Yakutsk Region Research Articles

Вопросы обеспечения запасных магазинов в Якутской области в 40-х гг. XIX в.

The article examines the organization and provisioning of spare stores in the Yakutsk region during the 1840s, which played a crucial role in ensuring the region’s food security. These stores were part of a broader state system aimed at accumulating food supplies for public use during periods of crisis. The author investigates historical documents that describe contracts, supply logistics, and storage conditions, shedding light on critical issues such as delivery challenges, food spoilage, and supplier reliability. The analysis focuses on the measures implemented by authorities to address these challenges, emphasizing the significance of centralized management, quality control, and timely delivery. This study contributes to an understanding of the complex logistics of managing food reserves in the harsh and remote regions of the country, such as Yakutia.

Technogenic transformation of the Lena River floodplain near Yakutsk and assessment of landscape disturbance

The Tuymaada Valley located in the Yakutsk region represents the most developed region within the Lena River fllodplain. Landscape studies conducted here between 2016 and 2022 revealed a significant level of technogenic transformation: 30.4 % of its sites showed a high and moderate degree of disturbance. The primary driver of landscape development was the transformation of forested areas into meadows due to centuries of grazing in the floodplain. The current trend in evolution involves replacing agricultural stows with residential ones, leading to an increase in mechanical disturbances to the landscape structure. Water protection dams have removed significant areas of the left bank floodplain from the flood zone. Consequently, some of its stows become swamped, while others transform into dry wastelands with low-value steppe meadows. Currently, at the investment justification stage, the issue of providing comprehensive protection for the entire left bank of the Tuymaada valley from the adverse effects of floods and inundations is under consideration. For its continued growth, it is essential to implement not just protective measures but also environmental and improvement measures for both existing and new urban, rural, and economic-technical zones on the developing technogenic terrace.

The state policy of the Russian Empire in the fight against the syphilis epidemic among foreign communities in the northeastern districts of Eastern Siberia in the 19th century

The article considers the chronology of historical events, highlighting the formation of the state policy of the Russian Empire in the fight against the spread of syphilis among foreign communities in the northeastern districts of Eastern Siberia. Archival materials are systematized, according to which the personnel, material and technical, financial support of organizational, treatment and preventive measures to combat the syphilis epidemic is assessed. The study of the materials allows to draw a reasoned conclusion that the government of the Russian Empire pursued a systematic, persistent policy of fighting to eradicate syphilis among foreign communities. In order to study and evaluate the state policy of the Russian Empire to eradicate syphilis among the foreign communities of the northeastern districts of Eastern Siberia in the 19th century, we used the historical method, which is based on the study of archival materials from the State Archives of the Irkutsk Region, indicating the organization of the fight against the epidemic syphilis among foreign communities of the northeastern districts of Eastern Siberia in the 19th century. Concern for the preservation of the population in the north-eastern districts of Eastern Siberia, newly annexed to the Russian Empire, according to the archival materials of the State Archive of the Irkutsk Region, has become an urgent task for both the government as a whole and the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, the heads of the Yakutsk Region, Primorsky Region and Kamchatka. The state policy of the Russian Empire in the fight against the syphilis epidemic was focused on resolving issues of staffing the northern districts with medical ranks, providing them with social benefits in order to retain them for work in Eastern Siberia, identifying sources of funding and organizing the construction of syphilitic hospitals, resolving issues of ensuring the supply of medicines, pharmacy supplies, hospital supplies, clothing, food for sick people.

Food crisis in the Yakut region during the First World War (July 1914 – February 1917)

The authors investigate the reasons for the shortage and high cost of food in the Yakutsk region during the First World War, as well as the activities of the Regional Food Committee, authorized by the Special Meeting of the Governor R. E. Witte and the City Duma of Yakutsk to prevent a food crisis. The facts and events within the framework of the problem under study are systematized, the narrative is built on the basis of the problem-chronological method. The historical-systemic method made it possible to determine the factors that caused the rise in prices and the emergence of food shortages. The historical-genetic method made it possible to analyze the development of the situation in the food sector in dynamics, to trace its transformation into a crisis state. The authors concluded that the Yakutsk region, which was a special region within the Russian Empire (geographically remote, occupying a vast territory, with an undeveloped transport infrastructure, and at the same time of strategic importance), was dependent on food supplies for food. As a result of the First World War, the physical and economic availability of food and, above all, bread has declined sharply. Administrative regulatory measures of local authorities could not be effective in the context of general negative transformations in the economic sphere. The food crisis came in the third year of the war - in 1916-1917. Since that time, the inhabitants of the region could rely only on local agricultural production, which was extremely unstable.

