1 March 01, 2026

Abstract:
This article, drawing on a wide range of sources, examines the history of the Tarkov Shaukhal, one of the little-studied state formations in the North Caucasus that emerged after the disappearance of the Ulus of Jochi from the historical arena. The authors address the highly controversial issue of statehood among the peoples who were under the rule of the Golden Horde and subsequently incorporated into the Russian Empire. The relevance of this topic is noted not only for Russian Caucasus studies but also for other regions experiencing the revival and establishment of statehood, where active efforts are underway to substantiate the legitimacy of newly acquired political status. The complexity of this research problem is due, on the one hand, to the methodological limitations of the theory of state and law, which fails to take into account the diversity of real political systems that do not fit into the classical model of the state. On the other hand, the regionalist approach, widespread in the post-Soviet space, is no less limited, preventing a common methodological approach to examining the formation of numerous new political centers after the collapse of the Golden Horde, taking into account their cultural and institutional specifics. This article utilizes a multifactorial approach that overcomes the isolation of Kumyk historiography and presents the processes that took place in the North Caucasus during the Golden Horde and post-Horde periods against a broad historical backdrop. Drawing on sources and recent achievements in Russian historiography, the authors conclude that the strong tradition of Kumyk political agency, preserved during the Golden Horde, contributed to the revival of their statehood in the form of the Tarkov Shaukhal State after its collapse.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772443630.pdf
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Abstract:
This article analyzes the rare book collection of the P.A. Cherkasov Fundamental Library at Cherkas Global University and considers it as an independent object of library science and source-critical research. The study focuses on the formation, structure, and composition of the rare collection, which includes editions published between 1455 and 1836, i.e., from the beginning of European printing to the first third of the nineteenth century. It is shown that the chronological boundaries of the collection are determined both by the history of print culture and by the requirements of scholarly classification of book collections. The article reconstructs the institutional history of the library, the stages of its transformation from a university collection into a fundamental library with a rare book collection, and the role of Masonic and historical publications in shaping the library’s profile holdings. Particular attention is paid to the characteristics of individual groups within the collection: incunabula and post-incunabula, editions of the sixteenth–seventeenth centuries, as well as books of the Enlightenment and the early period of U.S. national publishing. Methodologically, the research relies on a set of general scientific, library, and book-historical methods, including analysis and synthesis, systemic and historical approaches, and elements of bibliographical and provenance attribution. As a result, the article demonstrates that the rare collection has substantial scholarly value as a source for the history of the book, intellectual culture, and transnational connections of the early modern period and the early nineteenth century.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772353473.pdf
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Abstract:
The article analyzes 97 legal documents from among the qazi acts and labels of the Khiva khans, stored in the funds of the Ichan-Kala State Museum-Reserve (Khiva, Uzbekistan), private collections of Khorezm and published in collections. In a comparative aspect, the realization of the property rights of titled men and women of the Khiva Khanate is considered, as well as the types, amounts and number of transactions concluded in the period before the establishment of the Russian protectorate in 1873 and during its action. The results of the study showed that the labels of the Khiva khans and the qazi (juridical) acts reflected the diversity of religious titles and their evolution, but in relation to privileged women, the title “bike” (“bika”, “bibi”) was indicated mainly. The qazi documents showed the economic processes in the Khiva Khanate: at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, representatives of the privileged classes lost their leadership in property transactions, and the number of transactions involving them decreased by almost half. Other segments of Khiva society became more actively involved in market relations, indicating the development of commodity-money relations and the adaptation of the population to new conditions. Aristocratic women proved to be more financially secure than men, as reproduction within titled families was considered the most important function of harems. In general, Khan's labels and qazi acts are the main source for the property and social status of the religious elite, since the legal system of the Khiva Khanate was primarily focused on protecting the interests of the privileged strata of local society.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772443741.pdf
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Abstract:
The article examines the formation and historical development of Russian Oriental studies and Turkology in a chronological manner. Beginning with the initial initiatives during the reign of Peter I, it traces the trajectory through the scientific expeditions and cartographic works of the eighteenth century, the “golden age” of the nineteenth century, and the scholarly contributions of V.V. Velyaminov-Zernov and V.V. Radlov. The study highlights the establishment of the institutional foundations of Oriental scholarship, the introduction of the history and languages of Turkic peoples into academic circulation, the first scientific consideration of sources on the formation of the Kazakh Khanate, and the consolidation of Turkology as an independent discipline. The findings underscore the significance and role of Oriental studies and Turkology within Russian scholarship, as well as the decisive stages in the study of Turkic history. In the course of Turkology’s development, particular attention was devoted to the history and culture of the Kazakh people, which opened the way for new advances in national historiography. Overall, the article provides a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of Russian Oriental studies and Turkology, elucidating their place and scholarly importance in the study of Turkic peoples’ history.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772353622.pdf
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Abstract:
This article examines the features of Kazakh etiquette recorded in the works of Russian scholars of the 18th–19th centuries, during the period of active exploration and study of Asian Russia. It also considers the set of norms governing women’s etiquette in traditional Kazakh society, which are reflected in the works of Russian researchers and aimed at regulating the social status, role obligations, and behavioral models of Kazakh women within the family and clan environment. Ethnographic interest in the peoples of the steppe region contributed to the accumulation of an extensive body of observations that captured behavioral norms, hospitality customs, greeting rituals, as well as Kazakh wedding and funeral rites. Special attention is paid to the analysis of descriptions presented in the works of authors such as A.I. Levshin, V.V. Radlov, P.I. Rychkov, and others. Based on comparative analysis, the study identifies differences in the interpretation of Kazakh traditions, shaped both by the individual perspectives of the researchers and by the socio-political context of the era. The article employs an interdisciplinary approach, combining methods of historical and ethnographic analysis, which makes it possible to gain a deeper understanding of how perceptions of Kazakh etiquette were formed in pre-revolutionary Russian scholarship. The study highlights the significance of early ethnographic sources as valuable material for contemporary ethnological and cultural studies discourse, and contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the cultural distinctiveness of the Kazakh people in historical retrospect.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772380044.pdf
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Abstract:
This article examines the evolution of institutions caring for orphans in the Russian Empire from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. Drawing on archival and statistical material, the authors trace changes in the attitudes of the Russian state and society toward the issue of children deprived of parents. The legislative framework and resulting practical measures for arranging the lives of minor orphans are summarized. The development of a stable care system based on humanist principles is documented from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. At the same time, the specifics of state policy in each period are highlighted. For example, the solution to the orphanage issue under Peter the Great, in accordance with the objectives and spirit of the time, implied a unique form of enslavement for orphans, in which the provision of shelter and food necessitated their participation, from a certain age, in the creation of public goods. Attention is paid to the role of zemstvos in organizing care, noting the attention of local governments to the problem, along with the difficulties encountered. Public organizations, such as the Imperial Philanthropic Society, played a significant role in overseeing the homeless child population. The article uses the example of correctional and educational shelters within the system of institutions for orphans to demonstrate the Russian authorities' understanding of the correctional function of such institutions. Particular emphasis is placed on the regional aspect: the work of social institutions in Central and Southern Russia, as well as in Siberia, is examined separately. The article also highlights the gender aspect of child supervision, using shelters for girls as an example.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772353743.pdf
