Transformation of the Administrative Structure of Eastern Siberia in the 16th–19th Centuries

The article attempts to understand the historical experience of implementing the administrative division of Eastern Siberia. The annexation of Siberia as a whole to the Russian state occurred during the 16th–18th centuries. Vast areas with a harsh climate and a relatively low density of local population, consisting of various ethnic groups speaking different languages and having a centuries-old way of life, began to be involved in the economic, social, cultural and other spheres of the Russian Empire through methods of regional governance. It was necessary to find the most suitable model for dividing Siberia into administrative units. Despite the existing shortcomings, the main one of which, in our opinion, was the absence of national administrative entities that appeared in Eastern Siberia only in the first quarter of the 20th century, this experience is unique and can be used in the development of our state at the present stage. Today, science has accumulated significant experience in studying regional problems of ethnopolitical and ethnosocial interaction and development. As a result of the study, we have concluded that at different time periods administrative structure of Siberian lands did not remain unchanged, the authorities of the empire tried to organize it taking into account both the general state interests and the needs of regional development.