The article gives a brief history of the Altai Cossacks of the XVIII - early XX centuries. The main demographic, ethno-confessional and socio-economic characteristics of the local group of the military estate, which developed in Western Siberia on the southern borders of Russia and played a significant role in the social and political history of the state, are presented.

Keywords: Siberian Cossacks, Biysk line, ethnosocial history of Altai.

The Altai Cossacks have always been part of the Siberian Cossack Host. Cossack detachments entered the territory of Altai in the first quarter of the XVIII century. in order to fulfill government tasks for the colonization of the region and its inclusion in the Russian state. On March 15, 1708, the Kuznetsk voivode Mikhail Ovtsyn received a decree of Peter I on the construction of the Bikatun prison to collect the yasach treasury and "to settle ploughed peasants" [Ivonin and Kolupaev, 2008, p. 24]. At the beginning of the XVIII century, the first fortified points appeared in the Altai - Beloyarsk and Biya fortresses. To protect the mines and Demidov factories, Cossack hundreds from Tara and Kuznetsk were alternately sent to the region. After the Demidov factories were taken over by the Cabinet (1747) and in connection with the construction of the defensive line, the Cossacks began to settle in the region; in 1751, there were 1,337 of them in the Altai. The Cossacks served together with dragoons, soldiers and other military units. Their duties included: long-range reconnaissance, border protection (guards and patrols), performing courier mail and convoy duties, ensuring the security of embassies, carrying out fortress and construction works, harvesting timber, coal, hay, engaging in state agriculture, performing customs service, etc.

By 1764, the Kolyvano-Kuznetsk defensive line was created with a length of 749 km, it went along the foothills of the Altai from the Shulbinsky outpost to the city of Kuznetsk and consisted of 9 fortresses and 53 redoubts. In 1764-1771, the Biya Cossack line was built in the Altai, which, together with the Presnogorkovskaya and Irtysh lines, was designed to protect Russian lands in the south of Western Siberia. In 1808, the Cossack settlements in the Altai became part of the Siberian Linear Cossack Army. In 1848, the section of the Kuznetsk - Biysk line was abolished, one part of the Cossacks - 3,030 male souls-was turned into state peasants, the other part-as part of the 10th Cossack regiment was transferred to Semirechye in connection with the formation of the Semirechensk Cossack Army in 1867 [Isaev, 2004, pp. 4-6].

At the beginning of the XX century. The Biysk line was a chain of settlements that stretched for the 389th century from Ust-Kamenogorsk to Biysk. As a military-administrative and economic unit, the Biysk Line was part of the 3rd Military Division of the Siberian Cossack Army with its center in Ust-Kamenogorsk. Through Ust-Kamenogorsk, communication was carried out with Omsk, where the main directorate of the Siberian Cossack Army, the military ataman, the military chancellery and the military economic board were located.

The Biysk line was located within the Biysk and Zmeinogorsky uyezds of the Altai ROC. Tomsk Province (since June 17, 1917, Altai Province). It consisted of three villages: Charyshskaya (Charysh village settlement, Sosnovsky, Tigiretsky, Tulatinsky, Yarovskaya settlements), Antonevskaya (Antonyevsky village settlement, Maralevsky, Nikolaevsky, Slyudensky, Tersky, Smolensky settlements) and Verkh-Aleyskaya (Verkh-Aley village settlement, Andreevsky, Beloretsky, Bobrovsky, Verkh-Aleyskaya).Ubinsky, Klyuchevsky, Platovsky, Sekisovsky) [Ibid., p. 33].

Cossacks of the Biya line made up 6.9% of the Cossack population of the Siberian Army and 21.8% of the 3rd Military Division [Report..., 1916, p. 10]. In the structure of the Altai population in 1917, their share was insignificant - 0.5 %.

In 19 localities of the Biysk line, according to the agricultural census of 1917, there were-

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13,490 people (6,757 men and 6,733 women) were killed. Cossacks (military class) made up the overwhelming majority of the population - 89.67 %, or 12,096 people (6,043 men and 6,053 women). The non-military population was small - 1,394 people (714 men and 680 women), or 10.3 % of the total population of the Biya line (calculated from: TSKAF AK. F. 233. Op. 1a. D 52 - 54, 292, 619, 632, 633, 777 - 784; Op. 1b. D. 123 - 129, 452-454).