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Abstract:
This paper examines the state of infrastructure and administrative structure in Central Russian cities in the mid-18th century, on the eve of Catherine the Great's large-scale reforms. The methodology includes elements of comparative, structural, and descriptive analysis. The research source base is based on previously unpublished materials from the Russian State Archives of Ancient Documents (Moscow, Russian Federation). It is concluded that by the early 1760s, Central Russian cities were undergoing a complex transformation driven by the logic and long-term consequences of the socioeconomic and administrative reforms of the early 17th century. Cities were losing their status as instruments of military and political control over territory and gradually transforming into full-fledged administrative centers. However, the completion of this process was hampered by significant infrastructural limitations, which largely precipitated Catherine the Great's large-scale reforms. A shortage of personnel and an inadequate material and technical base hampered local authorities' ability to effectively address issues related to the existence of defensive structures that had lost their original functionality, the absence or poor quality of transportation and social infrastructure, fire safety systems, and law enforcement agencies. It is noted that the systemic nature of the urban development crisis made the radical provincial reform of 1775 inevitable.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772353803.pdf
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Abstract:
This article explores one of the least studied periods in the history of Kazakhstan, beginning around 1600 year. The seventeenth century marked an era of profound change across the Great Steppe. The process of widespread decentralization coincided with the gradual decline of the remnants of the Golden Horde and the emergence of new peoples. Rapid shifts in political dominance and the constant emergence of new threats compelled local societies to adapt. These transformations affected not only state territories but also patterns of lifestyles, military strategies, and even everyday practices, ultimately leading to modifications in customs and traditions. Under the threat of war, the Kazakhs were forced to abandon their relatively slow-moving kibitkas characteristic of earlier times and switch to lighter, more mobile yurts. The westward expansion of the Kalmyks, driven by the search for new pastures and settlement areas, acted as a major catalyst for these changes. Internal fragmentation and weakening of the main nomadic polities of the region – the Nogai and Kazakh Hordes – allowed the Kalmyks to achieve a number of military and political successes. However, the relatively stable institutions of the Kazakh Horde allowed it not only to retain part of its territory but also to eventually regain lost lands. At certain stages, some Kalmyk groups even became part of the Kazakh Khanate. The Chinggisid lineage of the Kazakh rulers and the comparatively large population of the Steppe played a key role in this process. For instance, despite a series of defeats inflicted on the Nogais, the Kalmyks managed to push them out of the western Kazakh steppes only by the mid-seventeenth century. The wide settlement of the Kalmyks across the Kazakh Steppe is well documented in historical maps and written sources. Relations between the Kazakhs and Kalmyks are especially well reflected in Russian archival materials. Due to the Steppe’s proximity to the borders of the Moscow Tsardom, Russian officials and the Posolsky (Ambassadorial) Prikaz closely monitored power shifts in regional and the formation of alliances. Particular attention was paid to the nature of temporary or long-term agreements concluded between the Kazakhs and the Kalmyks. The relative weakness of Russian frontier garrisons and the period of political instability known as the Time of Troubles within Muscovite state itself prompted a careful examination of possible coalitions between the major steppe powers. The Kalmyks, as one of the principal actors in Central Asian political affairs of the seventeenth century, maintained a degree of autonomy even as they collectively moved westward. In essence, their advance into the Kazakh Steppe represented the migration of individual tribes and clans united by a general tendency toward the Caspian region. The fragmentation and eventual collapse of the Nogai Horde allowed the Kalmyks to consolidate control over certain areas of Kazakhstan and later occupy former Nogai pastures. The historical role of the Kalmyks in the formation and development of the Kazakh state remains insufficiently examined and often underestimated, which complicates the objective reconstruction of Kazakhstan’s broader historical narrative.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772354009.pdf
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Abstract:
The article analyzes employees' perception of RAC. There was one of the largest trade Russian Company in the 19th century. Based on rare ego-documents from the first half of the 19th century, the article raises the issue of employee identification for the first time and reconstructs its components. By signing a contract with the company, RAC local office managers and their clerks received high salaries and additional funding, which they used for their own needs. They formed closes circles of people who were more concerned with their own well-being than with the interests of the corporation. These closes circles of people were resilient throughout the RAC's tenure and even eliminated persons who were favored by the director. Employees from local offices sought to earn as much money as possible, and with his support, they were able to secure more advantageous employment opportunities after their dismissal from the company. The informal relationship between RAC employees and directors served as a means of “survival” for the local office managers and a way of controlling local offices from St. Petersburg. It was due to the lack of legal protection, unfavorable contract terms for employees, and the importance of maintaining family and personal connections.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772354072.pdf
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Abstract:
The article is devoted to an analysis of the life and multifaceted activity of Benjamin Brown French (1800–1870) — an American politician, civil servant, Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, and one of the most influential figures of nineteenth-century American Freemasonry. Particular attention is paid to his role in the history of the American Order of Knights Templar, in which he held the highest office of Grand Master of the Grand Encampment of Knights Templar of the United States during the difficult period of the American Civil War. The study examines the principal stages of French’s biography, including his early education, the formation of his professional career, service in legislative and administrative institutions, activities as Commissioner of Public Buildings, and participation in the development of telegraphic communication in the United States. A separate section is devoted to French’s literary legacy, especially his diaries Witness to the Young Republic, which constitute a valuable source for the political and cultural history of the country. The source base of the research includes published materials of Masonic organizations, museum exhibits, personal documents, and reference and biographical resources. The application of biographical, historiographical, and historical-genetic methods made it possible to reveal the interconnection between Benjamin B. French’s governmental, literary, and Masonic activities. The article demonstrates that his contribution transcends the framework of an individual biography and reflects broader processes in the formation of American political culture and Masonic tradition in the nineteenth century.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772354122.pdf
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Abstract:
Based on previously unpublished archival materials, the article reviews atypical cases from the Orenburg Border Commission practice in the first half of the 19th century. That means cases descriptions of which are rarely found in its materials. In the framework of methods of microhistory proposed by C. Ginzburg we presume that it is anomalous documentation that might lead to the most interesting conclusions. For example, testimonies of people who pretended to have escaped from Central Asian slavery and which were later recognized as unreliable are exceedingly rarely found (3 times in half a century) in the materials of the Orenburg Border Commission. This shows that such testimonies could have been falsified (in the cases we analyzed testimonies were falsified to avoid punishment, in 1 case by a deserter and in 1 another – by a fugitive criminal). Nevertheless, testimonies taken from slaves who fled to Russian were not in fact verified by the Border Commission. At the same time in the materials of the Orenburg Border Commission there are very few mentions of people who voluntarily fled from the Russian Empire, while it is known from other sources that such people lived in the Emirate of Bukhara. Therefore, while working with the materials of the Orenburg Border Commission one should take into account the probability that some of the testimonies given to it were falsified to a varying degree, but not exposed, and that people who once fled from the Russian Empire passed themselves off as slaves captured in its borders. Other uncharacteristic cases from the Commission’s practice show that some slavery practices might have not been recorded by it at all. Thus, members of the Commission suspected Khivan caravans in smuggling Russian Empire subjects to the Khanate of Khiva, but sole attempt to intercept such caravan after it had left Russian borders proved a failure. Another case contains information about Russian captives’ service in Khivan army and their escape to Russia through Persia. Furthermore, the Commission found out about it only through other governing bodies of the Empire. All of the above attests that materials of the Orenburg Border Commission are a paramount, yet not exhaustive and not always reliable source on the history of slavery in the 19th century Central Asia.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772354200.pdf
