Fishing in the economy of the Ural and Orenburg Cossacks of Kazakhstan in the XIX century

Abstract

Anticipating a series of articles on the development of fishing among the Cossacks of Kazakhstan, the author examines the importance of fishing in the economic life of the Ural and Orenburg Cossacks. The paper defines the features of the development of fishing among the Ural and Orenburg Cossacks, shows the issues of organization and regulation of the issue of Cossack fishing in the Kazakh region. The study of fishing is in- teresting because this type of management is a valuable source on the economic everyday life of the Cossack estate, its social and industrial relations, ethnography, family and legal aspects. By considering the peculiarities of the fishing of the Kazakh Cossacks, it is also possible to trace their political, economic, social and eve- ryday contacts with representatives of other ethnic groups: Kazakhs, Bashkirs, Kalmyks, Tatars, Nogai. Chronologically, the study is outlined by the period of the XIX century, since it was at this time that the de- velopment of fishing became one of the leading directions in the economy of the Cossacks. The development of fishing was largely due to the fact that the Cossacks in Kazakhstan were allocated the best lands near rivers and lakes. On the other hand, there were subjective reasons, namely: in the period after the resettlement of Russian and Ukrainian peasants to the Kazakh steppes in the 60s of the XIX century, the demand for fish is growing. Therefore, fishing becomes profitable from the point of view of the ability of Cossacks to increase their well-being. At the same time, fishing is also widespread among the local population, as in the conditions of transformation of traditional economic relations in the region, nomadic cattle breeding is gradually declining under the influence of external economic factors. Therefore, fishing is becoming widespread among Kazakhs