Unauthorized Fishing Settlements of Migrants in Kalmyk Lands, Mid-18th and 19th Centuries

Introduction. The article aims at analyzing the state policy regarding unauthorized fishing settlements of migrants on the Kalmyk pasturesin the period between the second half of the 18th and 19th cc. to better understand the processes of historical development of the Caspian territories of Kalmykia and of the Russian Caspian region. Accordingly, the lines of research were as follows: to examine the causes for unauthorized settlements and the dynamics of the state policies in the region, to study the migrants (settlers) in terms of the irethnicity, social class, and occupation, as well as their relationship with the authorities. Data and methods. The study was based on materials of the Russian State Historical Archives, the State Archives of the Astrakhan Region, the National Archives of the Republic of Kalmykia, and published sources. Both historical-genetic and historical-comparative methods were employed for the analysis of the data. Results. The author investigated the history of each of the unauthorized fishing settlement, the migrants’ backgrounds in terms of ethnicity, social class, and occupation, and the government’s policies in relation to the migrants. The study shows that such settlements were related to the growth of fishing industry in the region and, partly, to the government’s military and policing practices on the coast of the Caspian Sea. The authorities began to deal seriously with the problem of unauthorized fishing settlements on the Kalmyk pastures from the mid-19thcentury, with the start of transformation in the fishing industry. At the turn of the 20th century, the settlements were removed from the control of the Kalmyk authorities and were legalized, then, the process of their administrative-territorial and land structuring was started to finally complete in the second decade of the 20thcentury. Conclusions. The policy of the authorities in relation to unauthorized fishing settlements on the Kalmyk pastures differed from that in other areas of the Kalmyk steppe. In Mochagi, the authorities did not insist on the removal of such unauthorized settlements and negotiated with the settlers, and only if the latter rejected the proposed solutions for staying on the Kalmyk pastures, the question about their eviction was raised. Such policies on the problem of settlements on the coastal strip of the Caspian Sea, namely in Mochagi, were justified by the interests of the fishing industry to prevent any harmful effect in case of removal of villages and their inhabitants.

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