379 Russian bcrg-privilcgiia: '•* Until such time as the above-mentioned mineral or metallurgical works have a sufficient number of workers and are set up according to the regulations which the college shall declare, the above-mentioned owners of mining works, according to the privileges given them or their letters of patent, are assured that these works will not be taken away from them or their suecessors, and that not even the smallest damage will be done to their needs and profits, unless they themselves are not in a position to maintain them. As is revealed by these excerpts, the system of mining concessions was a fundamental principle in both Swedish and Russian mining legislation. In Sweden, this practice had been borrowed from German law much earlier,"'* but it made its debut in Russia with the herg-privilegiia of 1719. This system of concessions meant quite simply that any individual could prospect for, mine, and refine all sorts of metallurgical and mineral deposits wherever they might be located and then receive patents from the college of mines giving him the exclusive right to his mining claim. In its pure form, this system of mining concessions left the property owner in a very weak position, since he had to accept violations of his property. The principle that had been in effect in Russia before 1719 had been that all metallurgical and mineral deposits belonged to the property owner, who was also the one to decide whether any mining was to be done."’ An exception was made both in the Swedish and Russian mining privileges, however, for land belonging to noblemen, who were given the first chance to lay claim to any deposits on their property. Nonetheless, during the period of Caroline absolutism, the Swedish nobility’s right to use ore deposits on its property was reduced, since the crown began to make regalian claims on mines belonging to the nobility, as well."® It is possible that the Swedish generalhergsprivilegium may have served as a model for the corresponding Russian legislation on this point. Swedish gcncralbcrgsprivilegium: '- Herewith, We most graciously assure all who have not spared their investments and work thus and on such new works, not only during the years of liberty, but also afterwards, for themselves and their heirs, to use, mine, and keep, with complete security of tenure, so long as they wish to and can keep the works going and give and pay to Us and the Crown all suitable rights. Generalbergsprivilegium (Stockholm, July 6, 1649). TsGADA, f. 9 otdelenic 1 delo 53 1. 190. Betänkande med förslag till gruvlag avgiz>et av 1920 ars gruvlagsstiftningssakkunniga, SOU 1924: 16 (Stockholm, 1924), 44. Pavlenko (1953), 103. '* J. E. Almquist (1929), 39.
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