1763 Manifesto Register of Available Land

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.  

2) In the same Province [Tobolsk], in the jurisdiction of the Ust-Kyumenegorsk fortress, along the Uba, Ulba, Berezovka, Glubokaya rivers and other rivers flowing into them and into the Irtysh River, where there are also very advantageous places for settlement.

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. 

From Saratov down the Volga River:

Below the river Mukhar-Tarlika, with sufficient arable land, for hayfields 6,566, and firewood and forest suitable for building, 94 dessiatines. 

Near the Bezymyannaya River, hayfield 962, forest 609 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. 

Siberia has probably always been a hard sell. Especially very early on to brand new colonists to Russia, I can see how it might be too far away. It was very, very far away (on foot, no trains for another 100 years) from St. Petersburg where they first entered the empire...and where they might exit if they changed their minds wanted to leave. Later settlement in Siberia makes more sense after generations were born in Russia with no prior context of living in their ancestors’ German homelands. I recall a Volga German colleague mentioning that her mother would say to her that Siberia was not Russia. Siberia was Siberia. 

I think that says it all. 

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Last updated 24 July 2025

Volga Germans in EWZ Records

I am supposed to be doing other things right now, but it’s hard to resist looking at a newly discovered cache of data. Maybe it’s not a new discovery, but it is new to me. 

There are over 1,000 entries (a few are duplicates) for Volga Germans in the EWZ indexes in Black Sea German Research database. EWZ records were repatriation applications that ethnic Germans who resettled west back to German controlled land during WWII. Examples of what these records look like are here. Sometimes there are photos, too. BSGR has indexes for the EWZ 50 and EWZ 51 series films and a few other odd films. These are most relevant to Black Sea Germans, but I have always found records for other regions in the indexes that BSGR hosts. I had seen Volga Germans in them before, but today when I looked specifically for locations of births that contained Wolga or Volga, I was surprised at how many there were and wondered what stories lurked within them. Sometimes looking at the family members in each pedigree tells a bit of a migration story. 

Yes, 1,000 is not a lot. More than 846,000 Volga Germans were deported to Soviet regions in Siberia and Central Asia in 1941. But these 1,000 were not. They resettled west. 

Since a long weekend is coming up for some, and summer seems to be the season for family research, I am sharing the raw data now. I will analyze the dataset and write it up when I have a bit more time. 

So much data. So little time. 

Click on the image below to go to the published document. If you are a Google user, you can view/comment/download the spreadsheet here. 

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Last updated 3 July 2025

49705 When Our Ancestors Became "settlers (former colonists)"

Emperor Alexander II, June 1871

49705.—June 4/16. HIGHLY APPROVED RULES FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF SETTLER-OWNERS (FORMER COLONISTS) ESTABLISHED ON STATE LANDS IN THE PROVINCES OF: ST. PETERSBURG, NOVGOROD, SAMARA, SARATOV, VORONEZH, CHERNIGOV, POLTAVA, EKATERINOSLAV, KHERSON AND TAURIDA and in the BESSARABIAN REGION.

• • • • •

Have you ever wondered what the exact words were that ended the special privileges of the German colonists in 1871? 

I did. I had only seen paraphrased bits of it with what sounded like a very German-centered agenda built around it. I likely perpetuated the same agenda in previous things I’ve written. See the end of this post for links. It is always best to view the primary source, so today, on the anniversary of it’s announcement, I offer up the original text translated into English with links to the Russian text.

Within the Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire (1649-1913) in the Presidential Library of the Russian Federation is the original text of a law numbered 49705 that made our German ancestors pack up and immigrate to the Americas. The laws are all typed, scanned, and organized. They cannot be downloaded, nor are they searchable, but if you know what you are looking for—in my case the Old Style date of the law 4 June 1871—it can be relatively easy to find the text. The text is relatively clear but not the highest resolution. 

Below is a rough translation using Google Lens, Google Translate and DeepL with a few language judgement calls from me made along the way. The language is archaic and legal and redundant and goes on for seven long pages. 

