Siberia in journalism, memoirs and letters of exiled social-democrats

Abstract

The article reveals the significance of memoirs, letters, and journalism of exiled Social Democrats for studying the history of Siberia in the late XIX - early XX centuries. They contain important information about the living conditions, ethnography, economic development, occupations of the population, its customs and way of life, nature and ecology of places of exile and settlement, which complement special studies on this issue. Analysis of the few surviving documents and journalism shows that staying in Siberia, despite the difficult conditions, aroused great interest in its present and future. The vast expanses, natural resources and the nature of Siberia undoubtedly influenced the formation of the exiled Social-democrats, many of whom would later become leaders of the Soviet state, a more capacious and in-depth idea of Russia.