Home – Home – Jornals – Humanitarian sciences in Siberia 2016 number

The purpose of the article is to give an overview of works written by the contemporary English- and German-language researchers of the pre-revolutionary history of Siberia on the problems of mental representation of geographical space, development of “regional consciousness” and “Siberian regional identity”. Most of scholars consider the “Siberian identity” as being formed on the people’s common territorial base, therefore, they define it as “territorial” or “regional” identity. In this respect much attention is paid to the problems of development of “regional consciousness” and regionalism as a form of territorial communities’ self-identification. Western scholars addressed the phenomenon of “Siberian regionalism” in the 1970s-1980s (G.Hanson, S.Watrous, A.Wood, D.Mohrenschildt, W.Faust et al.) based mostly on the analysis of numerous publications of the Siberian oblastniks (N.M.Yadrintsev, G.N.Potanin et al.). In the early XX century theoretical and terminology aspects of the topic have been elaborated by the German historian St.Stuch who analyzes the meaning of such terms as “region”, “regional consciousness”, “regional movement”, “Siberian culture” etc. He believes that in Siberia the regional consciousness was formed mostly due to the common desire of the Siberian intelligentsia to treat the Siberian periphery on an equal footing as the regions of European Russia. German researcher E.-M.Stolberg, in her turn, argues that other factors - such as specific geographic and cultural conditions, the “frontier” character of Siberian territories - were even more critical for the formation of Siberian identity. However, the natural process of the Siberian identity’s development was deflected by the centralizing and unifying policy of the government. Unlike E.-M.Stolberg an American historian Ch.Steinwedel believes that governmental policy towards Siberia was based on the diferent criteria of identity taking into account the specific features of the region. Western historians rarely use the general term “Siberian identity” focusing on the identity of various groups of Siberian population (both indigenous and non-indigenous). However their research findings should be taken into consideration by those who study the topic of “Siberian regional identity” that became so relevant at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries.

This article based on the archival sources attempts at systematization of various kinds of taxes collected from khoshuns of Tuva in the period of Ch’ing empire. The main unit of direct tax ( alban ) was in the form of sable furs. This tax equaled three sable furs from each orege (household). Extermination of fur-bearing animals and penetration of Russian and Chinese commercial capital into Tuva led to increase in fur prices and impoverishment of the population of Tuva. Undurug was another kind of tax. Its rate was established in accordance with the “Code of Chinese Chamber of External Relations” and it had to be paid in the form of domestic animals. Undurug was used to pay salaries to officials and for various economic needs. Military duty seemed to be the most burdensome because it involved labor and financial resources. According to the “Code”, “military lists” were made once in every three years and men from 18 to 60 years of age had to take part in the annual military call-ups. In doing so, they had to provide themselves with the ammunition, two replacement horses and foodstuffs. In addition, guard duty on the borders of Tuva and urton duty (maintenance of messenger service) lay as a heavy burden on arats (poor herdsmen). Urtons had a military organization and Tuvan khoshuns had to pay salaries to the officials and maintain urtons . According to the “Code”, once in every three years the Tuvan khoshuns had to perform administrative services and other duties in the headquarters of Uliasutai tszyan - tszyun and ambyn-noyon of Tuva, in the offices of the governors of khoshuns and sumons . Thus, Tuvans had to pay various kinds of taxes and perform various duties in the period of Ch’ing empire. Penetration of the Russian and Chinese commercial capital, barter and usurious character of trade imposed by the Russian and Chinese merchants considerably aggravated the difficult socio-economic situation as it was in Tuva.

