Migration Department established

December 2 (14), 1896 the Migration Department was established as a part of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Beginning from the second half of 19th century there had been a large territorial redistribution of the Russian population. The most significant streams of migrants made their way from overpopulated agricultural regions of Central Russia to Siberia. Requirements of the new law on migration adopted on 13 (25) June 1889 could not be implemented without a corresponding reorganization of the agency in charge of land management and resettlement.

In 1896, the Ministry of Internal Affairs included Migration Department. Before the Department was formed, the Ministry of State Property had been in charge of the resettlement of peasants from 1837 to1894. The newly formed Department was given the same rights as other Departments on the basis of the General Establishment of Ministries and General Instructions to Ministries.

According to the decree of 2 (14) December 1896, the Migration Department was to carry out a preliminary examination of areas intended for resettlement; manage the resettlement by issuing permits for resettlement and to conduct the overall management of the resettlement, that is, the movement of the rural population of the central areas of permanent residence in the sparsely populated outlying areas (Siberia, Far East, Central Asia), to arrange the settlement problems of migrants; be in charge of all loans given by the Ministry of the Interior; to elaborate preliminary all new legislative and administrative measures which might become necessary during the resettlement.

In May of 1905 the Migration Department was no longer subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Instead it was under the authority of the General Land Management Office.

Lit.: Кабузан В. М. Переселенчество // Большая советская энциклопедия. М., 1975. Т. 19; Карпинец А. Ю. Сметы Переселенческого управления как источник по истории переселенческого движения в Томской губернии в конце XIX — начале XX в. (к вопросу о составлении и утверждении) // Роль государства в хозяйственном и социокультурном освоении Азиатской России XVII — начала ХХ века: Сб. материалов региональной научной конференции. Новосибирск, 2007. С. 267-275; Полное собрание законов Российской империи. Т. 16 (1896). Ч. 1. № 13464. С. 740.

Based on the Presidential Library’s materials:

Migration processes in Russia. Colonization. Resettlement movement: [digital collection].