Born into a family of poor peasants, Lukian Popov observed the resettlement of peasants both in his childhood and in his youth. When the future artist was 3 years old, his family also had to move from the village of Arkhangelskoye to neighboring Orenburg. When a teenager, Popov had to leave his native region once again, moving to St. Petersburg to study painting at the Academy of Arts. He painted several genre pictures of peasants who, for various reasons, were forced to leave their homes and to move to a new place of residence. In 1900 to 1902, the artist created the Settlers in Winter.

Popov also depicted the hardship experienced by the people looking for a better place to live in his other paintings. In the Settlers among Thunderstorm canvas of the 1900’s, people also suffer from bad weather on the way, and in The Old Peasant Woman canvas of the same time, an elderly woman is depicted whose appearance betrays long wanderings under the scorching steppe sun. The artist began to create sketches dedicated to settlers during the period of his training in painting: for example, in the 1890’s he painted The Settlers’ Camp.

Popov observed migrants not only near Orenburg, but also in other regions of Russia. After graduating from the Academy of Arts, the artist took two paid trips abroad, and for the third time insisted on traveling around Russia. He visited Chuvashia, Mordovia, Bashkiria, Arkhangelsk and Saratov provinces, where he studied the nature, traditions and life of the local population.