Landownership in the German Colonies of St. Petersburg Governorate from 1765 to 1914

The authors examine the evolution of landownership in the German colonies of St. Petersburg governorate from the second half of the 18th century to the early 20th century. The research is based on the unpublished documents found in the Russian State Historical Archive and the Central State Historica...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Vestnik Rossijskogo universiteta družby narodov. Seriâ Istoriâ Rossii (Print) Vol. 24; no. 3; pp. 317 - 329
Main Authors: Shaidurov, Vladimir N., Kayryak, Anna A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Russian
Published: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University) 30.09.2025
Subjects:
german settlements
land ownership
migration policy
redemption payments
russian germans
ISSN:2312-8674, 2312-8690
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Abstract The authors examine the evolution of landownership in the German colonies of St. Petersburg governorate from the second half of the 18th century to the early 20th century. The research is based on the unpublished documents found in the Russian State Historical Archive and the Central State Historical Archive of St. Petersburg. These materials include: administrative records, interdepartmental correspondence, minutes of colonists’ meetings, petitions from colonists addressed to provincial and central executive bodies, and ownership records. Most of these sources are introduced into scientific use for the first time. The research shows that in the period from 1765 to the 1810s, the St. Petersburg colonies located in close proximity to the capital were primarily established on patrimonial (later appanage) lands, which in the first half of the 19th century were under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet, the Ministry of the Imperial Court, and members of the Imperial family. Until the 1860s, these colonists utilized land allotments. However, the peasant reforms of the 1860s were extended to the German colonies as well, when they were implemented on the same general principles. The redemption payment allowed the Germans to become full owners of their land during the 1870-1890s. However, the implementation of the reforms led to drastic stratification: only homeowners (direct descendants of the first settlers in the male line) received land, while they were in the minority in the colonies. The vast majority of colonists were subsequently left landless. This gave rise to the “land question” in the colonies, which was not resolved in the pre-revolutionary period.
AbstractList The authors examine the evolution of landownership in the German colonies of St. Petersburg governorate from the second half of the 18th century to the early 20th century. The research is based on the unpublished documents found in the Russian State Historical Archive and the Central State Historical Archive of St. Petersburg. These materials include: administrative records, interdepartmental correspondence, minutes of colonists’ meetings, petitions from colonists addressed to provincial and central executive bodies, and ownership records. Most of these sources are introduced into scientific use for the first time. The research shows that in the period from 1765 to the 1810s, the St. Petersburg colonies located in close proximity to the capital were primarily established on patrimonial (later appanage) lands, which in the first half of the 19th century were under the jurisdiction of the Cabinet, the Ministry of the Imperial Court, and members of the Imperial family. Until the 1860s, these colonists utilized land allotments. However, the peasant reforms of the 1860s were extended to the German colonies as well, when they were implemented on the same general principles. The redemption payment allowed the Germans to become full owners of their land during the 1870-1890s. However, the implementation of the reforms led to drastic stratification: only homeowners (direct descendants of the first settlers in the male line) received land, while they were in the minority in the colonies. The vast majority of colonists were subsequently left landless. This gave rise to the “land question” in the colonies, which was not resolved in the pre-revolutionary period.
Author Kayryak, Anna A.
Shaidurov, Vladimir N.
Author_xml – sequence: 1
  givenname: Vladimir N.
  orcidid: 0000-0002-1431-1163
  surname: Shaidurov
  fullname: Shaidurov, Vladimir N.
  organization: Pushkin Leningrad State University
– sequence: 2
  givenname: Anna A.
  orcidid: 0009-0001-2197-1565
  surname: Kayryak
  fullname: Kayryak, Anna A.
  organization: Pushkin Leningrad State University
BookMark eNo90E1LAzEQgOEgCtaP_5CD12gyk0_wIkWrUFBQzyHNztot7aZkV8V_b6viKUNmeA_PCTvsS0-MXSh5CYAWrwAVCG-dFiDBCNACBSonEMIBm_xtgzz8n50-ZufDsJJSgvNgrJywl3nqm_LZUx2W3ZZ3PR-XxGdUN6nn07IufUcDLy1_Hi_5E427u8V7feOz8kG1LzWNxNtaNlw5a_hYuApKn7GjNq0HOv97T9nr3e3L9F7MH2cP05u5yMphEBrAgkdPOivMC0c-pWQWnpRv2xyCM9o1oQGfjZI-BwnWQLYNkTU2A-Ipe_jtNiWt4rZ2m1S_Ykld_Pko9S2mOnZ5TTErjzKRNKFJGq1K0uisLbbaGsIAu9b1byvXMgyV2v-ekvEHPO4Z454x7sEj6IhxBx534PgNCqxyuQ