The paper examines a model of the modern historiographical discourse on the problem of periodization of the resettlement policy of Russian state and a new approach to addressing the issue based on the research practices of the “new history of the Empire”. In this respect, the aim of this work is to establish and fix the alternative criteria for periodization of the government resettlement policy as an important element of the Imperial project of colonization in the second half of the XIX - the first quarter of XX centuries. The research showed that under conditions of Russian colonization a type of complex domination (defined as “internal imperialism”) took place. Its main components comprised cultural expansion, hegemony of power and also assimilation within the state borders. The Imperial Government implemented these assigned tasks in the interests of security of the Empire, and respectively, it had a function of “connective tissue”, bringing the Imperial policy to a common denominator. In the context of national security, immigration policy was originally developed as a part of internal colonization project. In the 1860-1870s the developments in the Western outskirts, especially in the context of Polish separatism and Ukrainophilian sentiments, became an imperative to arrange the basis of resettlement policy. Fears of Siberian regionalism forced the national-conservative parties and the government to restrict the resettlement activity of peasants suggesting a preference for the wealthy and moderately wealthy peasantry as the main participants of colonization. An important episode of colonization that influenced the resettlement policy was the process of construction and operation of the Siberian railway positioned as a reliable method of Russification of the eastern suburbs and the argument against the separatist ideas and attitudes. The chosen vector remained relevant when the Stolypin agrarian policy was implemented. However, during this period, models and practices aimed at ensuring the security of the Empire were substantially adjusted.

The article describes the generational discourse of “Sovremennik” magazine in the 1860s and the social polemics around the trial initiated in respect of publication of Yu.G. Zhukovsky’s article “The Question of the Young Generation” in 1866, which had evoked a great public response. The sources include the texts on generational issues published in “Sovremennik” magazine in 1855-1856; the newspaper publications about the trial against the employees of the magazine; the memoirs of trial participants; the memoirs of the Sixtiers about the impact of the magazine on their world outlook; unpublished clerical sources which cast light on the course of the trial. The magazine had been actively exploiting the generational rhetoric since the mid-1850s based on the idea of continuity of generations of fathers and sons, typical for a traditional society. Like the other “thick magazines” “Sovremennik” described the history of literature and public thought by constructing the models of literature generations. Yet in late 1850s - early 1860s it actualized the idea of lifelessness of the generations’ union and of growing contradictions between the “old” and the “new” in the reforming Russia. “Sovremennik” not just tried to become the “ruler of the minds” of the educated youth, it also tried to influence their social behavior, using the social mobilization resource based on the generational principle. The analysis of the magazine’s texts allowed to find the following genres of the direct action management: using the discourse of the pragmatic directive functions (instructions); creation of the image of the Other as an enemy; description of the future events in the form of the forecasts and scenarios, combined with different types of tips; using the rhetoric device - repetition. The impact of “Sovremennik”’s generational discourse was indicated by the lawsuit against Yu.G. Zhukovsky and the executive editor A.N. Pypin who were brought to the trial for “insulting the nobility”. Yet judging by the reports in periodicals, at the trial the parties discussed not so much the magazine’s views on the nobility, but mostly the image of the young generation created by the magazine.

The article considers changes in the labor force in Siberia reflecting the evolution of the role of demographic factors in the economic development of Asian Russia in the late XIX - early XXI century. For this purpose, it describes the main trends in the quantitative dynamics of regional human resource capacity and the working component; analyzes and rates the overall annual increase in the age group of inhabitants of the macro-region of 15 to 59 years in the period between censuses, due to the magnitude and specificity of combination of the three processes - fertility, mortality and migration. The research is based on the dynamic series of indicators (number and proportion of people of working age) provided by the materials of the population censuses conducted in 1897, 1926, 1939, and from 1959 to 2010. The results of analysis of the vast array of statistical census data correlated with rapidly changing demographics which indirectly affected the functioning of the productive forces in the eastern regions of the country. As a result, it was concluded that from the late XIX to late XX century one of the key factors in the agricultural and industrial development of Siberia was a steady expansion of the working population in the region. During this period, the reproductive potential of the regional society contributed to the growth of the total workforce essential to the recovery of the Siberian economy. This potential declined at the beginning of the XXI century. It caused a reduction in manpower which became one of the main results of the long-term transition of the Russian society from the extended (traditional) to the narrowed (modern) type of reproduction of population. The “demographic echo” of this transition which is still felt today in the economy became the main obstacle to modernization of the Russian society in the XX century.

