2019, vol. 7, no. 4. Konev A.Yu.

2019, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 760-783

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22378/2313-6197.2019-7-4.760-783

   THE PHENOMENON OF “FOREIGNERS”, YASAK AND GIFT EXCHANGE:
PEOPLES OF THE VOLGA REGION, THE URALS AND SIBERIA IN RUSSIA
IN THE LATE SIXTEENTH AND EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES

A.Yu. Konev 1, 2
1 Federal Research Center
Tyumen Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch
of the Russian Academy of Sciences
Tyumen, Russian Federation
2 Novosibirsk State University
Novosibirsk, Russian Federation
aldimoks@mail.ru

Abstract: Objective: To discuss debated issues relating to the special characteristics of patriality of non-Russian peoples who had been in the sphere of influence of the former Kazan and Siberian Khanates and were included into the system of the Tsardom of Moscovy in the sixteenth century; the classification of this population and the terminology used for its description; the special features of the status of the indigenous peoples classified as “yasak people”; and the role of gift exchange in the process of their integration into the Russian state structure.
Research materials: The article is based on the analysis of previous works on the topic under consideration and on the analysis of published historical sources or sources found in the collections of Russian archives.
Results and novelty of the research: The foreign status of the people and comunities treated as the others within the Russian political space, and their transitional status on the way towards their full allegiance, were described with different socionyms and politonyms in the period under consideration. “Foreigners” was employed as the main term. It is considered as an indicator of changes in the status of various groups of the non-Russian population. The use of words such as “foreigner”, etc. faded away in the official paper work regarding the Volga region and Cis-Urals autochthonous population during the seventeenth century, even while it became widely used if talking about those peoples who settled in the territories from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean. This can be explained by the following factors: the pace and degree of integration of new lands into the Russian state system; the remote character of the new lands; the continuing resistance of Kuchum’s descendants who drew former Turk and Ugric subjects of the Siberian Khan into their orbit; the periodic “shakiness and betrayals” on the part of Siberian yasak payers; their commitment to pagan cults and Islam and the extremely small number of newly baptized people. Reciprocal interactions played a significant part in the process of subjection of the indigenous peoples of the Urals and Siberia. The regional version of the governance model in the form of mutual exchange between the authorities and the subjects was reflected in the formula used in the “word of grand” (zhalovannoe slovo) included in the instructions to the Siberian voivodes of the late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Gifts and rewards to the indigenous population in response to the proffering of gift-furs (pominochnaya ruhlyad’) were an effective means of providing the collection of yasak. In contrast to the Volga region, the yasak in the territories under consideration did not convert into a land tax and retained features of a tribute for the right to reside on the land until the beginning of the eighteenth century.
Thus, special features of the position of different groups who paid yasak were kept. The conditions for establishing a legal connection with the state on the basis of belonging to a certain social stratum were still being formed. As such, this situation does not permit us to consider a heterogeneous mass of “yasak people” in Russia in the seventeenth century as a social estate.

Keywords: allegiance, estate, reciprocal relations, foreigners, yasak people, word of grand, tribute

For citation: Konev A.Yu. The Phenomenon of “Foreigners”, Yasak and Gift Exchange: Peoples of the Volga Region, the Urals and Siberia in Russia in the late sixteenth and early eighteenth centuries. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2019, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 760–783. DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2019-7-4.760-783