Before diving into the text, here are a few things I found interesting and wanted to call out: 

• Germans were not specifically mentioned, but rather, they were included among the “settler-owners (former colonists)” that were the subject of 49705.
• The provinces called out in the title of the law were known to have German colonists among other colonists such as Swiss, Dutch, French, Bulgarian, etc. Notably absent from the list are other provinces with German colonists (not just German populations, like Volhynia, but populations of colonists) in particular none of the provinces in the Caucuses and the Don Host region. The Don had number of Daughter colonies were being established there by colonists from provinces that were mentioned. 
• The German colonists were referred to as “settlers (former colonists)” or “settler-owners (former colonists),” and their colonies (Kolonien) were now villages (Dorfs).
• Seeing in writing that you were suddenly “(former colonists)” along with being equated with peasants (former serfs) must have stung. 
• The Codex of the Colonists was not specifically mentioned as being revoked, but many of the privileges we associate with it and with the manifestos of Catherine II and Alexander I were mentioned. 
• The Provincial Office for Peasant Affairs was a government agency established to oversee the implementation 1861 Emancipation Reform which freed the serfs in Imperial Russia. The Zemstevo Reform of 1864 outlined how the freed serfs/peasants would govern their communities at the province, district, volost levels. With 49705, this form of governance replaced the privileged self-governance the German colonists had always used. 
• Military service is very briefly mentioned in exactly one note indicating that there would be continued freedom from military service for the settlers (former colonists) for 10 years. The Germans clearly read between the lines on that one and understood that it meant that after 10 years, conscription would be mandatory. 
• Throughout, there are references to “quitrent,” which more or less equates to a state tax in the case of the German settlers. According to a Perplexity query, “Quitrent, known as obrok in Russian, was a form of feudal rent paid by peasants to landlords or the state for the right to live on and cultivate land. In the Russian Empire, quitrent could be paid either in cash or in kind (such as grain, livestock, or other products), depending on the agreement and the economic conditions of the region.” 
• A number of other laws are referenced, but, alas, there was no hyperlinking back in 1871. If you are interested in what those say, dig into the collection in the links above to get a fuller perspective than what I offer here. 

49705.—June 4/16. HIGHLY APPROVED RULES FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF SETTLER-OWNERS (FORMER COLONISTS) ESTABLISHED ON STATE LANDS IN THE PROVINCES OF: ST. PETERSBURG, NOVGOROD, SAMARA, SARATOV, VORONEZH, CHERNIGOV, POLTAVA, EKATERINOSLAV, KHERSON AND TAURIDA and in the BESSARABIAN REGION.

I. The draft rules on the settlement of settler-owners (former colonists) settled on state lands in the provinces of St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Samara, Saratov, Voronezh, Chernigov, Poltava, Yekaterinoslav, Kherson and Taurida and in the Bessarabian region, corrected according to the comments of the Main Committee and the State Council, shall be submitted for approval by HIS IMPERIAL MAJESTY.

II. Following the Supreme approval of these rules:

1) Grant the Minister of State Property: to take appropriate measures to implement them and to draw up the necessary instructions and rules for this, by agreement in necessary cases with the relevant Ministers, and on issues exceeding the limits of their authority, to request permission through the Main Committee on the arrangement of rural conditions.

2) To authorize the Minister of State Property to enter, in agreement with the Chief Administrator of the Department of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery and the Minister of Internal Affairs, into a revision of the Charter on foreign colonies (Code of Laws, Vol. XII) and if this Charter contains such rules that will retain their force even when the new rules on former colonists are in effect, then to consider the possibility of transferring these rules to the relevant parts of the Code of Laws with the subsequent cancellation of the special Charter on colonies.

3) To authorize the Ministers of State Property, Internal Affairs and Public Education to enter, by mutual agreement, in the established manner, with a presentation on the transfer to their respective authorities of the responsibilities assigned to the Saratov Office and the Trusteeship Committee of Foreign Settlers for the main church trusteeship and on the procedure for filling vacant parishes, as well as on the arrangement of the educational part in the settlements of settlers (colonists).

4) To authorize the Minister of State Property to make all those changes in the composition of the Saratov Office and the Trusteeship Committee, as well as the institutions subordinate to them, which experience has shown to be necessary for the speedy completion of the affairs remaining under the responsibility of these institutions, so that upon completion of such affairs, all existing special institutions for the management of foreign settlers are abolished.

