Interaction of Central and Local Authorities with the Kazakh Population of the Steppe Region in the Field of Land Use in Late ХIХ - Early ХХ Century

Abstract

The authors analyze the interaction between the central and regional authorities and the Kazakhs of the Steppe Region at the turn of the XX century on land use issues. The study reveals the problems in this area caused by the mass migration of the peasant population to the region and the process of land seizure by the state to create resettlement sites. The aim is to reconstruct the regulatory framework for appeals of the Kazakh population to the government bodies on the issues of land use, and the procedure for their consideration and decision-making mechanisms. The source base for the article is: the Kazakhs’ petitions and requests, as well as other office materials - interdepartmental correspondence, minutes of meetings, reports, resolutions and decrees - of the Governing Senate, as well as the Department of Agriculture and State Property of the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, and the regional governments of the Akmola and Semipalatinsk regions of the Governor-Generalship of the Steppes as found in the Russian State Historical Archive. The sources used has allow the authors to develop the stated goal of the article, and they have been able show that the main form of interaction between the central and regional authorities and the Kazakhs of the Steppe Region on land use issues were the Kazakhs’ petitions and requests. If a decision concerning their appeals was negative, the Kazakhs had the right to turn to the Governing Senate, the Ministry of the Interior, and the State Duma. In such cases, there were official proceedings lasting up to several years. The decisions on them were necessarily announced to the plaintiffs. The authors concluded that the Kazakhs actively used the tools provided by legislation to resolve land use issues. Nevertheless, it is revealed that in most cases, the central authorities confirmed the legitimacy of regional administration decisions on the seizure of land plots. However, the significant number of petitions and requests testifies to the fact that in the matters of defending their economic interests the Kazakhs were given equal opportunities with other subjects of the Russian Empire.

Keywords

• ural-irtysh interfluve
• agrarian history
• peasant colonization
• migration movement
• southern frontier