General Land Survey Research Articles

Ранние вотчины в окрестностях Троице-Сергиева монастыря на Радонежско-Переяславском пограничье в конце XIV — первой половине XV в.: методика историко-географических исследований

The article proposes a reconstruction of the land ownership structures of the northern part of the Radonezh volost, in particular the patrimonies of Semyon Yakovlev, Zubachev’s son, Fedor Beklemish and Afanasy Knyazhnin. The main source is the acts of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. To localize the boundaries of the possessions described in the acts, the author draws upon such sources as the list extract of 1503/1504, the district boundary of the lands of the village of Klementyevsky in 1684, data from the general land survey of the 1760s–1780s, maps of 1852 and 1853, a menzular survey of the 1930s, the 1945 map as well as data from the oral microtoponymic tradition collected in 1977–1994 during a survey of the old–timers. The conducted research showed that because of the economic development of the northern part of the Radonezh volost by the time of the reign of Andrei Radonezhsky (1410–1426) the Trinity Monastery turned out to be on the border of princely and ministerial lands. To the east, in the valley of the Torgoshi river, there were manors. Such a social landscape determined the composition of the monastery’s counterparties during the formation of its patrimony in the 15th century.

Dynamics of social and economic development of the Yelets district of the Oryol province at the end of the XVIII – first half of the XIX centuries

Introduction. The article discusses the features of economic development and economic development, as well as an analysis of socio-demographic changes in the Yelets district of the Oryol province in the chronological period under consideration. This county was part of the historical region of the former Belgorod line and was for a long time in the zone of the southern Russian frontier.Materials and methods. This work is the result of a study of statistical sources relating to the last quarter of the 18th – the first half of the 19th centuries. As the main sources, materials were taken from the “Economic Notes to the General Land Survey Plans” of the late 1780s and mid-1790s, “Economic cameral description of the Yelets district in 1832”, as well as information on the land statistics of the Yelets district for 1828-29 The methods of mathematical analysis and statistical processing have become the main ones when working with these sources.Results. The materials of the “Economic Notes to the General Land Survey Plans” and “Economic Cameral Description of the Yelets Uyezd” had a similar form, which made it possible to consider the dynamics of the economic development of the county in a unified way, as well as to catch the sociodemographic trends of the period under review. First of all, this concerned changes in the ratio of arable land, forest, pasture and meadow spaces in the region. In addition, the sources recorded the number of households and the population for certain categories of residents (odnodvortsy, owning and single-dwelling peasants, etc.) both for individual settlements and for the county as a whole.Conclusion. Economic development of the historical region of the Belgorod line within the territorial framework of the studied Yelets district of the Oryol province at the end of the 18th century. has not yet reached its logical conclusion. Enclaves of virgin land continued to be preserved, which were introduced into agricultural circulation only in the first third of the 19th century. During the period under study, a significant increase in the population was recorded, especially the share of the owner-owning peasantry increased. This contributed to the acceleration of the development of the local economy and the final transformation of the once frontier zone into the granary of the Russian Empire.

CHANGES IN THE CROPLAND AREAS OVER 250 YEARS (CASE STUDY A KEY PLOT IN THE MOSCOW REGION)

Based on data from old and modern maps and satellite images we reconstructed the arable land borders within a key plot (100 km2) in the Moscow region for 8 time periods, from the General Land Survey (1767) to the present day. Brief descriptions for the special geometric plans of the Bogorodsk, Dmitrov and Moscow districts (“uyezd”) of the Moscow province (“guberniya”) were analyzed for accurately describing the land use displayed on the General Land Survey plans. The contours of arable lands on the general land survey plans (1767) of the studied area refer to those under constant cultivation, while periodically abandoned land were described and measured separately. The dynamics of arable land borders for the studied period was analyzed using the scheme of landscape zoning, and data on the lithological and geomorphologic structure of the territory and morphometric characteristics of its relief. The prevailing slope gradients and the area of arable lands are identified for each time period. The maximum percentage of arable land under constant cultivation (42%) is characteristic for the end of the 18th century; the minimum (8%) is in evidence at the present time. It was found that the proximity to settlements and the degree of soil drainage were the principal factors determining the spatial structure of arable lands.

