Ivan Dmitrievich Dolgushin,
Postgraduate Student, Institute of History of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia; Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Engineer-Colonel of the 10th District of Railways F.F. Ridder and the Case of the Reconstruction of the Podchuvashskaya Pier in Tobolsk (1810s)
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2026-1-11
The article presents the results of a study on the case materials concerning the repair of the Podchuvashskaya pier in the city of Tobolsk, stored in the Russian State Historical Archive in St. Petersburg. The case is of interest as a striking example of the interaction between three main actors in the development of shipping in Siberia in the first half of the 19th century: the central imperial governing bodies, represented in this situation by the Main Directorate of Communications, the local provincial administration, and private merchant capital. During the course of the several-year-long, multi-stakeholder review of the pier repairs, acute contradictions between them emerged. This seemingly insignificant episode led to a large-scale investigation involving numerous individuals, including those not directly associated with shipping management. The conflict between the head of the 10th District of Communications, F.F. Ridder, and the Siberian Governor-General, I.B. Pestel’, manifested, among other things, in their disputes over the reconstruction of the Podchuvashia pier, and became a significant phenomenon in Siberian life in the 1810s. As it developed, it affected many aspects of the region’s economy and infrastructure and drew various figures into its orbit. Numerous documents reveal a complex and contradictory picture of the contacts between various agencies and figures. Studying the case of the Podchuvashia pier repairs allows to explore the broader issues of the development of shipping along the inland waterways of the Asian part of the Russian Empire in the early 19th century in the context of the relationship between central and local authorities.
Publishing: 28/02/2026
The article has been received by the editor on 04/04/2025
How to cite: Dolgushin I.D. Engineer-Colonel of the 10th District of Railways F.F. Ridder and the Case of the Reconstruction of the Podchuvashskaya Pier in Tobolsk (1810s) // Historical Courier, 2026, No. 1 (45), pp. 138−150. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2026/ISTKURIER-2026-1-11.pdf]
Links: Issue 1 2026
Keywords: 10th District of Communications; F.F. Ridder; I.B. Pestel; inland waterways; shipping