Annotation

The article examines the role of clan and tribal leaders in the system of administration of Siberian indigenous peoples from the late seventeenth to the early nineteenth century. It shows that, under the conditions of Siberian colonization, limited administrative resources, and the frontier significance of certain regions, Russian authorities relied on clan organization, customary law, and local leaders as intermediary structures of governance. Particular attention is paid to Transbaikalia, where clan and tribal leaders participated not only in internal administration and yasak collection, but also in the fulfillment of frontier duties. The article concludes that, even before the adoption of the 1822 Statute on the Administration of Indigenous Peoples, the legal and administrative foundations of the future system of indigenous self-government had already begun to take shape.