Identity documents of the rural population of Ust-Sysolsk uyezd of Vologda province in the early XX century

The article analyzes information about the passports issued by the volost administration to the rural population of Ust-Sysolsk uyezd of Vologda province between 1911 and 1913. These passports were differentiated by four colors (white, pink, blue and yellow), and the last three were intended for persons liable for or connected with military service. The relevance of the research is due to the fact that the review of Russian historiography has not revealed research works dealing with this problem. The research was drawn on a set of official records kept by zemstvo administrative heads of the first and third precincts, namely the inspection reports submitted by the volost administration boards. The study resulted in identifying the specific characteristics of how passports were obtained by the local population, depending, among other things, on the time of year and the document's validity period. The paper also looks at how the passport issuing process was influenced by the peasants' traditional way of life, in which non-agricultural activities and seasonal work played a great role. It was revealed that local population of the studied area preferred to obtain passports for a period from three to twelve months, with up to 80 % of residence permits granted in spring and autumn. The other two findings were a large discrepancy between the number of white and colored passports, and a decreasing trend in the number of passports obtained by men liable for military service depending on their age group.