How the maid of honor gave up social life and became a professional firefighter

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

At the end of the 19th century, the attitude towards determining the place of women in Russian society changed, due to the change in ideology and the breakdown of the established system of values. The role of women in the political and economic life of the country became more and more noticeable and significant. An example of this, among many others, was the fate of the first woman firefighter, Maria Alekseevna Ermolova. The young girl abandoned the magnificent dresses of the maid of honor in favor of an Amazon costume and a firefighter's helmet. After all, secular life and the position of maid of honor at the royal court were not filled with high meaning for her. She found him in a new and dangerous business of fighting the then widespread evil - the fires that were devastating and destroying everything in its path.

Where was the daughter of the scientist minister Maria Ermolova born and how was she raised?

Maria was born in the family of a nobleman and a prominent statesman in the agronomic and economic sphere, Aleksey Sergeevich Ermolov, Minister of Agriculture and State Property from 1894 to 1905. Maria grew up in a warm home environment, the stormy social life did not attract her with its brilliance. The girl loved to visit the estate Bolshaya Alyoshnya, bought by her father in 1900 near Ryazhsk. Under him, a stud farm was established. Maria liked long horseback rides.

Locals remember her as a kind and calm young lady. She loved to treat the village children with sweets, to communicate with them. Maria often heard her father talk at home about economic and agricultural issues with the dignitaries who were visiting them. In addition to the global agricultural crisis and the American grain expansion in Europe, he was concerned about fire safety. On duty, he visited different Russian provinces and saw a similar situation everywhere - the helplessness of the population in the face of the elements, an entire village or village could be burned out from a lightning strike, huge areas of forests burn out from fires, causing great damage to the health and safety of the population living in the immediate vicinity. to them. Forest fires could last for months (for example, burn all summer before the autumn rains) - they were simply not extinguished.

This was due to the fact that the system of professional fire protection at the end of the 19th century had not yet been established in Russia at the proper level. Not all cities had professional fire brigades, and the rescue of houses was the business of the townspeople themselves. Therefore, volunteer fire brigades were created to resist the fire.

Why the maid of honor exchanged social life for smoke from fires

Alexey Sergeevich Ermolov wanted to modernize the existing fire safety system. He was a supporter of planting protective forest belts in compliance with all agricultural rules (taking into account shade resistance, tree growth rate, etc.) - trees act as fire shields, reliable and affordable. Deciduous trees reflect light and heat, as their sap, heated by fire, rises faster from the roots to the leaves and abundantly fills them with itself.

Aleksey Sergeevich also attracted his daughter, the maid of honor at the royal court, Maria Ermolova, with ideas about changing the plight of the population in matters of fire safety for the better. Brave and sympathetic, the real daughter of her people, the girl was not afraid of the opinion of the secular society and easily changed her life at court to a dangerous, but high-purpose activity. She was elected chairman of the Ryazhsky Fire Society. Moreover, she put out fires on a par with men. Among the firemasters, she quickly became "her own", since no one doubted the sincerity of her impulse to serve people in such a difficult field. This precedent was the impetus for a sharp rise in the participation of women on a voluntary basis in the development of firefighting in Russia.

Why, despite the high risk, the firefighter profession was popular in the Russian Empire

Until the decree of Emperor Alexander I of December 1802 on the creation of brigades of professional firefighters, the population itself was engaged in extinguishing the fire. The compound included 786 military personnel. The soldiers of the internal service, who became firemasters, were all as if they were recruits - stately and tall. The new uniform (well-fitted military-style clothing, bronze helmets, high boots) matched them perfectly.

The profession of a firefighter was fraught with great danger, often demanded courage and even heroism from a person. Respect for her in society grew, and soon the brigade began to accept trained volunteers, whose number grew exponentially. And then the lady-in-waiting of the imperial court and the daughter of the Minister of Agriculture suddenly joined them. This fact only increased the popularity and prestige of the profession.

Novation Ermolova, or for what purpose were children's fire brigades created

One of the most common causes of fires in pre-revolutionary Russia in the countryside was "childish prank". The participation of women in the activities of the Russian fire-fighting society contributed to the fact that fire prevention work with children began to be carried out. The first "funny" fire brigades were created. The idea of their creation belongs to the fire chief of the fire department of the city of St. Petersburg, Alexander Georgievich Krivosheev, and was tested and implemented by Maria Alekseevna Ermolova.

On the initiative of Maria Alekseevna, a detachment of teenagers was created at the Ryazhsky Fire Society, headed by her. They were taught the basics of firefighting and the rules for providing first aid to victims. In July 1911, Ermolova wrote a petition to the Prime Minister of the Russian Empire, Stolypin, about the participation of her pupils in the review of "amusing young army men", which was to be held in St. Petersburg. This review became a real event for the townspeople, and the efforts of the young firefighters were noted with the attention of the imperial family and were widely covered by the media. Over time, the movement of children's fire brigades numbered 6 thousand participants. Therefore, the people began to call Maria Alekseevna the "mother" of children's fire brigades.

And such prominent Russian scientists as Dmitry Mendeleev did a lot to successful women scientists appeared in Russia.