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Genesis: Historical research
Reference:

Trips to the Precincts in the Communicative Space of Magistrates in Yakut Oblast in the late 19th − early 20th Century

Savvinov Pavel Olegovich

ORCID: 0000-0002-4260-6225

Junior research associate, Institute for Humanitarian Research and North Indigenous Peoples Problems of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences

677027, Russia, Republic of Yakutia, Yakutsk, Petrovsky str., 1

pavel_savvinov@mail.ru
Other publications by this author
 

 

DOI:

10.25136/2409-868X.2022.11.38873

EDN:

REFVZY

Received:

03-10-2022


Published:

02-12-2022


Abstract: The research subject is the trip of judges of the peace to the districts in the Yakutsk region in their communicative space in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. The object is the communication practice related to the development of judicial proceedings in the Yakutsk region in the period specified. The trips to the sections in the communicative space of justices of the peace are analyzed. The research follows the methodological principles of the frontier modernization approach of I. V. Poberezhnikov, the one commonly used for the analysis of the peripheral regions of the Russian Empire. The comparative-historical method, revealing cause-and-effect relationships and patterns of the historical process, is used as a cognitive tool. The scholarly novelty of the study is that for the first time in the national historiography, the magistrates’ court proceedings are studied specifically in the context of communication space in the North-East of the Russian Empire in the late 19th − early 20th century. Based on the results of the study, a conclusion is made that, during the period under review, overland communications and summonses for magistrates of the Yakutia region served as the main communication channel in the judicial proceedings. In Yakutia, given that overland communications were seasonal, magistrates rarely traveled to certain inaccessible areas. In addition, frequent trips to vast areas of judges of the peace led to the fact that they practically did not have time to hide all the mail received during their absence, which became one of the reasons for the slowdown in legal proceedings. During their trips, magistrates could use any suitable premises for court proceedings as a temporary chamber.


Keywords:

magistrate's court, communicative space, postroad, overland communications, trip, volost administration, post house, district court, appellate court, Yakut Oblast

This article is automatically translated.

The abolition of serfdom in tsarist Russia accelerated the development of the economy, setting the empire on the path of industrialization, and led to significant changes in the social structure of society. In turn, this required judicial reform. The new judiciary was formally separated from other branches and was based on the principles of equality of the parties, independence of judges. In general, in pre-revolutionary Russia, the branch of law developed in the direction of establishing the rule of law, separating judicial power from administrative power, recognizing a person's equal right to judicial protection, which became the foundation for the formation of civil consciousness in society [17, p.144].

The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that there are no special studies in Russian historiography devoted to the study of the activities in the communicative space of the Institute of Magistrates in the Yakut region. Filling this gap will help determine the place of the region in the legal field of pre-revolutionary Russia, will make it possible to trace the process of general modernization of the region. The purpose of this work is to analyze the travels of magistrates of the Yakut region in their communicative space in the late XIX – early XX centuries.

The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that for the first time a special study was undertaken of judges traveling around the world sites in the communicative space, which is understood as a system of diverse communicative connections arising between various communication participants. The professional community created its own social communicative space, the agents of which were individuals, groups of people and the institute of magistrates [16, p.16]. The subject of the study is the travels of magistrates on the sites in the Yakut region in their communicative space in the late XIX ? early XX century . The object of the study is the communicative practice associated with the development of legal proceedings in the Yakut region of this historical period.

The study was conducted on the basis of methodological principles of the frontier modernization approach, which is based on the idea that incomplete development should leave an imprint on modernization processes both in the regions and in the country as a whole [27, pp.21-29]. As a tool of cognition, the historical-system method is applied within the framework of the modernization paradigm of modern historical knowledge.

 The chronological framework of the study covers the period from the late XIX – early XX centuries, when the tsarist government was aimed at the gradual unification of the institutions of power and the rapprochement of the administrative structure of Siberia with the central regions of pre-revolutionary Russia, taking into account the Siberian specifics in the field of governance. Extending the administrative and judicial institutions already introduced in the central provinces to Siberia, the tsarist government sought to use the accumulated experience, to find the most acceptable forms of adaptation. By that time Yakutia had entered the all-imperial legal space, and the development of the world and crown courts in the region began [11, p.138]. The territorial scope of the work covers the Yakut region, that is, the territory under the jurisdiction of the Yakut District Court. The territory of Siberia was divided into two districts of judicial chambers – Omsk and Irkutsk. The Yakut District Court was under the jurisdiction of the Irkutsk Judicial Chamber [5, pp.112–117].

