TAX BOOKS OF THE 18TH-CENTURY ASTRAKHAN FISHERY OFFICE FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE STATE ARCHIVES OF THE ASTRAKHAN REGION AS A SOURCE FOR THE HISTORY OF FISHING IN THE ASTRAKHAN PROVINCE

Abstract

Based on documents of the 614 Foundation from «Astrakhan Fishing Office» (1718-1796) of the State Archives of the Astrakhan Region, examines the organization of fishing and fish processing in the Astrakhan province in the 18th century by government authorities. It is determined that, from the early 18th century, the Astrakhan Fishing Office became the main regional institution, allocating fishing areas, collecting taxes, recording fish catch volumes, and overseeing fish processing. By the mid-18th century, state regulation of the industry had already led to a crisis and an outflow of labor and entrepreneurs from the region, which led to the later closure of the Astrakhan Fishing Office. However, it was precisely through the efforts of this agency that fishing and fish processing in the region were systematized in the early 18th century. The day-to-day activities of the Astrakhan Fishing Office are reflected in the documents of the thematic collection of the State Archives of the Astrakhan Region. The tax and receipt books found in Foundation 614 of the «Astrakhan Fishing Office» contain a significant amount of information about state control over fish production and processing in the Astrakhan Governorate. Among the discovered documents of the State Archives of the Astrakhan Fishing Office related to the financial transactions of the Astrakhan Fishing Office, the most valuable information is the «Tax Book,» dating from 1731 to 1733. A study of this document allows us to determine the list and spatial distribution of fishing areas leased in the Astrakhan Governorate. Detailed information from 18th-century documentation on the location and boundaries of each area, as well as research into regional toponymy, allows us to compare these with contemporary cartographic materials of the region. The materials of the «Tax Book» from 1731 to 1733. They also allow us to determine the list of fisheries, fishing methods at each leased fishing ground, the personal and class composition of the tenants, and the procedure and regularity of rent payments during the period in question.