On the Issue of the Early Stage of Russian Colonization of the Inya River Basin at the Late 17th and Early 18th Centuries

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the colonization of the Inya River in the Kuznetsk Basin, associated with the migration of the Russian population in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. The historical, social, geographical, and foreign policy factors influencing the formation of a network of Russian rural settlements are analyzed. The authors use a comprehensive historical and archaeological scientific method, involving narrative, cartographic and archaeological sources, as well as introducing new documents into academic discourse, dedicated to the first settlers at the Meret River mouth.

The source base of the article consisted of the first revision in the Tomsk and Kuznetsk districts data, information from historical cartography (“Drawing Book of Siberia,” “Chorographic Drawing Book of Siberia” by S. U. Remizov, “Land Map of the Tomsk and Kuznetsk Districts” by V. Shishkov), and materials obtained through archaeological research.

Special attention is paid to the influence of the Inya River location as a boundary between Russian and Teleut territories on the process of its settlement by Russian migrants. The prospects of using archaeological methods in the study of settlement complexes that disappeared at an early stage of their existence and are not reflected in written sources and historical cartography on the example of the identified archaeological heritage site “Zakhar-Dubrovo I settlement” are assessed.

The arrival of the Russian centralized state marked the beginning of a new phase in the region's history. The process of settling the Inya River basin was characterized by both state-sponsored and free colonization. During the first third of the 18th century, more than 50 Russian rural settlements were founded in the area. The social composition of the first settlers consisted of “serving people”, serfs, “wanderers,” and exiles. At the same time, there was a migration of people who, for various reasons, wanted to avoid contact with the Russian state. This process is poorly reflected in the documents and materials of historical cartography, giving rise to the phenomenon of “hidden” migration.