Administrative and Territorial Structure of Kalmyk Steppe within Astrakhan Governorate, 19th – Early 20th Centuries: A Historiographical and Source Review

Introduction. The article provides data on the territory of Kalmyk Steppe and its uluses in relation to the uyezd system of Astrakhan Governorate, outlines features of the former’s administrative structure in relation to the territorial component of public management, and examines historiography of the research issue. Materials. The paper investigates statistical digests, geographical reference books on the territorial composition of Astrakhan Governorate, including Kalmyk Steppe, its area, and ulus structure. Special attention is paid to certain legislative provisions of the Russian Empire concerning the governance of Astra­khan Kalmyks and the ulus administrative system. The work also introduces scholars’ opinions on the status of Kalmyk Steppe as part of Astrakhan Governorate, evolution of administrative governance in the 19th to early 20th centuries. Results. The question of how Kalmyk Steppe used to be classified in statistical and reference publications of the Russian Empire requires further investigation. In some cases, Kalmyk Steppe is designated as part of Astrakhan Governorate to be accompanied by a note that it is incorporated into uyezds of the province, and an indication of its total area. In other cases, there is no mention of the territory at all. This may have resulted from the administrative reforms in Kalmyk Steppe and, in general, changed approaches to Astrakhan Kalmyk people’s governance during the identified period. Nikolay Palmov’s viewpoint that the early 19th-century decrees had allotted the lands to the Kalmyk people to be fully owned by and thus constitute legitimate property of the latter is worth noticing in terms of scholarly research. The official position reflected in government documents and expressed in writings of Russian officials of the examined period states that the lands had been allotted for use and distributed by each ulus individually, i.e. never formed a single whole. So, even if one takes into account that the Kalmyks were governed by a special administrative department which was under the jurisdiction of the country’s ministerial system, there is practically no mention of the uyezd level in administrative/territorial structure of the Governorate, nor there are any essential prescriptions regarding correlation between the latter and the ulus system. This also remains understudied in Russian historiography.

1. Abeeva O. N. Kalmyk uluses, 18th — 19th centuries: Administrative and territorial structure according to the 1825 Regulations. Vestnik Prikaspiya: arkheologiya, istoriya, etnologiya. 2010. No. 2. Pp. 97–121. (In Russ.)

2. Artemyev A. (ed.) The Russian Empire: Lists of Settlements. Central Statistical Committee (Internal Affairs Ministry [of the Russian Empire]). St. Petersburg: Central Statistical Committee, 1861–1885. Vol. 2: Astrakhan Governorate [as of 1859]. 1861. XVI, 51 p. (In Russ.)

3. Astrakhan Governorate Statistical Review: The Year 1914. Review of 1883 Be [Referred to as] a Supplement to Most Faithful Report of Astrakhan Governor. Reviews of 1872 and 1873 Be Supplements to Most Faithful Report of … 1914. Astrakhan: Astrakhan Governorate, 1915. [II], 117 p. (In Russ.)

4. Batyrov V. V. Traditional pastoral migration system of the Volga Kalmyks, 18th to mid-19th centuries. Polevye issledovaniya (Field Studies). 2013. No. 1. Pp. 71–88. (In Russ.)

5. Belousov S. S. Territorial entities of the Kalmyk people, 19th to mid-20th centuries: Ethnic factor in the shaping of administrative borders. In: Syzranov A. V., Popova O. S. (comps., eds.) Interethnic and Interreligious Dialogue as a Consolidating Basis to Struggle against the Global Threats of Terrorism and Extremism. Conference proceedings (Astrakhan, 10 October 2013). Astrakhan: R. Sorokin, 2013. Pp. 102–110. (In Russ.)