Resolution. His IMPERIAL MAJESTY has deigned to approve the following opinion in the General Assembly of the State Council, on the draft rules on the arrangement of foreign settlers-owners (former colonists), settled on state lands in the provinces of St. Petersburg, Novgorod, Samara, Saratov, Voronezh, Chernigov, Poltava, Yekaterinoslav, Kherson and Tauride and in the Bessarabian region, and has ordered its execution.

RULES.

I. On the social structure and management of the settler-owners (former colonists) and on their transfer to the jurisdiction of general provincial and district, as well as local institutions for settler affairs.

1. The settler-owners (former colonists), both those under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of State Property and those removed from its jurisdiction on the basis of the Supremely approved, December 17, 1866 (44000), regulation of the Main Committee on the arrangement of rural conditions, are subordinate to the jurisdiction of the general provincial and district, as well as local institutions for settler affairs, on the basis and in the order specified in the following articles.

Note. These rules do not apply to: the colonies of Jewish farmers of the Kherson and Ekaterinoslav provinces and to the Evangelical brothers of the Sarepta colonies, Saratov province, for whom special rules will be issued.

2. The said settlers are included in the composition of the rural inhabitants and, being included in the category of settler-owners, retain, on the grounds specified below, the personal privileges which they had previously enjoyed.

3. Rural communities and volosts of settlers are organized on the basis set forth in Articles 40-45 of the General Regulations on Peasants of February 19, 1861 (36657), and in the regulations supplementing it, subject to the following rules:

a) The currently existing colonist districts each form a separate volost, with the exceptions specified below in paragraphs b.

b) Villages (colonies) that are part of a district located in several counties form separate volosts exist on a county-by-county basis, but they can still maintain the current connection between them in matters of economic management.

c) A village which, due to its distance, cannot be included in a volost formed by other villages, constitutes a separate volost if such a village has about three hundred or more census-eligible souls, or else it is joined to the nearest settler volost.

d) Changes in the composition of volosts formed on the basis of these rules are permitted, with the permission of the provincial authorities, at the request of communities and in compliance with the rules of the General Regulations on Peasants, as well as those established in paragraph b of this article.

4. The public rural and volost administration, as well as the volost court of the settlers, are organized on the basis of Articles 46-129 of the General Regulations on Peasants and additional regulations thereto, subject to the following rules:

a) The Volost Assembly is composed of settlers-householders who belong to the composition of the village community, owning a manorial settlement, with or without field lands, and of all village officials appointed by election. In villages where there is household use of land, settlers who do not own either a homestead or a field allotment (landless) send one elected representative from every ten adult workers to the Assembly.

Note. The settlers enrolled in the community, who, without participating in the use of public lands, acquire plots of land in ownership outside the boundaries of the municipal allotment, as well as the elected representatives of landless settlers (item a), cast their vote at the Assembly on all matters concerning them, such as: on the distribution of state taxes and zemstvo and public duties, in judgments about municipal needs and benefits, in the election of officials and on the disposal of municipal quitrent articles and, in general, land holdings that are in the use of the entire community; but do not take part in matters concerning the lands of the municipal allotment that are in the possession of individual householders.

b) Each category of settlers from among those specified in paragraph a and in the note to it, namely: settlers who are householders, settlers who own only estates, settlers who, without participating in the use of public lands, acquire plots of land in ownership outside the municipal allotment, and finally, elected representatives of landless settlers, are granted, under the chairmanship of the village elder or the person taking his place, the right to gather separately at private meetings, independently of the general Village Assembly, to discuss matters that concern them exclusively, and not the whole communities.

c) If any rural community, due to the large number of its population and commercial and industrial activity, considers it difficult to form a meeting of all householders, then such community may delegate the resolution of certain matters falling under the jurisdiction of the Village Assembly to a small Village Assembly. The Small Village Assembly is composed of officials who are required to attend the Village Assembly, and one elected representative from every ten households. These elected representatives are appointed for one year. The Small Assembly cannot be entrusted with the matters specified in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10 and 17 of Article 51 of the General Regulations on Peasants. Landless settlers send one elected representative to the Small Assembly, and in the case of a smaller number of them, not less than one elected member. 

