External migrations of the border population of the Central Asian outskirts of the Russian Empire and the problem of their citizenship (the 80s of the XIX – early XX century)

The presented article analyzes the discussion of the central and regional authorities of the Russian Empire on the legal status of the border population of the Steppe Region, forced by various circumstances, without obtaining a legally prescribed permit, to make seasonal migrations to the Chinese Empire. The research was based on the materials of the office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of War of the Russian Empire, the Office of the Governor-General of the Steppe, deposited in the Russian State Historical Archive and introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. Among them: interdepartmental correspondence and reports, certificates, conclusions and reports of interdepartmental commissions, instructions developed to regulate the legal status of migrants. Based on the analysis of the research sources, it was revealed that the problem of the legal status of the border Kazakh nomadic population and the settled agricultural population - Dungan and taranche, was associated with the signing in 1881 of the St. Petersburg Treaty between the Russian and Chinese Empires and the subsequent border demarcation between the two states in Central Asia. Due to a whole range of socio-economic reasons, the border population of the Steppe region of the Russian Empire, in violation of the procedure established by law, made the transition to the chapels of the Chinese Empire and remained there for a long period of time. This prompted the Russian authorities to begin addressing the issue of the legal status of this category of the population in the context of the deprivation of their Russian citizenship. The discussion spanned two decades. During it, the causes of migration, the number of migrants, including those who returned, were clarified; the situation with their payment of taxes to the Russian treasury was analyzed; the issues of reallotment of arable and pasture lands to remigrants were resolved. In general, it should be noted that the Russian authorities took a fairly balanced approach to the problem of the legal status of the border population of the Steppe Region and Turkestan, who crossed into the Chinese Empire. The result of a long-term discussion about their legal status was the announced decision of the Government Senate to consider each specific situation separately and the refusal to adopt a regulatory act that deprived the border residents of the Steppe Region and Turkestan who had moved to China of the status of a Russian citizen. The author declares no conflicts of interests.

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