necessary to help their coreligionists. Therefore, large donations from Tatar entrepreneurs were made under the aegis of governmental authorities. Such activities were a marker of Muslim loyalty. The study of different areas of charitable activity of Tatar entrepreneurs made it possible to identify connections between ethno-confessional projects and general civic initiative. It was during the war years that philanthropists received the opportunity to legally formalize Tatar sociocultural projects (societies, educational institutions, etc.).