d) The Village Assembly is subject to the jurisdiction, in addition to the things specified in Article 51 of the General Regulations on Peasants: 1) permission to transfer household plots from one owner to another; 2) disposal of municipal quitrent articles; and 3) management of public forests and plantations.

e) The number of matters for the resolution of which the consent of at least two-thirds of all villages having a vote at the Village Assembly is required, in addition to the subjects specified in Article 54 of the General Regulations on Peasants and in the points of Article 19 of these rules, include: 1) the establishment of a small Volost Assembly and 2) permission to give public lands and income items for quitrent maintenance.

f) In villages where there is household use of land, landless settlers of each village community send one representative from every twenty adult workers to the Volost Assembly. But the number of these representatives should in no case exceed the number of representatives from householders.

g) The number of cases for the resolution of which requires the consent of at least two-thirds of all settlers who have a vote at the Volost Assembly, in addition to the items specified in Article 54 of the General Regulations on Peasants and in paragraphs a and article 19 of these rules, include: 1) establishment of a small Rural Assembly and 2) permission to give public lands and additional

h) In villages where there is household use of land, landless settlers of each village community send one representative from every twenty adult workers to the Volost Assembly. But the number of these representatives should in no case exceed the number of representatives from householders.

i) In a volost consisting of several villages, and with a population of more than 2,000 souls, it is permitted, by the decision of the Volost Council, decided by no less than two-thirds of all the settlers who have a vote at the Assembly, to establish a small Volost Assembly. This assembly is made up of officials who are required to be at the Volost Assembly in accordance with Article 71 of the General Regulations on Peasants and of elected representatives: one from every twenty-five households and one from every fifty adult workers from among the landless settlers. If the communities find that a small Assembly, even of this size, will be too crowded, then, according to their decisions, the Provincial Presence on Peasant Affairs will permit the appointment of representatives to the small Assembly from a greater number of households and, where there are landless people, from a greater number of adult workers, but on the condition that from each village and settlement there should be one representative at the Assembly, and that the number of landless people in the Assembly should not exceed that of householders. Representatives to the small Volost Assembly are replaced each year by a new election. By decision of the general Volost Assembly, all matters subject to this latter may be entrusted to the jurisdiction of the minor Assembly, with the exception of the election of volost officials and judges of the Volost Court.

j) Rural communities in a volost that have common land use, or that constitute a special parish, etc., may, on matters concerning such land ownership, parish, etc., form private Assemblies, under the chairmanship of the Volost Elder or one of his assistants, independently of the general Volost Assemblies. Elected persons for the formation of such private Assemblies are appointed one from every ten households or, at the discretion of the relevant communities, in a smaller number.

k) The following matters are subject to the jurisdiction of the Volost Board, in addition to those specified in Article 89 of the General Regulations on Peasants: 1) orders, based on the decisions of the Volost Assembly, on public lands and quitrent articles belonging to the entire volost or several rural communities within the volost jointly; 2) orders on insurance against fire, hail, etc., and on the issuance of compensation for damage caused; and 3) orders on the turnover of savings and loan banks and the collections arising from these turnovers.

l) The verdicts of the Village and Volost Assemblies, as well as the Volost Courts, are drawn up and all proceedings in public administration are conducted in the Russian language.

m) In the volosts, where the consideration of cases by the Volost Court in the place of the Volost Board may encounter difficulties, the Volost Assembly is given the following powers: either to determine in advance those villages within the volost, where the court is obliged to travel within certain periods to consider cases; or allow the court itself to send special divisions of the court, consisting of at least three judges, on the rights of a volost judge, in those villages in the volost where, due to the accumulation of cases or the convenience of summoning the required persons to the hearing, there is a need for it.

n) The current officials of the District Administrations, with the exception of those who occupy positions subject to abolition as a result of the transformation of these administrations, shall remain in their positions until the expiration of their terms of service and shall retain the salary they receive even if the said positions were given a different name (such as, for example, instead of District Head or District Elder - Volost Elder); but the election of judges to the Volost Courts must begin immediately.

o) In cases where volosts are formed, composed of settlers (former colonists) and other rural inhabitants, as well as in the case of division of current districts into volosts of smaller size, new elections of all officials of the volost administration must be held.

