Historiography of developing the Far East of the Russian empire in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries

The paper analyzes the literature dealing with the Far East (research, reports, memoirs, travelogues and essays) published in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. The relevance of the topic is determined by the current state of the Russian Far East faced with the problem of the mass exodus to more comfortable regions. In this regard, the Russian Empire’s historical experience of meeting the challenges of the settlement and development of the region which can be found in the pre-revolutionary historiography is of great interest. By means of problem-based approach, the author analyzes the works describing the features of the colonization of the region, the living conditions of displaced persons, the economic policy of the Tsarist administration in relation to the Far East and the economic activities in the region, the economic status of the territory, the ethnic and gender composition of the population, methods of settlements. The author estimates these publications from the standpoint of their historical value, advantages and disadvantages. Many works contain diverse statistical material that helps readers come to certain conclusions regarding the analyzed issues.