System of State Control in Yakutsk Region in Middle of 19th — Early 20th Centuries: Revisions and Reviews of Governors

The supervisory functions of governors in the system of administration of the Yakutsk region in the second half of the 19th — early 20th centuries are characterized. The entire audit process is shown: preparation, execution, further consideration of the issues raised and the solution of identified problems. The novelty of the study lies in the fact that for the first time the supervisory activity of the Yakut governor in the process of managing the northeast of Siberia is comprehensively considered. The source base of the study was legislative acts and office documentation from the funds of two archives. The author of the article proves that the audits achieved their immediate goal, revealed management failures, abuses and errors in record keeping. The author argues that the materials of the revisions of the predecessors helped the current governors to keep abreast of affairs and continue the undertakings of their colleagues. It is noted that communication with all segments of the local population during visits to the districts allowed the governors to learn first-hand about urgent needs and personally observe the actual state of affairs in the region. An analysis of the issues under consideration will allow us to consider in more detail the features of the functioning of the central government on the national outskirts, to find out the main mechanisms for the exercise of power in the management process, the forms of interaction between local authorities and society.

Трагический маршрут барона Тизенгаузена

The article is devoted to D. O. Tiesenhausen, a descendant of an old Russian noble family. Describes the main stages of the career and life of the baron as vice-governor of the Orenburg and Vyatka provinces and Yakutsk region. His ideological positions regarding the February Revolution of 1917 and political exile to Yakutia are presented. On the basis of new sources analyzed one of the most dramatic periods of the biography of the Baron, associated with his emigration to Mongolia, stay in Urga and relations with General Ungern. A separate episode in the life of the former Vice-Governor was his arrest, transportation to Siberia and imprisonment in a detention center. This arrest nearly resulted in the death penalty by decision of the Irkutsk provincial police. The Baron spent the rest of his life under the systematic control of the Stalinist secret services, and his personal tragedy was a typical expression of the fate of most «socially alien» people in Soviet Russia.

Vice Governor of the Yakutsk Region V.L. Priklonsky is an intellectual official

Vice Governor of the Yakutsk Region V.L. Priklonsky is an intellectual official

Trips to the Precincts in the Communicative Space of Magistrates in Yakut Oblast in the late 19th − early 20th Century

The research subject is the trip of judges of the peace to the districts in the Yakutsk region in their communicative space in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. The object is the communication practice related to the development of judicial proceedings in the Yakutsk region in the period specified. The trips to the sections in the communicative space of justices of the peace are analyzed. The research follows the methodological principles of the frontier modernization approach of I. V. Poberezhnikov, the one commonly used for the analysis of the peripheral regions of the Russian Empire. The comparative-historical method, revealing cause-and-effect relationships and patterns of the historical process, is used as a cognitive tool. The scholarly novelty of the study is that for the first time in the national historiography, the magistrates’ court proceedings are studied specifically in the context of communication space in the North-East of the Russian Empire in the late 19th − early 20th century. Based on the results of the study, a conclusion is made that, during the period under review, overland communications and summonses for magistrates of the Yakutia region served as the main communication channel in the judicial proceedings. In Yakutia, given that overland communications were seasonal, magistrates rarely traveled to certain inaccessible areas. In addition, frequent trips to vast areas of judges of the peace led to the fact that they practically did not have time to hide all the mail received during their absence, which became one of the reasons for the slowdown in legal proceedings. During their trips, magistrates could use any suitable premises for court proceedings as a temporary chamber.

Взаимодействие власти и крупного капитала в системе экспорта пушнины и обеспечения населения Северо-Восточной Сибири в начале XX в.

