The activity and role of the clerk in the alien departments of the south of the Yenisei province 1823-1893

The paper examines the activities of one of the key figures in the self-government of non-Russians - the clerk, who informally had broad powers in various areas of public life. The position of clerk in non-Russian departments was introduced in accordance with the "Charter on the Management of Non-Russians" of 1823. Due to the need for written office work, an office staff was created, consisting of a clerk, several assistants and ulus clerks. Formally, the job responsibilities of the clerk included maintaining written office work: drawing up sentences and decisions of the non-Russian court, writing responses to circulars from the district authorities, compiling various population and welfare records; reports on the collection of taxes and payments. In practice, clerks were assigned all office work with documents related to the activities of the departments. They were part of the management of the non-Russian self-government bodies, had influence both on the election of officials and on the procedure for their dismissal. Due to the illiteracy of the founder and the bashlyks, it was the clerk who managed the Duma treasury and often used his position as a source of enrichment. The clerk, abusing his position, established and collected yasak from society, wrote fictitious sentences. Often, being the only literate member of the alien department, he drew up business papers: complaints, petitions, which further increased his weight and influence in the eyes of the surrounding population. A significant part of the Duma budget was directed to the maintenance of the clerk due to the necessity and importance of this position both in the system of state power and in the life of the foreign society.