From Generation to Generation: the “Eternal Deposit” as One of the Tools for Solving Social Problems by St. Petersburg Philanthropists and Merchant Bushtuevs

The article is devoted to the family charity projects of the St. Petersburg merchants Bushtuevs and the use of untouchable capital in these projects.Attention is drawn to the possible origins and prototypes of the family charity projects of the late 19 th -early 20 th century both in this family historical homeland and in St. Petersburg.The article highlights the social conditions, challenges, and problems that led to the implementation of various socially significant initiatives involving untouchable capital, such as the establishment of a parish school, a children's shelter, and initiatives by local associations involving the Bushtuevs (the Yaroslavl Charity Society and the Society for Assistance to the Natives of Uglich and Its District in St. Petersburg).Based on the analysis of a large body of business documentation created by social institutions organized with the help of target capital, the article provides both a detailed description of the economic aspect of the issue (including detailed data on the revenue and expenditure items of the implemented projects and their comparison), as well as an overview of its semantic, symbolic, and value aspects.It is emphasized that despite the inability to continue the tradition of participation in charity after 1918, the family idea to help developing education, social service, and honoring ancestors has continued in the Bushtuevs' descendants to nowadays.