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Abstract:
Effective methods of getting rid of ailments among steppe peoples in the past certainly deserve attention, as well as the evolution of healing practices. The purpose and objectives of the study are to rethink the socio-cultural role of Ishan among steppe Kazakhs in the 19th and early 20th centuries through retrospection. Reports about the Ishan have been deposited in the collections of the Russian State Historical Archive, the United Archive of the Orenburg Region, the Central State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as in folk memory, narratives and memoirs of travelers. Information about the Ishan was updated as they moved deeper into the remote regions of the empire and represent diverse materials. Comparative analysis in this context was used to compare the healing activities of Ishan and Tauip people among a number of peoples: Kazakhs, Bashkirs, Azerbaijanis, Crimean Tatars, etc. The origins of the Ishan institute and their connection with the Bukhara madrasahs are revealed, as well as trends in the interpretation of the social institution of ishanism in pre-revolutionary, Soviet and modern historiography. An attempt has been made to analyze the social role of the Ishan institute in the history of the peoples of the empire in the second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries. The glossary of the topic has been studied, regarding the designation of the status and attributes of Ishan and Tauip. The glossary reflects the common perception of the steppe people of Ishan and Tauip as: a) spiritual mentors; b) defenders of their natural rights; c) healers. Sources indicate their specialization (experts in medicinal herbs, chiropractors, masters of hypnosis, magicians and magicians, etc.). The Institute of steppe healing was insufficiently studied in the pre-revolutionary period, due to a lack of information and a superficial acquaintance with this extraordinary phenomenon. In the 19th century, the Ishan found themselves in the orbit of the political struggle of the Kazakh people, in the context of the decline of the status of the khans (substitution effect), there was an increase in the influence of spiritual leaders, the Ishan. A number of them left a vivid mark in the context of protest social movements, which permanently removed the topic of steppe healers from scientific circulation. Accordingly, a more detailed study of the topic was postponed in order to trace the evolution of steppe healing in later periods of Central Asian history.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772379909.pdf
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Abstract:
This article offers a comprehensive analysis of the place and role of Kazakh veterinary feldshers within the sociocultural space of the Steppe Region during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The study focuses on their unique position at the intersection of traditional Kazakh knowledge of animal husbandry and imperial Russian veterinary medicine. The relevance of the topic lies in the need to examine this professional group as a “bridge between cultures”, functioning both as an instrument of the colonial administration and as bearers of local identity. Special attention is paid to the reconstruction of the official activities and biographical details of individual veterinary feldshers who managed to secure a certain position within the local service system. The study is based on documents from the Central State Archives of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Historical Archive of Omsk Oblast, as well as memoirs of descendants and local history materials. As a result of archival research, it was possible to establish that the total number of Kazakhs who were students and graduates of the Veterinary Feldsher School of the Siberian Cossack Host (1879–1894) and the Omsk Veterinary Feldsher School (1905–1917) amounted to 64 individuals. The key conclusion is that the activities of Kazakh veterinary feldshers, who had received imperial education, were oriented toward the implementation of colonial administrative functions. In particular, they effectively acted as intermediaries in the enforcement of measures aimed at transforming traditional Kazakh pastoralism, including the introduction of quarantine regulations, vaccination campaigns, and restrictions on nomadic mobility. Essentially, an analysis of historical sources and studies demonstrates that, as a result of the development of capitalist relations in the Steppe region, livestock acquired the character of a commodity. Furthermore, the restriction of nomadic territories and the spread of new livestock-breeding practices among Kazakhs by the beginning of the 20th century – such as stall-feeding and haymaking – led to the decline of traditional pastoralism. This process, in turn, contributed to a decrease in the social status of Kazakh veterinary feldshers, who, despite their formal education, were unable to exert significant social influence within Kazakh society.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772354606.pdf
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Abstract:
The lack of a clear management system in Siberia and the presence of different lifestyles hindered the use of the territory's potential for solving national issues. The use of a comprehensive approach in the implementation of reforms allowed for the consideration of various aspects of Siberia's specific features. The management system for the nomadic peoples of Eastern Siberia, established as a result of Mikhail Speransky's reforms, remained in place until the Soviet era. There were two management systems in Siberia: one for the territory inhabited by settlers and another for the nomadic peoples. As a result of the reform, a system of interaction between provincial and district government bodies and the system of non-Russian government was established. The management system of nomadic peoples included either three or two levels of authority. The system was based on tribal management organizations and existing customs. It defined the limits of autonomy, as well as a system of reporting and control. This system streamlined data management and the taxation system. The concept of M.M. Speransky's reform was conceived from the perspective of a systematic approach to the organization of governance in the Russian Empire. The reform combined elements of the ancestral system of governance, centralization, and national approaches to the organization and functioning of government bodies. The article examines the levels of foreign governance and the functions of foreign bodies. The research was based on official data, archival materials, and decisions made by foreign bodies.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772364141.pdf
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Abstract:
This article examines the Krasnoyarsk City Orphans' Court. We examine the period from 1823 to 1850. The court was part of the city government and performed judicial functions. The court established guardianship over minor orphans and their property. It also established guardianship over the property of others who lacked the capacity to independently manage their property, money, and other capital. The Orphans' Court served these needs for those in need, who came from the merchant and townspeople classes. The Krasnoyarsk city community in the first half of the 19th century consisted exclusively of townspeople and merchants. The Krasnoyarsk Orphans' Court began its work relatively late – only in 1823. This occurred after Krasnoyarsk became the capital of the Yenisei Governorate. Archival documents show that the establishment and oversight of guardianship were important for society and the economy. All stages of this process were carefully recorded. The records of the Krasnoyarsk City Orphans' Court contain registers of papers. They demonstrate that the court actively interacted with other institutions. Minutes of court hearings also describe the issues discussed. Guardians submitted annual reports to the court. These reports discussed property management and the upbringing of children. There are also inventories of property under guardianship. These documents provide an insight into the economic situation in this Siberian city in the first half of the 19th century. It has been established that from 1823 to 1850s, guardians were most often respected individuals from merchant and bourgeois families. Famous guardians included Ivan Tokarev, Girsh Kaminer, and Alexander Larionov.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772354789.pdf
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Abstract:
Modern Russian historical science is in the process of getting rid of the ideological cliches of the past. One of these cliches is the idea of the Russian Empire as a “prison of nations” dominated by the tsarist bureaucracy. This work is carried out within the framework of the synthesis of micro-historical and macro-historical approaches and is in line with current trends in overcoming established opinions in Soviet science. This determines its relevance. Research is increasingly taking its place in science. The research material is an unpublished manuscript of an article by the historian and ethnographer of Siberia Nikolai Alekseevich Kostrov (1823–1881), discovered by us in the Department of Written Sources of the State Historical Museum in Moscow. The main archive of the scientist is kept in the Scientific Library of Tomsk State University. Consequently, we have discovered a part of the historian's scientific heritage that had not previously been introduced into scientific circulation. The manuscript of the article by N.A. Kostrov highlights one of the first experiences of teaching children of representatives of the indigenous peoples of Siberia to read and write and the basics of medical and theological knowledge for their dissemination in the local environment. As a result of the review of the new historical source, it was established that the initiator of the training was the government in the person of the Tomsk civil governor, who allocated funds for this purpose. The initiative was supported by the Emperor of Russia. An obstacle to completing their studies was a subjective factor: waste of money and the outright unwillingness of the local higher clergy to organize education for children of representatives of the small peoples of Siberia. It is suggested that the facts revealed by N.A. Kostrov caused a censorship ban on the full publication of the article.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772354836.pdf