Cites_doi 10.22363/2312-8674-2020-19-4-810-823
10.24224/2227-1295-2023-12-7-525-542
10.46539/jfs.v8i1.493
ContentType Journal Article
DBID AAYXX
CITATION
DOA
DOI 10.22363/2312-8674-2025-24-3-317-329
DatabaseName CrossRef
DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals (WRLC)
DatabaseTitle CrossRef
DatabaseTitleList CrossRef
Database_xml – sequence: 1
  dbid: DOA
  name: DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
  url: https://www.doaj.org/
  sourceTypes: Open Website
DeliveryMethod fulltext_linktorsrc
Discipline History & Archaeology
EISSN 2312-8690
EndPage 329
ExternalDocumentID oai_doaj_org_article_c1830ae059da4361a054c463f465e392
10_22363_2312_8674_2025_24_3_317_329
GroupedDBID AAYXX
ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS
CITATION
GROUPED_DOAJ
ID FETCH-LOGICAL-c1739-42262838e4c13cb7e8aaa5b8e18ffc997547d9d28c5108c902652c6dee656c233
IEDL.DBID DOA
ISSN 2312-8674
IngestDate Mon Oct 13 19:21:31 EDT 2025
Wed Oct 29 21:21:44 EDT 2025
IsDoiOpenAccess true
IsOpenAccess true
IsPeerReviewed true
IsScholarly true
Issue 3
Language English
Russian
License https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
LinkModel DirectLink
MergedId FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-c1739-42262838e4c13cb7e8aaa5b8e18ffc997547d9d28c5108c902652c6dee656c233
ORCID 0000-0002-1431-1163
0009-0001-2197-1565
OpenAccessLink https://doaj.org/article/c1830ae059da4361a054c463f465e392
PageCount 13
ParticipantIDs doaj_primary_oai_doaj_org_article_c1830ae059da4361a054c463f465e392
crossref_primary_10_22363_2312_8674_2025_24_3_317_329
PublicationCentury 2000
PublicationDate 2025-09-30
PublicationDateYYYYMMDD 2025-09-30
PublicationDate_xml – month: 09
  year: 2025
  text: 2025-09-30
  day: 30
PublicationDecade 2020
PublicationTitle Vestnik Rossijskogo universiteta družby narodov. Seriâ Istoriâ Rossii (Print)
PublicationYear 2025
Publisher Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)
Publisher_xml – name: Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University)
References ref8
ref7
ref9
ref4
ref3
ref6
ref11
ref5
ref10
ref2
ref1
References_xml – ident: ref1
– ident: ref2
– ident: ref4
  doi: 10.22363/2312-8674-2020-19-4-810-823
– ident: ref5
– ident: ref6
– ident: ref7
– ident: ref9
– ident: ref3
  doi: 10.24224/2227-1295-2023-12-7-525-542
– ident: ref8
– ident: ref11
– ident: ref10
  doi: 10.46539/jfs.v8i1.493
SSID ssj0002782560
Score 2.3047028
Snippet The authors examine the evolution of landownership in the German colonies of St. Petersburg governorate from the second half of the 18th century to the early...
SourceID doaj
crossref
SourceType Open Website
Index Database
StartPage 317
SubjectTerms german settlements
land ownership
migration policy
redemption payments
russian germans
Title Landownership in the German Colonies of St. Petersburg Governorate from 1765 to 1914
URI https://doaj.org/article/c1830ae059da4361a054c463f465e392
Volume 24
hasFullText 1
inHoldings 1
isFullTextHit
isPrint
journalDatabaseRights – providerCode: PRVAON
  databaseName: DOAJ Directory of Open Access Journals
  customDbUrl:
  eissn: 2312-8690
  dateEnd: 99991231
  omitProxy: false
  ssIdentifier: ssj0002782560
  issn: 2312-8674
  databaseCode: DOA
  dateStart: 20080101
  isFulltext: true
  titleUrlDefault: https://www.doaj.org/
  providerName: Directory of Open Access Journals
link http://cvtisr.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwrV07SwQxEA5yiNiIT3yT4rBbvU2ySbbUw0chh6CCXcgTtNiTewj-e2eSU6-zsQ27y_LNTOYbMvmGkL7i3DFrY-UDkxVkiFRpmSyEu2N14BHVUPOwCTUa6ZeX9mFp1Bf2hBV54ALchQefG9gILCBYwWVtgWN4IXkSsomQ3HH3BdazVEy9leM0Vq4IA3-BkJdKrJE-9j0zLvnFzyI4CWsqJiq8ZAbRlpnmb35akvHP-eZmk2wsiCK9LD-4RVYm822yW1Q9PukZRclYm8fyfu6Qp3vbBainS1Myfe0o8Dp6i7tuR4fwUAcFMR0n-jg7p7kld4rHK7RM2kUviBQvmtBayYbOxhT12HbJ88310_CuWsxLqHyt8EAXqBSwBR2Fr7l3KmprbeN0rHVKvm1VI1RoA9MeAlH7FsqvhnkZIlhEesb5Hul14y7uEyrb5EOSNVjQi9RI510YDJxwASygozsgzTdK5r3IYhgoJzK6BtE1iK5BdA0ThhtA1wC6B-QKIf15B8Wt8wKY3CxMbv4y-eF_fOSIrGfb59aPY9KbTebxhKz6j9nrdHKavekLufjF2A
linkProvider Directory of Open Access Journals
openUrl ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Landownership+in+the+German+Colonies+of+St.+Petersburg+Governorate+from+1765+to+1914&rft.jtitle=Vestnik+Rossijskogo+universiteta+dru%C5%BEby+narodov.+Seri%C3%A2+Istori%C3%A2+Rossii+%28Print%29&rft.au=Vladimir+N.+Shaidurov&rft.au=Anna+A.+Kayryak&rft.date=2025-09-30&rft.pub=Peoples%E2%80%99+Friendship+University+of+Russia+%28RUDN+University%29&rft.issn=2312-8674&rft.eissn=2312-8690&rft.volume=24&rft.issue=3&rft.spage=317&rft.epage=329&rft_id=info:doi/10.22363%2F2312-8674-2025-24-3-317-329&rft.externalDBID=DOA&rft.externalDocID=oai_doaj_org_article_c1830ae059da4361a054c463f465e392
thumbnail_l http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/lc.gif&issn=2312-8674&client=summon
thumbnail_m http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/mc.gif&issn=2312-8674&client=summon
thumbnail_s http://covers-cdn.summon.serialssolutions.com/index.aspx?isbn=/sc.gif&issn=2312-8674&client=summon