Дворянство Казанской губернии второй половины XVIII века: чиновный состав и размер душевладения

The study is based on the materials preserved in the Fund 1355 (Economic Notes to the plans of the General Land Survey of the Russian Empire) of the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts (RGADA). These economic notes, compiled at the turn of the XVIII-XIX centuries, indicate the rank of landowner, and the number of souls according to the 5th revision. Service records (form lists) from the Fund 1349 of the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA), years 1798-1802, had been used for the description of Kazan bureaucracy. At the end of the XVIII century, according to the 5th revision in the Kazan province, there were 1010 landowners, of which 465 were women. Most of the landowners were retired, this shows that the nobles actively used their right not to serve, granted to them by the Manifesto of 1762. Of those who served, a little more than half were in the state service, or served in garrisons, which they entered after active military (army or guards) service. Most of them retired in officer ranks. No more than 7.5 percent of nobles had general ranks of 1-5 classes. More than 20 percent of Kazan nobles owned at least a hundred souls, large landowners owning more than 500 souls compiled 5 percent. Many landowners (more than 19 percent) owned estates in other regions of the Russian Empire, most of all such estates were in the Nizhny Novgorod province. There were about 3 percent of titled nobles. The number of Kazan nobles educated at the Kazan gymnasium varies from 6 percent (in 1781) to 4 percent at the end of the 18th century. Moreover, this number of students of the Kazan gymnasium exceeds the total number of pupils of other educational institutions (primarily cadet corps). Median numbers show that nobles entered the service on average at the age of 14 (most - from 12 to 16), and received the first class rank at 21, more than half - from 18 to 24 years old. The vast majority of nobles entered military service, and then retired; a small part continued to serve in the civil service.

German Colonists on River Milky Waters of Taurida Province in First Third of 19th Century

The information from the materials of the General Land Survey of the Russian Empire in the first third of the 19th century about the German colonies based on the territory of the Melitopol district of the Tauride province is analyzed in the article. The relevance of the study is due to the great interest in the resettlement policy pursued by the Russian Empire in this region at the end of the 18th — the first third of the 19th centuries, as well as in the processes of settlement and development of new territories and the participation of foreign colonists in them. The novelty of the study lies in the involvement of previously unused “Economic notes on the plans of the General survey, field notes of land surveyors and controversial cases” as sources on the history of German colonists. Based on them, the author studies the features of the economic structure of the settlements of German colonists, the structure of their land. Particular attention is paid to the dispute between the Mennonites and the Dukhobors about the boundaries of possessions, during which the true location of the Molochnaya River bed was clarified. The consideration of the case shows that disputes over the boundaries of land plots were of a fundamental nature and reached the highest authorities. Until the 1830s, there were still unresolved issues related to land management and surveying of the German-speaking colonies.

When Description means Control. The example of the Russian General Land Survey in eastern Latvia in 1784–1785

ABSTRACT This paper is a case study of Enlightenment’s cadastral landscape recording exemplified by the General Land Survey, taken by the Russian Empire in the newly acquired region of Latgale (contemporary eastern Latvia) in 1784–1785. The surveyors scrupulously described and showed on maps many natural features, such as trees, animals, birds, and fish species, as well as provided insight into social realities by mentioning inhabitants, settlements, local place-names, religious and ethnic relations. However, it was by no means a pure reflection of Latgale’s natural and cultural landscape. The paper argues that the survey in Latgale simultaneously registered the resources, regulated property boundaries, strengthened landlords’ control over peasants, and imposed the rule of the new state. Similarly, as western and central European states, Russia needed a detailed description of the province in order to control it. It was a fundamental change for Latgale, previously belonging to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth that had not introduced any cadastre or comparable land survey, therefore performed little control at a local level.

Новые данные об окружении Н. С. Лескова в Орловской губернии

The article reveals unknown pages of the biography of the writer N. S. Leskov’s father — S. D. Leskov, as well as the Strakhov family, close acquaintances of the Leskovs. The article contains biographies of the prototypes of N. S. Leskov’s characters, his estate neighbors in the Kromsky district. For the first time, data are presented on the previously unknown possessions of the Leskov family in the Kromsky district of the Oryol province. After the departure of the Leskovs from the province, they still owned small plots of land that connected the family with their native lands. The author of the article analyzes numerous documents from the State Archives of the Orel Region, the General Land Survey of the Kromsky District of the Oryol Province, on the basis of which observations are made of relatives, acquaintances, estate neighbors of the Leskov family. The paper shows how life facts of different importance and scale were used and generalized by the writer, getting into his creative laboratory.