In Russian historiography, the institute of justices of the Peace was not specifically considered as a communicative space. The pre-revolutionary authors N.F.Annensky, V.N.Anuchin, R.L.Weisman, G.N.Potanin and others investigated certain aspects of the reform and functioning of judicial institutions formed in Siberia at the end of the XIX century [3] [4] [7] [28, pp. 260-294.]. Soviet historians and jurists they did not pay attention to the implementation of the "Provisional Rules on the application of Judicial Statutes to the provinces and regions of Siberia" dated May 13, 1896, as well as the improvement of the judiciary in the early twentieth century, when the council of sworn attorneys, the jury court began to operate within Western Siberia, the staff of magistrates significantly increased [14, pp.154-163]. Modern researchers consider judicial proceedings in Siberia of the late XIX and early XX centuries in the context of studying the judicial transformation of 1897. Most of the works are devoted to the judicial authorities of Western Siberia [1] [15]. The practical absence in Russian historiography of special works devoted to this topic determines the relevance of the study. As historical sources, a complex of diverse materials stored in the funds of the National Archive of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (ON the RS (Ya) and the State Archive of the Irkutsk region (GAIO) has been attracted. These are legislative acts of the tsarist government, clerical documents of magistrates, the Yakut District Court and the Irkutsk Judicial Chamber, formed as a result of the functioning of the institutions of the World Court in the Yakut region.

Judicial districts were divided into world sections, which were based on such features as the area of the territory, population density, the number of cases, the coincidence of the boundaries of the world sections with the corresponding administrative districts [5, pp.112–117]. In total, six judicial and magistrate precincts were formed in the Yakut region:  Yakutsk, Yakutsk, Olekminsky districts, Vilyuysky world site, Olekminskaya and Vitim gold mining systems. By 1910, the following sections of magistrates were operating: Yakutsk, the 1st and 2nd sections of the Yakut district, Olekminsky, Vilyuysky, Verkhoyansky Kolyma districts [22, l.17].

For the Russian Empire, transport infrastructure was of great importance for the socio-economic development of the region. Communication routes connected the most remote corners of the empire into a single All-Russian market, provided continuous commodity exchange between producers and consumers of products, industry and agriculture. Five postal and passenger routes diverged from the center of the Yakutsk region to different ends: Irkutsk, Okhotsk, Amginsky, Verkhoyano-Kolyma and Vilyuysky [26, p.155]. Land communications, as a communication channel, played an important role in the communicative space of magistrates of the Yakut region during the period under review. The main highway connecting the Yakut region with the rest of the empire was Irkutsk-Yakut, which was considered one of the most developed and busiest roads. The main purpose of this tract was to ensure the delivery of exiles. As of 1911, there were 31 stations on the Yakutsk – Olekminsk tract, located at a distance of 15 km from each other, the total length of the tract in winter was 2766.75 versts, and in summer 2732.75 versts. Four to five pairs of post horses were kept on the highway [13, pp. 28-33]. In summer , traffic was carried out along the river .Lena on the mail and passenger steamers of merchant Glotov, in winter on horseback. In spring and autumn , during the thaw period , riding a horse along the ridges of the valley of theLena or wherever possible [10, l.239]. Two highways ran to the Okhotsk coast – to Okhotsk and to Ayan. The Yakut-Okhotsk Highway was the only highway in Russia where three types of mobile vehicles were used during winter driving: horses, dogs and deer [13, pp.13-16]. The Yakut-Ayan Tract was created to serve a Russian-American company and operated year-round. The Yakut-Amginsky Zemsky tract functioned as a postal tract [13, p.63]. The Amginsky postal tract led to the Amginsky parish. From Yakutsk to Amga there is a cart track, and then to the Ust-May settlement – a pack one. There was no highway from Ust-May settlement to Nelkan, communication was carried out by deer, horses and boats [10, l.240]