The main purpose of the publication is to analyze the interaction between the authorities and representatives of big business in the organization of trade operations in the north-east of Siberia at the beginning of the 20th century to supply the population of the region with consumer goods and export valuable Siberian raw materials in the interests of the state. Achieving this goal involves the widespread use of previously unpublished and not introduced into scientific circulation sources, most of which are office materials of central and local governments. The article notes that on the eve of the First World War, favorable conditions developed in the sphere of cooperation between the authorities and big business in resolving issues of supplying the population of the region with consumer goods and exporting furs. In the annual meetings under the governor of the Yakutsk region I. I. Kraft was attended by prominent representatives of the Siberian merchants and bankers. Issues of arrangement of land and sea routes of communication were discussed. During the hostilities, the Russian government imposed a number of restrictions on the export of furs. Large firms in North-Eastern Siberia faced the problem of finding new markets for furs and wholesale suppliers of goods. At the meetings, the actions of entrepreneurs were coordinated, commercial agreements were concluded, and supply issues were resolved. The process of interaction between government and business was built quite effectively. Changes in the political system of Russia in 1917 led to the emergence of new forms of interaction between government and big business. One of these forms was government contracts and orders. In 1918–1919 firms completed orders worth 700–900 thousand rubles and solved the problem of food shortages in the Yakutsk region. In 1920, in the context of the nationalization of the property of companies, they completed the final state order for the export of furs and the supply of consumer goods to the region.

Zemstvo Self-Government in the Yakutsk Region in 1917-1919 (Based on the Materials of the Newspaper “Yakutskiy Golos”)

Zemstvo Self-Government in the Yakutsk Region in 1917-1919 (Based on the Materials of the Newspaper “Yakutskiy Golos”)

О взаимодействии светской и духовной власти в Якутской области (середина XIX – начало XX в.)

The article attempts to identify the main formats of church-state relations at the local level. Analyzing sources and literature, the author shows several options for communication between representatives of the administration and the Church. In the Yakutsk region of the period under review, one can observe diverse interaction from cooperation to conflicts. A comparison of available sources made it possible to identify a wide range of points of contact between secular and spiritual authorities on the national outskirts of the Russian Empire.

Images of north-east Asia in expeditional and author's photo projects: strategies for visualization of research objects in the II half of the 19th - the beginning of the 20th century

Yakutia is a region, where 40% of territories are located in the Arctic zone; it belongs to a geographic zone with extreme natural and climatic conditions, where traditional types of farming continue to prevail. Today, the modern processes in the field of ethnic selfidentification and revival take place in it considering its geopolitical significance, as well as the study of their historical past, and are of particular relevance, where not the last role is played by visual and anthropological resources that are currently preserved in institutions of historical memory (museums, libraries, archives). The visual image becomes a key unified means of influence. Using the example of the Yakutsk region, the article examines the aspect of the visual development of the north-eastern territories of the Russian Empire as a form of scientific knowledge developed by Russian academic science in the process of their study. The systematic use of artistic practices (pictorial recording, photography) in the scientific and methodological tools of the research carried out subsequently had a great practical result, and had formed an impressive layer of visual anthropological materials. The paper examines the main visual images representing a multi-ethnic region.

Problems in the management of the Yakutsk region in the annual reports of regional heads (second quarter of the 19th century)

Problems in the management of the Yakutsk region in the annual reports of regional heads (second quarter of the 19th century)

Социокультурный портрет вице-губернаторов Якутской области конца XIX – начала XX в.

The article deals with the persons of the vice-governors of the Yakutsk region. The socio-cultural appearance of officials has been studied. The analysis of indicators is carried out: social origin, religion, marital status, education, age. Time of service, work experience, career continuation.

Реализация крупных благотворительных акций Татьянинского комитета в Якутской области (1915 г.)

The paper analyzes charitable actions conducted by the Committee of Her Imperial Highness the Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna (Tatiana Committee) in the Yakutsk region in 1915. The article describes the everyday life of Russian Empire in the First World War period (1914-1918). Scientific originality of the study lies in the fact that relying on a wide range of sources the researcher examines the little known facts about the participation of Siberian community in charitable projects to support the victims of the First World War. The research findings are as follows: the author reconstructs the events associated with the organization of charitable actions “Russia’s Helping Hand for Devastated Regions” and “A Bucket of Newly-Harvested Grain” in the Yakutsk region in 1915.

