Exile and penal labor in Siberia and Russian Far East (second half of the XIX - early XX centuries) in the works of Englishand German-language researchers

The aim of research is to analyze key works of Anglo-American and German scholars dealing with the pre-revolutionary history of exile and penal labor in Siberia and Russian Far East, and to determine these authors'' contribution to the study of the topic. It is established that Western historians pay considerable attention to the period of the second half of the XIX - early XX centuries, when Siberia's penitentiary system underwent a crisis and subsequent reforms initiated by the government. In the West since the time when G.Kennan's works were published Siberia has been viewed mostly as a region settled and colonized by exiles and penal labourers. Despite the heightened public interest in these issues there were few special works written by professional Western historians. As a rule until the late 1970s in the English-language scholarship some aspects of the topic were addressed either in comprehensive studies (T. Armstrong etc.) or in biographical works devoted to the well-known figures of revolutionary movement (E. Carr, F.B. Randall etc.). In the 1980s-early 1990s the British historian Alan Wood was the only representative of English-language historiography who focused in his studies on the history of Siberian exile. The contemporary Anglo-American and German historiography is marked by the growing interest of researchers in the stated topic, as is evidenced by dissertations, articles and monographs written by A. Gentes, Ph. Desind, K. Turton, A. Schrader, S. Badcock, D. Beer, Sh. Corrado, D. Dahlmann et al. It is concluded that Western scholars contribute significantly to the study of problems related to the penitentiary system of pre-revolutionary Siberia and Far East. Actively working in Russian archives they expand the range of historical sources available for further studies. Using the theoretical and methodological tools of “the new social and cultural history” (including such interdisciplinary research fields as “historical penology”, gender studies etc.) the Anglo-American and German scholars attempt at revising established concepts and offer their own interpretations and evaluations of the state policy in enforcement of sentences; trace changing public perceptions of exile and penal labor; characterize distinctive features of application of punishment and status of various categories of exiles in Siberia. What brings Western researchers closer to the Russian historiography is their heightened interest in historical-legal issues, history of criminal exile and penal labor as well as their desire to show the inseparable links of these penitentiary institutions with processes of social-political, socio-cultural and economic development of Asiatic Russia.

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