REFERENCES

  1. Akty istoricheskie, sobrannye i izdannye Arkheograficheskoy komissiey [Historical Acts Collected and Published by Archaeographic Commission]. Vol. IV. St. Petersburg, 1842. 599 p. (In Russian)
  2. Bakhrushin S.V. Yasak v Sibiri v XVII veke [Yasak in Siberia in the 17th century]. Novosibirsk: Sibkraiizdat Publ., 1927. 35 p. (In Russian)
  3. Vershinin E.V. Russkaya kolonizatsiya Severo-Zapadnoy Sibiri v konets XVI–XVII vv. [Russian Colonization of the North-Western Siberia in the end of the 16th –17th centuries]. Ekaterinburg: Demidovskii institute Publ., 2018. 504 p. (In Russian)
  4. Granicy i markery social’noj stratifikacii v Rossii XVII–XX vv.: vektory issle­dovaniya [Boundaries and Markers of Social Stratification in 17th–20th century Russia: Vectors of Research]. D.A. Redin (ed.). St. Petersburg: Aletejya Publ., 2018. 722 p. (In Russian)
  5. Devis N.Z. Dary, rynok i istoricheskie peremeny: Frantsiya, vek XVI [Gifts, market and historical changes: France, 16th century]. Odissei. Chelovek v istorii=Odysseus. Man in history. 1992. Moscow, 1994. pp. 193–203. (In Russian)
  6. Dmitriev V.D. O yasachnom oblozhenii v Srednem Povolzh’e [On the imposition of yasak in the Middle Volga Region]. Voprosy istorii =Questions of History. 1956, no. 12, pp. 107–115. (In Russian)
  7. Dmitriev V.D. «Tsarskie» nakazy kazanskim voevodam XVII veka [Instructions of the tsar to Kazan voivodes in the 17th century]. Istoriia i kul’tura Chuvashskoi ASSR=History and Culture of the Chuvash ASSR. Is. 3. Cheboksary, 1974. pp. 284–418. (In Russian)
  8. Dmitriev V.D. Nakaz tsaria Mikhaila Fedorovicha tsarevokokshaiskomu voevode V.Ya. Voronovu 1628 g. na upravlenie gorodom i uezdom [The 1628 instruction of tsar Mikhail Fedorovich to Tsaryovokokshaysk voivode V.Ya. Voronov to govern the city and the uyezd]. Mariiskii arkheograficheskii vestnik=Mari Archeographical Herald. 1992, no. 2, pp. 62–71. (In Russian)
  9. Dolgikh B.O. Rodovoy i plemennoy sostav narodov Sibiri v XVII v. [Clan and Tribal Composition of Siberian Peoples in the 17th century]. Moscow: Akademiya nauk SSSR Publ., 1960. 622 p. (In Russian)
  10. Dopolneniya k Aktam istoricheskim, sobrannym i izdannym Arkheograficheskoy komissiey [Amendments to Historical Acts Collected and Published by the Archaeographic Commission]. Vol. IV. St. Petersburg, 1851. 445 p. (In Russian)
  11. Zuev A.S., Ignatkin P.S. «Inozemcy» – «svoi» i «inye»: ponyatijno-termino­logicheskaya klassifikaciya social’no-politicheskogo statusa sibirskih aborigenov v Moskovskom gosudarstve (konec XVI – nachalo XVIII veka) [“Foreigners” – “our own” and “other”: terminological classification for social and political status of Siberian natives in the Moscow state (end of the 16th – beginning of the 18th century)]. Vestnik Novosibirskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya: Istoriya, filologiya=Novosibirsk State University Bulletin. Series: History and Philology. 2016. vol. 15, no. 8, pp. 67–85. (In Russian)
  12. Zuev A.S., Slugina, V.A. «Sluzhite mne gosudaryu svoemu tsaryu i velikomu kniazyu Alekseyu Mikhailovichu». Russkaya prisyaga i shertoval’naya zapis’ serediny XVII v. [“Serve me, as I am your sovereign, your tsar and grand duke Akeksey Mikhailovich”. Russian oath and shert letter in the middle of the 17th century]. Istoricheskii arkhiv=Historical Archive. Moscow, 2011, no. 2, pp. 183–189. (In Russian)
  13. Ignatkin P.S. Sobiratel’no-obobshchaiushchie nazvaniya aborigenov Sibiri v russkom kommunikativnom prostranstve XVI–XVII vv. [Generic and generalized terms for the indigenous Siberian peoples in the Russian communicative space in the 16th–17th centuries]. Istoricheskii ezhegodnik=Historical Yearbook. Is. 7. Novosibirsk: Parallel’ Publ., 2013, pp. 151–168. (In Russian)
  14. Istoriya Sibiri s drevneishikh vremen do nashikh dnei. [History of Siberia from the Ancient Times until Our Days]. Vol. 2. Leningrad: Nauka Publ., 1968. 538 p. (In Russian)
  15. Kamensky A.B. Ot Petra I do Pavla I: reformy v Rossii XVIII veka (opyt celo­stnogo analiza) [From Peter I to Paul I: Reforms in Russia of the eighteenth century (the experience of holistic analysis)]. Moscow: RGGU Publ., 2010. 575 p. (In Russian)
