Colonization of the steppe regions of Western Siberia in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries: historiographical tradition and research practices

In this paper, the author attempts to disclose the factors and circumstances of formation, development and evolution of the histo-riographical tradition in the light of Imperial experience of the colonization of the steppe regions of Western Siberia in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. The choice of the chronological parameters of the study fully corresponds to the historical context formed the basic research practices of the Russian and Kazakh national historiography aimed at understanding the logic and results of the incorporation of the steppe regions of Western Siberia into the Governor-Generalship of the Steppes. It was during this period when the new challenges of colonization of peripheral areas of the Siberian region appeared, so the process of agrarian colonization, and scientific examination of territories in the sphere of geopolitical and economic interests of the Russian Empire were initiated. The characteristic feature of the historiographical tradition is supposed to be a regular extension of the range of actors included in the discussion of Imperial policy regarding areas of the Steppe, content of interaction patterns, and relationships of local communities in the studied area. Involving the officials, leaders of the Western Siberia branch of the Russian Geographical Society, representatives of resettlement agencies contributed to the "route" of the colonization theme of the steppe regions beyond journalistic polemics research work and gave the reasoning about the Imperial aspect of the development of the region, the character of research reflection. Participation of representatives of national intelligence in discussions of colonization of the Steppe outlined the broad perspectives and opportunities for scientific debates, thereby increasing the degree of representativeness of research practices. Thus, in spite of the strong influence of positivist (descriptive-narrative) schemes, there was a lot of flexibility, receptivity to new approaches and research practices in the study of substantive aspects of Imperial colonization of the Governor-Generalship of the Steppes. The appeal of Russian historians to the theoretical developments of the followers of "the new history of the Empire", the recognition of the complexities of the colonizing process, taking into account the mosaic structure of populations and complex patterns of interrelations between the Central and regional authorities, imply combining structural formulas of communications of historiographical schools of Russia and Kazakhstan, which creates preconditions for taking the research problem to a fundamentally different level of quality.

Keywords

Authors

References