Peculiarities of leisure of the Don Miners during Post-Reform Period (The End of the 19th – early of the 20th Century)

The article describes peculiarities of leisure of the Don miners during post-reform period. In the article for the first time all forms of leisure of the Don miners in the post-reform period are considered. It is proved that the miners' leisure features were determined by the peculiarities of their worldview. The basic forms of leisure of the Don miners in the post-reform period were religious holidays, Church visits on Sundays and holidays, similar to peasant street festivals and folkloric creativity. Based on the analysis of the miners’ folklore, it is concluded that they were the bearer of mythological consciousness. It is concluded that the majority of the Don miners during post-reform period still adhered to traditional peasant forms of leisure. At the same time, separation from the traditional social environment contributed to the dissemination among miners of forms of delinquent behavior such as drunkenness and fights. It is also indicated that among workers stood out the narrow stratum of «labor intelligentsia». Its representatives were tending to forms of leisure, typical for elite culture: attended public readings arranged by mining engineers, theatrical performances, libraries and reading rooms. This feature of the recreational behavior of miners was due to their desire to imitate the leisure practices of representatives of elite culture.