Natural and climatic conditions in 1550-1850 as a risk factor of agricultural development in Western Siberia

The paper deals with the issues of the climaticchanges during the Little Ice Age (1550-1850). The adaptation process of the pioneering Russian population to these conditions and theeconomic aspect are surveyed in the article as well. Against the background of repeated and long-term cooling spells of weather, theLittle Ice Age is only a brief episode. Unlike the more time-distant climatic changes, the course of natural processes may be reconstructed,which is confirmed by witnesses and registered in some historical documents. The reconstruction of the Western Siberia naturalconditions during the Little Ice Age is of particular interest due to the fact that the freezing peak coincided with the intensive colonizationof Siberia by Russian people. The purpose of the research is to study the natural conditions of Western Siberia during the LittleIce Age and highlight the adaptation process of the Russian settlers and the economic aspect of their lives. Complex reconstructions ofthe natural and climatic conditions of Western Siberia during the Little Ice Age have been done for the first time. The freezing effect ofthe Little Ice Age on the development of Western Siberia by Russian population has been characterized as well. The basis for the workincludes the literary sources, Tomsk regional local lore museum materials, scientific sources of the Tobolsk branch of the State archivesof Tyumen region, the Storage centre of the archives fund of the Altai region. The course of the natural processes has been reconstructedby means of witnesses evidence registered in historical documents and indirect information such as isotope, spore and pollen, dendrologyand glaciology data. The results of the research have shown that the major signs of the Little Ice Age in the region are as follows:the decrease of the average annual, summer and, especially, winter air temperatures; the rise of freezing in the northern seas; the rise ofmountain freezing; the fall of temperature of long-term frozen rocks and the decrease of the depth during their seasonal thawing periods;the rise of the amount of winter precipitation in the southern part of Western Siberia; early freezing and late breaking of rivers. The seasonalstructure of the year during the Little Ice Age was not homogeneous and was dependant on the fall in temperature phases. Thus,the natural conditions of the Little Ice Age have had an insignificant impact on the Russian colonization and formation of the economicareas. Social and economic factors proved to be much more important.

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