Socio-Demographic Analysis of the Chief Trustees of the Kalmyk People in Late Imperial Period

Abstract

The imperial policy aimed at integrating the population of the peripheries into the general imperial space largely depended on the conceptual decisions made by the immediate leaders of the administrations of the national minorities (inorodtsy). The author, based on the positions of historical elitology, focuses on the socio-demographic characteristics of the chief trustees (managers) of the Kalmyk steppe in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries. For the first time, the identified sources made it possible to consider the social composition, educational level, family and property status of the officials who headed the Kalmyk administration. During the period under review, this institution underwent cardinal changes. The completely autonomous position of the chief trustee, which had been held by six people from 1867 to 1892, was transformed into that of the head of the Kalmyk people, whose scope of power was significantly reduced. The merging of the power of the head of the administration and the Astrakhan governor marked the next stage in the process of integrating the national minorities of the peripheries. Until 1917, the established position of the head of the Kalmyk people had been held by seven people successively. The absolute majority of the trustees were individuals of the privileged class of the Russian society, whereas the social composition of the head of the Kalmyk people was more varied. In terms of career growth, the latter circumstance indicates the lack of attractiveness of the newly introduced position. As far as the family and marital status was concerned, they were all married, but not all of them owned land or immovable property. Each of them had experience in civil or military service. Even without the civil experience, after the end of their military career, they actively joined in managing the process of integration of the Kalmyk population into the all-Russian space.