In the first half of the 19th century a specific practice developed in the Orenburg borderland. According to it, foreign slaves (we use this term to designate slaves who weren’t Russian Empire’s subjects) were to be granted freedom as well as a choice whether to return home or convert to Orthodoxy and become Russian subjects. However, in the materials of the Joint State Archive of Orenburg Region we have found several deviations from this practice. Based on microhistorical analysis of these cases we will attempt to reconstruct the logic of Russian officials, which would allow us to understand the nuances of their attitude towards Central Asian slavery and everyday life of the Orenburg borderland. In 2 chronologically earliest cases the runaway slaves were asked to be returned by influential and loyal to Russia nomad rulers. In connection to this, Orenburg Border Commission analyzed imperial legislation and found out that it permits unconditional emancipation only to those foreign slaves who were captured by their owners. Runaway foreign slaves who were bought by their owners were to be returned to them if they didn’t convert to Orthodoxy and become Russian subjects. Later 2 other slaves bought by their owners were declined emancipation precisely on this basis. Furthermore, it turned out that the legislative act to which Orenburg authorities previously referred to while freeing slaves (the Collegium of Foreign Affairs decree of 26th February 1752) did not only become outdated, but contains an opposite directive — to return runaway slaves to their masters. At the same time, there is no reason to suspect willful falsification. Apparently, Central Asian slavery was stigmatized in the eyes of Orenburg officials by 1820s, and it simply didn’t occur to them that the Russian Empire could’ve acted as its accomplice. In favor of this speaks the fact that Orenburg Border Commission eventually freed 2 of the slaves whom we mentioned earlier (1 on the grounds of converting to Orthodoxy and becoming Russian subject, and 1 on the grounds of his owner emancipating him). The fate of 2 more slaves is not established, but it appears that Orenburg Border Commission spoke in favor of their emancipation. The only one Russian official who took concrete position in accordance with the law, even if it went in conflict with abolitionist values, was the Orenburg military governor P.K. Essen — who, however, had decisive influence on the matter.
Source: Peretyatko, Artyom Yu. (2025). Contradictions between Russian Imperial Legislation and Real Practices of the Orenburg Authorities in the Matter of Return of Runaway Slaves to Their Nomad Owners in the 1820s.Bylye Gody. 2025. 20(3): 1213-1226.
Source web-site: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1756724971.pdf
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