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Abstract:
This paper analyzes the evolution of interpretations of the political economy of the Golden Horde in pre-revolutionary Russian Historiography. It aims to reconstruct and systematize pre-revolutionary views on the key institutions of the Horde’s political economy and to identify their methodological foundations. The source base comprises works by historians of the state-centered tradition (N.M. Karamzin, S.M. Solovyov, V.O. Kliuchevsky, among others), orientalists and specialists in source studies (I.N. Berezin, G.S. Sablukov, V.G. Tiesenhausen, among others), representatives of the numismatic–archaeological line (C.M. Fraehn, V.V. Grigoriev, P.S. Saveliev, A.K. Markov, among others); as well as authors of the Genoese-Venetian historiographical line (P.I. Keppen, N.N. Murzakevich, M.M. Kovalevsky, among others). The paper shows that, within these four directions, Russian scholars consistently investigated tribute and taxation practices, mechanisms of monetary circulation, the regulation of trade, and the dynamics of trans-Eurasian transit. Thus, the political-economic dimension of the Golden Horde was conceptualized not within a single research line, but through a set of complementary approaches. It has been argued that, despite the absence of an integrated model of the Horde’s economic rationality, pre-revolutionary authors created a solid empirical and source-critical foundation by introducing and systematizing yarlyks, Eastern narrative sources, acts of Genoese and Venetian colonies, and numismatic materials.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772355093.pdf
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Abstract:
The manuscript is devoted to the analysis of the military campaign of 1826 of the year of the Russian-Persian war of 1826–1828. The material was memoir sources and historiography on the research problem, such methods of historical research as historical-systemic, historical-genetic, historiographical, etc. became the methodological basis. The 1826 campaign of the last Russo-Persian War proved to be very successful for the Russian army. The successes were preceded by talented diplomatic work, which lulled the Persian commander-in-chief Abbas Mirza to sleep with a small and scattered military contingent of the Russian Empire, as well as the promised assistance of the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain. Having pushed Persia to war, the Turks and the British did not provide the support that Abbas Mirza had promised, so she had to fight alone. From the point of view of tactics (and not without the help of British advisers), the Persian troops, who had a significant (almost twofold) numerical superiority, entered from three directions, forcing the combined forces of Russians, Armenians and Georgians to disperse the already small forces. However, the heroism of the Russian troops, the courage and initiative of the commanders (in particular, Madatov, Paskevich), as well as their genuine heroism (in particular, Reut) negated the advantages of the Persian troops. The bet on an unexpected attack did not pay off, and Abbas was unable to solve the main tasks of the war without declaring war, as a result of which the war took on a protracted character for the Persians and predetermined their crushing defeat.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772355168.pdf
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Abstract:
The article examines the imperial policy of managing the Adyghe people resettlement to Russian-controlled territories in the Kuban and Black Sea regions in 1830–1860. With the reference to a range of archival materials it analyzes the key exogenous factors driving the desire of representatives of several noble families and dependent populations to come under Russian protection. Growing social polarization, wealth inequality in mountain communities, and intensifying contradictions between the nobility and the common people contributed to the resettlement. Among the endogenous factors, the political decision of the Russian administration to ensure the loyalty of the mountain nobility stands out. Specific management practices of the Caucasian administration aimed at providing assistance, support, and security during the resettlement of mountain families to Russian-controlled territories are analyzed. The administration compensated noble mountaineers seeking protection for the costs of resettlement, reimbursed the value of property abandoned in their former places of residence, and ensured the preservation of their former high status and a number of noble privileges. Recruiting members of noble families for military service was seen as a guarantee of their loyalty. The Russian military administration also offered ordinary settlers the opportunity to serve in irregular units. The highlanders who had accepted Russian citizenship and later shifted to the side of their hostile compatriots, and the provision of assistance to them during raids, facilitated their resettlement within Russia, primarily to the lands of the Great Don Host. The settlers were provided with land and financial assistance for establishing farms. Imperial integration policy was flexible and somewhat tolerant of the peculiarities of the highland mentality, traditions, and religion. The resettlements were not large-scale due to the highlanders’ attachment to their native land, significant anti-Russian sentiment, and religious differences.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772355268.pdf
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Abstract:
This article presents the results of a study of new, previously unpublished sources on the history of gold mining in Yenisei Province in the 19th century, including new visual sources. Of particular significance among these sources is a unique handwritten document from the so-called “Yudin Collection”, housed in the State Archives of Krasnoyarsk Krai. It is titled “Atlas of Gold Mining Fields in the Yenisei District, Indicating the Names and Owners in 1840–1852”, and contains visual and textual information on the history of gold mining in Yenisei Province in the 19th century. The article examines the history and significance of visual (primarily cartographic) sources related to gold mining in this region, and systematizes the information contained in the “Atlas”, which is now available to the general public for the first time. The “Atlas” includes 84 maps of gold-bearing rivers and their tributaries, descriptions of all the mines located on the banks of these rivers, the names of the owners and their companies, the dates of application for inclusion of the mine in the treasury and the application number, the dates and response dates, the dates of application approval and deposition of the mine in the treasury, and area of the plot in state dessiatines. It is concluded that the “Atlas” of statistical data and visualizations of the gold-bearing river maps of the Yenisei Governorate is of great importance for further research into the history of gold mining, entrepreneurship, and technology in the Russian Empire in the 19th century. It is suggested that this “Atlas” was of great significance to G.V. Yudin himself, the leading gold miner and businessman in Eastern Siberia, who collected significant documents in his personal archive for his future entrepreneurial activities.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772355336.pdf
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Abstract:
This article provides a comprehensive analysis of how censorship institutions of the Russian Empire in the Caucasus in the 19th and early 20th centuries constructed the image of Armenian journalism, shaping persistent administrative notions about its political significance, ideological sensitivity, and national-cultural specificity. The theoretical and methodological basis of the study is E. Said's postcolonial approach, R. Darnton's institutional concept of censorship, and the tools of historical imagology. This allows us to consider censorship not only as an instrument of informational, ideological, and aesthetic restrictions, but also as a means of creating the image of the “Other” in the imperial information and communication space. The empirical base consists of a corpus of 60 archival files from the Russian State Historical Archives and the National Archives of Georgia, including reports, meeting minutes, official correspondence, statistical reports, and judicial-administrative review materials. The analysis shows that censorship systematically shaped a stereotypical image of the Armenian press through thematic selection, rhetorical labels (“harmful trend”, “anti-Russian spirit”, “tendentiousness”), and statistics on detained publications. Subjects related to the Armenian question, foreign policy, church-religious affairs, and education – interpreted within an anti-state framework – were the most sensitive to censorship.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772355401.pdf
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Abstract:
This study examines female gender socialization in traditional Kazakh society in the late XIX and early XXth centuries, demonstrating its strong dependence on the nomadic way of life and the predominance of patriarchal social relations. These relations prescribed women’s subordination first to paternal and subsequently to marital authority. Female socialization, encompassing upbringing, the internalization of sociocultural norms and values, and the acquisition of gender-specific practices, functioned as a mechanism for the reproduction and stability of the social system through the performance of prescribed gender roles. The empirical and historiographical basis of the study includes archival materials as well as works by pre-revolutionary scholars and ethnographers addressing traditional subsistence practices and the institutions of marriage and family among the Kazakhs. The particular attention is given to the research of Kh.A. Argynbayev, whose works analyze marriage and family relations in close connection with nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralism, which shaped social organization, including gender- and age-based divisions of labor. In this context, women’s significant economic and labor contributions constituted an important factor in maintaining the resilience of traditional Kazakh society. Women’s everyday practices included household management, child-rearing, the maintenance of kinship networks, and adherence to ritual and etiquette norms. Women’s social status was determined by a range of factors, including age, reproductive capacity, number of children, economic contribution, lineage, and the social position of male relatives. Despite limited legal agency and the dominance of patriarchal normative frameworks, women remained active participants in social life and enjoyed relative social authority, particularly in later life.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772355460.pdf
