The Daily Work of Merchant Fishermen in the 19th Century (Based on Materials from the Astrakhan and Orenburg Governorate)

The study highlights the specifics of the everyday work of the merchants of the Astrakhan and Orenburg Governorates in the fishing industry. Emphasis is placed on the activities of entrepreneurs who explored the waters of the Asian region in the 19th century – the Caspian and Aral Seas, as well as the Emba, Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers. The purpose of the study is to analyze the specifics of fishing in the 19th century as one of the spheres of merchant entrepreneurship in the Asian direction. The choice of geographical boundaries is dictated by the desire to study the merchant fishing industry of the frontier regions of Russia as a branch of merchant business focused on the economic development of Asian territories. The paper presents the fundamental differences in working conditions between Astrakhan and Orenburg entrepreneurs. The article shows a wide range of organizational tasks solved by merchants in preparation for fishing operations. The localization of labor activity in the places of residence of Asian nomads (Kazakhs, Kalmyks, Turkmens) attributed unique character to the fishing business of the Astrakhan and Orenburg merchants of the 19th century. Merchants doing business in the depths of barely explored territories with little or no presence of Russian military were regularly attacked by steppe nomads. Conflicts of this kind led to the theft or destruction of the property of fishermen and sometimes ended in the death of merchants and their employees. To date, Russian historiography has not offered an analysis of the merchant fishing industry in the Asian direction in the 19th century in the aspect of everyday work, which brings novelty to the presented study.