The informational potential of the census books of the Dorogobuzh uyezd made from the 1650s to the 1670s

The article attempts to assess the possibilities of the census books of the Dorogobuzh uyezd from 1659, 1668, and 1678 as sources for the history of socio-economic integration in the Smolensk region, which once again became part of the Moscow state as a result of the Russo-Polish war of 1654-1667. These census books cover the land holdings of monasteries and various categories of local service gentry, encompassing almost the entire territory of the district, except for palace lands. The study evaluates the informational potential of each book individually in terms of the quantity and social composition of landowners, typology of land holdings, accounting of households and taxable population, administrative and territorial division of the district, registration of settlements, wastelands, arable land, and other agricultural lands, as well as summarizing the census results. The research methodology involves applying a systemic approach. The entire volume of the census books was systematized, resulting in the identification of basic units of description and types of collected data. Comparison of the datasets across all three books allowed for conclusions about what the census takers focused on in each case and raised questions about the reasons for such attention. Although the books of the Dorogobuzh uyezd have already been the subject of source studies, previous observations were mainly based on the results of the censuses. The novelty of the proposed article lies in the complete analysis of the primary material of the census books. The data array does not lend itself to full formalization immediately, as it contains diverse and not always regularly reported information. Nevertheless, it has been shown that the books provide extensive opportunities for studying the dynamics of secular (especially szlachta's) and monastic land ownership, as well as the numerical and social structure of landowners in the Dorogobuzh uyezd in the second half of the 17th century. Further examination is warranted for the findings regarding the land ownership of female nobility and representatives of the Moscow service class. It has been established that the locations referenced in the census books can indeed be mapped using geographic information systems, despite the complex, unstable administrative-territorial division of the district. Preliminary conclusions were also drawn about the objectives of conducting censuses in 1659, 1668, and 1678 in the context of the policy of integrating Smolensk region into Russia.

census books, household censuses, scrivener's books, tax-paying population, location, Smolensk szlachta, Smolensk region, Dorogobuzhsky uyezd, Russian-Polish war, integration of territories