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Abstract:
The authors of the article conduct a comprehensive comparative analysis of the spiritual-cultural and historical-geographical issues of the Kazakh and Kyrgyz peoples as reflected in the scholarly legacy of Shoqan Ualikhanov. During his two scientific expeditions to Kyrgyz territories in 1856–1857, Ualikhanov produced several foundational works, including “The Issyk-Kul Diaries” (1856), “Notes on the Kyrgyz” (1856) and “Sketches of Dzungaria” (1860). The article provides an in-depth analysis of the samples of folklore literature of the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz (genealogy, poems) in the research of Sh. Ualikhanov. The authors focus on epic poems such as “Manas”, “Kozy Korpesh-Bayan Sulu” and, through their comparative analysis, identify the spiritual and cultural foundations common to the two peoples. Sh. Ualikhanov's conclusions that Islam gradually entered the traditional way of life of the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz through adaptation to historical and social conditions have not lost their significance. Ualikhanov’s works contain valuable data on pastoralism, agriculture, urban culture, and craftsmanship. By providing information on traces of early and medieval urban settlements, irrigation systems, and architectural monuments in Kazakh and Kyrgyz territories, he offers concrete evidence for the development of sedentary life in medieval Kazakhstan, particularly in the Ili Valley. His research notes that the area of present-day Almaty once served as an important trade and caravan station along the Silk Road. Ualikhanov’s insights into the climatic features of the steppe, the structure of pasture-use systems, migration routes, and the ecological adaptability of nomadic pastoralism continue to retain scholarly relevance.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772355883.pdf
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Abstract:
The rapprochement between Russia and the peoples of the North Caucasus, which began in the mid-16th century, and their subsequent incorporation into the Russian Empire led to the study of the region with the aim of integrating it into the Russian administrative, legal and economic system. The economic development of the North Caucasus and its integration into the Russian and global markets required the construction of roads and fortifications, which in turn created a vast field of activity for mining experts, topographers, geodesists, and geologists. As a mountainous region, the Caucasus has attracted the attention of geology and mineralogy experts in search of metal-bearing ore deposits. At first, these were “ore experts”, mostly of foreign origin, but as the territory was explored, the discovered deposits were seen as a source of quick enrichment for small entrepreneurs, who typically lacked significant financial resources. Traditionally, the Russian state did not directly engage in mining at that time, preferring to generate fiscal revenues through bribes, leases, taxes, and so on. In the Caucasus, this policy quickly led to the transfer of the most valuable mining enterprises into the hands of foreign capital. This process took a relatively short time by historical standards in the North Caucasus region, and it is relatively well documented. The authors of this article have attempted to analyze and systematize the available sources, resulting in their own version of the periodization of geological exploration in the region in the period until 1917. The relevance of the study is due to the interest in the legislative regulation of various economic sectors in the Russian Empire, as well as the trend of reviving enterprises that operate some polymetallic ore deposits in the North Caucasus on a modern technical basis.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772355945.pdf
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Abstract:
Traditional healing practices, which existed before the advent of official scientific medicine, are one of the important components of the life of an ethnic group, designed at one time to ensure the survival of both the community as a whole and its individual representatives in particular. Kazakh steppe healing in the XIX – the beginning of the XX centuries is the result of a long process of accumulation, borrowing and transfer to subsequent generations of knowledge about bodily and mental health, ways to preserve and restore it, methods of recognizing and treating diseases, healing properties of medicines of various origins. Sources about the activities of steppe healers were fragmentary references to traditional healing among Kazakhs in essays, notes, diary entries of ethnographers, military men, travelers and missionaries of the 19th century, archival documents, materials of rare library collections. The results of the study were obtained by studying archival and narrative sources, comparative analysis of their content, synthesis of deductive conclusions and inductive conclusions, generalization of the facts. Thus, the basis for the prevention of diseases was the promotion of the health of fellow tribesmen, which was ensured by the traditional way of life, an indispensable component of which was physical activity in the fresh air, including horse riding, as well as the diet of the steppe, due to both the specifics of material production and the harsh continental climate. Based on a critical analysis of the sources, methods of treatment and the remedies used by Kazakh healers, as well as their foundations, are described: knowledge of the healing properties of plants, products and minerals; lessons learned; Tengrianism; Islam; superstitions. Certain methods and means of healing, in particular, koumiss treatment, have been recognized as useful representatives of rational medicine.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772356011.pdf
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Abstract:
This article examines the socio-political and governmental discourses surrounding the resettlement issue, which were framed by the conservative segment of Russian society's understanding of population policies and strategies on the country's eastern borderlands in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Supporters of a “protective” approach to resettlement policy and agrarian migration in Russia, in the periodical press, presented a viewpoint according to which the spread of imperial influence in the borderlands served as a guarantor of social stability and national security, which was expressed in the advocacy of Russification patterns as a tool for cultural unification and the overcoming of separatist sentiments and social turbulence in peripheral regions. Consolidating this approach, the bureaucracy attempted to implement principles of domination and coercion over the population in the east of the empire, marking the Asian territories as a fiefdom – Russia's “own East”. The imperial format of Russian presence in the country's eastern outskirts also extended to the process of agrarian migration, which included both representatives of the long-standing segment of the population, diverse in ethnocultural terms, and settlers from Russia's European provinces, who included other ethnic and religious groups. The imperial approach to organizing resettlement affairs in the post-reform period also contained some elements of modernization, which was achieved by overcoming the isolation of the eastern outskirts as a result of railway construction, the economic and cultural potential of part of the resettlement community, and the growing professionalism of a new generation of imperial resettlement bureaucracy.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772361228.pdf
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Abstract:
Family and marital relations formed the foundation of the social organization of the Russian peasantry for centuries. The regulation of these relations in the post-reform period (second half of the 19th – early 20th centuries) was characterized by a dualistic legal system. Along with general imperial legislation, customary law continued to be a powerful regulator. Volost courts in pre-revolutionary Russia, serving as the lowest judicial authority for the peasant population, played a key role in resolving disputes arising in the sphere of family and marital relations. Their activities were based on a complex combination of positive legislation and widespread customary law. Legal customs occupied a central place in regulating the family life of peasants in the Moscow province, determining the procedures for marriage and divorce, relations between spouses, parents and children, as well as inheritance and property rights. Volost courts, basing their decisions on traditional notions of justice, patriarchal values, labor, and respect for elders, ensured the stability and continuity of the peasant community. This article, based on an analysis of archival materials, examines specific cases from judicial practice demonstrating the mechanisms for applying customary law in resolving family conflicts. Volost court decisions in family disputes were focused on finding a compromise that was perceived as fair by the peasants. This ensured a high degree of legitimacy for volost court proceedings and their effectiveness in maintaining social peace in the Russian village during an era of large-scale transformations.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772356205.pdf
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Abstract:
