Petitions as a historical source for studying lifestyle of Western Siberians in the 17th century

The study investigates and analyzes such historical source as petitions (chelobitnaya) written by various strata of the population of Western Siberia in the 17th century, including state servants, townsmen, yasak people, peasants. Based on published and archival documents, the author defines the petitions and describes their structure. The research reviews Siberian petitions, which are introduced for the first time. Besides, the study investigates the decisions written on their reverse side as well as the letters from the Siberian order to the local military governors (voivodes) with a verdict on the subject of the petition. The paper focuses on the voivode administration staff, which was responsible for records management in the towns of Western Siberia in the 17th century. Moreover, the structure of chancelleries is described in detail.