5. Payment by settlers of taxes and monetary fees, as well as the performance of their duties are carried out on the following grounds:

a) The settlers are obliged to pay, on the existing basis, state taxes and, until the issuance of the ownership records, quitrent or land tax for the lands in their use, and also to pay, on a general basis, without further exceptions in this regard, zemstvo and other monetary and in-kind duties. In addition, they are subject to a fee for the maintenance of local institutions for settler affairs, on a general basis for this fee. Likewise, until further notice, those special fees that exist in some colonies, in the form of a public fee, for the maintenance of special colonist administrations, central Russian schools, clergy, etc., shall not be abolished.

Note. Freedom from military service shall be preserved for the settlers, from the date of publication of these rules, for 10 years henceforth. With regard to recruitment service, the legalizations currently in effect for the colonists shall remain in force until the publication of a general law on military service.

b) The calculation of the said fees and the preparation of tax sheets for them are carried out in the manner currently in force, until a special order on this subject is issued.

c) Insurance fees for compensation for fire victims are carried out on the basis of special provisions in force among settlers (former colonists).

d) With regard to the municipal duties of the settlers, the provisions set forth in Articles 177-186 of the General Regulations on Peasants, approved by the Supreme Council on 19 February 1861, and in the supplements thereto, shall apply.

d) The correct fulfillment by the settlers of the following taxes and fees, as well as zemstvo and municipal duties, shall be ensured by the procedure specified in Articles 187-191 of the General Regulations on Peasants, approved by the Supreme Council on 19 February 1861, and the supplementary regulations thereto.

6. Grain reserves belonging to communities, remaining under the control of these communities, are subject to the same rules for their disposal as those established for settler-owners.

7. Civil capitals are provided for the disposal of the relevant communities on the basis established for settler-owners. Accordingly, those capitals that belong to individual rural communities are transferred directly to the civil sums of each community, according to their affiliation; the capitals, which constitute the common property of several communities, are received, as contributions from the latter, into local (volost) credit institutions, on the basis of decisions of the relevant Volost Assemblies (general or private, depending on the ownership of the capital), while maintaining the special purposes assigned to these capitals. The parish funds (orphanages, savings and loan funds, etc.) continue to operate according to the rules currently in force for them.

9. Dismissal of settlers from rural communities and townships, as well as their assignment to them, enrollment in a salary, exclusion from the salary, and transfer from one salary to another, are made according to the procedure established in Articles 130, 132-140, 142, 146 and 147 of the General Statute on Peasants of February 19, 1861 and its supplements, subject to the following rules:

a) Only persons who enjoy, personally and in terms of position, the same rights as those granted to the members of the community to which they are assigned may be assigned to settlement communities.

b) Within ten years from the date of the publication of these rules, settlers may: 1) enroll in another state, remaining, if they wish, in the former state; in this case, acquiring all the rights and advantages of both states, they shall pay all the duties and salaries of both states; 2) having renounced Russian citizenship, to leave Russia, without contributing to the treasury any part of their capital; after the expiration of the period of ten years, they shall be subject to the general laws of the Empire concerning the renunciation of Russian citizenship.

10. The transformation and organization, on the above basis, of village and volost administrations of settlers shall be carried out, under the close supervision of the governors and provincial offices for settler affairs, by special commissions composed of the local mediator of peace, an official of the Ministry of State Property and an official of the Governor, following the procedure specified in Articles 10 and 11 of the Imperial Decree of the Highest Importance given to the Governing Senate on February 19, 1861, on the promulgation and enactment of the Provisions on Peasants. This transformation shall be accomplished within three months from the time of the distribution of settler parishes among the peace districts, and within three months from the time of the appointment of peace mediators in those peace districts that will be established for the settlers themselves.

11. In terms of transformation, on the basis of the preceding articles, the volost and rural administration in the communities of settlers (former colonists), these settlers are placed under the jurisdiction of the general provincial and district administrations, as well as local institutions for settler affairs on the basis of the Supremely approved, February 19, 1861, Regulation on these institutions.

12. The distribution of settlement villages between world plots and the formation, in cases of need, of new plots is entrusted to the Provincial Presidencies for Peasant Affairs.

