Great Perm Governance in the Late 16th – Early 17th Century: From Administrators to Voivodes

Abstract

Introduction. Great Perm (Perm Velikaya) in the late 16th – early 17th centuries included Cherdyn, Solikamsk and Kaigorod districts. It was an important strategic region. Taxes from this region entered the royal treasury almost regularly, while the central part of the state was devastated by military operations during the Time of Troubles. The region provided communication with Siberia, its annexation and development. Historiography is dominated by the opinion that the institution of voivodeship was introduced in Great Perm in the late 16th century. Methods and materials. The research is based on the documents of the archive of the Solikamsk district court, which currently constitute the collection of the fund No. 122 “Acts of Solikamsk” of the Archive of the St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences for the period from 1605 to 1613. The documentary complex was previously reconstructed using the principle of mutual correspondence of documents. The prosopography method was applied to study the biographies of clerks. Analysis. The article analyzes the argumentation of researchers on the problem when the institute of voivodeship was introduced in Great Perm. The fundamental documents of the late 16th century have been revealed. It is proved that they do not contain information about the voivodeship form of government. The list of administrators and clerks of the late 16th century – early 17th century has been restored. The beginning and end of their service are indicated. Results. There was no voivodeship position in Great Perm until 1609. An administrator and a clerk were appointed to the clerk hut from Moscow. The change of administration took place on average every 2 years. The institute of voivodeship was introduced in Great Perm in 1610. The first voivode of Great Perm was Ivan Ivanovich Chemodanov. The administrators who replaced him also served as voivodes. The control system in Great Perm was strengthened by 1613.