The Project of the Yakut Regional Head N. I. Myagkov on the Arrangement of the Udsky Territory (the 1820s)

For the first time in Russian history, on the basis of archival documents, the article examines the proposals of the regional chief Nikolai Ivanovich Myagkov on the arrangement of the transboundary region in the east of the Russian Empire ‒ the Udsky Territory of the Yakutsk Oblast (1827), which was adjacent to the Chinese possessions. The border position of the territory gave a special status, the region was characterized by a specific community. The relevance of the topic is due to modern issues of cross-border regionalization and, in general, a poor degree of knowledge of the history of the Udsky region of the pre-revolutionary period. The research is based on the principles of historicism and scientific objectivity, as well as historical-systemic and historical-comparative methods. The prerequisites and problems of reforming the region are analyzed, the role of N. I. Myagkov and an official for special assignments A. Y. Uvarovsky in the preparation of the project. The earlier submitted proposals of the Irkutsk authorities (1825) on the development of the Udsky region and the project of the Yakut manager (1827) in a comparative aspect are considered. We note that the project of the latter was characterized by a detailed understanding of the particular problems of the remote region. The mechanism of multilevel discussion of the project is highlighted, which is associated with the complexity of the management structure of the Yakutsk region. The author notes that the transformation of the region took place in the context of the implementation of M. M. Speransky's Siberian reforms of 1822, in particular with the aim of increasing government revenues, where the main focus was on limiting the abuse of local ministers and policies towards the aboriginal population. Given the special situation in the region, the project attached great importance to Russian-Manchu trade and economic relations. The Siberian Committee was engaged in strict regulation of the observance of the principles of the reform of 1822, in particular, the provisions of the “Charter on the management of indigenous peoples”. Strengthening personal supervision is seen as one of the main methods of the regional chief in solving problems of the local region. In conclusion, the prospects for further study of the presented topic are determined. Keywords: regional chief, N. I. Myagkov, project, arrangement, Udsky Ostrog, outskirts of the Russian Empire, Yakutsk Oblast

Роль старообрядческого епископа Мефодия в поддержании духовности крестьян села Павловск Якутской области на рубеже XIX–XX вв.

The article is devoted to the study of the contribution of the Old Believer Bishop Methodius to the formation of the spirituality of the communities of the outlying territories of the Russian Empire. The main purpose of the publication is to analyze the role of Bishop Methodius in maintaining the spirituality of the peasants in the village of Pavlovsk, Yakutsk Region at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Achievement of this goal presupposes the widespread use of previously unpublished and not introduced into scientific circulation sources, some of which have been preserved in the author's personal archive. The article examines the stages of formation and features of the religious life of the Old Believer community of Russian peasant migrants in Pavlovsk, Yakutsk region. The publication mentions some facts of the biography of Bishop Methodius, in whose subordination were the Old Believer communities of the Tomsk, Irkutsk, Yenisei provinces, Amur, Yakutsk, Trans-Baikal regions. It is noted that Methodius was accused of spreading the “schism” and hiding from the persecution of the authorities in Kuytun of the Trans-Baikal region. Here he conducted religious rituals and corresponded with the headman of the Old Believer community of Pavlovsk – P. I. Kushnarev. In his letters, Methodius provided spiritual support to fellow believers, explained the peculiarities of understanding religious texts, the essence of church rituals. The article describes the arrest, imprisonment and the last months of the life of Bishop Methodius in Vilyuisk. In 1908 P. I. Kushnarev transported the remains of Methodius to the Old Believers' cemetery in Pavlovsk, Yakutsk region. During the period of persecution of the clergy of the Old Believer Church, Methodius' activities to strengthen and maintain the spirituality of fellow believers became an example for his followers. In 1905-1913 prominent representatives of the Old Believer Church visited Pavlovsk: Bishop Anthony, Bishop Joseph of Eastern Siberia. The article presents their unique photographs from the personal archive of the author. Currently, Bishop Methodius has been canonized. Every year the place of his burial in Pavlovsk, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), is visited by pilgrims from all regions of modern Russia.

