Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: The article aims to analyze information on the forms of land tenure among the Laks in the 19th – early 20th centuries. The primary focus lies in examining the various forms of land ownership and determining their prevalence within the territory occupied by the Laks during the specified timeframe. The author directs attention to the prevalence of distinctive easements in Laks’ land tenure, emphasizing the insufficient coverage of the reasons for their persistence in the works of many researchers and presents her perspective on the sustainability of this particular type of land use. The theoretical and methodological framework of the study is rooted in the general principles of historicism and objectivism. Alongside the stated objective, the author employs specific historical methods, including logical, systemic, chronological, actualization, and periodization. In writing the article, the author also utilized her field ethnographic materials and relevant literature pertaining to the problem. Additionally, archival materials sourced from the Central State Archive of the Republic of Dagestan were incorporated, contributing novel insights to scientific discourse. The study concludes in the identification of a significant factor contributing to the retainment of easement in Laks’ land tenure: the absence of forced crop rotation, wherein the community actively regulated the exploitation of its plots, determining which lands to cultivate and which to leave fallow. The emergence of these easements can be traced to attempts aimed at legally addressing conflicting economic interests between various communities, as well as between communities and private owners. This occurred amidst escalating antagonism between communal and private property, intensified by land congestion, evolving economic specialization, and the waning influence of the community in matters of land tenure, economic activities, and social everyday life.
Author: Zoya B. Ramazanova
Language: English
Topic: Land Rights and Reforms
Subfield: Soil Science
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4405077700