The Yakut-Vilyuysky tract was of great importance for the district, which ranked second in terms of population and economy in the region. 17 stations operated on the highway for 710 versts [13, p.59]. At the beginning of the XX century, the zemsky tract appeared from Vilyuysk to the Khochinsky foreign administration. This tract crossed the Vilyu River three times, therefore, during the freezing and spring ice drift, the message was interrupted [13, p.85]. The visits of the magistrate of the Vilyui district to the uluses were carried out extremely rarely, due to the remoteness and extreme difficulty of the way in most of the time of the year. A trip along the highway in summer was possible exclusively on horseback, and in winter on horseback and on a sledge on a horse and on deer [10, L.248]. In the north of Yakutia, the Yakut-Kolyma postal tract ran, with a length of 2227 versts, there were 41 stations from Yakutsk to the centers of Verkhoyansk and Kolyma districts [7, pp. 46-49]. Along the zemsky tracts of Srednekolymsk–Nizhnekolymsky and Srednekolymsk–Verkhnekolymsky, traffic in summer was carried out along the Kolyma River. Winter trails ran mainly on ice. Traveling along the highway was carried out by dog sleds, horses and deer, and in summer by boats [13, pp.73-74]. This highway on the territory of the Yakut district with a length of 120 versts ran through the taiga, which could be passed on horseback and on deer [10, l.255]

The justice of the peace was obliged to consider cases not only in a permanent cell, but also to go to places to facilitate the parties and witnesses to appear in court, which is sometimes at a considerable distance from the place of residence of the summoned persons [22, L.40]. Overland communications played an important role for the travel of magistrates to their sites. Justices of the peace carried out a significant part of the trips only in summer and winter with the help of the so-called inter-court communication or on horseback, and also equipped special expeditions where there were no roads and tracts. Communication along the Lena River was carried out in the summer by mail steamers [21, l.7]. Magistrates did not have time to consider cases due to constant traveling to their sites. A huge number of cases could not be considered to the end at the very first meeting, due to the lack of constant communication with the uluses and naslegs, therefore, it was always necessary to postpone cases for the absence of parties or witnesses and for the lack of information about the delivery of summonses. Some cases were postponed for the same reason two or three times, while visits of magistrates to the places of consideration for 1000 versts were possible no more than once a year. For example, in such settlements as Aldan, Maya, Nelkan, Ust-Mayskoye, where the judge usually went in early summer on one of the steamships departing annually to Nelkan [21, l.9ob.]. The exception was the magistrate of the city of Yakutsk, where there were no trips, so there were practically no pending cases [21, l.39].

For a detailed consideration of land communication as a channel in the communicative space of magistrates, correspondence with the complaint and explanation of the magistrate of the second precinct of the Yakut district V.E.Turkovsky with the Yakut District Court is of great interest. Here he describes in detail about the state of the postal and zemstvo tracts of Yakutia. The area of activity of the magistrate of the second precinct of the Yakut district was located on the right bank of the Lena River [21, l.7]. The magistrate's section included Amginskaya Sloboda, the villages of Novopokrovskoye, Ust-Mayskoye, the catholic settlements (Petropavlovsk, Troitskoye, Baturskoye), the villages of Dukhoborov (Natarskoye, Otradnoye) and the East Kangalassky, Boturussky, Borogonsky, Batagaysky, Meginsky, Dupsyunsky ulus, as well as naslega Namsky ulus, located on the right bank of the river [22, l.17]. The chamber of the magistrate of the second precinct was located in Yakutsk from April 1 to June 1, and from September 15 to November 1, the chamber was moved to the right bank of the Lena River [21, l.7].

On the right bank of the Lena River, roads were laid out of large logs that were filled with soil, but over time prevented travelers from traveling. The magistrate of the second precinct of the Yakut district wrote that he had to travel "on such sleepers" hundreds of miles. Wooden bridges rotted quickly, and driving through these bridges became life-threatening. Local authorities did not carry out repair work on roads and bridges, so travelers themselves had to repair bridges [22, L.79]. Having traveled in 1894 together with the road technician P.A.Sikorsky along the Ayan postal tract, the exiled settler and revolutionary narodnik Ya.V.Stefanovich wrote that a significant part of the postal tract was covered with round logs, because of which, after passing two or three postal stations, travelers felt completely tired [29].

