“Skazki” of Landowners and Peasants About the Development of Novorossiya at the End of the 18th – First Third of the 19th Century

Introduction. According to the pace of settlement at the end of the 18th century, Novorossiya occupied a leading position in the country. Until now, primary materials of the General Land Surveying of the late 18th – first third of the 19th centuries have not been involved in the study of the development and settlement of Novorossiya. Methods and materials. The basis of the study was economic “skazki” related to rarely encountered initial survey documents. To identify “skazki,” the fund of field notes on the Ekaterinoslav (Novorossiysk) province was studied, and the text of “skazki” was analyzed to search for lost or hidden information. Analysis. Compared to other regions, economic “skazki” in Novorossiya are revealed much more frequently. “Skazki” allow us to identify the features associated with the development of Novorossiya, including the absence of large forests, the presence of steppe open spaces for cattle-breeding and fertile chernozems for arable farming. The rivers were of great importance for the region. Results. Under the conditions of colonization and the sparsely populated region, the “skazki” of landowners and peasants served as the only source for land surveyors about the state of the land fund, the existing population, and its occupations in individual dacha territories.