On the very first day of the XI International Stakheev Readings almost 200 people have taken part at their plenary session at Elabuga Institute.

The International Stakheev Readings are a scientific brand of Elabuga Institute of KFU with a history longer than 30 years. Initially, the first scientific conference named after the dynasty of merchants and benefactors Stakheevs took place in July 1990. Since that time, holding The International Stakheev Readings has become a good tradition of the Institute.

The XI International Stakheev Readings were opened by Professor Inga Maslova, Doctor of Historical Sciences, presenting a reconstruction tour on the theme “The Cathedral of Heirmartyr Basil as the centre of spiritual life of students and teachers of Stakheev Eparchial School of Women". Afterwards, the student anthem “Gaudeamus” was performed by Elabuga Institute chorus.

Elena Merzon, Director of Elabuga Institute, welcomed the honorary guests and the participants of Stakheev readings.

"For more than 30 years history of holding the International Staheev Readings, the intellectual relations had been strengthened and all-Russian society of eminent scholars in the field of Russian Regions Study had been formed. It helped domestic business out on a qualitatively different higher level.    The scholars of the Institutes of Russian and Tatarstan Academy of Sciences have participated in the XI International Staheev Readings", marked Director.

General Director of Elabuga State Museum-Reserve Gulzada Rudenko greeted the audience. Gulzada Rakipovna pointed out the importance of the event in preserving and researching ancestry of merchants, she also noted that transferring of accumulated knowledge into hands of the younger generation and contribution to their spiritual education is a vital mission.

This year, the number of participants of the scientific forum included scolars from the Institutes of History of Russian and Tatarstan Academy of Sciences. Besides, the forum was attended by researches from more than 20 Russian Universities, including Bauman Moscow State Technical University, Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin, Tambov State University named after G.R. Derzhavin, Irkutsk State University, Samara State University of Economics, Orenburg State Pedagogical University and many others. Among the conference participants were scientists and experts in the fields of history, economics, religion, ethnography, as well as representatives of the museum community and teachers.

Foreign participants from Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan joined the conference and will also present the results of their research.

The theme of XI International Stakheev's Readings was defined as 'Regional History of Russia in Sociocultural Dimension: Images of the Past and Preservation of Historical Memory'. It is devoted to the 125th anniversary of the Institute. Among the key participants of the forum is Galina Ulyanova, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Head Researcher of Institute of Russian History, Russian Academy of Sciences. Galina Nikolaevna brought the field of studying the history of Russian merchant to a new methodological level, presenting a report entitled "Factory Industry Legislation in the Pre-reform Period, 1800s-1850s". Doctor of Historical Sciences, Evgeny Neklyudov , chief researcher of the Center for Economic History of the Institute of History and Archeology of the Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, reported the information about the Ural factory owners of the XVIII-early XX century and the evolution of historical types. Traditionally, the guests of Staheev readings were descendants of the merchant dynasty, represented by three branches of Staheev brothers: Ivan Ivanovich, Dmitry Ivanovich and Grigory Ivanovich. The descendant of the literary traditions of the family is the writer, a member of the Russian Union of Writers Tatiana Rolich. Tatiana Viktorovna was delighted to tell about the role of D.I. Stakheev and N.N. Strugova in the context of the literary and social movements at the turn of XIX-early XX centuries . Yuri Podgursky, a member of the Russian Genealogical Society, continued his speech. His report revealed little-known episodes of Staheev’s life.

It’s worth noting that this year Hieromonk Kirill Zabavnov, The Dean of the Elabuga Church District, senior lecturer of the Theology Department of the Kazan Theological Seminary, for the first time, took part in the Staheev’s readings. His report was devoted to the topic of women's spiritual education in the Russian Empire in the XIX – early XX century. “For me, Staheev Readings are an opportunity to touch the history of those people who loved this place. They were highly spiritual personalities who built a church here, where they gathered the female students of the Eparchial College for prayer. Such events are important for us because they allow to learn the process of religious education and the formation of moral and spiritual values during that time", - told Hieromonk Kirill.

The XI Stakheev Readings hosted both Russian and foreign university scholars. Rahila Vakhidovna Aliyeva, Associate Professor of the Russian Philology Department at Kyrgyz-Uzbek University named after Batyrali Sadykov, spoke about the portrayal of the merchants by writers of the XIX-XX centuries.

At the end of the plenary session, the guests of Stakheev Readings were invited to the V International musical festival of Boris Berezovsky "Summer Evenings in Elabuga".