The article focuses on the concept of the Bolsheviks’ Party between the February and October Revolutions in 1917 as a means of social mobility and reviews its social mobility functioning. This involves evaluation of trends in membership and organisational structure of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolshevik) (RSDLP(b)); study of the formation of a top-down governance structure, introduction and use of “admission” filters that impacted RSDLP(b) membership, and the party’s role in the social mobility system in Russia in autumn of 1917. The author concludes that by the time of the February Revolution, the RSDLP(b) was a political outsider. Its impact on social mobility and stratification of the Russian society was insignificant. Nevertheless, since the moment when it emerged from the underground and until the end of October 1917, RSDLP(b) numbers surged from 15,200 to 350,000 members, meaning a 23 times increase in its significance as a means of social mobility. On the one hand, this proves an increase in its significance for social development in Russia, while on the other hand, this emphasizes its more than moderate role, taking into account the country’s population at that time. However, it is incorrect to evaluate RSDLP(b) as a means of social mobility only based on these statistics. An unbiased analysis of this phenomenon requires taking into consideration the fact that traditional means of social mobility after February 1917 (such as government bodies or the army) were on the fast track to self-destruction and their impact on mobility and stratification was diminishing at the same rate. However, Russia experienced robust development of new means of social mobility, including Soviets, trade unions, soldiers’ committees, etc. In this environment, RSDLP(b)’s role grew rapidly over the eight months of the revolution, so that it became a kind of a spring-board that helped the Bolsheviks to take high posts within the new society framework exceptionally fast.

This article describes higher education in RSFSR in 1918-1936 as an elevator of social mobility. The main focus of this article is on the policy of students “proletarianization”. This policy was aimed at acceleration of social advancement for the descendants of working class and poorest peasantry, and also at the lower social mobility for the representatives of the former propertied classes and the “bourgeois” intellectuals. The author analyzes practices that provided preemptive rights and privileges for the “workers”, as well as “filters” and “barriers” used by the Bolsheviks to prevent the “unproletarian elements” from entering colleges. The conclusion is made, that the results of the students “proletarianization” policy were highly controversial. On the one hand , it contributed to the sharp increase in the number of specialists, who came from the working class and the peasantry. Education became an effective elevator of social mobility for hundreds of thousands of Soviet citizens. On the other hand, an intention to radically change the social image of students as soon as possible effectively undermined the foundations of the very existence of higher education institution. It was not by chance that both attempts to break higher education system coincided with two peaks of inspiration of workers’ educational mobility, and normalization periods were characterized by cancellation of this policy. The growing awareness of the defects of the revolutionary transformation of educational sector led to abolition of the most radical laws, experimental institutes and forms of education in the second half of the 1930s, and to relative “normalization” of education system in terms of its institutions and access to education for discriminated groups.

The study focuses on the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in the first half of the 1920s. It considers the specific regional features of the Church Renovated Schism, introduced by the Bolsheviks, and its consequences for various religious institutions. Its central focus is on the St. Nicholas Monastery in Verkhoturye, the largest monastery in the eastern part of Russia, and its last Father Superior, Archimandrite Xenophon (Medvedev). The aim of the study is to investigate and publish the Letter of 1923 of Archimandrite Xenophon to Patriarch Tikhon, which is one of the key sources on the history of the monastery of Verkhoturye. The paper considers the history of creating this document against the background of a complex situation facing the Church during the period under consideration. Attention is given to the ups and downs of the troubled biography of the author of the Letter both in pre-revolutionary and soviet periods. The author analyzes peculiarities of the acute conflict in the St. Nicholay monastery of Verkhoturye concerning the introduction of the new calendar style. In order to resolve this conflict Archimandrite Xenophon addressed to Patriarch Tikhon. It is concluded that the letter was compiled due to the extreme dissatisfaction of monks and pilgrims with the fact that advocates of the Renovated Church shifted to another date celebration of the day of the Holy Simeon of Verkhoturye whose relics were kept in one of the monastery’s cathedrals. The Letter of Archimandrite Xenophon to Patriarch Tikhon is published in accordance with academic standards of archeography, i.e. supplied with the academic title, lineal translation of the text, archeographic legend and preserving all the original characteristics of the text of the published source.