6. Belousov S. S., Bayanova A. T. Kalmyks of Astrakhan Governorate: A geography of nomadic migrations according to the Kuma-Manych Expedition’s materials. Mongolian Studies. 2018. Vol. 10. No. 3. Pp. 54–62. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.22162/2500-1523-2018-14-54-62

7. Beznosikov (comp.) Military Statistical Review of the Russian Empire. Vol. 16: Statistical Accounts of Imperial Russia’s Governorates and Oblasts. Part 5: Lower Volga Governorates. Section 5: Astrakhan Governorate. St. Petersburg: General Staff Headquarters, 1852. 176 p. (In Russ.)

8. Borisenko I. V. Cartographic sources on land use and tenure in Kalmyk Steppe, 19th to early 20th centuries. In: History of Precapitalistic and Capitalistic Relations in Kalmykia. Elista: Kalmyk Research Institute of History, Philology and Economics, 1977. Pp. 131–142. (In Russ.)

9. Borisenko I. V. Kalmyk Steppe in a 1909 map of Astrakhan Governorate. In: Studies in Historical Geography of the Kalmyk ASSR: Elista: Kalmyk Research Institute of History, Philology and Economics, 1981. Pp. 79–88. (In Russ.)

10. Borisova O. P. On the means of distribution of the governmental power on the example of regions constituting the Russian Empire. State Power and Local Self-Government. 2018. No. 10. Pp. 62–64. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.18572/1813-1247-2018-10-62-64.

11. Burchinova L. S. Tsarist land policy in 19th-century Kalmykia. In: Bulletin of the Kalmyk Research Institute of Language, Literature and History. Series ‘History’. Vol. 15: Socioeconomic and Political Issues of Prerevolutionary Kalmykia’s History. Elista: Kalmykia Book Publ., 1976. Pp. 61–89. (In Russ.)

12. Cherkasov I. A. A Brief Essay on the Administrative System of Astrakhan Kalmyks: An Excerpt from the Manuscript titled ‘History of Astrakhan Region’. Astrakhan: Astrakhan Governorate Press, 1860. 21 p. (In Russ.)

13. Cherkasov I. G. Astrakhan Governorate: A Statistical and Economic Description. 1859. 263 p. (In Russ.)

14. Cherkasov, Ivan Antonovich. In: Authors of Works on Astrakhan Region. Available at: http://astrakhanica-personalia.ru/Cherkasov,_Ivan_Antonovich (accessed: 10 September 2022). (In Russ.)

15. Chuzhginov A. A. Revisiting some historiographic issues of Kalmykia’s history: Late 18th to mid-19th centuries. In: Bulletin of the Kalmyk Research Institute of Language, Literature and History. Series ‘History’. Vol. 15: Socioeconomic and Political Issues of Prerevolutionary Kalmykia’s History. Elista: Kalmykia Book Publ., 1976. Pp. 158–171. (In Russ.)

16. Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire Compiled at the Behest of [H.I.M.] Nicholas I. St. Petersburg: H.I.M. Own Chancery (Second Section), 1857–1876. Vol. 2. Part 1: General Governorate Structure. 1857. 1263 p. (In Russ.)

17. Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire Compiled at the Behest of [H.I.M.] Nicholas I. St. Petersburg: H.I.M. Own Chancery (Second Section), 1857–1876. Vol. 2. Part 2: Special Governorate Structure. 1857. 739 p. (In Russ.)

18. Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire. Coll. 1: 1649 – 12 December 1825. St. Petersburg: H.I.M. Own Chancery (Second Section), 1830. In 45 vols. Vol. 26. 875 p. (In Russ.)

19. Dambaeva O. P. Classification of territories in the context of administrative and territorial structure of the Russian Empire in the XIX – beginning of the XX centuries. Tambov University Review. Series: Humanities. 2006. No. 4(44). Pp. 18–23. (In Russ.)

20. Dambaeva O. P. Oblast in Imperial Russia’s State and Administrative System, 18th to Early 20th Centuries. Cand. Sc. (law) thesis abstract. Tambov, 2006. 21 p. (In Russ.)