At the post stations, people passing by changed horses and other means of transportation. In winter, postal stations served as a place where travelers and officials could hide and warm up from the cold [22, L.78]. The chase was a system of post yards (pits) designed for changing horses. Inter-court, partly philistine persecution was imposed on the population as a duty [26, p.160]. Its organization had to be handled by foreign councils [25, p.137]. On the territory of the Yakut region, postal stations were small Yakut yurts, where two or three Yakut families lived together with cattle [22, L.79]. The magistrate of the second precinct of the Yakut district noted the unfavorable condition of all postal stations and the lack of supervision by local authorities on the left bank of the river .Lena [19, L.69]. The yurt was divided by a partition into a residential part and a barn. According to the memoirs of the head of the Irkutsk postal and telegraph district, R.Y. Sonnenburg, the yurt was usually illuminated only by the flame from the fireplace, and candles and kerosene are found only among the wealthier Yakuts. The fireplace was installed in one of the corners of the yurt, where food was cooked, cakes (unleavened bread) were baked and so on [12]. During their travels to their sites and to conduct a preliminary investigation, the justices of the peace went to the crime scenes along the postal and zemstvo tracts. In the spring of 1909, in his report, Justice of the Peace V.E.Turkovsky writes that, having left the village of Amga in Boturussky ulus on April 9, 1909 to conduct a preliminary investigation, he was delayed for a long time on the way due to the lack of horses at each postal station. Almost all the owners of the postal stations explained that they had not been warned about the arrival of the justice of the peace and therefore had not prepared the horses [19, l.69-70]. In the above-mentioned postal stations, the carts used were in a deplorable condition and every 2-3 versts had to stop and repair the cart [19, l.69]. In December 1910, Justice of the Peace V.E.Turkovsky was unable to leave Yakutsk for the villages of Amga and Nelkan to conduct an investigation due to the fact that at the Begyurskaya postal station the owner refused to chase horses due to lack of material resources, and all the horses fell. Therefore, the judge was forced to return back to Yakutsk, having spent a day of time [22, l.91].

It was not uncommon for one justice of the peace to have to perform duties at several magistrates' stations. So, since 1911, V.E.Turkovsky has been a magistrate of 1-2 precincts of the Yakut district for the investigation and consideration of world jurisdiction, which complicated his work. The first section of the Yakut district was located on the left bank of the Lena River, which included 20 postal stations of the Irkutsk tract, Nikolskaya Sloboda, the villages of Dobroye, Vladimirskoye, Cool, the catholic settlements of Markhinskoye, Novonikolaevskoye, Kildemskoye, Khatyn-Arinskoye, as well as West Kangalassky and Namsky uluses [22, l.17]. A. Vetrova wrote that the justice of the peace, as a rule, received the accumulated information about the crimes committed late, since he had to travel around his entire precinct, but could not go on the case for the investigation due to the scheduled court sessions [8, pp.77-108]. In the absence of Justice of the Peace V.E. Turkovsky, his clerk received mail from various institutions. The justice of the peace, coming from traveling, always received a huge mass of mail, and opened only packages with the inscription "Urgent" or "Prisoner" [22, L.47]. If the judge ignored the information about the crimes, he had to give an explanatory note to the prosecutor's supervision and the district court [8, pp.77–108]. So in the spring of 1912, Justice of the Peace V.E.Turkovsky, being, according to him, constantly on the road in two sections, read the mail received from the district attorney with a delay and therefore began investigating the case of horse theft with a delay [22, L.44]. However, the district attorney wrote that the justice of the peace received the case of the horse theft on the 20th of March, and began the investigation only on April 2 and did not notify about the reasons for the delay [22, L.67]. In his explanation to the district court, V.E. Turkovsky writes that he had no practical opportunity to immediately move all cases due to the remoteness of settlements. It took two months for a justice of the peace to travel far, and when he came from traveling, V.E. Turkovsky did not have time to read the mail he received, since he could not stay at home for more than one week and was forced to go to his sites again. Therefore, the magistrate opened only urgent envelopes, and took the rest with him on a trip, because of this, many investigative measures were slowed down [22, L.76-77]. As a result, the general meeting of the Yakutsk District Court in relation to the justice of the Peace, Justice of the Peace V.E.Turkovsky, determined a disciplinary violation under Article 410 of the Penal Code, namely "for slowness and negligence in the administration of office" [22, L.78] [30, p.386].