The regional nomenclature was an important political force in cementing the Soviet system. However, issues of its social amenities and developments in the standard of living, especially as exemplified by the national state entities, have not been addressed sufficiently. The motivation for strengthening the bureaucratic status largely developed owing to the opportunity to improve the financial situation. The objective conditions for the workplace arrangements were very difficult in Кazakstan in the 1920s-1930s. The Kazakh officials combined administrative resources and traditional ethno-social ties to solve social problems. The informal administrative resource, unofficial communications and privileges increased the gap between officialdom and citizens. Administrators who knew the Kazakh language well received benefits in accordance with the decision of the CEC and the CPC KASSR of September 1, 1933. The new hierarchy of social relations opportunistically united administrators and managers. The widespread centralization and better methods of nomenclature formation enhanced the integrity of the system. At the same time due to the specifics of historical-geographical and ethno-social conditions the material and social status of the regional officials could differ substantially from that of the central authorities. Sophisticated hierarchical system of measures of material and social support for the officials provided an incentive for the strict observance of corporate discipline, unconditional fulfillment of duty, devotion to the official ideology.

The agrarian crisis of the mid-1930s in the Soviet Union remains unstudied in the Russian and foreign historiography. The article attempts to identify the impact of agricultural and food crises, caused by 1936 crop failure and the official procurement policy on the demographic processes in the Urals. The demographic crisis in the Ural village took place against the background of political repressions. During the fall of 1936 and the first half of 1937 the crisis changed the demographic behavior of the population: the number of births decreased, the number of deaths increased. Deterioration of reproduction indicators was recorded among both the urban and rural population. The growth of infant mortality was especially sharp and the main cause of death was contagious infectious diseases. The author calculated excessive mortality of the urban and rural populations in 1936 and 1937, it amounted to nearly 50 thousand residents of the Sverdlovsk region. Furthermore, there was a dramatic increase of rural population migration to the cities. This demographic situation proved to be extremely unfavorable. Food supply system, systems of medical services, trade, consumer cooperatives in the country were unable to cope with negative situation. Due to the lack of food supplies farmers faced a problem of survival, not all managed to escape from the village. State aid came too late, just before the spring sowing in 1937, but its recipients were only the farmers who participated in the field work. For the first time in historiography the author’s conclusions on the demographic crisis of the mid-1930s are based on the analysis of archival documents of current civil registration. The January 1937 census recorded a reduction of the rural population in Urals, in comparison with the 1926 census data. The reconstruction of reproductive processes on a monthly basis was only made possible by the use of materials held by registrar authorities. These materials showed that in September of 1937 in the Urals village death rate exceeded birth rate, while the mortality peak had already passed.

One of the symbols of N.S. Khruschev’s rule was the virgin lands campaign carried out in the eastern areas of the USSR and aimed at producing large amounts of cheap grain within a short period of time. It had significant economic, socio-demographic and environmental implications reflected in numerous publications. However one of these implications has been neglected by the researchers - the campaign’s impact on the production and organizational structure of agriculture. The article addresses this problem. After I.V. Stalin’s death the Head of the Soviet government G.M. Malenkov advocated for using material incentives in the agricultural sector, development of kolkhozes and machine-tractor stations, intensifying agricultural production in the old-arable areas of the country. This strategy was opposed by the virgin lands project of N.S. Khrushchev. Growth in grain production was achieved by means of cultivation of the undeveloped lands based on the urban dwellers’ labour enthusiasm and industrial forms of economic activities. Mass construction of the state agricultural enterprises was launched on the new lands. After the XX Congress of the CPSU (1956) sovkohozes were also established in the old-arable areas of the USSR on the basis of economically weak agricultural artels. Kolkhozes were enlarged and their work was reorganized in accordance with the sovkhoz model. In 1958 machine-tractor stations were abolished and their machinery was sold to these kolkhozes. Nevertheless the economic and financial performance of the large part of kolkhozes and sovkhozes was below the expected level. Labor productivity of agricultural workers was low. In the early 1960s crop yields of the virgin lands significantly decreased. The growth rate in the agriculture slowed down significantly. Extensive factors of the production growth reached their limits. Analysis of reconstruction of the production and organizisational structure of agricultural sector allowed to conclude that its major implication was acceleration of depeasantization of the Soviet village.