Экономические примечания к Генеральному межеванию по Устьсысольскому уездукак источник по социально–экономической истории Коми края в первой половине XVIII века. История проведения, описание и вопросы датировки

Based on the materials of Economic Notes to the General Land Survey of UstSysolsk Uyezd, the problems important for the socio-economic condition of the territory are considered, such as total population, sex composition of the population, the number of yards in settlements, the size of arable land, hay mowing, soil and forests quality, the boundaries of volosts (by geographical objects), occupation of residents. The analysis of the source was carried out and an attempt to date it was made.

The Quantitative Analysis of Materials from the General Land Survey of the Russian Empire: The ‘Bear’ Angle

This article analyses data about the Russian bear from the Economic Notes to the plans of the General Land Survey of the Russian Empire. Despite the official symbol of the Russian Empire being the double-headed eagle, the bear was perceived as the country’s main symbol as early as the formation of the Russian state. The purpose of this article is to find out how common bears were in the Russian Empire between the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth centuries. The quantitative analysis of data from the General Land Survey is based on the method of continuous sampling, which allows the author to include information about animals from the Complete and Cameral Economic Notes to the General Land Survey. The author refers to the Economic Notes for eight uyezds and three provinces. The study covers both old and new lands of the Russian state. The analysis makes it possible to conclude that between the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth centuries, the Russian bear was not equally common in every region. It was found mainly in the forests of the historical core of the Russian state. But the bear was not a predominant species. Overall, according to the Cameral and Complete Economic Notes covering four St Petersburg uyezds and Novgorod province, there were 15 animal species in this territory, while there were 11 species in four uyezds of Taurida province. Continuous processing of the Economic Notes makes it possible to identify previously unknown mentions of moose, lynx, ferrets, and badgers in Luga district, St Petersburg province. Wild horses, camels, wild boars, and otters were described in Economic Notes in Dnipro district, Taurida province. However, the most common animals in these territories were hares, as well as smaller predators like foxes and wolves. The analysis of quantitative indicators helps to establish that the bear did not become the personification of the Russian state because of its predominance. Instead, this was due to the remarkable characteristics and qualities that made the animal stand out.

GIS Measurement of Nobility's Lands in the Late 18th - First Half of the 19th Centuries

The article explores the way GIS technologies can be used to study historical dynamics of environmental processes in an agrarian society. It addresses several landowner estates in Tambovskaya Guberniya in the late 18th — first half of the 19th centuries when the vast steppe lands in the region were finally reclaimed. Since written documents have no clear evidence of the dynamics of sizes of various estate lands understudy, cartographic materials were the primary source for calculating this dynamics. Although there are some deviations from geographic coordinates in maps of the General Land Survey and Mende Land Survey, GIS technologies made it possible to determine (with a minimal error margin) changes in the area of the estates in general and residential, arable, meadow, forest and erosion lands in particular. Promising results of geoenvironmental calculations provided a solid foundation for a historical case study of environmental processes in landowner estates of the forest-steppe belt of Russia. The estates understudy were expanding due to the growth of settlements and arable lands at the expense of meadows and steppes and were characterized by a lack of forest exploitation. A technique introduced can be of value when studying the history of landowner and other estates which can boast preserved plans without distinct geographical references.

ПРОМЫСЛОВАЯ ФАУНА ВОДОЕМОВ БАССЕЙНА Р. МОСКВЫ ВО ВТОРОЙ ПОЛОВИНЕ XVIII В.

Based on the data from economic notes to the General Land Survey, the ranges of commercial fish and crayfish species that inhabited waterbodies of the Moscow River basin in the second half of the 18th century are reconstructed. Eighteen maps showing the distribution of 22 fish species, including Acipenser ruthenus L., Abramis brama L., Barbatula barbatula L., Lota lota L., Sander lucioperca L. and others are compiled. Comparison of commercial fish species that lived in the Moscow River basin in the second half of the 18th century with data from ichthyological studies in the beginning of the XXI century and materials of archaeological surveys shows that almost all of these species have lived in the Moscow River basin since ancient times and have survived to the present day.

