TOLMACHEVA S.A. Verification Commissions in the Land Arrangement of Peasants in the Territory of Belarus (1861–1868)
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2026.3.8
Svetlana A. Tolmacheva,
Doctor of Sciences (History), Associate Professor, Head of the Department of History of Belarus and Slavic Nations, Belarusian State Pedagogical University named after Maxim Tank, Sovetskaya St, 18, 220030 Minsk, Republic of Belarus,
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https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6708-0282
Abstract. Introduction. The implementation of the agrarian reform of 1861 and its specific features in the territory of Belarus, as well as the outcomes of the verification commissions, have been reflected in historiography. However, the mechanism and regulation of their activities, personnel composition, and other aspects have not been the subject of specialized research. The aim of this article is to reveal the transformation and mechanism of the work of verification commissions in the process of land arrangement of former serf peasants from 1861 to 1868, in connection with changes in the political situation in the territory of Belarus. Methods and materials. The source base of the article consisted of legislative acts and materials from Belarusian, Russian, and Lithuanian archives, as well as published documents. The content of the article is based on the use of principles of historicism, objectivity, and a value approach, as well as general scientific and special historical methods (historical-systemic, historical-comparative, historical-genetic, etc.). Results. The legislation of 1861 provided for the creation of district verification commissions as stipulated by the “Local Regulations...” for the Vilna, Grodno, Minsk, and four districts of the Vitebsk province, where peasants were endowed with land on a household basis. In 1863–1864, in connection with the uprising, the government revised the charter documents, which were entrusted to the verification commissions. The number of these commissions increased to two or three per district, their composition changed, and their functions expanded. In particular, verification commissions are considered part of the system of local government bodies. The use of historical-comparative and historical-genetic methods allowed us to reveal the evolution of the functional responsibilities of the verification commissions, depending on the political situation in the region and the government’s goals for implementing agrarian reforms. Verification commissions, initially created only to verify the accuracy of calculating the size of allotments and peasant duties according to the charter documents, from 1863 had to correct these documents and compose redemption acts. In doing so, the commissions generally satisfied the interests of peasants, especially on the estates of Roman Catholic landlords, whom the government sought to deprive of economic weight. As a result of the activities of the verification commissions, the amount of allotment land for peasants in the territory of Belarus increased, and the size of the quitrent was reduced, significantly reducing the size of redemption sums.
Key words: Belarus, agrarian reform of 1861, verification commission, land arrangement of peasants, charter document, redemption act.
Citation. Tolmacheva S.A. Verification Commissions in the Land Arrangement of Peasants in the Territory of Belarus (1861–1868). Vestnik Volgogradskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Seriya 4. Istoriya. Regionovedenie. Mezhdunarodnye otnosheniya [Science Journal of Volgograd State University. History. Area Studies. International Relations], 2026, vol. 31, no. 3, pp. 84-94. (in Russian). DOI: https://doi.org/10.15688/jvolsu4.2026.3.8
Verification Commissions in the Land Arrangement of Peasants in the Territory of Belarus (1861–1868) © 2026 by Tolmacheva S.A. is licensed under CC BY 4.0 
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