13. The transfer, on the stated grounds, of the settlers (former colonists) currently under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of State Property to the jurisdiction of the general provincial and local institutions for settler affairs, must be carried out, by mutual agreement of the Ministers of Internal Affairs and State Property, within six months from the date of publication of these rules.

14. All disputed court cases involving settlers that arose prior to the publication of these rules in the provincial courts dealing with settler affairs, in the Saratov Office, and in the Board of Trustees for Foreign Settlers, and which are still pending or have been terminated on the basis of Articles 21 and 22 of the opinion of the State Council on the procedure for conducting cases of former judicial institutions, approved by His Imperial Majesty on March 10, 1869 (46840), or transferred for resolution, as appropriate, to the newly formed public administrations of settlers or judicial institutions, with notification thereof to the parties involved in the case.

15. These rules, with the exception of those relating to land tenure, also apply to settlers (former colonists) who, while remaining registered in their native communities, settled, prior to the publication of these rules, in special settlements and villages on their own land, or on land acquired at the expense of indigenous communities, or on land belonging to private owners, under fixed-term agreements with the owners. The land relations of such settlers are determined by agreements concluded by them with the indigenous communities that are the owners or landowners; in the event that such settlers acquire full ownership of the lands occupied under the agreements, the procedure for using the land is established by municipal verdicts, in accordance with the present rules.

II. On the land tenure of settlers (former colonists) settled on state lands.

16. Rural communities of settlers shall retain all lands and farmland provided to them for allotments and permanent use. At the same time, rural communities whose dachas contain a surplus of land compared to the established allotment norm are obliged, within 10 years from the date of approval of these rules, to accept into their midst, without special offers of admission, such a number of people from land-poor alien settlements as can be allocated in a normal amount from the surplus land available to each community. 

Note 1. The settlers mentioned in this article who wish to settle in those communities where there is a surplus of land shall apply with a petition to the local Provincial Office for Peasant Affairs, which shall make the appropriate arrangements for such petitions.

Note 2. Lands allocated for settlement by people from the original settler (colonist) settlements, but still uninhabited by them, are recognized as free state lands and are designated primarily for the allotment of settlers (former colonists) of those settlements, the communities of which, in accordance with Article 33 of the rules for compiling and issuing ownership records to state settlers, approved by the Supreme Council on March 31, 1867 (44418), receive permission to resettle some of their members to state lands.

17. A special act, called a title deed, is issued to each community for ownership of the lands and lands allocated to it.

18. Settlers, owning the lands and estates granted to them in accordance with the provisions of Article 17, are obliged to pay to the treasury an annual payment determined by law, known as the state tax. The amount of this tax is determined in accordance with the procedure established in Article 25 of these rules.

19. Settlers shall be granted the right to use and dispose of, at their discretion, the lands granted to them in accordance with the records, subject to the following rules:

a) With the consent of two-thirds of the members of the community who have the right to vote at the Assembly, the community may divide its land into farm plots; in this case, the amount of the state tax levied on the entire community shall be divided among the households according to the size and quality of the farm plots.

b) The allocation of plots to individual households from land owned by the community is also permitted by a decision of two-thirds of the members of the community who have the right to vote at the Assembly; in which case the amount of the land tax payable on the allocated plots is also determined.

c) Decisions of the community regarding the allocation and division of land into farm plots must be certified by the мировой посредник (local magistrate) before they are put into effect. who shall submit a copy of the decision to the Provincial Council for Peasant Affairs for information and approval of the distribution of the poll tax among the households made by the community.

d) Within three years of receiving the ownership records, in the case of municipal ownership by the community, and in the case of farm ownership, by the households, they may not alienate their land to persons who do not belong to the same community.

e) Three years after the issuance of the records, both the community and the owners of the farmsteads may alienate their land allotments, in accordance with the methods permitted by law, not only to fellow settlers, but also to outsiders, subject to the following conditions: 1) the acquisition of such land shall be carried out in accordance with the established procedure for such acts; 2) the community may sell plots of land in municipal ownership only with the approval of two-thirds of the members of the community who have the right to vote at the Assembly, as certified by the Peace Mediator; 3) when alienating farm plots that are in the personal possession of their owners, the obligation to pay the state tax due on the plot shall pass to the new acquirer.

f) When dividing, allocating, and alienating land, the rules established by the Supreme Council on November 23, 1870 (48946), by the State Council to ensure the payment of state taxes on the sale and fragmentation of land formerly belonging to state settlers.

g) Settlers are allowed to follow their local customs in the inheritance of land.

