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| From Catherine the Great’s 1763 manifesto, the first paragraphs describing the “register of lands in Russia that are free and suitable for population.” |
Yesterday, the 22nd of July, was the anniversary of Empress Catherine II’s manifesto inviting foreigners to her Russian Empire. It is sometimes fondly referred to as “Manifesto Day” by the descendants of the Germans who took her up on her offer.
I have published a translation of the full text in the past. You can read it here. Or, if you are interesting in seeing the original Russian text as it is recorded in Russia law books, you can read it here. It starts in the second column.
One thing that German and English translations of the manifesto do not include is the register, or list, of places where Catherine suggested had good land and would be suitable places to settle. The translators mark it with an asterisk (*) but do not include the text of the register itself.
I. We allow all foreigners to enter Our Empire and settle wherever they wish, in all Our Provinces.IV. .... From the following register* it can be seen in which regions of Our Empire free and suitable lands are still available. However, besides those listed, there are many more regions and all kinds of land where We will likewise permit people to settle, just as each one chooses for his best advantage.
* The register lists the areas where the immigrants can be settled.
Of course, now we know where Germans settled. But, where were these places mentioned in the register of the manifesto? And did any Germans ever settle in them?
Let’s have a look.
Note: The imperial Russian unit for land measurement was the desiatin (also dessiatin, desyatina or desyatin). One dessiatin is approximately equal to 2.702 English acres, 10,925 square metres, or 1.09 hectare.
• • • • •
Register of lands in Russia that are free and suitable for population.
1) In the Tobolsk Province near Tobolsk, on the Baraba steppe, where there are several hundred thousand dessiatines of fertile lands for settlement, with forests, rivers, fishing, and fertile lands.
Where exactly was this?
The area described was in Western Siberia, still in Russia today. The Baraba steppe is a lowland that stretches between the Irtysh River near Omsk and the Ob River near Novosibirsk. This territory was on the edge of the empire, with the land to the south, including Omsk, having been added to the Tsardom of Russia between 1715-1720.
Did any Germans settle here?
Eventually, yes. But not until much later. German settlement started in 1861 with a Baltic German colony. It was not until the arrival of the Trans-Siberian railway in the mid-1890s that German settlement picked up, but not much of it was on the lowlands. The Baraba steppe itself did not seem to be a big draw for either initial German settlement in 1763 or for later migration.
Where exactly was this?
Tobolsk was a much larger province than it was at the end of the Russian Empire. The area described was in Western Siberia; today it is in the East Kazakhstan region of Kazakhstan. The Ust-Kyumenegorsk (Ust-Kamenogorsk) fortress was located at the confluence of the Irtysh and Ulba rivers. It was established as a military fort and trading post. The city became the capital of the Semipalatinsk Oblast. Today it is called Oskemen, Kazakhstan. This territory was on the edge of the empire with the land having been added to the Tsardom of Russia between 1715-1720.
Did any Germans settle here?
Eventually, yes. But not until much later. This area did not seem to be a big draw for either initial German settlement in 1763 or for migration. During World War II, there was a POW camp for German prisoners near the city. Today (2025) Germans make up 1.18% of the population of Oskemen.
3) In the Astrakhan Province from Saratov up the Volga River:
In the Razdory tract, where the Karaman River divides into two along its course, near the Telyauzika River, with a fairly arable land, 5478 hayfields, 4,467 dessiatines of firewood and suitable for building yards.
At the Zaumorsky Rvoyka tract, 810 hayfields, 1131 dessiatines of forest.
At the Tishan River, 469 hayfields, 496 dessiatines of forest.
At the Vertubani River, 2,979 hayfields, 3,607 dessiatines of forest suitable for building.
At the Irgiz River, 5,418 hayfields, 2,575 dessiatines of forest.
At the Sanzaleya River, hayfield 2,979, forest 1,711 dessiatines.
At the Berezovka River, hayfield 1,325, forest 1,606 dessiatines.
At the Maly Irgiz River, hayfield 751, forest 712 dessiatines.
Along the smaller Tarlik river, hayfield 3,509, forest 840 dessiatines.
At the the larger Tarlik river, hayfield 4,122, forest 2,118 dessiatines.
Between the rivers of the larger Tarlik and Kamyshev, the gully of hayfields 3,453, forest 1,828 dessiatines.
At the Kamyshev Rivery gully, hayfield 1,751, forest 2,254 dessiatines.
Along the Yeruslan River, there are 1,744 [dessiatines] of meadows, 525 dessiatines of forest.
At the mouth of the lower Yeruslan River, there are 1,770 hayfields, 1,104 dessiatines of forest.
At the Yablony River gully, there are 4,003 dessiatines of hayfields and forests.
And in total, there are more than 70,000 dessiatines of suitable areas for settlement.
Where exactly was this?
The description above is of tracks of land near various waterways up and down from the city of Saratov. The Astrakhan Province was much larger at this point in history. Later it was divided, and the Saratov Province was created. While a few of these I cannot confirm, most are on the right-bank of the Volga River, known as the Wiesenseite, or meadow side, amongst Volga Germans. A few are on the left bank, or Bergseite (mountain side), and a few extend down into today’s Volgograd Oblast, which was part of the larger Astrakhan province.
Did any Germans settle here?
Yes. This was primarily the Volga German settlement region between 29 June 1764 when Dobrinka, the first colony was founded, until 10 September 1941, when all Germans in this area were deported to Siberia and the Kazakh SSR. The Am-Trakt Mennonite Colony was also in this area on the Wiesenseite, founded in 1854.
4) In the Orenburg Province along the Sak-Mara River, forty versts from Orenburg and down the Samara River, from there three hundred versts to the Kaneli River, and below the city of Samara, along the Volga River, to the mouth of the Irgiz River, and up the Irgiz, to a settlement for several thousand families, there are very fertile and profitable lands.
Where exactly was this?
The area described is a swath of land from the Volga River below Samara (north of any Volga German settlements described previously) and directly across to just northwest of Orenburg.
Did any Germans settle here?
Eventually, yes. But not until much later. Mennonites migrated to this area from the Ekaterinoslav and Taurida provinces in Black Sea region and established the Neu-Samara Colony in 1890 and the Oreburg Colony in 1894.
5) In the Belgorod Province, in the Valuysky district, along the Zhuravka, Derkul, Bitka and Oskol rivers, there are several hundred households, free lands with a sufficient number of hayfields, which are also quite suitable for new settlers.
Where exactly was this?
The area described is southeast of the city of Belgorod, Belgorod Oblast, Russia. The town Valuysky is still the district center. The area borders Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine.
Did any Germans settle here?
Yes, eventually, but not very many and much later. I can’t say no because the First General Census of the Russian Empire of 1897 listed 32 self-reported German speakers in the district. Aside from this, no other historical records indicate any German population in this area. No EWZ files. No parish records that I am aware of. If there were only 32 German at the turn of the 20th century, it is unlikely that there were many before that.
Clearly the best described areas for settlement were along the Volga River. Those wanting to immigrate got a good idea of what they were getting into in terms of being near a river and how much of the land was arable and how much was wooded. Even if they were not farmers—and some German immigrants to the Volga region were not farmers but learned to be once they got there—they probably still recognized that this area held the most potential for success.