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Humanitarian sciences in Siberia

2014 year, number

MATERIALS TO THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE MID-XIX CENTURY SIBERIAN OFFICIAL H.S. BILDZYUKEVICH

Ye.N. Tumanik
Institute of History of the SB RAS, Russia, 630090, Novosibirsk, Akad. Nikolaev str., 8
Keywords: administration, management, description of Siberia, development of the Amur Region, the national policy of the Russian Empire

Abstract

The article is devoted to characteristics of historical sources newly introduced into scientific use and connected with the development of Eastern Siberia and annexation of the Amur river region in the middle of XIX century. The article shows Hector Bildzyukevich’s administrative activities in eastern Russia. He held a middle management position and arrived to Siberia from the territories of modern Belarus. Bildzyukevich came to Siberia voluntarily, as he wanted to be an employee under the leadership of the Governor-General of Eastern Siberia, Count N.N. Muraviev-Amurskiy and to participate in the development of the Amur region. Besides public service H. Bildzyukevich was actively involved in studying history, ethnography, statistics, geography, population, flora and fauna of the region. He made several drawings - panoramic views of Siberian settlements, natural objects, ethnographic and genre sketches, images of flora and fauna. He wanted to inform his fellow countrymen about the Eastern Siberia. As a result, he compiled “The Picturesque Album” - a systematized collection of essays and illustrative materials. The article details annotated illustrative component of “The Picturesque Album.” H. Bildzyukevich was a police chief (“zemskiy ispravnik”) in Gizhiga in the mid-1860s. The article analyzes his annual report and a memo dated from 1866. These documents relate to the problems of national policy of the Russian Empire in the Far North and the overall geopolitical situation in the eastern frontier of the country. H. Bildzyukevich tells about the economic and strategic significance of the region and opposes the principle of «national borderlands». He puts forward important initiatives for further integration of the Siberian indigenous ethnic groups into the Empire’s space and strengthening the State’s authority. This set of documents has been recently published. It will be useful for specialists in many areas of knowledge.