Colony (Russian Empire) Explained

In the Russian Empire, a colony (ru|колония) was a type of settlement, typically agricultural, created under government encouragement in sparsely populated territories. Most commonly they were created by foreigners invited to resettle to Russia^{[1] [2]} but there were also efforts to create Jewish colonies for resettling Jews from other areas within the Pale of settlement. The settlers were called colonists (ru|колонисты).

For example, this was done in newly acquired lands, such as Novorossiya and Bessarabia.^[2]

See also

• Military settlement
• Volga Germans
• Slavo-Serbia
• New Serbia
• Jewish agricultural colonies of Bessarabia

Notes and References

1. Bartlett R. P. Human Capital: The Settlement of Foreigners in Russia 1762–1804. Cambridge, 1979
2. Brandes D. Von den Zaren adoptiert: Die deutschen Kolonisten und Balkansiedler in Neurussland und Bessarabien 1751–1914. München, 1993.