The purpose of the article is to identify the factors that forced the party leadership to actively develop the Communist party press in the 1950s, as well as to determine the particular mechanism of preparing the ideological texts. The focus is on the analysis of the activities of editorial boards and authors of ideological magazines. The research methodology included discourse and content analysis of the proceedings of the meetings of editorial boards and articles published in the party magazines. As a result, it was concluded that the idea of building communism required the indoctrination and ideological mobilization of both the party and society as a whole. In its turn it determined the need of the Communist party and its leaders for an institution performing not only teleological and mobilization functions but also functions of Marxist-Leninist-Stalinist exegesis and conceptualization. Party magazines became such institutions. The circle of authors of the party’s periodicals in the 1950s was carefully selected on the basis of principles of partisanship and ideological competence, their ability to self-censor and to develop creatively the ideas of Marxism-Leninism while remaining within rigid boundaries of the existing logical-semantic matrix of ideological articles. Complicated procedure of approvals, discussions and editing of texts led to the emergence of a «collective» author, who ensured the high quality of ideological articles, in terms of performing a function of political exegesis. At the same time, such a «collective» author guaranteed personal security both for a particular author, reducing the degree of his personal responsibility for the possible ideological «flaws» and for the Editorial board that published articles corresponding to «the party line».

Scientific journals of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SB RAS) play a notable role in the scientific communication system. They appear to be both a “regional research product” and a significant part of the whole system of academic journals. However, they have not yet been studied by researchers as an independent object. The reform of Russian science is currently under way. Modern methods of scientific research and criteria for staff performance evaluation are discussed. Therefore, it is useful to consider the experience of creation of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SBRAS) and one of its aspects - publication of scientific journals. Historical research on the activities of SBRAS served as the basis and helped to understand the special conditions under which the construction of the Siberian Scientific Center began. Organization of SBRAS was intended to accelerate the development of regional natural resources. The archival documents and materials of the academic press helped better understand the complete picture of circumstances under which a unique scientific Akademgorodok environment was formed. Analysis of the SB RAS scientific journals has given the material to describe their characteristics. Bibliographic indices and library catalogs allowed making up a “family tree” of Siberian academic journals. The paper identifies specific features of the Siberian journals, traces the quantitative and qualitative evolution of journals, and shows how these characteristics promoted the development of scientific research in SB RAS. Therefore the author has achieved the goal of reconstructing the history of the Siberian academic journals, identifying their specific features and factors that contributed to their formation.

The article is devoted to comparative analysis of reforms in the book business in Russia during the Soviet and post-Soviet eras. The author proves that reforms of the 1920-1930s were undertaken in order to form and strengthen a “vertical” (centralized) system of state management for the book publishing and book trade. Partial transfer of power from the government to the regional level during the period of the “new economic policy” was a retreat from the mainstream. Along with the structures of Gosizdat of RSFSR which had a monopoly on book business, state-run co-operative societies appeared in the province - the joint-stock association “Sibkrayizdat”in Siberia and the joint-stock company “Knizhnoye delo” in the Russian Far-East. They represented a regional “vertical of power” and contained some elements of “horizontal” system of developing the country’s book culture, oriented towards the creation of territorial societies of publishers and bibliophiles. However, the next reform of 1930-1931 swept away all attempts to weaken the “vertical”, having established rigid centralization in the Russian book business. Territorial systems of book business were transformed into local branches of a single monopolistic structure - Union of State Publishing Houses of RSFSR (OGIZ) and its book trading division (KOGIZ). Further on they transfomed into regional publishing houses and book trading units of the USSR Goskomizdat system. Reforms of the 1990-2000s, on the contrary, destroyed the “vertical of power” in the Russian book business, having determined as a priority the “horizontal” ties between book traders whose motley mosaic build up today territorial societies of members of book industry. “Horizontal” scheme of book business development is aimed at better satisfying growing and increasingly varied demands of modern society in the regions of Russia. Rudiments of the “vertical” system that remained in a form of provincial and territorial state publishing houses in the 1990s-2000s suffered a breakup one by one.

