The North of Western Siberia in the context of Russian modernization of the XIX – early XX centuries

Abstract

Territorial variability is an immanent sign of modernization. Modernization processes in the peripheral regions of the state, such as the North of Western Siberia in the XIX – early XX centuries, had its own peculiarities. Low number of population and unfavorable climatic conditions seriously obstructed the development of the region. Nevertheless, the North of Western Siberia was influenced by nationwide modernization processes. The gradual rationalization of administrative division, the differentiation of central and local authorities’ competences, the unification of management structure, the limitation of the opportunities for the authorities’ outrage, the division of legal proceedings and administration, dating back to the early XVIII century, were obvious manifestations of modernization. Modernization promoted the intensification of economic integration of the region into the market structure of the country and the development of commodity-money relations. Both the Russian settlers and the Izhma-Zyrians, who had appeared in Berezovsky district in the first half of the XIX century, contributed to the introduction of commodity-monetary mechanisms into agriculture of the region. Growing interest in peripheral regions of the state as sources of a variety of resources for a growing economy has led to a significant activation of practical geographical research in Northern Eurasia, particularly in the Ob North, from the beginning of the XIX century. The intensification of missionary activity in the Ob North since the middle of the XIX century, accompanied by the spread of education and the growth of Russian influence in the field of material culture of the local population, became a sign of modernization.