Estate and Land Structure of Nizhny Novgorod According to the Owners Catalog of the General Land Survey Period of the Late 18th Century

The study raises the problem of analyzing the class structure of the city of Nizhny Novgorod according to the General Land Survey of 1784. Based on the materials of the Catalog of Owners in the citywide plan, the distribution of urban citizenship, nobility, clergy, and military is studied in comparison with the all-Russian data on the class status of the cities at the end of the 18th century. A relational database was developed for the analysis. The conclusion is made about the flourishing of merchants and philistines, who made up 80 % of the population and an extremely small number of peasants-land owners (3 %). The novelty of the study, among other things, is to establish the fact of the predominance of private small-scale land ownership, which represented 95 % of the land ownership of the city. It was found that despite the leading industrial and commercial function of Nizhny Novgorod and strong citizenship, 53 % of land plots were associated with agriculture (commercial gardening), which confirms the well-known phenomenon of “vegetable gardens in the city” in the pre-reform period.

RESETTLEMENT IN A RURAL REGION IN THE LATE 18TH AND EARLY 19TH CENTURY AS AN ANTHROPOGENIC IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

This paper studies in depth an anthropogenic impact on the environment during the formation and development of rural settlements and the exploitation of the surrounding environmental resources. The subject of study is resettlement on a section of the territory of former Tambov uyezd of Tambov Governorate. The land surveying records of the late 18th and early 19th century (General Land Survey plan and Mende Land Survey plan, as well as their Economic notes) were used as sources. The surveying records are supplemented by some narrative sources - particularly, an article by a famous writer and opinion journalist of the mid 19th century, a Tambov landlord, I. R. Gruzinov, which depicts a typical Tambov steppe village. The results of the study revealed key trends in resettlement in Tambov Governorate during the late 18th - early 19th century. On the one hand, there was a sharp increase in the proportion of very large villages; on the other, the number of small new settlements was growing, including through resettlement from villages that had become very large.

Urban Economy of Orlovskaya and Tambovskaya Guberniyas in the Late 18th-Early 19th Centuries (General Land Survey Data)

The article poses a problem of a multi-style character of the urban economy in Russia in the late 18th - early 19th centuries and its reflection in the General Land Survey taken in European Russia at that period. These are the Economic Comments to the General Land Survey which recorded the main parameters of the urban economy within the framework of the unified description program that provide for comparing its agrarian, commercial and industrial components. The study uses the materials of the Economic Comments on 26 cities of two Black Earth Region Guberniyas of Russia – Orlovskaya and Tambovskaya ones. The specificity of the region is determined by its relatively late development and the formation of the urban network within the framework of large defensive projects of the Moscow state. Statistical analysis and GIS-mapping of the Comments data allowed one to come to the following conclusions. This region is commonly characterized by the formation of large agricultural complexes with large (more than 5 thousand desyatins) areas of arable and hay fields surrounding the cities during the General Land Survey. This circumstance significantly increased the area of the city within the framework of the "general urban boundary", but to a much lesser extent influenced the total size of its population. The industry of the cities of the region consisted almost exclusively of small "plants" while big manufacturing production was at its early stage of development and was not dependent on the processes of concentration of small enterprises in individual cities. The function of the cities of the region as centers of trade was much more pronounced. Fairs and/ or weekly auctions were held in most of them. The results of the Economic Comments statistics correlation analysis allow one to assume that further development of the Black Earth Region cities was mainly related to commercial and industrial branches of their economy.

Экономические сведения полевых записок землемеров о хозяйственном состоянии Крыма в конце XVIII-го — начале XIX-го века

The article is devoted to the identification and analysis of the source documents used by land surveyors to compile Economic Notes to the General Land Survey plans. The landmarking on the Crimean Peninsula began in the late 18th century, but by the early 19th century it was judged premature and suspended until development of special rules taking into account the peculiarities of land use in the region. And yet the field notes of land surveyors on the Crimean Peninsula of the turn of the 19th century preserve primary economic information to a greater extent than those on other territories of the Russian Empire. This information is presented in the “Skazki to the Economic Land Survey,” data collected from the local population. Skazki (“tales”) containing initial data for Economic Land Survey remain a poorly studied and rarely encountered source. Their identification in these field notes makes it possible to verify the accuracy of the Economic Land Survey and to restore the information excluded from the Brief Economic Notes and descriptions of specific lands in the lost Full and Cameral Economic Notes. The discovered “Skazki to the Economic Notes” on the Tauride gubernia are a unique source that makes it possible to assess the economy of Crimea at the turn of 19th century. They characterize natural environment, economic activities on the peninsula and occupations of its population, provide information on the soil conditions, available water resources, common species of trees, animals, birds, and fish. In their structure, they coincide with the skazki compiled in other regions of Russia, but have characteristic features that are associated with the identity of the Crimea and its economic condition in the late 18th century. The process of the Crimea development made its own adjustments to the land survey documentation. Unlike other regions, here the authors of the skazki were not only landowners’ attorneys, but also land owners themselves — local beys and murzes. The introduction of the skazki into scientific use opens opportunities for comparing their data with the preserved texts of the Economic Notes and for studying the history of the region at the micro level of individual settlements.

