Roads and Communication Routes in the South of Western Siberia in the 18th Century in the Coverage of Russian Historiography

УДК 94(517.1) ББК 63.3(253.3)5

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of degree and nature of reflection of the problem of the genesis and evolution of transport communications in the south of Western Siberia in the 18^th century in Russian historical research. The source base of the research was the Siberian studies literature of the 18^th - early 21^st centuries, devoted to or concerning the formation of communication routes in Altai and the Irtysh region, which is chronologically divided into three periods (pre-revolutionary, Soviet and modern), the presentation of the last two arranged problem-chronologically. In pre-revolutionary works, information about the region's roads was isolated (sporadic), usually in the context of personal observations of a traveler, calculations of the approximate distance between administrative objects or mentions of existed trade routes. Studies of the Soviet period affected on major overland and water routes, their role in colonization of the territory, and their relationship to population movements. Modern historiography presents some experiences of wide coverage of the history of communication routes in the south of Western Siberia, the region's roads are traditionally considered either as departmental tracks or in the context of expedition itineraries of individual detachments.