Buchasta S. I. Creation and development of military settlement infrastructure of cavalry on the territory of the Slobidsko-Ukrainian (Kharkiv) province in 1817–1864

ANNOTATION 
Buchasta S. I. Creation and development of military settlement infrastructure of 
cavalry on the territory of the Slobidsko-Ukrainian (Kharkiv) province in 1817–1864. – 
Qualifying scientific work as a manuscript. 
Thesis  for  a  Candidate  degree  of  historical  sciences  on  a  specialty  07.00.01 
"History of Ukraine". – State Higher Educational Institution "Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky 
Hryhoriy Skovoroda State Pedagogical University" Ministry of Education and Science 
of Ukraine. – Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky, 2020. 
The  dissertation  is devoted to the  complex  study  of  military  cavalry  settlement 
infrastructure creation and development process on the territory of the Kharkiv province 
as an important factor in the formation of the regional social and economic space of the 
first half of the XIX century. 
In the dissertation research the state of the scientific development of the topic is 
analyzed.  It  is  found  that  for  the  first  time  the  issue  of  creating  military  settlements 
infrastructure, as a complex of objects and buildings, was considered by representatives 
of Russian historiography of the imperial era.  
In Soviet times, the research topic was hardly developed. Modern historians have 
considered  this  problem  only  in  the  context  of  studying  the  military  settlements 

 
economy. It was found that the chosen topic was not the subject of a special study. The 
existing  historiography  is  a  sufficient  basis  for  the  next  level  of  the  problem 
development. 
The analysis of the source base revealed that the written and graphic sources are 
the  main  and  equivalent groups  for  the study.  The  overwhelming  majority  of  written 
sources are units of the internal document circulation of the military settlement system. 
Graphic  sources  relate  to  project  and  fixation  activities  for  both  territorial  spatial 
transformations, urban planning, and individual infrastructure facilities and structures. 
The great majority of sources of the group was discovered and published for the first 
time. The most complete and systematic information is contained in the archive funds 
formed  as  a  result  of  the  work  of  the  military  settlements  central  authorities  and 
reserved in the funds of the Russian State Military Historical Archive (Moscow) and the 
Russian State Historical Archive (St. Petersburg). At the same time, the documentary 
corpus of local authorities, which are stored in the Central State Historical Archive of 
Ukraine (Kyiv), the State Archives of Odessa region (Odessa) and the State Archives of 
Kharkiv region (Kharkiv), is also quite representative. 
The  methodological  base  of  the  study  is  determined.  It  is  characterized  by 
interdisciplinarity, because it raises issues that are the object of study not only of history 
but also socio-economic geography, urban planning and architecture. 
The dissertation analyzes the influence of infrastructural transformations on the 
development  of  the  military  settlement  territory.  The  process  of  Ukrainian  lands 
selection for the cavalry settlement in the Kharkiv province is studied.  It is noted that 
the settled districts were formed as artificial autonomous administrative formations by 
collecting  only  state  lands,  redemption  and  exchange  of  landed  estates.  It  was 
established that a fundamentally new system of settlement was formed in the districts, 
which had the structure and division inherent in military settlements. The villages where 
the headquarters were located, played the role of different levels centers. The change in 
the resettlement system was due to the forced destruction of hamlets and small villages 
and the regulation of the number of inhabitants by partial or complete resettlement. The 
heredity of the settlement network of the specified territory is retraced. 

