Visibility, Publicity, Performance: the Kyiv Club of Bicycle Lovers in Context of 1890s Urban Transformations

Abstract

For the first time, this article studies the Kyiv Society of Bicycle Lovers in the context of urban transformations of late XIX century. Despite industrial tardiness of Russian Empire, Kyiv synchronized with the global Bicycle Craze in consumption of the technical innovation. For many bicycle was rather a marker of status than a means of transportation, but other enthusiasts engaged into a new elitist leisure culture with its country rides, spectacular races and figure cycling schools. Conflicts on the road lead to disciplining of cycling. In the second half of 1890s certain city areas were prohibited to cyclists, who also now had to adopt new codes of bodily conduct and social behavior.