Home – Home – Jornals – Humanitarian sciences in Siberia 2017 number

The objective of the article is to review the biographic information and administrative activities of the commanders of military units of the Siberian fortified defense line, to research their contribution to ensuring the secure environment for the peoples of the Southern Siberia and adjacent territories as well as to the economic and cultural development of the region. The author has shown that the majority of the Siberian defense lines commanders was made by the descendants of immigrants from the former German lands, representatives of Baltic-German nobility who switched to the Russian service during the Great Northern War and successfully integrated into the Russian multi-ethnic society. By virtue of their origin, education, special training they were not only good performers of government policies, but also agents and leaders of many European innovations in Siberia being its “cultural avant-garde” Y.M. Lotman. Due to their knowledge and experience gained in military campaigns and during the construction of fortifications in the Caucasus, the descendants of the former German knights and other military experts were successfully solving complex tasks while participating in the process of the unified system of Russian defensive lines’ creation and made a significant contribution to the economic and cultural development of the border area and Siberia in general. Their activity significantly intensified exploration and colonization of the vast region, facilitated safe living conditions there, and also led to the advanced production methods, new management culture, literacy, religious tolerance among the local population and, thus strengthening Russia’s influence on the southern borders of Siberia and adjacent territories.