20. Land allocated not to one but to several communities (districts or volosts) for forest plantations, manors, and other economic and industrial establishments shall continue to be maintained by the communities, without changing the designated use of these lands and without deviating from the established order in their management, except with the special permission of the Provincial Council for Peasant Affairs.

21. Subject to the restrictions specified above (in Articles 19 and 20), settlers shall enjoy, in accordance with their ownership of their allotments, all the rights granted to settler owners who were formerly state settlers.

22. Ownership records are compiled by officials of the Ministry of State Property and presented to the settlers, in the presence of the Peace Mediators, in the manner established by the rules on the compilation of ownership records for state settlers, approved by the Supreme Council on March 31, 1867.

23. The space (number of dessiatines) of the existing allotment of the settlers, provided for their ownership according to the records, is determined according to the plans of the economic survey.

24. Ownership records must be compiled and issued to the settlers within three years from the date of publication of these rules, except for the Chernigov and Poltava provinces, where ownership records must be issued to the settlers simultaneously with the issuance of such records to former state settlers.

25. The amount of state tax payable by each settler community for its land and farmland shall be calculated and entered in the relevant register: a) in settlements where the land has already been assessed, in the amount determined by these assessments; and b) in other settlements where assessments have not yet been made, — in the amount due by multiplying the total amount of arable land in those settlements by the average amount due according to the apportionment, the tithe from arable land in neighboring or nearest state settlements.

25. The amount of state tax payable by each settler (former colonist) community for its land and farmland shall be calculated and entered in the relevant register: a) in settlements where the land has already been assessed, in the amount determined by these assessments; and b) in other villages, where assessments have not yet been made, in the amount due by multiplying the total amount of arable land in those villages by the average amount due according to the assessment, the tithe tax on arable land in neighboring or nearby settlements of state settlers, whose land, in terms of profitability and local conditions, is closest to the land of the relevant settler community.

Note. Mennonites of the volosts: Khortitza and Mariupol, Yekaterinoslav Province, Molochansk, Taurida Province, and Malyshinsk, Samara Province, are subject to a state tax of fifteen kopecks per convenient dessiatine according to the plans of the economic survey, with the exception, however, of the lands of the salt road additionally allocated in 1869 to the Molochansk Mennonites, which they accepted with the obligation to pay the tax on a general basis.

26. The amount of the quitrent tax, determined in the ownership record, on the grounds set out in Article 25, shall remain unchanged until the expiration of 20 years from the date of publication of these rules. Subsequent changes in the rates of this tax may be made only by legislative procedure.

27. Communities and owners of household plots of land subject to state quitrent tax are granted exemption from paying all or part of this tax by means of a contribution to the provincial or district treasury in state interest-bearing securities, such capital, the interest on which would be equal to the amount of quitrent tax from which the community or the owner of the plot wishes to exempt their lands. The capital contributed in interest-bearing securities must be no less than one hundred rubles at the face value of the securities.

28. Lands which, by means of a contribution to the treasury of the corresponding capital, on the basis of the previous Article 27, will be exempted from the entire state quitrent tax due on them, as well as plots of land sold by rural communities with the transfer of the amount due for them to the treasury on the basis of the rules specified in paragraph c of Article 19, constituting the full property of their owners, are excluded from the number of lands subject to payment of the state quitrent tax.

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Related Posts:

1. 22 July 1763, Catherine the Great’s Manifesto Issued (posted 22 July 2017)
2. 20 February 1804 Novaya Rossiya Open for Settlement (posted 20 February 2018)
3. 16 June 1871—Tsar Alexander II Revokes German Colonists' Privileges (posted 16 June 2021)
4. 12 June 1879 - Rosenfeld, Kuban, North Caucasus (posted 12 June 2017)
5. “Leave Just After Sunset and Not After Sunrise” (posted 7 January 2020)
6. Map Refresh: Dobrudscha (posted 14 June 2017)

 

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Last updated 16 June 2025