 
The  planning  and  development  study  of  the  military  settlement  inhabited 
localities revealed that the process of redevelopment was associated with the formation 
of  the  settlement  network,  was  at  different  rates  in  the  districts  of  the  uhlan  and 
cuirassier  divisions.  Planning  structures  in  military  settlements  were  developed 
exclusively on the basis of regular schemes in accordance with the national urban policy 
of  the  time.  It  is  proved  that  the  authorship  of  new  town-planning  plans  was  of  a 
collective nature. All inhabited localities of the Ukrainian military settlement received 
new plans that changed the traditional structure of settlements to varying degrees. The 
high level of planning elements’ preservation of the studied period in modern planning 
structures  of  cities  and  villages  of  Kharkiv,  Luhansk  and  Donetsk  oblasts  as  a 
perspective problem for further researches is revealed. 
It was found that the construction was carried out according to the typical projects 
in  the style  of  classicism. Reconstruction  was used  to save  money  and  accelerate the 
pace of construction. Buildings were divided into residential and staff, which differed in 
height and location in the inhabited localities plan.  
Based  on  the  analysis  of  statistical  data  on  the  composition  of  the  military 
settlements’  infrastructure  during  1817–1857,  its  unification  was  revealed  and  a 
conditional  division  into  eight  functional  groups  according  to  the  tasks  of  military 
settlements was proposed. The main types of buildings are characterized. Summary data 
on religious buildings are presented separately.  
The dissertation considers the main factors and results of the Ukrainian military 
settlement  infrastructure  development  the  by  studying  the  legal  and  organizational 
principles, resources and dynamics of construction. 
The  peculiarities  of  the  creation  process  and  normative-legal  base  use  of 
construction activity in the districts of military settlements are analyzed. It is established 
that  the  legislative  process  here  had  the  same  general  tendencies  as  in  the  Russian 
legislation  of  that  time.  The  rather  extensive  and  complex  legal  framework  regulated 
any  process  extra  fine.  It  was  found  that  according  to  the  plan  of  the  military 
settlements’ organizers, the way of gradual accumulation of legislative acts was chosen, 
which  clarified  the  provisions  of  the  two  main  documents  on  the  organization  and 
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functioning  of  military  settlements  of  infantry  and  regular  cavalry  in  1817.  The 
legislative  base  of  construction  in  the  pre-codification  period,  from  1817  to  1832,  is 
systematized according to conditional groups of use. It was found that the main feature 
of building regulations in the settlements was not the regulation of public relations in 
the field of construction, but the consolidation of its own development model of districts 
and comprehensive control over its implementation. 
The thesis traces the formation of the construction management system as a set of 
responsibilities  and  powers  of  the  governing  bodies  of  economic  development  of 
settlements at all levels, which took place gradually, in ascending order, according to 
practical  needs.  The structure  and powers  in the  field of  construction  in  the  military-
populated districts of both central and local governments and the interrelations between 
them  are  revealed.  It  was  established  that  collegial  bodies  existed  at  all  levels  of 
government to address the most important issues. 
The main advantage of the management system of infrastructural transformations 
in the districts of the military settlement is its comprehensiveness in a certain territory, 
which ensured the planning, perspective, consistency and controllability of the process.  
The  composition  and  qualification  of  labor  resources  construction  of  military 
settlements infrastructure facilities of the cavalry in the Kharkiv province, in particular, 
the master personnel of special military-labor units have been studied. It was established 
that the use of externally engaged labor force, such as soldiers of infantry battalions and 
artillery companies, took place in order to intensify the pace of work in the districts and 
unload  the  local  population.  It  was  emphasized  that  the  main  burden  of  in-kind 
construction duties was on the local population, but the tendency to relieve the peasants 
of any responsibilities other than agricultural work deepened over time. It was revealed 
that the need for master specialists and lower-level construction managers was solved 
through the creation of special military-labor units. 
Staff training took place through the transfer of experience on site or internships 
in craft centers. Conductor schools were established in the cavalry military settlements 
to train middle management personnel. 
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Peculiarities of using the expenditure part of the military settlements’ budget for 
construction are considered. The level of financial resources for construction activities 
to create the infrastructure of settlements has been identified. It is noted that despite the 
significant sums allocated annually for the construction of the cavalry in the Sloboda-
Ukrainian (Ukrainian) military settlement, the austerity regime was constantly applied. 
Uneven funding in different periods affected the pace of construction in the districts. 
It is concluded that the lack of manpower, the lag of funding from the needs of 
districts,  which  became  significant  in  the  first  half  of  the  1840s,  contributed  to  the 
creation  of  settlement  infrastructure  mainly  from  non-capital  temporary  structures  of 
non-durable materials and simplified technologies. 
Based on a large amount of consolidated statistical data, infrastructure facilities 
and regimental districts construction dynamics by years is analyzed. The periodization 
of the Ukrainian military settlement infrastructure development process is proposed.  
It is established that the first or initial period lasted from 1817 to 1820, the second 
one between 1822 and 1832, the third one lasted from 1833 to the mid-1840s, the fourth 
one can be defined in the range from the mid-1840s to 1857, the fifth one or liquidation 
period lasted from 1857 to January 1, 1864. 
In  conclusion,  the  results  of  the  work  and  achievements  of  the  candidate  are 
summarized and the main provisions for the defense are formulated. 
An analysis of the available data on the creation and development of the military 
cavalry settlement infrastructure on the territory of the Slobidsko-Ukrainian (Kharkiv) 
province in 1817-1864 led to the conclusion that this process took place at several levels 
– geo planning, town-planning and directly architectural constructional (objectal), had 
significant  differences  in  different  districts  of  one  regional  settlement,  experienced 
significant transformation over time and was effective. 
It is emphasized that the process of creating infrastructure in the above-mentioned 
regional settlement can be considered effective, because the construction program was 
implemented,  however,  taking  into  account  non-capital  structures.  The  results  of 
construction measures to create infrastructure are called one of the main factors in the 
forced change of traditional way of life in some areas of Kharkiv province, which was 
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the most global consequence of the military settlements existence in the first half of the 
XIX century.  
Considering  the  comprehensiveness  of  infrastructural  transformations  and  the 
findings  of  modern  research  on  changes  in  agriculture,  animal  husbandry,  forestry, 
education,  health  care,  transport  communications,  we  can  talk  about  creating  a  new 
cultural landscape in the military settlement of cavalry in Kharkiv province in 1817–
1864.  
Further study of the topic has significant research prospects and reserves both in 
other  regional  military  settlements,  and  in  related  disciplines  of  urban  planning, 
architecture and cultural heritage protection. 
Keywords: military settlement, infrastructure, construction, resettlement system, 
planning,  structure  of  facilities,  management  system,  legislative  and  regulatory 
framework, labor force and personnel, financing peculiarities, creation dynamics.