The article analyzes “The History of My Contemporary” by V.G. Korolenko as a historical source. It is established that Korolenko's observations and conclusions on socio-political phenomena in Russia in the second half of the 19th century coincide with those of his contemporaries and professional historians. Verification of the facts from Korolenko's socio-political autobiography against documentary and analytical literature confirms the objective nature of his narrative and its value as a historical source. The writer's original approach consists in recreating the historical period through his own perception. The article analyzes the factors that shaped the writer's worldview and the origins of his oppositional stance. Korolenko's attitude towards events and phenomena significant for Russian history is considered. In “The History of My Contemporary”, the author addresses such socio-political phenomena as the abolition of serfdom, the Polish Uprising, the education reform, the “Going to the People” movement and the assassination of Alexander II. An important part of the memoirs is the empirical material about Russian revolutionaries and trials against them, as well as the author's analytical conclusions that the state's disproportionate punitive policy was the reason for the terrorist shift in revolutionary activity. Of particular value to researchers is Korolenko's eyewitness account of political exile, its social composition, the daily life and lifestyle of the local population, and the nature of the relationship between the locals and political exiles. The prevailing mood among the Russian intelligentsia and its relationship with the common people are also reflected in Korolenko's memoirs. The range of issues covered, their breadth, and the objective nature of the narrative allow Korolenko's memoirs to be considered a valuable historical source.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772365012.pdf
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Abstract:
This article offers the first comprehensive analysis of the scholarly and personal contributions of Vera Nikolaevna Kharuzina (1866–1931), an outstanding researcher who became Russia's first female professor of ethnography (1907). Based on previously unpublished archival materials from the Department of Written Sources at the State Historical Museum in Moscow, the authors reconstruct the scholar's professional path and reveal the uniqueness of her research method. Kharuzina's scholarly contribution is difficult to overstate: the collections she assembled and her published works formed the foundation for the study of the cultural diversity of the Russian Empire. Her fieldwork combined meticulous observation with a rare ability to penetrate the semantic depths of the traditions she studied. As an educator, she achieved a genuine breakthrough: she introduced the comparative historical method into the teaching of ethnography; authored Russia's first ethnography textbook, which was awarded the Gold Medal of the Russian Geographical Society in 1914; and mentored an entire generation of researchers, setting an example of professional resilience – even after the onset of paralysis in 1908, she continued her research and teaching. As an individual, Vera Nikolaevna Kharuzina demonstrated a rare synthesis of intellectual honesty and humanism. Her diaries testify to a profound capacity for empathy; unwavering fortitude in the face of personal tragedies (the arrest of her brother, military losses, and serious illness); and a firm belief in “broad, God-given” love as a moral compass. The scientific novelty of this study lies in the first systematic analysis of Vera Nikolaevna Kharuzina's legacy based on unpublished archival sources, identifying the organic connection between her research method and her personal qualities; reassessing her role as the founder of “women's ethnography”, focused on the study of women's experiences, childhood, and everyday rituals. Vera Nikolaevna Kharuzina's legacy remains relevant to contemporary humanities. Her life and works convincingly demonstrate that ethnography is a living dialogue with culture, and that true science is unthinkable without moral choice and human participation.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772531437.pdf
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Abstract:
This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the formation and development of science and scientific institutions in the Turkestan region in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries, a period of active integration of the region into the administrative and intellectual space of the Russian Empire. It focuses on institutional forms of scientific activity, the mechanisms of interaction between the colonial administration and the academic community, and the contribution of Russian and local scholars to the formation of the regional scientific space. Based on archival materials, including documents of scientific societies, expedition reports, official correspondence, and statistical reviews, supplemented by published works by Russian and foreign researchers, the main areas of scientific research, including geography, ethnography, archaeology, history, and the natural sciences, are reconstructed. Particular attention is paid to the activities of scientific societies, primarily the Turkestan branch of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, as well as the role of expeditionary practice in the accumulation and systematization of knowledge about the region. It is shown that local scholars acted not only as informants but also as active participants in the scientific process, making a significant contribution to the collection, interpretation, and preservation of scientific data. The article concludes that the development of science in the Turkestan region was the result of the interaction of imperial scientific initiatives and local intellectual traditions, which contributed to the institutionalization of scientific research, the formation of a holistic scientific infrastructure, laying the foundations for the further development of science in Central Asia and its inclusion in the pan-imperial and international scientific space.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772356713.pdf
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Abstract:
This article analyzes the role of the non-indigenous population in the transformations that occurred in the healthcare sector of the Turkestan region after the establishment of the Turkestan Governor-Generalship. Specifically, it examines the contribution of representatives of the indigenous population to the introduction and development of modern medicine in Turkestan, as well as the state of the medical sphere in the region. The special attention is paid to the deployment of military medical specialists from Russia to the region, the establishment of the first military medical institutions, the organization of medical services for military personnel and the non-indigenous population, and the Turkestan Governor-Generalship administration's attitude towards healthcare issues. In this context, the article analyzes the efforts of Russian doctors to improve the existing situation, their endeavors to extend medical care to the local population, and the regional administration's response to these initiatives. It is demonstrated that the persistent stance of Russian doctors regarding the necessity of extending medical services not only to the non-indigenous but also to the local population played a significant role in shaping the healthcare policy of the regional administration. As a result, significant progress was made in identifying the causes of numerous infectious diseases spreading among the non-indigenous population and in developing effective treatment methods. Simultaneously, it was revealed that other groups within the non-indigenous population also made substantial contributions to the creation of modern medical institutions and the organization of medical care. Notably, middle and junior medical personnel of Tatar origin actively participated in establishing medical services for both the non-indigenous and local populations. Additionally, the article examines the activities of Jewish doctors and other medical specialists who came to Turkestan and participated in the establishment of modern medical practices. They established private medical institutions and organized forms of private medical care and charity, which helped strengthen the indigenous population's trust in modern medicine and medical workers of non-indigenous origin. The article notes that the introduction and development of modern medicine in Turkestan played a crucial role in developing effective methods for treating many infectious and acute diseases. This, in turn, made a significant contribution to the further advancement of medicine in the region.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772356797.pdf
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Abstract:
The article analyzes the administration and industrialists’ activities of the Russian Empire aimed at developing the Turkestan region’s mining and manufacturing industries in the late XIX – early XX centuries. The sources used were periodical press data and materials that promoted regional industrial projects within the Empire. The research novelty lies in a comprehensive study of the region’s industrial challenges, development projects, and historical reconstruction of industrial growth. The results showed that the mining industry faced insufficient deposit exploration, poor geological reserves that made mining uneconomical, and a lack of transport infrastructure. The manufacturing industry remained stagnant due to shortages of skilled workers, remoteness, and technical backwardness. Industries in Turkestan had a middle character, positioned between handicraft and factory production. The study found that only a few enterprises held factory status (e.g., the Chimkent santonine factory, distilleries, and some cotton gins), while most remained handicraft establishments. The main development projects included railway construction, irrigation improvement, cultivation of virgin lands, attraction of foreign capital, cost reduction by replacing manual labor with machines, introduction of a credit system, and protective tariffs on foreign goods.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772356887.pdf
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Abstract:
