The article analyzes the situation in recent decades in Russian and foreign historiography of colonization and economic development of Siberia in the late 19th - early 20th centuries. It describes the main assessments and perspectives of the resettlement issue that formed the attitude of society and authorities to the most developed Russian-nation “outskirt” of the empire - the Siberia. The authors emphasize the rejection of a number of unsupported approaches by foreign, particularly Chinese, researchers, with quite correct conclusions, as well as the high level of results achieved by Russian scientists. Historiographical experience proves that traditional methods of research in the analysis of documents on the history of economic development of Siberia and the Far East at the turn of 19th - 20th centuries are still relevant. It is necessary to introduce new sources from the collections of central and regional archives and publish documentary anthologies.