Marriage was one of the basic precepts of the military order of life. Altai Cossacks from the second half of the XIX century, as a rule, did not enter into kinship with peasants and representatives of other estates. In 1879, out of 6,733 people (3,233 men and 3,500 women) of the Biya Cossack population, 3,350 people (49.75 %) were married, 2,901 people (43.1 %) were unmarried and 482 people (7.15 %) were widowers and widows (GAOO. f. 67 Op. 1. d. 1305. L. 308-310). Among the Cossacks, small families predominated, consisting of a married couple (sometimes also elderly parents-in-law) and children. On average, a Cossack family consisted of 6 people.

By 1917, in each settlement of the Biya line, extensive Cossack clans were formed, including families with the same ancestral roots. So, in the village of Charyshskaya, 41 families (out of 300) bore the surname Serebrennikovs, in the village of Serebrennikov. Tigiretsky 38 families (out of 134) - Bazhenovs, in the village of Terskaya 28 families (out of 90) - Vyazigins, in the village. Yarovsky 20 families (out of 102) - Shpigalsky, in the village of Antonevskaya 26 families-Mokin and 24 families - Ugryumov (out of 194).

The Altai Cossacks were characterized by a high socio-economic status of women. This was especially evident in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Cossacks actively mastered various types of economic activities. In 1901, 824 women and 922 men were engaged in agricultural work in the village of Charyshskaya, 310 and 285 were engaged in beekeeping, respectively, and gardening was a purely female occupation (864 people).

According to the national composition of the Cossacks, the Biya line was distinguished from other regions of the Siberian army by a rare uniformity: 99.83 % (12,075 people) were Russians, 0.1 % (12 people) were Kazakhs, and 0.07 % (9 people) were Ukrainians. Among the Cossacks, old-timers absolutely predominated (the census included all those who settled in the region before 1861) - 97.4 % (1,1782 people).

The entire Cossack population was Orthodox. In the village of Charyshskaya there was a church of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, Antonevskaya - the Church of the Holy Venerable Fathers Anthony and Theodosius, Verkh-Aleyskaya - the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker [Documents on History..., 1997, pp. 384, 392, 397].

Since the XVIII century, the Cossacks settled down and mastered the expanses of the Altai. By the beginning of the 20th century, the Cossacks of the region were united into 2,100 farms. On average, there were 6 people per household, but in some cases more. So, in the village. Terskom and 61-year-old Cossack Ivan Yerofeyevich Kazantsev lived with his wife, brother, 4 sons, 4 daughters - in-law, 3 grandchildren, 6 granddaughters and an employee-a total of 21 people (TSKAF AK. F. 233. Op. 1a. D.633. L. 67).

The welfare of Cossack families grew slowly. So, in the village. Tulatinsky (village of Charyshskaya) families that were separated in 1916 had 3 - 4 horses and 3 cows on their farms, in 1913 - 7 and 10, respectively, in 1910 - 10 and 13, respectively (calculated from: (Ibid. d. 779 - 780)).

The main branch of the Altai Cossack economy was cattle breeding. The choice in its favor was explained by the historical traditions of the economic activity of the Cossacks, the peculiarities of military service (the Cossack was forced to lead a semi-sedentary lifestyle) and the natural and climatic conditions of the region, which, on the one hand, made it difficult to engage in agriculture, and on the other, due to the abundance of hayfields and pasture spaces, favored cattle breeding.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the role of cattle breeding in the economy of the Cossacks increased even more. In many Cossack villages and villages began to actively engage in breeding dairy cattle. In the village of Charyshskaya in the farm of 44-year-old Cossack Lyubov Ivanovna Shestakova there were 142 heads of cattle (Ibid. d. 781. L. 11). In the Cossack farms of Altai, there were 18,861 heads of cattle, an average of 9 heads per yard (for peasants - 5). Public creameries and artels were created with the establishment of consumer shops.

The first cooperatives on the Biyskaya line appeared in 1905 in the village of Verkh-Aleyskaya (masloartel) and the village. Sekisovsky (credit company). By 1917, the cooperative covered all the settlements of the Biysk line. There were 17 creameries in the Cossack settlements, including 13 artisanal and 4 private ones [Altay-Tomsk part of Siberia..., 1927, p. 99, 111, 121].

Specialists in cheese and butter production from Switzerland were invited to the Biysk line to set up butter production. In the village of Antonevskaya, brothers Christian and David Lerger worked at a private cheese factory, and in the village of Nikolaevskaya, Yakov Ivanovich Witver and Yakov Yakovlevich Lenshin (TSKAF AK. F. 233. Op. 1a. D. 52. L. 115-116; D. 292. L. 9, 49). In 1917, the Antonevsky creamery processed 65,000 tons of dairy products. moloka settlement, Charyshsky - 84,676 p. (Ibid. f. 55. Op. 1. d. 335. L. 676-677, 698).