Justices of the peace could use any premises convenient for conducting the trial [22, L.40]. Because of this, some local self-government bodies expressed dissatisfaction. In particular, A.A.Osintsev, a trusted peasant of the Pavlovsky volost of the Markhinsky village, petitioned the district court to ban the departure of magistrates to the Pavlovsky volost board for the examination of court cases. A.A.Osintsev explained his statement by the fact that holding meetings of magistrates in the volost board contradicts the law, but without specifying which one, and interferes with the work of the board in the volost [22, L.36]. The magistrate of the 1st precinct on this complaint gave his explanations on the opening of the court session in the building of the volost board. The fact is that in the villages of the Yakut region there were no appropriate premises where it would be possible to hold a court session on cases of world jurisdiction, especially in the neighboring Pavlovskaya volost. For example, tribal councils were located at stations consisting of one room with two windows and no floor, where those passing along the highways had the right to enter and could unwittingly violate the order of the court when hearing cases [22, L.37]. As a result, the Yakutsk District Court responded to the petition of a trusted peasant of the Pavlovsky volost of the Markhinsky settlement that the magistrate of the 1st precinct within the volost had the only convenient place in the building of the Pavlovsky volost board. However, this did not deprive the volost board of the right to find a convenient room for the justice of the peace for trials, preliminary investigations, if they interfered with his activities [22, L.40].

Thus, traveling around the world sites, as a communication channel, played a big role in the communicative space of magistrates of the Yakut region. The vast vastness and inaccessibility of the territories of the region, which occupied a significant part of the north-east of Russia, acted as one of the main difficulties in the implementation of the activities of magistrates. Due to the poor condition of postal and zemstvo roads, the absence of horses at the stations, magistrates could not reach certain territories of their site. In addition, the frequent trips of magistrates to vast areas led to the fact that they practically did not have time to read all the mail received during their absence, which became one of the reasons for the slowdown of the proceedings. During their visits, the magistrates could use any premises convenient for conducting the trial as a temporary chamber.

