Unauthorized Resettlement and Walking of the Mordovian Peasants of the Volga Region to the State Lands of Siberia in the 19th – Early 20th Centuries

Abstract

The article examines unauthorized resettlements and walking among the Mordovians of the Volga region in the 19th – early 20th centuries, as well as the influence exerted by government policies on this process in order to steer it in the “right direction”. I discuss the main reasons for unauthorized resettlement and walking, the numbers, and the participation of authorities in solving problems that arose during the resettlement. Drawing on the analysis of archival and literary sources, I argue that the unauthorized relocation of the Mordovians from the Volga region, which began in 1838 and lasted until the end of the 19th century, was numerically insignificant and was associated with the government’s policy aimed at reducing the number of unauthorized people who arrived in Siberia. Walking during the period of the 1860–80s developed poorly and did not reach a greater extent until the early 1890s. The principal constraints were that, on the one hand, walkers were considered socially dangerous and were persecuted by the authorities; on the other hand, not every peasant could agree to leave his family and engage in public affairs, despite some funding from future immigrants. The main issues that walkers tried to solve were the search for new territories for resettlement and the choice of land suitable for agriculture. Throughout the existence of this phenomenon, the family form of walking prevailed.