The article analyzes trends of development of independent press in the Siberian - Far Eastern region in the XXI century. The author formulates definition of modern samizdat - unregistered, self-initiated, noncommercial editions of small circulation issued by authors or at their expense; identifies reasons for which Samizdat remains in demand in the Post-Soviet uncensored society. It has been determined that the main reason for preserving “self-publishing” under new political conditions is dissatisfaction with the existing mass media. Modern samizdat is an alternative to the professional press. The unregistered amateur periodical press compensates information gaps resulting from commercialization of publishing business and official mass media’s focus on the values of popular and market culture. The new millennium witnessed transformation of the amateur press thematic range and substantial characteristics of amateur editions. The modern unregistered press remains a means of expressing oppositional opinions. The independent periodical press of various ideological orientations exists due to the lack of steady national political identity. However in the XXI century the politicized samizdat lost its dominant position. The modern amateur press is, first of all, a form of alternative culture making activities. The main function of the independent periodical press is to embody creative self-realization of Siberians and Far Easterners. In the XXI century the literary samizdat is in most demand, as its area of distribution in the region is very wide. The main forms of the Siberian - Far Eastern independent literary periodical press are author’s magazines and anthologies of amateur literary associations. Subcultural editions elucidating new directions of the underground - fan and art-zines have gained wide popularity. Samizdat technology has been improved, the modern amateur press is distributed by means of computer and typographical equipment.

The article studies the features of the Russian media preferences, the place and role of reading in their structure, causes of transformations of contemporary social practices over the past quarter of the century. The use of formal logic and comparative-historical methods of research helped to identify cause-and-effect chains in studying the changes in attitudes toward the book and reading in correlation with logic and specificity of processes of radical modification of the Russian media consumption at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. Technological transformation of the means for transferring information contributed to forming digital communications’ segment of the expanding media space, influenced the media interactions of contemporaries. The article provides a brief categorial analysis of the concept “media consumption”, considers different interpretations of this definition as the use of information products, type of human activities, lifestyle, social and communication phenomenon. Based on the analysis of the results of all-Russian and local case studies as well as statistical data the author shows dynamics and peculiarities of media space changes, trends of media activity and contemporaries’ preferences; determines differences in media consumption of urban and rural residents; explains transformations of media preferences of contemporaries in the last quarter of the century. The article shows the role of media consumption in the life of a man and society, changes in its essential characteristics over the last quarter of the century (duration, intensity, dynamism); investigates the individual / group involvement in the process of selection and mastering media platforms and content. The author examines peculiarities of modifications of reading in the structure of media consumption of the Russians at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries; analyzes different viewpoints on the role of reading as a form of cultural activity of the population, its place in the modern media landscape. Reasons for decline of reading the traditional printed media and involvement of the population into electronic social practices are revealed. Forecasts of further development of traditional printed and audiovisual component of media space, reading and media consumption modifications are given on the basis of the assessment of recent trends in media consumption.