Traditionally, horse breeding was an important branch of the Cossack economy. The agricultural census of 1917 recorded in the Cossack farms

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12,191 horses - an average of 6 horses per Cossack yard (for peasants - 4). The largest number of horses was owned by the Cossacks of the village. Yarovsky Mikhail Ivanovich Kuimov and Makar Stepanovich Mameev -29 and 30 goals, respectively (Ibid. f. 233. Op. 1a. D. 784. L. 56, 66).

The Cossack population of the Biysk line was provided with horses better than others in the Siberian army. In the 3rd military department, which was a recognized leader in the development of horse breeding (75 thousand horses out of 137.5 thousand in the Cossack farms of the army), there were 143 horses per 100 male souls. In the case of the Biya Cossacks, this indicator was significantly higher - 202 horses per 100 male souls (Korshunov, 1994, p. 141).

In the Cossack farms there were also sheep (7,857 heads), goats (556), pigs (2,840). The greatest attention was paid to sheep breeding. On average, there were 3.7 sheep per Cossack farm, which was lower than the average Gubernia norm of 5.5 sheep per farm of the rural population. The largest sheep breeder was considered a Cossack village. Tulatinsky Dmitry Ivanovich Streltsov: he owned 50 sheep [Isaev, 2004, p. 49].

Agriculture was one of the most important occupations of the Biysk Cossacks, although it was inferior in economic importance to cattle breeding and horse breeding. The Cossacks owned 445,830. 85 dessiatines of land, mostly in hilly-steppe and mountain-steppe regions. In the direct use of 2,100 Cossack farms there were 28,793. 75 dessiatines. arable land. The rate of shower allotment was different: in the village of Antonevskaya-12-18 dessiatines, Charyshskaya-5-10 dessiatines, Verkh-Aleyskaya-4-10 dessiatines. In general, in the Biya line, the average rate of per capita allotment was 9.2 dessiatines for arable land and 3.6 dessiatines for mown land. (for rural residents-7.2 dessiatines).

The Cossacks were well provided with arable land, and the mowing land necessary for the development of cattle breeding and horse breeding was not enough. Of the 2,100 Cossack farms, 505 (24.1 %) rented 3,019 dessiatines of mown land, while only 223 farms (10.6%) resorted to renting arable land (743.95 dessiatines). The main part of the arable land of the Biya line Cossacks - 20,118. 06 dessiatines (69.9%) - was fallow land, 1,119. 71 dessiatines. (3.9 %) was under fallow and only 7,555. 98 dessiatines (26.2 %) were under crops.

The traditional form of Cossack land use - the fallow system-was preserved in the Altai for quite a long time due to the abundance of land. The vastness of arable land did not require any special innovations in processing technologies, although the technical equipment of Cossack farms was quite high. For 100 dessiatines of crops in Western Siberia, there were 10.1 single-plough plows, and 17.7 for the Biya line Cossacks. The most advanced was the village of Antonevskaya. 46.79 % (3535 dessiatines) of all sown areas of the Cossacks were concentrated here. The farms of this village were much better equipped with agricultural machinery than others.

The Cossacks sowed spring wheat, oats, barley, flax, sunflower, millet, potatoes, hemp, winter and spring rye, buckwheat, peas, melons, winter wheat, tobacco, ginger and annual herbs. The main agricultural crops in the Cossack farms were spring wheat (57.6 % of the sown area) and oats (26.35%).

Various types of crafts were widely used in the Cossack farms of the Biysk line. Men most often chose beekeeping, shoemaking, carpentry, blacksmithing and carriage trades, while women chose beekeeping and sewing. Among the Cossacks, one could meet creamers, saddlers, hunters, fishermen, tailors, sawmakers, carpenters, potters, saddlers, coopers, pimokats, degtyars, etc. The greatest attention in the Cossack villages was paid to beekeeping. Cossack beekeepers usually followed the old technologies - bees were kept in decks. More progressive framework beekeeping spread slowly. This was explained by the reluctance of the Cossacks to abandon their previous traditions, as well as the lack of specialists. In 1917, there were 206 apiaries in the settlements of the village (47.25 % of the total number on the Biysk line). The agricultural census of 1917 recorded 436 apiaries in the Cossack farms of the Biya line, which included 8,380 beehives, but only 759 (9 %) of them were frame beehives [Altaisk-Tomsk part of Siberia..., 1927, pp. 91, 111, 121].