  16. Konev A.Y. Kolonial’nyi diskurs imperskikh klassifikatsii: istoriki o termine «inozemtsy» v otnoshenii narodov Sibiri [The colonial discourse of imperial classifications: historians on the term “foreigners” regarding indigenous peoples of Siberia]. Istoricheskiye, filosofskiye, politicheskiye i yuridicheskiye nauki, kul’turologiya i iskusstvovedeniye. Voprosy teorii i praktiki=Historical, Philosophical, Political and Law Sciences, Cultu­rology and Study of Art. Issues of Theory and Practice. 2014, no. 6(44), pt. 1, pp. 81–86. (In Russian)
  17. Konev A.Y. Dar, dan’ i torgovlia: antropologiia vzaimodeistviia avtokhtonov Sibiri i russkikh v XVII–XIX vv. [Gift, tribute and trade: an anthropology of interaction between the natives of Siberia and the Russians in the 17th–19th centuries]. Etnograficheskoe obozrenie=Ethnographic Review. 2017, no. 1, pp. 43–56. (In Russian)
  18. Kopylov A.N. K voprosu o printsipe yasachnogo oblozheniya i poryadke sbora yasaka v Sibiri (po materialam Tomskogo uezda pervoj treti XVIII v.) [To the question of principle on the imposition of yasak and the order of its collection in Siberia (based on materials of Tomsk uyezd of the first third of the 18th century)]. Izvestiya Sibirskogo otdelenija Akademii nauk SSSR. Seriya: Obshchestvennye nauki=Bulletin of the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Series: Social Science. 1969, no. 1. Is. 1, pp. 58–72. (In Russian)
  19. Minenko N.A. Severo-Zapadnaya Sibir’ v XVIII – pervoj polovine XIX v.: istoriko-etnograficheskiy ocherk [North-Western Siberia in the 18th – the first half of the 19th centuries: A Historical and Ethnographic Essay]. Novosibirsk: Nauka Publ., 1975. 308 p. (In Russian)
  20. Mironov B.N. Upravlenie etnicheskim mnogoobraziem Rossiyskoy imperii [Management of the Ethnic Diversity in the Russian Empire]. St. Petersburg: Dmitrij Bulanin Publ., 2017. 640 p. (In Russian)
  21. Okladnaya kniga Sibiri 1697 goda. [Siberian Accountant Cadastral Book of 1697]. V.E. Bulatov, E.V. Neberekutina (eds). Moscow: Istoricheskiy muzey Publ., 2015. 296 p. (In Russian)
  22. Oparina T.A. Inozemtsy v Rossii XVI–XVII vv. Ocherki istoricheskoy biografii i genealogii [Foreigners in Russia in the 16th –17th centuries. Essays on Historical Biography and Genealogy]. Moscow: Progress-Traditsiya Publ., 2007. 384 p. (In Russian)
  23. Pavlov P.N. Promyslovaya kolonizatsiya Sibiri v XVII v. [Hunting Colonization of Siberia in the 17th century]. Krasnoiarsk: Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical Institute Publ., 1974. (In Russian)
  24. Perkhavko V.B. Predstavleniia ob ustroistve obshchestva v srednevekovoi Rossii [Understanding of the Social Structure in the Medieval Russia]. 1150 let rossiiskoi gosudarstvennosti i kul’tury: Materialy k Obshchemu sobraniiu Rossiiskoi akademii nauk, posviashchennomu Godu rossiiskoi istorii=1150 Years of Russian Statehood and Culture: Materials for the General Meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dedicated to the Year of Russian History. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 2012. pp. 69–75. (In Russian)
  25. Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiyskoy imperii. Sobranie pervoe [Complete Collection of Laws of Russian Empire. The First Collection]. Vol. I. St. Petersburg, 1830. 1075 p. (In Russian)
  26. Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiyskoy imperii. Sobranie pervoe [Complete collection of lows of Russian Empire. Collection. No. 1]. Vol. III. St. Petersburg, 1830. 692 p. (In Russian)
  27. Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiyskoy imperii. Sobranie pervoe [Complete Collection of Laws of Russian Empire. The First Collection]. Vol. VI. St. Petersburg, 1830. 815 p. (In Russian)
  28. Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiyskoy imperii. Sobranie pervoe [Complete Collection of Laws of Russian Empire. The First Collection]. Vol. VII. St. Petersburg, 1830. 922 p. (In Russian)
  29. Puteshestvie chrez Sibir’ ot Tobol’ska do Nerchinska i granic Kitaya russkogo poslannika Nikolaya Spafariya v 1675 godu [Journey through Siberia from Tobolsk to Nerchinsk and the Borders of China by the Russian Envoy Nikolai Spafari in 1675]. St. Petersburg, 1882. 214 p. (In Russian)
  30. Rossiyskaya imperiya: ot istokov do nachala XIX veka. Ocherki sotsial’no-politicheskoi i ekonomicheskoi istorii [The Russian Empire: From the Origins to the beginning of the 19th century. Essays on Social, Political and Economic History]. Moscow: Russkaia panorama Publ., 2011. 880 p. (In Russian)
  31. Russkaya istoricheskaya biblioteka, izdavaemaya Arkheograficheskoi komissiei [Russian Historical Library Published by the Archaeographic Commission]. Vol. 2. St. Petersburg, 1875. (In Russian)
