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Pesterev V.


SIBERIAN FRONTIER: THE TERRITORY OF FEAR

Abstract:

The militarization of the early settlement structure of the Russian colony in western Siberia (1580s – early 1660s) is perceived as a natural reaction to external (emanating from steppe nomads) and internal (emanating from aboriginal people) threats. The siege mentality with elements of war hysteria of the colonial population are clearly visible in the administrative correspondence and in theory should confirm a high level of threat. However, a core of the Russian colony in Siberia (to the east up to Tara) in the first century of its existence had experienced only a little more than 20 attacks of nomads, whose target was usually the indigenous population. A serious threat from the aboriginal people also hardly existed. Moreover, numerous indirect signs (a deplorable state of the fortifications of Siberian strongholds, a chronic staff shortage in the fortress garrisons, an acute deficit of weapons and ammunition, etc.) indicate the strong exaggeration of serious military threat to the Russian colony at that time. Thus, the siege mentality of the colonial population acquires evident features of pathological phenomenon. The paper will explore the causes of these reactions and responses, examining in particular the effect of rumour and delayed communications.

Pesterev V. Siberian frontier: the territory of fear // XVIth International Conference of Historical Geographers, 2015 (Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), London, 5 to 10 July 2015): Programme book. — London: Royal Geographical Society (with IBG), 2015. — С. 236.


Full paper and presentation:

My presentation focuses on a problem of the causes of militarization of the early settlement structure of the Russian colony in western Siberia (in the period from 1580s to early 1660s). Usually it is seen as a result of natural reaction to external (emanating from steppe nomads) and internal (emanating from aboriginal people) threats. The administrative correspondence of that time was filled with signs of siege mentality with elements of war hysteria of the colonial population. Each line of the documents was riddled with fear. In theory, it would have to confirm the high level of threat. However, a core of the Russian colony in Siberia (to the east up to Tara) in the first decades of its existence had experienced only a little more than 20 attacks of nomads. At that, their target was usually the indigenous population. A serious threat from the aboriginal people also hardly existed. They had neither the possibility nor the reasons for it. Moreover, numerous indirect signs (a deplorable state of the fortifications of Siberian strongholds, a chronic staff shortage in the fortress garrisons, an acute deficit of weapons and ammunition, a lack of a comprehensive early warning system, etc.) indicate the strong exaggeration of serious military threat to the Russian colony at that time.
If a serious threat was absent, what people were scared? And what is the cause of such reaction?
I think the reason for this phenomenon is that the Russian colony in Siberia fell into a peculiar information trap. The fact that the most important information about emergency events in the colony were chronically late. We know many cases when the alarming news about the actions of nomads or indigenous people reached the governing bodies of the colony with a delay of a few days or more. It is obvious that in these circumstances the colonial administration could not adequately, and most importantly — on time, to respond to emerging threats.
Not being able to react to these events in real time, the colonial administration created a peculiar strategy of anticipatory reflection. The colony began to respond to potentially dangerous situations in advance. It was done by means of rumors ("vesti" in Russian), which became the basis of information exchange within the colony and in its relations with the mother country. Rumors of any possible aggressive actions on the part of the nomads or indigenous people, regardless of their credibility, became the object of attention of the colonial administration. The uncritical perception of such information often led to "splashes" ("vspolokhi" in Russian) when alarming news, usually unfounded, caused real panic among the colonial population. Here are some examples of this kind.
In the summer of 1612 it was made a denunciation (probably false) of a conspiracy of the indigenous people of some northern districts of west Siberia against the Russian colonial people. Despite the baseless allegations fear of revolt forced Russian colonial administration with extreme brutality to suppress this imaginary danger.
In the summer of 1625 several petitions on behalf of the Russian colonists contained disturbing information about the aggressive intentions of the aboriginal people a few districts. The falsity of this information has been demonstrated subsequent verification.
In 1645 the colony was gripped by rumors that the hundred thousand troops of Kalmyks preparing for an attack on Russian Siberia. Despite the improbability of these rumors, the colony was gripped by panic.
Sometimes panic come from nowhere, leading to quite a curious cases. In one an ordinary fight was taken as raid of nomads. In another, it was a herd of horses.
Overreaction to imaginary threats led to the fact that the Siberian colony was indeed caught in the information trap: search for threats was consistently successful, and the fear increasingly determined the behavior of the population of the colony and the colonial administration.
Later, after a series of Bashkir revolts (since the early 1660s) and the emergence of the Kazakh danger (since 1690s), the reaction of the Russian colonial population had become more correspond to the level of real threats.

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