Obligations of Kalmyks and Activity of the Zargo in the Early 19th Century

Introduction. The paper examines the correspondence between Civil Governor of Astrakhan S. Andreevsky and rulers, landlords of Kalmyk uluses — for an attempted analysis of the Zargo’s activity and common obligations imposed on residents of Astrakhan Governorate in the early nineteenth century. The issue in question remains understudied and needs some newly discovered archival sources be introduced into scholarly circulation. Goals. The study aims to characterize some essential aspects pertaining to fulfillment of obligations by Kalmyk communities and activity of the Zargo court in the early nineteenth century. Materials and methods. The paper focuses on record-keeping material currently housed at the State Archive Astrakhan Oblast and introduced hereby. The study basically employs both general scientific and special historical methods, with particular roles be played by that of systems analysis and the principle of historicism. Results. Our insights into the mentioned correspondence attest to both the sides were seeking to shape some general agenda of concerted practices. However, they were able to achieve consensus only on a number of issues, while others proved somewhat problematic. Conclusions. Special analyses show the then rulers of Kalmyk uluses were wary enough of most questions and proposals articulated by the Russian administration. So, the former voiced disagreements on a variety of facts, namely: lower wages of ethnic Kalmyk salt workers (as compared to those of Russian ones), absence of ethnic Kalmyk officers in Kalmyk frontier squads, arbitrariness of Russian executives in Kalmyk-inhabited lands, etc. The categorical objections of Kalmyk rulers and landlords resulted in that the Governor proposed to compile new regulations for Kalmyks and relocate the Zargo’s headquarters closer to Astrakhan. These are indicative of that Kalmyk elites tended to disapprove the then efforts of Russian authorities aimed at integrating Kalmyk-inhabited territories into the administrative and political system of Russia