This article, using personal texts by officials of the highest provincial administration, employees of resettlement agencies, publicists, and public and church figures, reveals the views of imperial experts on the religious policy of the Russian Empire in the Steppe Region and Turkestan in the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The study establishes that the political and public elites of the Russian Empire shaped their ideas about the organization of religious space on the country's eastern borderlands by embracing the high civilizing mission of the Russian people, which was regarded as a tool for culturization in non-Russian communities. The dominant belief in the authorities and public opinion was that knowledge and belonging to European civilization justified the moral superiority of Russians over the non-Russian populations of the outskirts, and that the introduction of agricultural practices among nomadic peoples would inevitably lead to the transition of the indigenous peoples to a sedentary lifestyle. At the same time, it was widely believed that nomads, by adopting the economic models of the Russian peasant, would finally integrate into the family of Christian peoples and avoid the influence of Islam and Muslim agitators. In the discourse of the government and society in the second half of the 19th century, the rhetoric of ignoring Islam prevailed. Amidst the growth of unauthorized resettlements and ill-considered land use policies, the situation changed in the Steppe Region and Turkestan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a change reflected in the views of imperial experts: the peasantry's cultural influence on the nomadic population was deemed exaggerated, and the position of Islam among non-Russians, especially under the policy of religious tolerance legitimized in 1905, was significantly strengthened.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772356949.pdf
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Abstract:
This article presents a source-critical analysis of the multi-volume publication “Materials on Kyrgyz Land Use” as one of the key source complexes for the history of Kazakh society in the late XIX and early XX centuries. The study reveals the informational potential of this corpus, which reflects socio-economic development, forms of land use and economic activity, demographic conditions and the historical-geographical features of the settlement patterns of the Kazakh population. Particular attention is given to data on auls, uezds and volosts of the Syr-Darya, Akmolinsk, Semipalatinsk, Ural and Turgai oblasts, making it possible to identify regional differences and shared patterns in the development of traditional society during the transformations at the turn of the century. It is demonstrated that the scholarly value of “Materials on Kyrgyz Land Use” is determined not only by the extensive territorial coverage and the diversity of the recorded data, but also by the methodological principles underlying their collection. The materials were obtained through specially organized statistical expeditions employing questionnaires, quantitative calculations, field observations and cartographic work, which ensured a high degree of systematicity and comparability of the information. The article notes that the data presented in the “Materials on Kyrgyz Land Use” have been extensively employed by both national and international researchers and remain significant for current historical scholarship. It argues that a comprehensive application of this source enables the reconstruction of a well-grounded socio-economic and historical-geographical profile of Kazakh society in the late XIX and early XX centuries, while also contributing to a clearer understanding of the processes through which imperial knowledge was produced within the framework of colonial policy, administrative management, scientific activity and center-periphery relations in the Russian Empire during the period under study.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772357004.pdf
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Abstract:
The Central State Archive of Moscow and the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library have preserved a significant set of reviews prepared by the outstanding Russian historian V. O. Klyuchevsky for the graduation and master's works of his learners while teaching at the Moscow Theological Academy (1871–1906). Based on the analysis of the critical remarks, tips and recommendations presented in the reviews, the views of the scientist on the goals and standards of historical research are revealed. The author of the article comes to the conclusion that the consideration of the phenomenon of the “Klyuchevsky's scientific school” cannot be limited to a single historiographical representation. The scientific and pedagogical, utilitarian function of the school, carried out at the level of interaction with students and master's students, is also important. It not only allows us to see the entire mechanism of training scientific personnel, but also to rethink the concept of “student” and to evaluate the contribution of V.O. Klyuchevsky to the dissemination of historical knowledge in the regions. Based on the study of biographies of graduates of the Moscow Theological Academy, the article clarifies the circle of Klyuchevsky's students. The contribution of the “Klyuchevsky's scientific school” to the strengthening of the regional and provincial cultural environment in Russia is considered.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772443939.pdf
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Abstract:
Since the 1870s, the Russian Empire entered a new stage of its educational policy aimed at establishing a network of professional institutions, primarily teacher seminaries, intended to shape a state-loyal teaching class and influence the worldview of the younger generation. This article examines the activities of the Kazan Teachers’ Seminary (1872–1918) as an imperial institutional experiment that, for more than four decades, provided pedagogical training for the Kazan educational district. The research is based on archival materials from the central repositories of Kazakhstan and Tatarstan, including administrative documents (petitions, official correspondence), personal records, and biographical data on Kazakh students and graduates. The methodological framework of the study draws on Homi Bhabha’s concept of interstitial subjectivity, which makes it possible to reveal the ambivalence of the Kazakh students’ identity. While studying in a new socio-cultural environment (the city, the library, the educational system), they acquired new patterns of thought, worldviews, and behavioral models. However, as members of Muslim (Sunni) and Kazakh (nomadic) communities, upon returning to the steppe they became intermediaries between imperial authorities and local society, transmitting new forms of knowledge and models of behavior. The article demonstrates that the Kazakh youth educated at the Kazan Seminary gradually integrated into the socio-cultural space of the empire, becoming both participants in and objects of the imperial policy of identity transformation. Moreover, the imperial educational policy in training Kazakh teachers had a long-term impact, as it produced the professional cadres who later played a crucial role in the formation of the post-imperial Kazakh state and its intellectual elite during the early Soviet period.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772357124.pdf
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Abstract:
The proposed article examines the understudied scientific issue of the role of the postal and telegraph service in Semirechye to monitor the citizens of the empire. This article has reviewed the surveillance process in the Russian Empire, aiming to protect the population from factors that could influence their consciousness. This article aims to determine the implementation of practices of censorship and letter interception (perlustration) in the Russian Empire, as well as the organisation of postal and telegraph institutions and their employees for these purposes. Based on historical data and research, this article has examined the issues of covert surveillance and letter perlustration. This article also discusses the activities of the “Black Chambers” across the empire, the use of postal and telegraph institution employees for covert surveillance by special agencies, and the involvement of local populations in surveillance activities. The materials used for this article include the archives of the Central Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan, regulatory acts, official letters, and statistical reports from postal and telegraph institutions. Surveillance was organized privately from the public, and maintaining trust in communication institutions and their staff was crucial for the successful execution of these activities. A central aspect of this Semirechye activity lacked legislation.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772357180.pdf
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Abstract:
This article reconstructs the “imperial biography” of Sattarkhan Abdulghaffarov, who served as a qadi, translator, and local expert under the Russian rule in Turkestan. Having received a traditional religious education, he initially followed the path of his ancestors. However, the Russian Empire’s conquest of Central Asia marked a turning point in his life, opening new avenues for social and professional mobility. By mastering the Russian language, Abdulghaffarov chose to cooperate with the new authorities and gradually established himself as an expert on local affairs. Exposure to the achievements of European science led him to advocate for the modernization of Turkestan. A significant part of his intellectual legacy is a memorandum regarding the reform of the Muslim education system and the regional administration. Abdulghaffarov proposed that educational initiatives should account for the unique cultural and everyday traditions of the indigenous population. Drawing on the Islamic principle of seeking knowledge, he criticized the negative attitudes held by the conservative clergy. Based on an analysis of his proposals, there is every reason to consider Abdulghaffarov one of the representatives of Jadidism in Turkestan. The research findings demonstrate how, despite limited resources, Abdulghaffarov sought to implement his ideas through interaction with the imperial administration. However, these efforts were difficult to sustain due to the constant turnover of local officials and their shifting perspectives. Nevertheless, certain elements of his ideas were put into practice and utilized to serve the interests of imperial policy. This serves as an example of the adaptive and pragmatic nature of imperial governance in the Turkestan region.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772369812.pdf