21. Dameshek L. M., Fedoreeva I. A. Theoretical and legal foundations of territorial division. Special features of administrative arrangement. The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series ‘History’. 2013. No. 1. Pp. 7–17. (In Russ.)

22. Dyakin V. S. The Nationalities Question in Internal Tsarist Policies, 19th to Early 20th Centuries. St. Petersburg: LISS, 1998. 1000 p. (In Russ.)

23. Goryaev M. S. Incorporation of Kalmykia into Imperial Russia’s Socioeconomic System, 1770s — 1890s. Elista: Dzhangar, 2013. 224 p. (In Russ.)

24. Gribovsky V. M. Power Structures and Administration in the Russian Empire: Lectures on Constitutional and Administrative Law. Odessa: Tekhnik, 1912. 258 p. (In Russ.)

25. Kalmyk Steppe of Astrakhan Governorate in Accounts of the Kuma-Manych Research Expedition. Ministry of State Property [of the Russian Empire]. St. Petersburg: Bezobrazov & Co., 1868. 300 p. (In Russ.)

26. Karagodin A. I. An increase in crop farming practices of the Volga Kalmyks throughout the early-to-mid 19th century. In: Maksimov K. N., Naberukhin A. I., Shovunov K. P. (eds.) Social System and Sociopolitical Development of Prerevolutionary Kalmykia. Elista: Kalmyk Research Institute of History, Philology and Economics, 1983. Pp. 101–121. (In Russ.)

27. Komandzhaev E. A. Institutes of public authority in Kalmykia in the 17th – early 20th centuries from the perspective of civilization and cultural approach. RUDN Journal of Law. 2019. Vol. 23. No. 2. Pp. 219–243. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.22363/2313-2337-2019-23-2-219-243

28. Kostenkov K. I. (comp.) Kalmyk Nomads of Astrakhan Governorate: Historical and Statistical Accounts. Ministry of State Property [of the Russian Empire]. St. Petersburg: N. Glybov, 1870. [4], 171 p. (In Russ.)

29. Kostenkov K. I. Kalmyk Steppe of Astrakhan Governorate: A Statistical Economic Account. St. Petersburg: V. Bezobrazov & Co., 1868. 174 p. (In Russ.)

30. Lidzhieva I. V. Kalmyk Self-Governance System, 19th — Early 20th Centuries: A Historical Ethnographic Aspect. K. Maksimov (ed.). Elista: Kalmyk Scientific Center (RAS), 2016. 336 p. (In Russ.)

31. Lokhvitsky A. V. Governorate, Its Zemstvo and Government Agencies. 2nd ed., rev. St. Petersburg: A. Bazunov, 1864. Part 1. 224 p. (In Russ.)

32. Maksimov K. N. Organization of management of the Kalmyk people at the end XVIII – first quarter of XIX century. Nomadic civilization: historical research. 2021. Vol. 1. No. 1. Pp. 54–65. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.53315/2782-3377-2021-1-1-54-65

33. Maksimov K. N. Kalmykia in Russia’s Past and Present National Policies and Administrative System. Moscow: Nauka, 2002. 524 p. (In Russ.)

34. Maksimov K. N., Ochirova N. G. (eds.) History of Kalmykia: From Earliest Times to Present Days. In 3 vols. Elista: Gerel, 2009. Vol. 1. 848 p. (In Russ.)

35. Nebolsin P. I. The Lower Volga Essays. St. Petersburg: Ministry of Internal Affairs, 1852. 199 p. (In Russ.)

36. Nefedyev N. A. The Volga Kalmyks: Detailed Eyewitness Accounts. St. Petersburg: K. Kray, 1834. 290 p. (In Russ.)

37. Palmov N. N. The Volga Kalmyks: Historical Essays. Part 5: Land Affairs. Astrakhan: Kalmizdat, 1932. 192 p. (In Russ.)

