THE EFFECT OF THE "INVISIBILITY" OF WESTERN EVENKS IN OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS OF THE 19TH-20TH CENTURIES: CAUSES, SUPPORTING AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS
The article analyzes the phenomenon of a long absence from state control of some Evenk groups although their whereabouts was de facto not unknown to local authorities. A group of Evenks with the family name Likhachev was chosen as an example for the study, they migrated from the Podkamennaya Tunguska-river basin through the Vasyugan-river valley to the Lower Irtysh-river area in the last decades of the 19th century. The situation with the extreme lack of official documents confirming the Evenk presence was all the same in all three above mentioned territories which they inhabited. The author considers that the lack of mentionings of the taiga dwellers in documents was due to the actions of three parties: those who did not want to be under the control (the Evenks themselves); those who were satisfied with such a situation (most officials and a large proportion of Christian clergy); and those who actively supported it (some local officials and merchants).