"Rich before the first storm": government measures to overcome the effects of severe winters in nomadic societies

10.54398/1818510Х_2023_2_72

Annotation

The importance of the study is conditioned by the geographical placement of the Kalmyk plateau, it’s climate characteristics as well as the main activity of its native inhabitants - active cattle breeding. The purpose of the article is to examine governmental aid, which was directed at overcoming the aftermath of harsh winter periods in the southern nomadic societies using the Kalmyk plateau of Astrahan province as an example. Base material for this article has been sourced from the documents from fund of the Russian historical archive, as well as the national fund of Kalmyk republic. Such documents included reports of ulus trustees, circular orders of the Head trustee of the Kalmyk people, orders of the governor as well as orders of the minister of agriculture and government property. The use of the historical reconstruction has helped determine and classify the methods that were used to aid the elimination of the consequences of a harsh winter as well as the preventative methods set in place to prevent future damage and ensure a growth of the nation’s welfare. At the end of the articles the authors note that while the methods used had positive impact, they did not lead to any big change. The reliance on nomadic, scattered pastoralism remained through the entire time period viewed.

Keywords

• Kalmyk plateau
• Kalmyk people
• nomads
• nomadic society
• wintering of livestock
• climate conditions
• rations supply
• material aid
• loan
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Contribution of the authors

Shurguchieva Yu. S. — development of the research concept, work on identifying sources, preparation of the source text; Goryaev M. S. — analysis of historiography; revision of the text

Acknowledgments

The work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, Project № 22-18-00313 “Transformation of nomadic societies of the South of Russia in the context of natural and factors (XIX – mid XX centuries)” (https://rscf.ru/project/22-18-00313/).

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