Search

Life and Activities of Poles in Tobolsk in the 60s of the XIX Century in Archival Documents // Tomsk Journal of Linguistics and Anthropology. 2025. Issue 2 (48). P. 120-130

The history of large and small diasporas living on the territory of Russia is part of the country’s history. The article deals with the life and activities of Poles in exile who came to Western Siberia in the 60s of the 19th century and settled there. Particular attention was paid to the characteristics of the Poles who settled in Tobolsk, the capital of Siberia. Identifying the role of exiled Poles in the economic and socio-cultural activities of the city determines the relevance of the study of the material. The novelty of the research is that historical documents from the late 19th century, which are kept in the State Budgetary Educational Institution “State Archives in Tobolsk,” were included in the solution of this question. Documents from funds No. 329 of the Tobolsk Provincial Administration and No. 359 of the Tobolsk Provincial Gendarmerie Administration were analyzed, containing information about Poles’ life and activities of Poles in Tobolsk during the period under study. The aim of the analysis of the archival material was to determine the characteristics of Poles living in Tobolsk in the 1960s and the contribution of Poles to the industrial and economic development of the city. The methodological basis of the scientific study was formed by the principles of the scientific approach to the archival text – systematics and historicism – according to which the historical text is considered a source of diverse, multi-layered information from the point of view of the unity of content and form. In the course of the analysis, it has become clear that the Poles’ contribution to the development of the city and its economic development was considerable. At the end of the 19th century, when a large proportion of the rebels of 1863 did not return to their homeland after an amnesty but stayed in Tobolsk permanently, a Polish diaspora began to form in the city. The Poles who were permitted to work became actively involved and developed science, education, healthcare, culture, and urban development. Documents show that the townspeople were well-disposed towards the Poles in exile, they received allowances and lived in freedom. They assimilated with the local population and left deep traces in distant Siberia: Together with the exiled Poles, their culture penetrated the city – works of art, music, books, and engravings, which had a fruitful influence on the activities of local craftsmen. The creation of an objective, holistic history of our country using the example of the development of its individual territories, such as the province of Tobolsk and the city of Tobolsk in particular, meets the needs of modern society and gives this research relevance

Keywords: political exile, exiles, Tobolsk, Tobolsk province, life of Poles in Tobolsk, contribution to the development of the city