Since we have discussed Russification in class, I wanted to touch on some themes that I discussed in one of my earlier posts. In my earlier post on Leskov, I discussed how Russian authors saw themselves as Russian – an identity that was contingent on seeing others as non-Russian. To investigate this idea of non-Russian, I will provide a brief explanation of the evolving meaning of the word inorodtsy in the 19th century Russian Empire.
Inorodtsy, most closely meaning “aliens”, evolved in formal meaning – that is, its meaning in legal and administrative spheres – over the 19th century. Initially, it referred to imperial subjects in Turkestan and the Far East. Central and Eastern Asian subjects warranted the category of inorodtsy for administrative reasons. Many of the peoples in Asia were nomadic or semi-nomadic, which conflicted with the sedentary lifestyle of Russians and assimilated imperial subjects. Therefore, inorodtsy initially served an administrative purpose by categorizing nomadic people to subject them to different laws.
However, right from the start of its formal usage, inorodtsy became ambiguous. The Russian empire designated Jews as inorodtsy in 1835. With Jews under this designation, inorodtsy no longer exclusively referred to non-sedentary peoples. Instead, it also indicated a racial, ethnic and cultural barrier. From this ambiguity comes two questions: Was inorodtsy a category that people could get out of by adopting a sedentary lifestyle? Or was it a racial distinction and inescapable?
Informally, inorodtsy did not consider people’s lifestyles. Rather, its informal meaning referred to non-Russians generally, especially those with a history of revolting against the Russian empire. This conceptualization of Russian versus non-Russian is vital for understanding Russian imperial subject’s self-perception. In the Muscovite state during the 16th and 17th century, inorodtsy referred to non-Christian peoples. However, in the 19th century, the concept of “national minorities” emerged as languages replaced religion as a person’s primary identifier.
However, despite inorodotsy referring to non-Christian people before the 19th century, people could not escape from the category through conversion. Instead, the category became a shackle to social mobility. Inorodtsy in Siberia were subject to the iasak under the Muscovite state. When someone classified as inorodtsy converted to Orthodoxy, they were still considered inorodtsy with only the benefit of being temporarily exempt from the iasak. Therefore, inorodtsy signified difference outside of religion, perhaps an ethnic or cultural difference, even before the ideas of nationalism and “national minorities” arose in the 19th century.