RUSSIAN PEASANTS IN THE ALEXANDROPOL DISTRICT: EMERGENCE, ORGANIZATION OF COMMUNAL LIFE, AND FORMS OF LAND TENURE FROM THE NINETEENTH TO THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY

Abstract

The objective of this study is to examine the emergence of Russian peasants in the Alexandropol district of the Erivan province, as well as their communal life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The study of Russian ethnic groups in foreign environments presents several challenges. One significant question is whether to preserve or alter certain aspects of migrants’ traditional way of life. In new surroundings, some traditions may change, while others may disappear. The significance of this work lies in the examination of local groups of Russians residing in a different ethnic environment. This prompts inquiry into the nature of cultural and economic interplay between Russians and the local populace. The study of cultural and domestic interactions between different ethnic communities has become a significant area of focus in modern historiography as nationalities continue to come closer together. This field of study holds scientific importance and provides practical knowledge.

To ensure a comprehensive review, it is important to consider factors such as the number of settlers, duration of residence, settlement features, cultural affinity with the local population, and other relevant factors.

This paper examines the migration of Russian peasants to Alexandropol district and their economic and social development as they adapted to new natural, socioeconomic, and political conditions.

In the literature produced prior to the revolution, the issues of interest to us were not adequately addressed. Some information on the history of Russian settlements can be found in articles by ethnographer S. Maximov and historian K. Borozdin.¹

Small historical and ethnographic descriptions of the Russian settlers in Eastern Armenia can be found in local periodicals in the form of articles, travel notes and correspondence. These works, descriptive in their content, are valuable because their authors observed the life of Russian peasants directly. For example, S. Bunyatov, a priest, lived among Russian peasants for five years and wrote on the basis of his personal impressions.²

The publications on Russian settlers contained in the Memorial Books of the Erivan Province are of some value.³

During the Soviet era, the study of the Russian population of Eastern Armenia began only in the 1960s and was mainly devoted to the religious study of the sectarians of Transcaucasia.⁴

In recent years, historical works devoted to the issues of tsarism’s resettlement policy toward the Russian peasants of Eastern Armenia have appeared. A. Haityan, along with other issues, tried to trace the process of the formation of Russian villages in Eastern Armenia.⁵

The monograph by D. Ismail-Zadeh also deserves attention. The author gives a general characterization of the economic and social life of the Russian peasants of Transcaucasia, but the issues of interest to us are reflected only in a general way.⁶

Thus, in the works of both pre-revolutionary and Soviet authors, the issues of studying Russian peasants in Eastern Armenia and, in particular, in Alexandrolop district, have not the subject of a special study. This study intends to fill the existing gaps on the subject.

This paper draws extensively on the archival documents of the National Archives of Armenia, many of which have been introduced for the first time in this study. The documents contain a wealth of information on the history of Russian resettlement in Transcaucasia, the policy of the authorities toward them, relations between Russians and native Armenians, and data on the state of agriculture, including crops and livestock numbers. It is imperative to approach these documents with a critical lens, as they were compiled by officials and reflect the government’s views on the settlers and their role in the new region.

1 Maksimov 1861; Borozdin 1891.

2 Bunyatov 1898; Bunyatov 1902.

3 Pamyatnaya knizhka Erivanskoy gubernii na 1892g., Pamyatnaya knizhka Erivanskoy gubernii na 1904g. 1903.

4 Kozlova 1966; Klibanov 1965.

5 Aytyan 1989.

6 Ismail-Zade 1982.