Neklyudov E. G. Establishment of Rules for Allocating Land to the Urals’ Mining Plants in the 18th — First Half of the 19th Century

Evgeny G. Neklyudov
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Institute of History and Archaeology, Ural Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Russia, Еkaterinburg)
ORCID 0000-0002-9764-9468
E-mail: ntplant9@mail.ru

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UDC 94(470.5)”17/18″
DOI: 10.58529/2782-6511-2026-5-1-6-15

ABSTRACT. Based on legislation, departmental office documentation, cartographic sources, and information from scientific literature, the article considers the process of developing and applying land management rules and defining the boundaries of mining districts in the Urals, which lasted for one and a half centuries. In the 18th century, it occurred mainly through the allocation of vast state-owned lands to plants and was not yet sufficiently regulated, which hampered the development of industry and caused numerous disputes between plant owners. Initially the norms of ore and plant allotments were determined, which was reflected in the mining legislation. Particularly difficult and time-consuming was the establishment of rules for the allocation of forest areas intended for the procurement of wood fuel for metallurgical furnaces, as well as rules for the distancing of factories of different owners, which were determined as practical experience accumulated. The codification of mining legislation in the first half of the 19th century prompted the coordinated work of the regional departmental institution, provincial bodies and the plant owners themselves to survey the territory of the districts and map them using the advanced scientific principles of that time. These large-scale works resulted in outlining a mosaic in its spatial organization territory of the Mining Urals — the largest metallurgical region in Russia, consisting of state and private districts. It was under the autonomous management of the mining department and united about 12 million desiatinas, or approximately 15% of the area of 3 Ural provinces — Perm, Orenburg and Vyatka.

KEYWORDS: Urals, 18th — first half of the 19th century, mining industry, mining districts, land allotments, land surveying

For citation: Neklyudov E. G. [Establishment of Rules for Allocating Land to the Urals’ Mining Plants in the 18th — First Half of the 19th Century]. Istoriko-geograficheskiy zhurnal [Historical Geography Journal], 2026, vol. 5, no. 1, pp. 6–15. DOI: 10.58529/2782-6511-2026-5-1-6-15 (In Russian).

Received 20 January 2025
Accepted 19 September 2025

© 2026 The Author

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