The article examines the national system of historical and cultural heritage protection in the Republic of Tyva. The relevance of the topic is due to the changes taking place at the present stage. These changes are caused by the creation of regional investment platforms in the mining industry, intensive development of land for the construction of industrial facilities and residential buildings. Due to the fact that the territory of Tuva historically belonged to the world of nomadic civilization, the main type of historical heritage include the archaeological sites, buildings and monuments of monumental art mainly of the XX century. The author provides historical data about the legal regulation of the state protection of monuments of history and culture, as well as the objects of archaeological heritage of Tyva. The State body, Committee for the Protection of Monuments of History and Culture in the Republic of Tyva, was established in 1992 as an institution subordinate to the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tyva, and as an executive body in 2008. In the first decade of the XXI century, the system of the State Protection of Cultural Heritage Objects (CHO) was meant to be a single system of executive bodies throughout the territory of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Tuva. This system was supposed to include the federal body for CHO protection, authorized bodies in the field of CHO protection, executive authorities of the Republic of Tuva, as well as municipal administration. Nowadays it is necessary to solve the problems inherited from the Soviet period concerning the historical and cultural heritage preservation, primarily archaeological objects due to the active and extensive economic development of the Republic. As of January 1, 2016 there are 955 objects of cultural heritage in the Republic of Tuva. Much of work on CHO registration was conducted during the numerous scientific expeditions organized by the academic institutions of the Soviet Union. In the late XX and early XXI centuries, two archaeological expeditions from St. Petersburg (Institute for the History of Material Culture of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the State Hermitage) were held. Monuments of history and culture are represented by the buildings and monuments created in the first half of the XX century, given the history of Tyva , its traditional type of farming and nomadic herding. Nevertheless, modern Tuvians preserved their traditions and ancestor worship, respectful attitude to the past, which leaves space for hope that cultural heritage in the territory of Tyva will persist for years to come.

The article discusses the daily life of the representatives of the clergy in the diocesan period in the history of Orthodoxy in Yakutia. The purpose of this article is to identify the common and specific features in the everyday life of the clergy. The research methodology includes the principle of specificity, when the clergy’s routine is studied taking into account definition of time and place; historicism, which considers the daily life of clergy in its development; consistency, which implies that the provincial clergy lived their lives in accordance with the spiritual laws of the Empire, and the principle of reliance upon historical sources. The latter principle implies the introduction into scientific circulation of unpublished archival documents and the historiographical tradition that takes into account the results of earlier scientific studies. In the course of the study the author points to a small number of the clergy of Yakutia; characterizes its age capacity and role in the history of Yakutia. Admission of locals to the clerical ranks, payment of wages from the state budget and local sources resulted in the dynastic succession of clergy that had emerged early in the XX century. Differences in financial situation depending on the place of service and position resulted from the opportunity to receive spiritual education and to increase its level. Specifics of the clergy’s daily life arouse due to the wealthy life of townspeople and integrative role of the rural parish clergy in Yakutia. The study shows that standard of living of urban parishes corresponded to a general welfare of the wealthy urban residents whereas the priests of the rural churches lived in a relative poverty, although along with performing official duties they provided integration of rural population into the Russian civilization space.

The study of the public service is multidisciplinary in nature and includes works of legal specialists and historians. Legal studies mostly deal with a theoretical aspect of the problem, defining the public service as a legal category. Historical studies on the problem are fragmented with sel ected aspects being considered in the context of all-Russian system of power. It is relevant to study the public service in the sphere of national education taking into account the regional specificities in Asian Russia. The legislative basis of the public service was created in the era of Peter I. The introduced regulations for promotion in rank were based on a principle of impeccable service to the state. At the beginning of the XIX century the public service became dependant on education. The growing number of schools and demand for educators led to a certain derogation fr om the public service rules in the Ministry of National Enlightenment which made them more democratic as compared to other ministries. To meet staffing needs, the authorities fixed service obligations for the education institutions graduates who had studied under full State care. In suburban areas special and greatest benefits, that set preferential service terms, were introduced. Special benefits were established for the IX and upper ranks officials in Eastern Siberia that implied additional financial aid, high salary, and a long leave. The greatest privileges were envisaged for Yakutia and Turukhansk region. However this policy was meant to address only the secondary education. While providing favorable conditions for secondary school teachers, the authorities “forgot” about the elementary school teachers. The low living standard, social vulnerability, lack of professional growth possibilities put the teachers to the bottom of a social ladder. The government’s policy inconsistency in the field of social welfare of teachers led to the split of the teaching community in the revolution of 1917.

