The article is devoted to the questions of land management policy of the Cabinet directed at the employees of the Cabinet enterprises of the Altai territory in the late 19th — early 20th centuries. The author concludes that having received personal freedom in 1861, many workers tried to leave the factories and mines. Conditions for employment in the area were very limited, as there was almost no private industry and other areas of employment. Rules about the land allotment after the reform of 1861 did not allow workers to be engaged in agriculture and make incomes from agriculture and cattle breeding, the main source of its existence. The lands given to the workers of mining enterprises of the Altai territory were so small in area that could only contribute to the emergence of subsistence farms. For the workers of the Barnaul silver plant land— use conditions deteriorated, the land plots were two times reduced. The lack of experience, equipment, unfavorable environmental conditions, and frequent crop failures prevented workers from farming. The administration by all means encouraged freed workers to continue mining and factory work. The land lease and greater profits for the treasury became the main goal of land management policy of the Cabinet in the post-reform period.