Tobolsk Voivode P. I. Godunov’s Profit-Seeking Activity in Yamskaya Gon’ba in Siberia in the 17th Century

This article analyses the reforms of Tobolsk voivode P. I. Godunov (one of the most famous “profit-seekers” of the seventeenth century) in the yam messenger system (Rus. yamskaya gon’ba). To a considerable extent, it is based on unpublished sources from Moscow and St Petersburg archives. Mostly, they are documents of management and record keeping of central and local administrations (letters to voivodes, military governors’ formal replies, etc.), accounting documentation (clerks’ descriptions, etc.), and private documents (petitions). Many of them have never been published previously. The author uses comparative, anthropological, and genetic methods; also, the article examines both unfulfilled reforms (a plan for the distribution of organised communication to Tobolsk) and those implemented by Godunov (a reduction of government parcels sent to Moscow, transfer of residents of the Samarovo yam “to arable land”, assistance in reducing the monetary salaries of Tura, Tyumen, Demyansk, and Samarovo yamshchiks enforcing state supervision over the yam lands). It is demonstrated that the reforms were devoid of innovation. Godunov adhered to the state course and followed the previous administrators, however, acting more dynamically. Generally, during his voivodship, the situation of Siberian yamshchiks worsened. However, by contrast with reforms in other areas of local life, Godunov’s yam reorganisations appeared sustainable. They were kept by Moscow and partially revised only 15 years later after the profit-seeker’s departure from Tobolsk. Referring to Godunov’s activities and their fate, the author shows the state’s contradictory attitude to yamskaya gon’ba “for the Stone”. On the one hand, Moscow sought to reduce the costs of the communication system, and, on the other hand, it sometimes gave way to the yamshchiks because it needed reliable communication with Siberia.