Eastern Murman: Social Aspects of Colonization in the Materials of Expeditions and Travel Notes of the 2nd Half of the 19th — Early 20th Centuries

Abstract

The article discusses several social aspects of the colonization of Eastern Murman (everyday life, daily work, religious beliefs, schooling, leisure). The historiographic analysis made it possible to identify the specifics of the local (everyday) history of the Kola Peninsula colonization. In the works of A.P. Engelhardt, A.G. Slezskinsky, S.Yu. Witte, S.O. Makarov, V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, K.K. Sluchevsky, D.N. Ostrovsky, A.K. Engelmeyer, V.I. Manotskov, A.K. Sidensner, N.V. Romanov, “Materials on the statistical study of Murman” and other sources provide facts from personal and family biography, the circumstances of resettlement to the Murmansk coast, living conditions, home furnishings, especially the education and upbringing of children. The descriptions of the migrants’ lifestyle recorded in the materials of expeditions and travel notes allow us to conclude that the colonists’ socio-cultural adaptation in Eastern Murman, the creation of a human habitat, was primarily associated with the development of the institution of the family. In general, the history of colonization is a unique experience in the development of the Arctic — one of the most productive in world history, which is vital for understanding the Russian North’s geography.

Keywords

• arctic
• kola north
• eastern murman