During the February revolution of 1917 Soviets of Workers’, Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Deputies were brought to the political forefront of Russia and became an alternative to the Provisional Government. Spontaneously arisen Soviets created associations at the level of districts, provinces and regions, forming a single system within the country. Creation of District Bureau of Soviets of Workers’, Soldiers’ and Peasants’ Deputies of Eastern Siberia was driven by an objective need. Separate Soviets could not independently resolve critical political affairs put forward by revolution; they needed a governing body. The paper endeavors to address the issues of creation of the District Bureau’s mechanism, its membership, structure, directions and results of work, relations with the subordinate Soviets and other elements of post-February political system. Under conditions of revolutionary time when the structure of old political system was destroyed, Bureau was forced to assume functions of both administrative authority and local government body. The Bureau’s work made it possible to arrange a stable living situation in the district. However the Bureau being overwhelmed with minor executive matters could not always be responsive to changes in political climate in the district. This led to strong disagreement with the Soviets on a number of essential problems. The Bureau’s political position was determined by its leadership where the leading role belonged to Mensheviks and Socialists Revolutionaries. On the eve of October Revolution of 1917 the Bureau considered the organization of elections to the Constituent Assembly as its main objective while the transfer of power to Soviets seemed unacceptable at that time. Being a governing body, the Bureau helped to ensure the viability of local Soviets, having allowed them to remain in the political arena and to retain the status of a power alternative. Creation of the District Bureau became an important step to consolidation of all Siberian Soviets.

The goal of the present article is to study and throw light upon the activities of industrial enterprises and trade organizations of Soviet foreign colony in Tuva. With this goal in mind, the author used a systematic method to analyze the scarce publications of predecessors along with the new documentary and other sources. This allowed tracing the origin of industrial enterprises and trade organizations of Soviet colonists in Tuva (in all their specific manifestations and in synthesis of the general and the particular) and to define the main result of their activities. At the beginning of 1922, the Soviet citizens in Tuva established a Russian Self-Administering Workers’ Colony (RSWC). Living in a foreign environment and suffering from the lack of financial support from the USSR, the executive committee of the colony began its economic activities with the development of gold mining and creation of simple production workshops. At the early stage, these activities had a limited economic benefit: revenues from gold mining did not go to the budget of the colony and were not used for its development; the workshops were also unprofitable due to the lack of skilled workers, funds and technical facilities. The establishment of joint Soviet-Tuvan organization-Mining Department of Tuvan Bank- helped to make the gold mining cost effective. Industrial enterprises became the first business organizations of the RSWS to be transferred into the jurisdiction of the Tuvan People’s Republic. The first and the following steps of handicraft and trading organizations were more successful and economically feasible. The study undertaken in this article showed that while addressing the economic issues the Soviet colonists strengthened Tuva’s economy. These processes could have been be more successful had they not been hampered by the priority of political sphere over the economy.

The article attempts to reconstruct the reasons of the militarization of Tomsk railway in 1933. The author analyzes the reconstitution of the railway management structure, caused by the militarization; studies criteria used by militarization commissions to sel ect railwaymen for paramilitary duties. The study revealed that hostile class elements were first to be disqualified and not all railwaymen became paramilitary. Political Department ensured militarization by conducting purges on the railroad and in the administration expelling all undesirable elements. The author considers impact of militarization on labor discipline trying to reveal the real extent of the units’ militarization. It is noted that the heads of production units were appointed commanders of divisions and units. Classes with personnel contained components of elementary military training. The article discusses the legal aspects of hiring and firing workers in connection with militarization. Workers, who left the service without the consent of direct supervisors were equated to deserters and were subject to a court martial. It is concluded that the trials of violators of discipline instead of strengthening the unity of command made the command staff less proactive. It is revealed that the influx of people fr om rural areas due to collectivization was one of the main reasons for deterioration of discipline among the railwaymen in the early 1930s. Adaptation of peasants to industrial work was slow; attempts to reduce the rate of accidents by methods could not give quick results.