Aerial Surveys and Geographic Information in Modern China

Abstract. Today when online satellite images are just a click away, access to geographic information showing the latest images of the globe has dramatically expanded, and historico-geographic research based on such information is flourishing. However, in the study of Chinese history, historical research employing GIS or similar technologies is still in its infancy, since “historical” geographic information with a high degree of precision are lacking. From within the ambit of Chinese geographic information, this report specifically highlights aerial surveys effected during the Republic of China era. To start, we review the history of domestic aerial surveys during R. O. C. period. Then, focusing on Nanjing as an example, we proceed to introduce maps that were actually created based on aerial surveys.Chinese aerial surveys date back to around 1930. At the Nationalist Party’s General Assembly in 1929, partisans proposed for the need for aerial surveys. In 1930, the “Aerial Photography and Survey Research Team” was formed within the General Land Survey Department at General Staff Headquarters (National Army of the Republic of China). Consequently, foreign technicians were invited to provide relevant education/training. In June 1931, China’s pioneer initiative in aerial photography took place in Zhejiang province. The aim of aerial surveys in those early days was to create maps for military purposes. Between 1932 and 1939, topographic maps of fortifications located in areas such as the Jiangnan district were prepared. Further, starting from around the same period until the Sino-Japanese War, land registry maps based on aerial surveys were also produced. After the Sino-Japanese War ended, the above-mentioned directorate handed over responsibility for aerial surveys to the Naval General Staff. However, in 1949 the Chinese Communist Party confiscated the maps theretofore produced.Although the aerial photographs and the geographic information produced therefrom during the R. O. C. era were seized by the People’s Republic of China, in actuality, some had previously been transferred to Taiwan. The topographic maps of the Nanjing metropolitan area (一萬分一南京城廂附近圖), based on aerial surveys and drawn in 1932, are currently archived at Academia Historica in Taipei. Comprising a total of 16 sheets, these maps were drawn on a scale of 1:10,000 by the General Land Survey Department.Similarly, other maps (各省分幅地形圖) produced by the General Land Survey Department, comprising a total of 56 sheets and partly detailing Nanjing, are now in the possession of Academia Sinica in Taipei. There was no information about photographing or making in these maps. But almost the same maps were archived at Library of Congress in Washington D. C. According to those maps at LC, based on aerial photographs taken and surveys conducted in 1933, these topographic maps (1:10,000 scale) were completed in 1936.The examples introduced above are topographic maps based on aerial photography. However, starting in 1937, land registry maps were also created. Detailing the outskirts of Nanjing (1:1,000 scale) and comprising a total of 121 sheets, they are now archived at Academia Historica. While the land registry maps were produced in 1937, supplementary surveys were effected following the Sino-Japanese War in 1947.Since the geographic information based on aerial surveys during the R. O. C. era in China were precise, they can serve as a source of manifold information. This report only delved into information developed by the Government of the R. O. C., but it is becoming evident that U. S. Armed Forces and Japan also produced geographic information of their own based on aerial surveys. If the comprehensive panorama captured by all three protagonists can be illuminated, further advances in Chinese historico-geographic studies employing geographic information will be forthcoming.

Distribution of Mammals in the Southern Part of European Russia: Historical and Ecological Analysis Based on Materials from the General Land Survey

The historical changes in animal distribution in the European territory of Russia have always attracted the interest of specialists. Therefore, the data contained in the Economic Notes to the General Land Survey of the Russian Empire at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries is of great importance. This article presents the results of the analysis of data on the mammalian fauna of the southern provinces of European Russia sampled from the Economic Notes. The sample covers 15 governorates (guberniya), 102 uezds (a secondary level administrative division), and 1150 land holdings (dachas). There were 2395 references made to mammals, including 22 presumptive name references comprising 25 species, 11 families, and 5 orders. Based on the available data on historical changes in the ecological condition within this territory, a comparison with the current situation was made for those species that are the most significant and common in the study area.

