Subjects of Austria-Hungary in Western Siberia and Turkestan in the early twentieth century (1900–1917)

Abstract

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Russian Empire played an important role in the processes of European migration. Of particular importance was the migration policy with the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The Czechs, Rusins, Poles, and Slovaks, who belonged to the Austro-Hungarian population, settled mainly in the European part of the Russian Empire and engaged mainly in agriculture, while the Austrians and Germans opened industrial enterprises in the cities of Western Siberia (Governor- Generalship of the Steppes, 1882–1918). In general, there were two reasons why the Austro-Hungarians settled in Western Siberia and Turkestan: some voluntarily resettled and contributed to the economic and social development of the regions, while others had to move here as prisoners of war. However, it should be noted that in both cases, the tsarist administration did not restrict their social and legal status. The article examines the reasons for the stay of Austro-Hungarian subjects in Western Siberia and Turkestan, as well as their impact on the socio-economic situation of these regions. Austro- Hungarian immigrants, as well as immigrants from other European countries, acted as transmitters of new entrepreneurial experience, advanced technologies, and Western entrepreneurial culture. The descendants of immigrants from the Austro-Hungarian lands became part of the multinational composition of Western Siberia and Turkestan.