The province authorities influence on the creation of the research program of the Orenburg department of the Imperial Russian Geographical society (1868–1881)

Abstract

The following paper reveals the role of the regional imperial authority in creating and functioning of the Orenburg department of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society. The decisive role of the Orenburg Governor-General Nikolay Andreevich Kryzhanovsky was shown not only in founding the Orenburg department, but also in creating a research program. One of the key areas of the program was a comprehensive study of Central and Middle Asia in order to produce reliable knowledge which was necessary for an effective policy implementation in the named region. The content study from 1870 to 1881 shows the uneven proportions of publications devoted to Central and Middle Asia. Therefore, in the first years of the organizational activity, the Orenburg Department devoted 60% of its publications to Central and Middle Asia, which corresponded both to the historical situation and to the interests of the regional imperial authorities in many aspects. A decrease in researchers interest from 1875 to 1881 is thoroughly explained by the fact that after the annexation of new territories, the Orenburg Region turned into an internal province of the Russian Empire.