Abstract:

The author analyzes the stories of the Tula armourers, which are preserved in the record, allowing to consider Nikita Demidov as a «folklore hero». Traditional representations of «Tula gunsmiths and townspeople» talk about the manifestations of «mass consciousness», provide an opportunity to better understand the characteristics of Russian folk culture, help to better imagine the cultural context in which Russian entrepreneurs operated of the era Peter I.

Keywords: Russian businessman, Tula gunsmiths, folk hero, mass consciousness, traditional culture, funeral practices