Change in the number of appanage settlements in the Shenkursk uyezd of the Arkhangelsk province in 1797-1863

On the basis of office documents from the funds of the Russian State Historical Archive and the Russian State Archive of Ancient Acts, the change in the number of villages in the appanage group of volosts (Prikaz) and volosts of the Shenkursk uyezd of the Arkhangelsk province is investigated. It was revealed that 201 names of settlements disappeared in the uyezd in 1797-1863, including 61 between the V – VIII revisions, the remaining majority – between the VIII–X revisions. The reduction of settlements was a rather complicated phenomenon. It included the desolation of villages, mainly until the early 1930s, and the establishment of a small number of new settlements. However, most of the village names disappeared during the merger of several villages (from two to four) into one settlement, usually into a village. The opposite trend was also observed – division of villages into two settlements, which led to the emergence of new villages. Thus, the reduction in the number of appanage settlements very often entailed not their desolation, but the disappearance of only names. The characteristics of the reduction of appanage settlements in the Arkhangelsk province differed significantly from those in other provinces of Russia.