The Representations of the Rural Population of the Region in the Reports of Siberian Governor-Generals in the 2nd Half of the 19th Century: The Peasantry

Abstract

The article indicates the factors influencing the representations of the rural population in the reports of the Siberian governors-general; demonstrates historiographic results of the analyses of these reports; substantiates the possible outcomes of using the discourse analysis for identifying their authors’ ideas on the subject matter. The reports were compiled by local-level imperial experts – functionaries and officers, who participated in gathering and handling of primary data; governors, who accumulated and relayed these data to governor-generals; governor-generals, at least, the ones, who actively participated in reports writing; the Emperor, leaving his notes on the reports; representatives of involved ministries and governmental offices, preparing answers to the “highest reprimands”. It is important that among the experts there were members of various public organizations, primarily, local departments of the Russian Geographical Society. It was found that representations of the rural population were quite conservative (traditional) and changed little over time. The peasantry was described in a paternalistic manner as an object of care and custody. Representations of the peasantry were influenced by central authorities’ stance towards both the region as a whole and specific groups of rural population; the perception of the peasantry by a governor-general and his surroundings; the standpoint of the we-groups, expressing public opinion, who were seen as influential by a governor-generals.