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on the article Communication channels of magistrates of Yakutia in the late XIX – early XX century. The title partly corresponds to the content of the materials of the article, but it does not reveal a scientific problem. There is a typo in the name - there is no "in". The title of the article conditionally looks at the scientific problem, which the author's research is aimed at solving. The reviewed article is of relative scientific interest. The author did not explain the choice of the research topic and did not justify its relevance. The article incorrectly formulated the purpose of the study ("The purpose of this work is to consider the communicative channels of magistrates in interaction with peasant and foreign governments"), the object and subject of the study are not specified. However, the author reported that "the study was conducted on the basis of the methodological principles of I.V. Berezhnikov's frontier modernization approach," and that "the comparative historical method was used as a tool of cognition." In the reviewer's opinion, the main elements of the "program" of the study were not fully thought out by the author, which affected its results. The author did not present the results of the analysis of the historiography of the problem and did not formulate the novelty of the undertaken research, which is a significant disadvantage of the article. In presenting the material, the author selectively demonstrated the results of the analysis of the historiography of the problem in the form of links to relevant works on the research topic. There is no appeal to opponents in the article. The author did not explain the choice and did not characterize the range of sources involved in the disclosure of the topic. The author did not explain or justify the choice of the chronological framework of the study. The author did not explain or justify the choice of the geographical scope of the study. In the opinion of the reviewer, the author sought to use sources competently, maintain a scientific style of presentation, competently use methods of scientific knowledge, observe the principles of logic, systematicity and consistency of presentation of the material. As an introduction, the author suddenly announced that "at the end of the XIX – beginning of the XX century. The Trans-Siberian Railway played a very important role in the imperial modernization of Siberia," etc., that "in Siberia, the tsarist government aimed at the gradual unification of government institutions and the rapprochement of the administrative structure with the regions of the European part of the Russian Empire," etc., and that "the judicial reform of 1897 introduced some principles of modernization into the organization of judicial power in Siberia," etc. The author he also unsuccessfully explained that he "understands the communicative space as the communicative environment of the professional activity of magistrates" ("communicative space" is a "communicative environment"?), then that "one of the main parts of the communication space are communication channels that support social relations", and that "channels are real or imaginary lines of communication (contact), ensuring the movement of messages from the communicator to the recipient," moreover, "in this case, land communications of Yakutia and court summonses of the late XIX – early XX century." The author did not explain what caused this combination of "channels" (transport routes and a document, a form of a court notice) and their limitations. In the main part of the article, the author is unclear for what purpose he reported that "By the end of the XIX and at the beginning of the XX century Yakutia consisted of five districts," etc., fragmentally described the systems of foreign and peasant "self-government", the procedure for choosing officials, functions, duties, and suddenly moved on to the plot about the judicial reform of 1897. At the same time, the author unsuccessfully stated that "the judiciary was separated from the executive", without giving the reader any explanations. Further, the author reported on the formation of world sections, the specifics of the competence of Siberian magistrates, and addressed the issue of "land communications" in the Yakut region as "the main channel of communication between judicial authorities and bodies of peasant and foreign self-government." The author listed the tracts, described the ways of moving along them, then said that "the justice of the peace was obliged to consider cases not only in a permanent cell, but also to go to places," pointed to the case of a conflict between the justice of the peace and the volost board due to the choice of the temporary seat of the court. In the following story, the author explained to the reader that "there were no zemstvo postal institutions in the Yakutsk region, and therefore the distribution of mail by districts was entrusted to the district police department," etc., and unexpectedly that "during the consideration of criminal and civil cases, one of the ways to summon magistrates to court was a summons." The author described the content of the standard summons, then suddenly explained that "in criminal proceedings, the justice of the peace could summon the accused through a verbal demand," etc. Further, the author described the interaction of the justice of the peace with the volost administration bodies, unsuccessfully expressing the idea that "magistrates in their precincts encountered communication problems." The author explained the reasons why the effectiveness of the work of magistrates decreased. The article contains multiple minor errors /typos, such as: "Berezhnikova is based on", "one of the main parts", "communication channels act", "So in words", "But this did not deprive the right", "justice of the peace", etc., unsuccessful or incorrect expressions like- that: "Nevertheless, some local governments expressed dissatisfaction with this order. So, A.A. Osintsev, a trusted peasant of the Pavlovskaya volost of the Markhinsky village, petitioned the district court...", "So, summing up, it should be concluded", etc. The author's conclusions are generalizing. The conclusions allow us to evaluate the scientific achievements of the author in the framework of his research in part. In the final paragraph of the article, the author reported that "land communications and court summonses for magistrates of the Yakut region in the period under review were the main channels of communication," etc., "during their travels, magistrates could use any premises convenient for conducting a trial as a temporary chamber," "which led to dissatisfaction on the part of the peasant self-government". The author then reported that "justices of the peace could summon the persons they needed to court through subpoenas or verbal demands," and that "due to the lack of zemstvo mail, the duty of sending subpoenas was assigned to district police departments and bodies of peasant and non-native self-government," etc., finally, "local self-government authorities did not pay much attention according to the orders of magistrates, therefore, the consideration of court cases was often delayed." In the reviewer's opinion, the potential purpose of the study has been partially achieved by the author. Publication in this form cannot arouse the interest of the magazine's audience. The article requires significant revision, first of all, in terms of formulating the key elements of the research program and their corresponding conclusions.

Second Peer Review

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Traveling around the sites in the communicative space of the magistrates of Yakutia in the late XIX – early XX centuries (Genesis: historical research) The relevance of the topic is due to the fact that not enough special research is known in Russian historiography on the activities of the Institute of magistrates, including in the Yakut region. The purpose of this work is to analyze the travels of magistrates of the Yakut region, the territory of which is considered by the author as a communicative space in the late XIX – early XX centuries. The introductory part shows the novelty of the study, names the subject and object of the study, and clarifies the methodological assumptions. It is emphasized that the study is based on the methodology of the frontier modernization approach. To substantiate the proposed provisions, the author used a variety of sources, primarily legislative, as well as the press, pre-revolutionary studies and memories of the difficulties of traveling through the territory due to the absence or poor condition of roads. The research is based on archival sources. The solution of the task set in the article has been completed quite fully and objectively. At first glance, the promotion of a private topic about how the activities of magistrates were carried out in extreme conditions of a harsh climate, a sparse population, a significant distance of settlements from each other, etc. was decided in the article with the involvement of archival and published sources. The author believes that in Yakutia, even at the beginning of the twentieth century. The Yamskaya chase was still in effect. In fact, the article puts forward a fairly new idea that the dacha chase in the eastern hard-to-reach areas, including Yakutia, existed until the beginning of the twentieth century. and it was the duty of the indigenous population. This thesis of the author can be explained by the fact that the intensive development of the transport structure of the late 19th century did not affect Yakutia. Meanwhile, the point of view has been established in the literature that historically the postal service in Russia existed mainly in the XVII-XVIII centuries. A distinctive feature of the text is the emphasis on the daily conditions of service of magistrates: the maintenance of stops on the highway (lack of horses, broken carts and sledges, the huge size of world plots, and the like), which indicates difficulties. The list of literature used indicates that the author makes extensive use of regional comparisons and authoritative all-Russian studies, which helps to introduce the presentation into the all-Russian context. There is no direct appeal to opponents, but the presentation itself, especially the introductory and final parts, and most importantly, the content, will attract readers' interests. Summing up, we note: this article will help determine the place of the region in the legal field of pre-revolutionary Russia, which makes it possible to trace the process of general modernization of the region. The structure and content correspond to the set goal, but since some phrases of the article need stylistic editing, after correcting the mistakes made, I recommend the article for publication.