38. Ravinsky I. V. Economic Descriptions of Astrakhan and Caucasus Governorates: Civil and Natural Conditions Pertaining to Agriculture, Industry, and Household Management. Imperial Free Economic Society. [St. Petersburg:] H.I.M. Own Chancery, 1809. 597 p. (In Russ.)

39. Ryabchenko A. E. (comp.) Russia: Administrative Structure of the Empire (with a Map). St. Petersburg: Military Press, 1907. 70 p. (In Russ.)

40. Ryabchenko A. E. (ed.) Russia: A Geographic Description of the Russian Empire by Governorates and Oblasts with Geographic Maps. St. Petersburg: Berezhlivost, 1913. 286 p. (In Russ.)

41. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky P. P. (comp.) The Russian Empire: A Dictionary of Geography and Statistics. Vols. 1–5. St. Petersburg: A. Turubayev, 1863–1885. Vol. 2. 898 p. (In Russ.)

42. Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky V. P. (ed.) Russia: The Complete Geographic Description of Our Motherland. Vol. 6. St. Petersburg: A. Devrient, 1901. VIII, 599 p. (In Russ.)

43. Skiba V. A. Kalmykia after the 1771 abolition of Kalmyk Khanate, late 18th – 19th centuries: Legal status revisited. Newsletter of North-Caucasus State Technical University. 2012. No. 2 (31). Pp. 182–185. (In Russ.)

44. Statistical Annals of the Russian Empire: An Index of Changes in Administrative Units and Borders of the Empire, 1860 to 1887. Central Statistical Committee (Internal Affairs Ministry [of the Russian Empire]). Series III. Vol. 19. St. Petersburg: M. Stepanov, 1887. 74 p. (In Russ.)

45. Statistics of Land Use: The Year 1905. Vols. 1–50. Central Statistical Committee (Internal Affairs Ministry [of the Russian Empire]). St. Petersburg, 1906–1907. Vol. 23: Astrakhan Governorate, 1906. 37 p. (In Russ.)

46. Strelbitsky I. A. Calculating the Total Area of the Russian Empire in the Reign of Emperor Alexander II. St. Petersburg: General Staff (Military Education Committee), 1874. 249 p. (In Russ.)

47. Strelbitsky I. A. et al. Calculating the Total Area of the Russian Empire and Neighboring Countries in the Reign of Emperor Alexander III. St. Petersburg: Military Press, 1889. 135 p. (In Russ.)

48. Territory and Population of Russia in 1905. Central Statistical Committee (Internal Affairs Ministry [of the Russian Empire]). St. Petersburg: N. Nyrkin, 1906. [2], 141 p. (In Russ.)

49. Troinitsky N. A. (ed.) The First National Census of Imperial Russia (1897). Vols. 1–89. St. Petersburg: Central Statistical Committee (Internal Affairs Ministry), 1899–1905. Vol. 2: Astrakhan Governorate. Notebook 1. 1899. II, 52 p. (In Russ.)

50. Troinitsky N. A. (ed.) The First National Census of Imperial Russia (1897). Vols. 1–89. St. Petersburg: Central Statistical Committee (Internal Affairs Ministry), 1899–1905. Vol. 2: Astrakhan Governorate. Notebook 2. 1904. [4], XIV, 167 p. (In Russ.)

51. Vasilyev D. V. Kalmyk Khanate in administrative and political system of the Russian Empire (The middle of the XVIII – the middle of the XIX century). Historical, Philosophical, Political and Law Sciences, Culturology and Study of Art. Issues of Theory and Practice. 2015. No. 10–3(60). Pp. 38–42. (In Russ.)

52. Volosts and Gminas: The Year 1890. Internal Affairs Ministry [of the Russian Empire], Central Statistical Committee. St. Petersburg: Bezobrazov & Co., 1892. Vol. 2: Astrakhan Governorate, 1890. 5 p. (In Russ.)

53. Zayonchkovsky P. A. History of Prerevolutionary Russia: Reference Books. 2nd ed. Moscow: Kniga, 1978. 640 p. (In Russ.)