In the economy and everyday life, the Cossacks were guided by traditions, but attached great importance to technical innovations. The Cossack population had a high level of literacy. In the age group of 8 years and older, 63.4% of men and 17.6% of women were literate (23.5% of men and 14.6% of women were literate among rural residents of Altai). There were literate people of both sexes per 100 farms: 177 Cossacks and 90 rural residents. In the Cossack environment, the practice of universal education was introduced earlier than anywhere else. In 1910, after completing a trip to the villages of the 3rd military Department, the military ataman E. O. Shmit gave instructions to introduce compulsory education in the lands of the Siberian Cossack Army (TSKAF AK. F. 216. Op. 1. D. 99. L. 14).

In 1915, there were 188 schools in the Siberian Army, where more than 9 thousand children studied. The army spent 40,136 rubles (14% of military expenses) on the training unit, and the villages spent 19,806 rubles. (10 % of village expenses). In secondary and higher educational institutions

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These Cossack children were trained partly on military funds. Almost every settlement had Cossack schools. Schools were opened in some villages, and their graduates had the opportunity to enter educational institutions in Siberian cities [Isaev, 2004, p. 37].

By the beginning of the XX century, the processes of social differentiation in the Cossack environment intensified. According to the materials of the agricultural census of 1917, poor farms in the settlements of the Biya line accounted for 23.5 % (493 farms), middle peasants - 30.4 % (639 farms), rich - 46.1 % (968 farms). Although the stratification of the Cossacks of the Altai Province was less significant in comparison with the rural population, whose poor farms accounted for 47-48 %, there was an active politicization of the inhabitants of the Biysk line.

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the Cossacks have become more actively involved in the performance of military-police functions. Their participation in the suppression of anti-government protests worsened the already difficult relations with the peasants, especially with the settlers, who envied the vast arable land, the established way of life, and the privileges of the Cossacks. This confrontation predetermined the political position of the Altai Cossacks in the subsequent events - the October Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War.

In 1904-1905 Altai Cossacks took part in the Russo-Japanese war. Heavy trials fell to the lot of the Altai Cossacks in the First World War. 1,184 Cossacks were mobilized from the Biya line (every tenth in the Siberian Cossack Army). The Cossacks who left for the service represented 987 farms - almost half of the total number of Cossack farms. Demographic disparities predetermined a decline in labor productivity and commodity returns of farms, as the hard, mostly manual labor of the farmer fell on the shoulders of teenagers and women. However, the Cossack farms maintained a high margin of safety, which made it possible to endure all social and economic difficulties.

During the years of socio-political transformations, the majority of the Cossacks opposed the Soviet government, for which they were subjected to the most severe repressions and for many years fell into the category of politically unreliable groups of the population. The rehabilitation processes that unfolded in the 1990s contributed to the revival of the cultural and historical traditions of the Siberian Cossacks, which now plays an increasingly active role in the socio-political life of Russia.

List of literature

Altai-Tomsk part of Siberia according to the agricultural census of 1917-Tomsk: Krasnoe Znamya, 1927. - 215 p.

Documents on the history of churches and faiths in the Altai Territory. - Barnaul: Upr. arh. dela adm. Altai. kraya Publ., 1997, 408 p. (in Russian)

Ivonin A. R., Kolupaev D. V. Istoriya Altaiskogo kazachestva [History of the Altai Cossacks]. Altai Cossacks in the XVIII-XIX centuries. Barnaul: Altai Press House, 2008, 168 p. (in Russian)

Isaev V. V. Cossacks of the Biysk line in the revolution and Civil War. Barnaul: Alt. State University Publ., 2004. -283 p. + 24 p. incl.

Korshunov B. V. Sravnitel'nyj ekonomicheskij obzor voennykh otdelov Sibirskogo kazachego vozy pri predeem Pervoi mirovoi voiny [Comparative economic review of military departments of the Siberian Cossack Army on the eve of the First World War]. Tomsk: Publishing House of the Tomsk State University, 1994, pp. 139-142.

Report on the state of the Siberian Cossack Army for 1915-Omsk, 1916. - Part II (civil). - 179 p.

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1. Equestrian classes of the 3rd Siberian Cossack Regiment on the parade ground outside the city. Zaisan. 1910 IAOO photo fund.

The law of the Russian Empire stated: "The male population of the Siberian Cossack Army, as it has long been called entirely to the sacred duty of protecting the throne and the Fatherland, is subject, without distinction of condition, to military service "(cit. by: [Shuldyakov V. A. The death of the Siberian Cossack army. 1917-1920. - Moscow: ZAO "Tsentrpoligraf", 2004. - Book I.-P. 24]. The service personnel of the Cossacks included people of 18 ages and was divided into three categories: preparatory (20-year-olds), drill (21 - 32 years) and reserve (33 - 37 years). At the age of 38, the Cossack retired, was excluded from the service and enlisted in the military militia (38-47 years old), from which he was called up as necessary.

