Ethnic Migration in North-West Ingermanland: The Influence of Economic Development on Local Differences in the Second Half of the 19th Century

Authors

• Andrei Kalinitchev

DOI: https://doi.org/10.23979/fypr.45067

Keywords:

Ingermanland, migration, microhistory, ethnic group, orphan, social profile, income

Abstract

Ingermanland became a destination point for migrants of many nationalities and had
an inner circulation of the domestic population in the 19th century. Migratory routes,
as well as the outflow and inflow volumes in the region differed for each ethnic group.
A micro-historical approach enables one to assess the various reasons for the mobility
of the homogeneous domestic population. There was a specific migration of orphans
to Lutheran Finnish communities. Indeed the main reason for this migration was due
to economic factors. A structural change of employment in the case of the closure of
factories resulted in the outward movement of the population, alongside the allure of
higher wages in localities with an industrial and trade infrastructure. The expansion
of St. Petersburgs city border led to complex migratory processes as a result of the
rapid economic development of the capital region. Ingermanland became an important
part of the international market exchange that created opportunities for migrants and
businesses of residents affected by the changes, who increasingly gave up agricultural
production and sought other ways of earning a livelihood.