“The Question of Reinforcing Colonization of the Amur Region Ended in a Single Attempt”: From the Note of the Qualified Representative of the Ministry of Agriculture N. K. Schuman (1916)

This published note of the qualified representative of the Ministry of Agriculture in the Amur region N. K. Schuman (1916) introduces into scientific use valuable information on the results of the Amur River region development in the last years of the Russian Empire and broadens our understanding of the economic policy of the government in the Far East. The author of the note describes basic economic activities in the region (gold mining, forestry, agriculture, process industry, etc.), effects of the railroad construction on the commerce; highlights unsolved problems that hinder economic growth. The note underscores the “yellow peril”; in the author’s opinion, the widespread use of Chinese workers created a number of threats: risk of being stripped of workers, if a conflict occurred with China, usurpation of industries by foreign workers, and their rapacious attitude to Russian resources. The document develops and supplements the project of planned colonization of the Amur River Region, developed by Schuman in 1914, approved by A. V. Krivoshein, and experimentally introduced in the Ulminsk district of the Amur region in 1914-1916. The author of the note concludes that reinforcement of the Russian colonization of the Amur region ended in single attempt; while this high-priority task remained unsolved it was impossible to promote economic prosperity of the region. Schuman’s proposals on state regulation of the resettlement and its transfer from Siberia to Far East (including temporary prohibition of settlement in Siberia) are also of interest. The note is stored in the Russian State Historical Archive of Far East (fond 810); its publication is preceded by an introduction, which reconstructs Schuman’s career and the circumstances in which the published document was created, thus helping to better understand its purpose and content.