2. Solemn presentation of the jubilee banner to the 3rd Siberian Cossack Regiment. The banner is received by the regiment commander, military Sergeant Mikhailov. Zaisan. 1910 IAOO.

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3. The commander of the 3rd Siberian Cossack Regiment, military sergeant Mikhailov, inspects a Cossack post on the border with China. 1910 IAOO photo fund.

Altai Cossacks served in the 3rd Siberian Cossack Regiment, which guarded the border of Russia with China. Since 1872, the regiment controlled a section of the border north of Semirechye, from Tarbagatai through the Zaisansky Gate and Southern Altai almost to Tuva. The distance between the extreme Altai and Tarbagatai posts in different years was 400-700 km, and the length of the siding line in 1892-1893 reached 1 thousand km (1,042 km).

4. Headquarters of the 4th Siberian Cossack Regiment. October 1, 1916 In the second row in the center is senior constable Fyodor Stepanovich Potanin. From the family archive of Olga Vladimirovna Evstigneeva, Barnaul.

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5. Siberian Cossack. Early XX century Photo materials of the department of traditional Cossack culture of AKTSNTID, Barnaul.

The old Cossacks were a special pride of the Altai villages, peculiar guardians of Cossack traditions and were highly respected. They were asked for advice in case of conflict situations, making fateful decisions. During the Civil War, 50 - 60-year-old Cossacks joined the village self-protection units, showing an example of devotion to military duty.

6. A group of the oldest Cossacks of one of the villages of the Siberian Cossack host. Early XX century IAOO photo fund.

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7. Watering of Cossack horses of the 3rd Siberian Cossack regiment in the river Dzheminike on the outskirts of Zaisan. 1910 Photo materials of the department of traditional Cossack culture of AKTSNTID.

The Cossack villages of the Biysk line were located in favorable places for living. The availability of water sources, arable land, and extensive meadows made it possible to conduct successful economic activities. All Cossack villages were built according to a certain plan. In the center there were administrative buildings, grain stores, commercial and industrial establishments, and a church. Cossack houses stood in neat rows. Household yards were taken out of the house. Everything was kept clean and tidy.

8. The Cossack family. Altai. Early XX century Photo materials of the department of traditional Cossack culture of AKTSNTID.

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9. Classes at the Cossack school. Altai. Early XX century Photo materials of the department of traditional Cossack culture of AKTSNTID.

Great importance was attached to the upbringing of a soldier and citizen in the Cossack environment. In Altai, among 8-14 - year-olds, students from Cossack families accounted for 34 %, rural residents-15.1 %. By 19197, the share of students on the Biya line reached 4.8 %, and among peasants this figure was 2.4 %.

10. Training of Cossack schoolboys in formation. Early XX century Photo fund of the pre-revolutionary period of IAEO.

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11. Senior constable of the 4th Siberian Cossack Regiment Fyodor Stepanovich Potanin with his sister Anna (left) and his wife. 1915 Photo from the family archive of O. V. Evstigneeva, Barnaul.

12. Cossacks of the village of Charyshskaya. 1912 Photo materials of the department of traditional Cossack culture of the AKTSNTID.

13. Before being sent to the front. A Cossack family. Altai. 1914 Photo materials of the department of traditional Cossack culture of the AKTSNTID.

At the end of the XIX - beginning of the XX century, large Cossack families, embodying the connection of several generations, began to split up. But patriarchal principles were still strictly observed in the Cossack environment. During the First World War, family traditions were put to a severe test. In August 1914, 70 families were left without a single breadwinner in the village of Charyshskaya. The history of the 20th century changed many traditional values of the Cossacks.

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14. Communications team of the 8th Siberian Cossack Regiment. 1915 Photo materials of the department of traditional Cossack culture of AKTSNTID.

In the First World War, the Siberian Cossacks fielded 9 cavalry regiments, artillery and reserve divisions, 3 separate hundreds, a Guards fifty and a reserve artillery platoon-a total of approx. 11.5 thousand people. Every tenth Cossack was mobilized. The revolution, Civil War and repressions of the 1930s undermined the socio-cultural and economic foundations of the military class, but the Cossacks preserved themselves, preserved their historical memory and traditions.

15. 8th Siberian Cossack Regiment on the Western Front. 1915 Photo materials of the department of traditional Cossack culture of AKTSNTID.

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