Third Peer Review

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It is known that the Great Reforms of Alexander II fundamentally changed the social life of the empire, that pre-revolutionary historians carried out a watershed in the 1860s and 1870s, highlighting the pre-reform and post-reform period in the history of Russia. At the same time, if both contemporaries and subsequent analysts were contradictory about the abolition of serfdom, then judicial reform really allowed our country to take an important step towards a legal society. In modern conditions of the formation of the institution of justices of the peace, jurors, etc., it seems important to turn to the historical experience of the formation of the judicial system in the post-reform period. These circumstances determine the relevance of the article submitted for review, the subject of which is site visits in the communicative space of magistrates of the Yakut region of the late XIX – early XX centuries. The author sets out to analyze the literature on this topic, to show by examples the conditions of judges' departure, as well as to identify spatial difficulties in the activities of magistrates of the Yakut region during the period under review. The work is based on the principles of analysis and synthesis, reliability, objectivity, the methodological basis of the research is a systematic approach, which is based on the consideration of the object as an integral complex of interrelated elements. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the very formulation of the topic: as the author himself notes, "for the first time, a special study was undertaken of the travels of judges on world sites in the communicative space, which is understood as a system of diverse communicative connections that arise between different participants in communication." The scientific novelty of the article also lies in the involvement of archival materials. Considering the bibliographic list of the article, its scale and versatility should be noted as a positive point: in total, the list of references includes up to 30 different sources and studies. The source base of the article is represented by both published documents (normative legal acts) and documents from the collections of the National Archive of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) (IN the RS (Ya) and the State Archive of the Irkutsk Region (GAIO). Among the studies attracted by the author, we note the works of I.G. Adonyeva and E.A. Krestyanikov, which focus on various aspects of the judicial reform of 1864. Note that the bibliography is important both from a scientific and educational point of view: after reading the text, readers can turn to other materials on its topic. In general, in our opinion, the integrated use of various sources and research contributed to the solution of the tasks facing the author. The style of writing the article can be attributed to a scientific one, at the same time understandable not only to specialists, but also to a wide readership, to everyone who is interested in both the judicial system of post-reform Russia in general and in the Siberian region in particular. The appeal to the opponents is presented at the level of the collected information received by the author during the work on the topic of the article. The structure of the work is characterized by a certain logic and consistency, it can be distinguished by an introduction, the main part, and conclusion. At the beginning, the author defines the relevance of the topic, shows that "land communications, as a communication channel, played a major role in the communicative space of magistrates of the Yakut region during the period under review." Using various examples, the author shows that "due to the poor condition of postal and zemstvo roads, the lack of horses at stations, magistrates could not reach certain territories of their site." It is noteworthy that, as the author notes, "the frequent trips of magistrates to vast areas led to the fact that they practically did not have time to read all the mail received during their absence, which became one of the reasons for slowing down the proceedings." The main conclusion of the article is that "the vast vastness and inaccessibility of the territories of the region, which occupied a significant part of the north-east of Russia, acted as one of the main difficulties in carrying out the activities of magistrates." The article submitted for review is devoted to an urgent topic, will arouse readers' interest, and its materials can be used both in lecture courses on the history of Russia and in various special courses. In general, in our opinion, the article can be recommended for publication in the journal Genesis: Historical Research.