The Presidential Library spotlights the history of family relations

Every year on May 15, the world celebrates International Day of Families. It was established in 1993 at the initiative of the United Nations General Assembly in order to draw public attention to the problems families face. All over the world, conferences, meetings and seminars dedicated to this date discuss issues related to the respectful attitude of relatives to each other, equality of spouses, children's rights, etc.

Despite the fact that officially such an important date appeared only 27 years ago, the problems of the family worried people from time immemorial. In the history of many countries there are examples of how people have repeatedly tried to derive a formula for building ideal relationships within the cell of society. For example, in the 14th century a treatise entitled “Parisian Master” appeared in France, which gives recommendations to wives on how to be a good housewife and take care of the house. Czech poet Smil Flashka created the work “Advice from father to son” about the life principles that every man should pass on to his child. In the 15th century, in Italy, statesman Agnolo Pandolfini wrote “Discussions on Family Management” which shows how to manage a man’s household, build relationships with his spouse, and raise children.

In Russia, Domostroy, which appeared in the middle of the 16th century thanks to the spiritual mentor of Ivan the Terrible Sylvester, who brought together all the laws of life, became an important collection of rules, advice and instructions in all areas of family life. This book is a real encyclopedia of family life, which has been passed down from generation to generation for a long time and has survived several editions. The Presidential Library’s portal in the public domain provides access to the "Domostroy of priest Sylvester" in 1849.

When Domostroy just appeared, it immediately gained great popularity. A model of relationships was presented to people, in which the family turned into a single mechanism, where everyone takes his place and performs certain duties. Such an approach was to eliminate any misunderstanding and prevent conflicts.

A hierarchy was strictly built in Domostroy. The husband was at the head of the family. He was responsible for providing for the family and made sure that members of the household comply with generally accepted standards of morality. Then, according to the status, there was a wife, on whom lay the responsibility for housekeeping. The last line in the system was occupied by children - they helped parents and obediently obeyed them.

Domostroy included tips on all areas of family life. How to love father and mother, raise children, pray, meet guests, keep order, instruct servants, wear clothes, stock up on animals, raise animals, cook meat and meat dishes - the answers to these and other questions were described in detail. Many families lived according to these rules.

Subsequently, Domostroy was regularly criticized. “Let Domostroy be reproached for preaching the harsh and sometimes rude treatment of children, that the mother-woman is not in the foreground, that he does not give her any moral entertainment, educational means, that she is not saved from her husband’s cruelty; these hasty censurers forget for what time it was all written, don’t penetrate enough into the spirit and principles hiding behind trifles, which for that time were quite ideal and liberal, ”says Ivan Sokolov in his book “Moscow Priest Sylvester, as a Statesman".   

In modern society, men and women independently decide how to build relationships within the family, raise children and share household responsibilities. The strict patriarchal principle is a thing of the past. However, there are rules in Domostroy that are still relevant. Many people note that the book contains useful tips that will help build a happy family relationship today. Thus, the treatise calls on “the husband and wife to consult about the household”, the head of the family offers his household members “to dress and feed in abundance”, “to love his wife”, his father and mother are punished “to take care of their children”, “to provide them and educate in good teaching", "to love and cherish them", recommends to children "to love their father and their mother" and "old age to honor them". Domostroy advises all members of the family “not to steal, not to fornicate, not to lie, not to slander, not to envy, not to offend, not to naughty, not to encroach on someone else's, not to condemn, not to be mean, not to make fun of, not to remember evil, not to anyone to be angry, to the elders to be obedient and submissive, to the middle - friendly, to the younger and wretched - friendly and merciful, to rule any business without red tape... ".

The Presidential Library’s portal features other materials which spotlight building family relationships at different times. For example, the books “The Emergence of Marriage and Family” by Karl Kautsky (1895), “From the History of the Family by Russian Foreigners” by Alexander Maksimov (1902), "Essay on modern theories of the origin of the family, society and the state" by Adolf Posada (1897), "On the Veneration of Parents" by Alexander Romanovsky (1889) are in the public domain.