"HOW CAN I MARRY YOU WHEN I AM MARRIED?" DIVORCE IN PERM PROVINCE IN THE LATE 19TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURIES

The article discusses the problems of divorce in the Perm province in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. The author describes the causes and dynamics of divorces, analyzes the divorce cases of representatives of the philistine estate in Perm and reveals the difficulties faced by spouses who wanted to end family relationships. In the 19th - early 20th centuries, matters of marriage and family were related to the church department, which by all means tried to limit divorces. It was assumed that marriages should be maintained throughout life and only death could separate the spouses. A formal divorce could be made by a formal spiritual court at the suit of one of the spouses in the presence of strictly regulated reasons, which were few. Although the process of divorce was as complicated as possible, the number of divorces was slowly but steadily growing. The process became especially noticeable after 1905. Divorce proceedings in the Perm province in the late 19th - early 20th centuries were largely similar to the processes taking place in the Russian Empire as a whole, but there were some features. In particular, in the province, the percentage of divorces due to adultery was slightly lower in the period after the revolution of 1905, but the percentage of divorces because of the reference to hard labor in Siberia and the unknown absence of one of the spouses was higher. Adultery was almost the only reason for divorce among Perm bourgeoisie; the rest were extremely rare and did not significantly affect the demographic parameters of the family.