Experience in Reconstruction of Agricultural Land Use for Balakhna District of Nizhniy Novgorod Gubernia in the 18th–19th Centuries (on the Basis of Cartographic Sources)

Land use and soil cover patterns of arable lands in Balakhna district of Nizhny Novgorod gubernia in the last quarter of the 18th century and in the middle of the 19th century were studied with the use of the General Land Survey plan of Balakhna district (scale 1 : 84000), the map of Nizhny Novgorod gubernia by Mende (scale 1 : 42000), and the State Soil Map (scale 1 : 1 M). The data obtained attested to a steady and considerable decrease in the plowed area during that period. According to the historical materials, at the end of the 18th century, plowland occupied about 1290 km2, or 32% of the entire district (4200 km2). In the middle of the 19th century, the plowed area decreased to about 990 km2 (25%). According to the modern statistical data on land use in Balakhna district (within its boundaries of the 18th–19th centuries), the area of plowed fields is less than 700 km2 (18%). This means that at least 14% of the study area is occupied by the postagrogenic soils. If we take the plowed area of the district in the 18th century for 100%, we can conclude that more than 40% of formerly plowed lands have been transformed into long-term fallows. The absolute predomination of soddy-podzolic soils (Retisols) is typical of the soil cover of Balakhna district. In the course of the reduction of the plowland area from the end of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century, the percent of different soils composing this area did not change much. In general, the impact of soil quality on the decrease in the plowland area in that period is not observed.

МАТЕРИАЛЫ ГЕНЕРАЛЬНОГО МЕЖЕВАНИЯ КАК ИСТОЧНИК КАРТОГРАФИЧЕСКОЙ ИНФОРМАЦИИ ДЛЯ ХАРАКТЕРИСТИКИ ЗЕМЛЕПОЛЬЗОВАНИЯ В БАЛАХНИНСКОМ УЕЗДЕ НИЖЕГОРОДСКОЙ ГУБЕРНИИ, "Известия Российской академии наук. Серия географическая"

Based on the analysis of materials of the General Land Survey and Soil map ofNizhny Novgorodprovince (gubernia) features of land use in Balakhna uezd in the 18th century were studied. The characteristic of the cartographic materials of the General Land Survey containing information about natural resources use is given, the table of the conventional signs of this period is provided. Methods of field researches of land surveying and the related distortions in the created images are described. The algorithm of serial preparation of historical maps and work with digital materials and methods of the GIS analysis is given. It is shown that in the Balakhna uezd ofNizhny Novgorodgubernia nine types of land grounds were allocated. The territory of the uezd in the second half of the 18th century was plowed more than for 30%, forest occupied a half of the area, swamp – over 10%. Agriculture in a northern part of the uezd, where about a half of the territory accounted for arable lands, was most developed, and other part was occupied by the forest. Arable lands settled down on the most favorable soils – it is, according to the Soil map of 1886, light loams, floodplain soils, sandy loams and clay sands, that corresponds on the Soil Russian Soviet Federated Socialistic Republic map of 1988 to gray forest, soddy podzolic, soddy podzolic iron illuvial and floodplain soils.Forestin the uezd occupied quartz and clay sands (soddy podzolic, soddy podzolic iron illuvial soils, podzols), partly marsh and floodplain soils.

The Last Hundred Years of Land Use History in the Southern Part of Valdai Hills (European Russia): Reconstruction by Pollen and Historical Data

Abstract The last one hundred years of land use history in the southern part of Valdai Hills (European Russia) were reconstructed on the base of high resolution pollen data from the peat monolith taken from the Central Forest State Reserve supplementing with historical records derived from maps of the General Land Survey of the 18th and 19th centuries and satellite images. According to the created age model provided by dating using radio-nuclides 210Pb and 137Cs, pollen data of the peat monolith allow us to reconstruct vegetation dynamics during the last one hundred years with high time resolution. The obtained data showed that, despite the location of the studied peatland in the center of the forest area and rather far away from possible croplands and hayfields, the pollen values of plants – anthropogenic indicators (Secale sereale, Centaurea cyanus, Plantago, Rumex, etc.) and micro-charcoal concentration are relatively high in the period since the beginning of the 20th century to the 1970s, especially in the peat horizon formed in the 1950s. In the late 1970s – the early 1980s when the pollen values of cereals gradually diminished in assemblages, the quantity of pollen of other anthropogenic indicators were also significantly reduced, which reflects the overall processes of the agriculture decline in the forest zone of the former USSR.