  32. Russkaya istoricheskaya biblioteka, izdavaemaya Arkheograficheskoyu komissieyu [Russian Historical Library Published by the Archaeographic Commission]. Vol. 8. St. Petersburg, 1884. (In Russian)
  33. Samigulov G.Kh. Yasachnye lyudi, inozemcy, yasak i daroobmen – prakticheskie razmyshleniya o teorii [Yasak people, foreigners, yasak and exchange of gifts – practical thinking about a theory]. Zolotoordynskoe obozrenie=Golden Horde Review. 2018, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 342–369. DOI: 10.22378/2313-6197.2018-6-2.342-369 (In Russian)
  34. Slezkin Yu. Arctic Mirrors: Russia and the Small Peoples of the North. Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1994. 456 p (Russian version: Slezkin Yu. Arkticheskie zerkala: Rossiya i malye narody Severa. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 2008. 512 p.)
  35. Slugina V.A. Pravovoe oformlenie rossiyskogo poddanstva sibirskikh narodov v XVI–XVII vv.: Shertoval’nye zapisi i protsedura shertovaniya. Avtoref. diss. … kand. ist. nauk [Legal Registration of the Russian Allegiance of the Siberian Peoples in the 16th–17th centuries: Shert Letters and the Shert Procedure. PhD Abstract]. Novosibirsk, 2017. 27 p. (In Russian)
  36. Tatishchev V.N. Leksikon rossiyskoy istoricheskoy, geograficheskoy, politicheskoy i grazhdanskoy. Part 3 [Russian Historical, Geographical, Political and Civil dictionary. Part 3]. St. Petersburg, 1793. 217 p. (In Russian)
  37. Tishkov V.A., Trepavlov V.V. Sintez narodov i kul’tur v Rossiyskom gosudarstve (vostochnoe napravlenie kolonizatsii v XV–XVIII vekakh) [Synthesis of peoples and cultures in the Russian state (Eastern Colonization in the 15th–18th centuries]. Fundamental’nye problemy arkheologii, antropologii i etnografii Evrazii: K 70-letiiu akademika A.P. Dere­vyanko=Basic Issues in Archaeology, Anthropology and Ethnography of Eurasia: On the Occasion of the A. Derevianko’s 70th birthday. Novosibirsk: Institut arheologii i jetnografii Sibirskogo otdeleniya Rossijskoj akademii nauk Publ., 2013. pp. 580–599. (In Russian)
  38. Trepavlov V.V. «Dobrovol’noe vkhozhdenie v sostav Rossii»: torzhestvennye iubilei i istoricheskaya deistvitel’nost’ [“Voluntary accession to Russia”: solemn anniversaries and historical reality]. Voprosy istorii=Questions of History. 2007, no. 11, pp. 155–163. (In Russian)
  39. Shabley P. Poddanstvo v Aziatskoi Rossii: istoricheskiy smysl i politiko-pravovaia kontseptualizatsiia [Patriality in Asian Russia: historical implication and political and legal conceptualization]. Vestnik Evrazii=Acta Eurasica. 2008, no. 3, pp. 99–122. (In Russian)
  40. Shauro I.G. Vozniknovenie i razvitie instituta poddanstva v Rossii v XVI – nachale XX vv. Avtoref. … diss. kand. iur. nauk [Formation and Development of Allegiance in Russia in the 16th – beginning of the 20th centuries. PhD Abstract]. Moscow, 2013. 27 p. (In Russian)
  41. Shunkov V.I. Yasachnye liudi v Zapadnoy Sibiri XVII v. [Yasak people in Western Siberia in the 17th century]. Sovetskaya Aziya= Soviet Asia. 1930, no. 3–4, pp. 184–197; no. 5–6, pp. 261–271. (In Russian)
  42. Shunkov V.I. Ocherki po istorii kolonizatsii Sibiri v XVII–nachale XVIII vekov [Essays on the History of Colonization of Siberia in the 17th – beginning of the 18th centuries]. Moscow–Leningrad: Akademiya nauk SSSR Publ., 1946. 228 p. (In Russian)
  43. Khodarkovsky M. Russia’s Steppe Frontier: The Making of a Colonial Empire, 1500–1800. Bloomington and Indianapolis, 2002. 290 р.
  44. Kivelson V.A., Suny R.G. Russia’s Empires. New York, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2017. 420 р.
  45. Ssorin-Chaikov N. The Social Life of the State in Subarctic Siberia. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2003. 280 р.

About the author: Aleksey Yu. Konev – Cand. Sci. (History), Leading Researcher Fellow of the Federal Research Center Tyumen Scientific Center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (86, Malygin Str., Tyumen 625000, Russian Federation); Senior Researcher Fellow of the Scientific and Educational Center “Legacy”, Novosibirsk State University (2, Pirogov Str., Novosibirsk 630090, Russian Federation); ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9844-9599, ResearcherID: Q-4887-2017. E-mail: aldimoks@mail.ru

Received  September 18, 2019   Accepted for publication  November 27, 2019
Published Online  December 29, 2019