ЭКОЛОГО-ГЕОХИМИЧЕСКАЯ ОЦЕНКА СНЕЖНОГО ПОКРОВА ЯКУТСКА

For the first time, the geochemistry of snow cover on the territory of the city of Yakutsk, the largest city located in the permafrost zone, is considered on the basis of recent methods of analysis. To study the chemical composition of the snow cover and estimate the ecological state of the city in March 2020, 80 snow samples were collected on its territory and analyzed for a wide range of chemical elements. It was found that the background chemical composition of the soluble phase of the snow cover in the Yakutsk region is typical for the middle taiga landscapes of Yakutia: chloride-hydrocarbonate, predominantly calcium, with an acidic reaction and very low mineralization. On the basis of the present-day technique of analysis, the features of the transformation of the chemical composition of the soluble phase of snow cover in the urbanized area were evaluated. In the zone of technogenic action, the mineralization of snow water increases following the increase in the concentration of sulfates, calcium and ammonium; the reaction becomes alkaline. The technogenic load on the snow cover in Yakutsk and the main factors of its formation had been determined. The contribution of pollutants in the gas-aerosol phase is approximately 0.2% of the volume of winter dust fallout. In winter, the main source of pollution of the atmosphere here is the motor transport, and to a smaller degree - energy facilities and industrial enterprises. The features of the macro- and microelement composition of the soluble phase of snow were established as well. Macropollutants and nitrogen compounds account for 90–95% of the total atmospheric precipitation, the major quantity of which is carbon. The most contrasting technogenic transformation of microelements is characteristic of Cu, Fe, Cd, Sn, Zn, and Al. The value and parameters of the winter atmospheric load on the snow cover had been determined. The characteristics of the ionic composition of the soluble phase of snow in Yakutsk and the parameters of their changes had been revealed. Almost throughout the whole city, the level of contamination with toxic elements is estimated as low and moderately dangerous. Heavy metal pollution of the snow cover here is noticeably lower than this takes place in the cities of Eastern Siberia (Blagoveshchensk, Bratsk, Irkutsk, Chita).

Численность населения Якутской области в первой трети XIX в. как предмет историко-демографического исследования в постсоветский период

The paper is focused on the reviewing historical aspects of demographic changes in the Yakutsk region in the first third of the XIX century in the context of the analysis of population size. Based on the generalization of the available information collected by modern scientists in the course of research work, the idea of the social structure of the indigenous and migratory strata of the population of Yakutia in the first third of the 19th century is given. It is concluded that its numerical strength cannot be called stable. This is due to the pronounced influence of the socio-economic conditions of the region, the spread of the benefits of civilization on the life of nomadic peoples, military operations, the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the region, etc. The insufficient study of migration processes in the territory of the Yakutsk region by scientists of the post-Soviet period is emphasized. The historiographic description of the structure of the population of Yakutia in the first third of the 19th century by modern historians is reduced mainly to the presentation of data on its general composition, while age, gender, class and confessional differentiation of the inhabitants of the region is of interest.

Национальный лидер Якутии Г.В. Ксенофонтов и политические партии в 1917 г.

The present study examines the attitude of one of the national leaders of Yakutia G.V. Ksenofontov to the political parties operating in the Yakutsk region in 1917. A lawyer and politician G.V. Ksenofontov became one of the founders of the national party – the Yakut Labor Union of Federalists, whose program combined the ideas of a federal structure of Russia, Siberian regionalism and popular socialism. The analysis of the archives and periodicals shows that the Yakut Federalists collaborated with the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, were involved in a political struggle against local organizations of the Kadets and Social Democrats. G.V. Ksenofontov was nominated as a candidate for membership in the Constituent Assembly from the Federalist Party. During the pre-election campaign, an active polemic was waged, the Federalists criticized the Kadets and Social Democrats for their negative attitude towards the idea of federation. The Party of People's Freedom was perceived as bourgeois, and in the ideology of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party the leaders of ethnic intelligentsia were repulsed by the orientation of the Social Democrats towards the proletariat, which was practically absent in the Yakutsk region. The bloc of Socialist-Revolutionaries and Federalists operated in the government bodies and in the elections to the Constituent Assembly. The election results showed that the union of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Federalists enjoyed support of the local population. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the history of Yakutia during the Russian Revolution of 1917 had its own characteristics. G.V. Ksenofontov contributed heavily to the political development of the region, his activity as the leader of the Federalist Party and a candidate for membership in the Constituent Assembly promoted an increase in the level of political literacy of the population, prepared the Yakut society for the transition to a new level of its development, for the formation of statehood, the creation of Yakutsk Autonomous Soviet Socialistic Republic.