
Siberia Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit (''
guberniya'') of the
Tsardom of Russia
The Tsardom of Russia, also known as the Tsardom of Moscow, was the centralized Russian state from the assumption of the title of tsar by Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV in 1547 until the foundation of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great in 1721.
...
and the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
, which existed from 1708 until 1782. Its seat was in
Tobolsk (initially spelt as ''Tobolesk''). The governorate was located in the east of Russian Empire and bordered
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
in the south,
Kazan Governorate
Kazan Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia, the Russian Empire, and the Russian SFSR from 1708 to 1920, with its capital in Kazan.
History
Kazan Governorate, together with seven other ...
in the southwest, and
Archangelgorod Governorate
Archangelgorod Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, which existed from 1708 until 1780. Its seat was in Archangel (Arkhangelsk). The governorate was located in th ...
in the northwest. In the north and the east, the governorate was limited by the seas of the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. In terms of area, Siberia Governorate was by far the biggest of all the governorates, as it included areas in the
Urals
The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan. ,
Siberia
Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
, and the
Russian Far East
The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...
some of which were not yet even settled by Russians at the time.
Establishment
Siberia Governorate, together with seven other governorates, was established on , 1708, by
Tsar
Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
Peter the Great
Peter I (, ;
– ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
's
edict.
[Указ об учреждении губерний и о росписании к ним городов](_blank)
As with the rest of the governorates, neither the borders nor internal subdivisions of Siberia Governorate were defined; instead, the territory was defined as a set of cities and the lands adjacent to those cities.
At the time of establishment, the following thirty cities were included in Siberia Governorate:
*(listed as towns)
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Beryozov
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Ilimskoy
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Irkutsk
Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...
oy
:#
Ketskoy
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Krasny Yar
:#
Kuznetskoy
:#
Mangazeya
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Narym
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Nerchinskoy
:#
Pelym
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Surgut
Surgut ( rus, Сургу́т, p=sʊrˈgut; Khanty: Сәрханӆ, ''Sərhanł, Сө̆ркут, sörkut'') is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the Ob River near its junction with the Irtysh River. It is one of the fe ...
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Tara
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Tobolesk
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Tomsk
Tomsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast in Russia, on the Tom (river), Tom River. Population:
Founded in 1604, Tomsk is one of the oldest cities in Siberia. It has six univers ...
oy
:#
Turinsk
:#
Tyumen
Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...
:#
Verkhoturye
:#
Yakutsk
Yakutsk ( ) is the capital and largest city of Sakha, Russia, located about south of the Arctic Circle. Fueled by the mining industry, Yakutsk has become one of Russia's most rapidly growing regional cities, with a population of 355,443 at the ...
oy
:#
Yeniseysk
*(listed as
Pomor towns)
:#
Cherdyn
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Kay Gorodok
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Kungur
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Perm Velikaya
:#
Sol Kamskaya
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Vyatka with four unnamed suburbs
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Yarensk
Transformations and disestablishment

In 1719, the governorate was divided into three provinces:
Vyatka,
Solikamsk, and
Tobolsk. Simultaneously,
Yarensky Uyezd with the administrative center of
Yarensk was moved from Siberia Governorate to
Archangelgorod Governorate
Archangelgorod Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, which existed from 1708 until 1780. Its seat was in Archangel (Arkhangelsk). The governorate was located in th ...
.
In 1724, Tobolsk Province was split into
Yeniseysk,
Irkutsk
Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and , ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 587,891 Irkutsk is the List of cities and towns in Russ ...
, and Tobolsk Provinces. In 1727, Vyatka and Solikamsk Provinces were transferred to Kazan Governorate.
In 1736,
Okhotsky Uyezd was split off from
Yakutsky Uyezd. In the same year, Siberia Governorate was split into two independent areas:
Siberia Province, which consisted of the former Tobolsk and Yeniseysk Provinces, under the authority of the governor (posted in Tobolsk), and Irkutsk Province. In 1737, the areas in the South Urals were organized into
Iset Province with the center in the town of
Shadrinsk
Shadrinsk () is a town in Kurgan Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Iset River ( Ob's basin) northwest of Kurgan. Population:
History
Shadrinsk was founded in 1662 as an agricultural and trade settlement. Shadrinsk hosted th ...
, and the province was transferred into
Orenburg Governorate. In 1764,
Irkutsk Governorate was established in place of the former Irkutsk Province.
In 1782, Siberia Governorate was abolished, and its area split into
Tobolsk Viceroyalty and
Kolyvan Viceroyalty. Irkutsk Governorate was transformed into
Irkutsk Viceroyalty.
Governors
The administration of the governorate was performed by a governor. The governors of Siberia Governorate were:
*1708–1714
Matvey Petrovich Gagarin
*1714–1716 Ivan Bibikov (acting governor)
*1716–1719 Matvey Petrovich Gagarin, imprisoned in 1719 and executed by
hanging
Hanging is killing a person by suspending them from the neck with a noose or ligature strangulation, ligature. Hanging has been a standard method of capital punishment since the Middle Ages, and has been the primary execution method in numerou ...
in 1721 for corruption;
*1719–1724 Alexey Mikhaylovich Cherkassky
*1724–1726 Mikhail Vladimirovich Dolgorukov
*1726–1727 Alexey Mikhaylovich Surov (acting governor)
*1727–1728 Mikhail Vladimirovich Dolgorukov
*1728–1731 Ivan Vasilyevich Boltin (vice-governor, acting governor)
*1730
Vasily Lukich Dolgorukov
Prince Vasiliy Lukich Dolgorukov (; 1672 8 November 1739) was a Russian diplomat and political minister who was the most powerful man in the country in the later years of Peter II's reign.
A male-line descendant of the legendary prince Rurik, ...
(never arrived to Tobolsk, imprisoned and subsequently executed in 1739)
*1731–1736 Alexey Lvovich Pleshcheyev
*1736–1741 Pyotr Ivanovich Buturlin
*1741–1742 Ivan Afanasyevich Shipov
*1742–1752 Alexey Mikhaylovich Sukharev
*1754–1757 Vasily Alexeyevich Myatlev
*1757–1763
Fyodor Ivanovich Soymonov
*1763–1780
Denis Ivanovich Chicherin
See also
*
References
{{Use mdy dates, date=February 2014
Governorates of the Russian Empire
States and territories established in 1708
1708 establishments in Russia
1782 disestablishments in the Russian Empire
History of Siberia