The Road-Related Peopling of Astrakhan Governorate: Revisiting the System of Umyot Settlements

The article examines the system of umyots (Rus. умёт) that had been used to facilitate the peopling of Astrakhan Governorate. Those were minor settlements established to maintain roads significant for the economic and administrative development of the region. The paper provides an insight into the reasons, goals, contents, and results of the policy. Goals. The study seeks to investigate the unexplored aspect in the history of the peopling of Astrakhan Governorate’s lands. Methods. The comparative historical and historical genetic methods were employed to deal with the umyot policy. Materials. The paper analyzes documents housed by the State Archive of Astrakhan Oblast and once issued by public statistical departments, ones contained in the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire and memoirs of certain individuals. Conclusions. It is concluded the use of the umyot system was caused, on the one hand, by severe natural conditions, and, on the one hand, by the need to develop land routes that directly and indirectly affected the level of economic development. This idea was formulated and implemented by government authorities who determined the order and conditions of the peopling, sizes of settlements, and population structure of colonists. The umyot system played a positive role in the development of the Crimean and Solevozny (Rus. ‘salt transportation’) roads to have run across areas unfavorable for human habitation. It also facilitated the establishment of a network of stationary settlements in the nomadic territories, thus, predetermining further transformations within nomadic communities.

Astrakhan Governorate, Kalmyks, umyot system of peopling, colonists, Crimean and Solevozny roads

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