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Abstract:
The article examines the role of the Polenov-Voeikov library in the development of book culture in the Tambov province at the end of the 19th century. The article analyzes the importance of the private collections of local nobles, who were able to create unique personal libraries in their estates. It is shown that the collection appeared as a result of combining the family collections of two outstanding people of their time – the famous Russian archaeologist and bibliographer, historian, diplomat D.V. Polenov (1806–1878) and Tambov local historian L.V. Voeikov (1818–1885). It contained only works permitted by censorship. At the same time, the collection practically lacked critical works by Nekrasov, Saltykov-Shchedrin, Melnikov-Pechersky. At the same time, after the merger, this library was transferred to public use on the basis of the Society for the Arrangement of Folk Readings in Tambov, securing the status of one of the largest and most diverse book collections in the region. The purpose of this organization was to introduce the general public, mainly from the poor, to elementary scientific ideas about nature, events of national and world history, and works of fiction. It has been established that the Polenov-Voeikov combined library was one of the largest privately owned book collections in the history of the Tambov province. Her total collection included more than 3,000 volumes summarizing thematically diverse works by Russian and foreign authors. The formation of this collection took place during the second half of the XVIII–XIX centuries by different generations of the Polenov and Voeikov families. The transfer of their combined library to the funds of the Naryshkin Reading Room enriched the book culture of the Tambov region and contributed to the development of education in the region.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772357310.pdf
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Abstract:
This article addresses a pressing topic in historical research, presenting the results of an examination of a private written source of interest within regional historiography. The article presents a study of a document entitled “Note by V.M. Nemchinov”, part of the G. V. Yudin collection housed in the State Archives of Krasnoyarsk Krai. This collection contains numerous documents, including private ones, of scholarly interest within the study of the history of Eastern Siberia. This document is examined as a historical source revealing aspects of public consciousness in the early 20th century. Furthermore, the article characterizes the historical and cultural context of its origin and evaluates the document from the perspective of its genre, which highlights details that enable the reconstruction of social perceptions. The article also presents the results of a detailed study of sources that shed light on the personality of the “Note”'s author, Valentin Mikhailovich Nemchinov. For the first time, the contents of the "Note" are examined in detail. The author provides a comprehensive description of the geographic and economic characteristics of several settlements in the Transbaikal Territory and the adjacent territory of Manchuria. Particular attention is paid to the description of such towns as Mysovsk (now Babushkin), Verkhneudinsk (now Ulan-Ude), Chita, and Aksha. The document provides an overview of the population of these towns, the presence of various enterprises, and the main activities of the local residents. Conclusions are drawn regarding the connection of the author of the “Note”, V.M. Nemchinov, to the Nemchinov family of merchants, well-known in Krasnoyarsk, as well as his activities in the city and collaboration with the industrialist and merchant G.V. Yudin. The specifics of the description of the territory of Eastern Siberia by the author of the “Note” are revealed in the context of the history of entrepreneurship: the identification of individual cities with the most vibrant trading life, the narrative of their connection by railway, which ensured the economic well-being of many of them, the importance of natural conditions for their development, as well as the potential for trade between Siberian merchants and Chinese border territories.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772357367.pdf
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Abstract:
This article examines the interactions between migrants and Russian authorities, using the example of the Chinese. The author focuses on mobility hubs or gateways. Shenk's concept of “gateways of transcontinental migration” serves as a research lens, examining checkpoints and interactions at key transportation hubs. The narrative focuses on two main locations: resettlement centers and the Millionka Chinese quarter in Vladivostok. Drawing on documents from the State Archives of the Russian Federation (GARF) and the United State Archives of the Chelyabinsk Region (OGACHO), as well as periodicals, this article analyzes the perspective on interactions with Chinese migrants in these locations. Given the complex context of interaction, on the one hand, the Chinese were perceived as a faceless actor in mobility processes (one of many) or as a necessary labor force, while on the other, the Chinese were seen as a source of numerous sanitary risks and social problems caused by the situation in the host society. Government officials often emphasized problems of unsanitary conditions, overcrowding, and deviant behavior in their observations, which, whether consciously or not, nevertheless led to a certain dehumanization of migrants. The experience of everyday interaction in the context of such “mobility gateways” could have long-term consequences for defining the contexts of intergroup (interethnic) relations, identifying vectors for implementing state policy toward migrant groups, and shaping ethnic stereotypes in Russia in the early XXth century.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772357416.pdf
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Abstract:
The manuscript is devoted to the analysis of youth military-patriotic (scouting) and religious organizations in the Russian Empire in the early twentieth century, based on their charters and rules published in pre-revolutionary periodicals. The source base of the study comprises a set of materials related to the youth movement in pre-revolutionary Russia. The methodological framework includes content analysis, systems analysis, and other approaches. Religious youth initiatives and military-patriotic scouting organizations in the Russian Empire began to develop actively in the early twentieth century, following broader global trends. These organizations may be conditionally divided into religious and scouting associations. The former include the well-known Christian youth society Mayak (“The Lighthouse”). Its principal aim – especially during the wartime period – was social service: assistance to incapacitated persons and large families, as well as voluntary and unpaid work in hospitals, orphanages, and similar institutions. The society also provided educational services and organized cultural and spiritual leisure activities. Scouting organizations possessed a pronounced military-patriotic character, with a corresponding hierarchical structure and system of subordination. Their main goal was the formation of the child’s personality on the basis of patriotism, honesty, humaneness, kindness, frugality, careful attitudes toward nature, and related values. Particular attention was paid to physical training and to certain specialized skills associated with military reconnaissance (survival in the wilderness, tracking, handling weapons, etc.).

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772357470.pdf
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Abstract:
This article explores the phenomenon of student periodicals in the Russian Empire in the early 20th century through the lens of historical anthropology. The key objects of analysis are the handwritten journals of the Petrovskaya Agricultural Academy – “Artichokes and Almonds” and “Anopheles” – which are considered valuable "texts from below" that allow us to reconstruct the everyday life, mentality, and practices of students. The paper highlights the methodological difficulties of attribution and typology of student publications, conditioned by the liminal status of students as a social group and the mixed composition of editorial boards. The author thoroughly analyzes how the texts of these journals constructed group identity, expressed protest sentiments through Aesopian language, satire, and irony, and captured key aspects of everyday life: the “stomach economy” and gastronomic practices (using the restaurant “Martyanich” as an example), the semiotics of clothing, gender relations, and bodily practices. It is concluded that student periodicals represent a comprehensive source for studying not only political ideas but also the formation of new social identities, the “history of feelings”, and the symbolic codes of student subculture in the pre-revolutionary era.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772357516.pdf
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Abstract:
In the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Russian Empire was going through the process of becoming a nation, and the state tried to actively participate in this process, forming a civil nation. To a certain extent, the youth movements that appeared in the country in the first decade of the last century also became the vehicles of this activity. Although all of them arose on a public initiative, patriotic work was carried out in them, which did not contradict the state ideology, although each had its own specifics. The Sokol gymnastic movement, which came from the Czech Republic, stood on the ideas of pan-Slavism, seeing Russia as the leader of Slavic countries, and English scouting promoted the ideas of international brotherhood within this organization. The “children's companies of the military system and gymnastics”, better known as the “poteshnie”, which appeared in Russia and had no contacts with other countries, differed from them. Sokol, as primarily a physical education organization, was least engaged in patriotic education and mainly focused on building a supranational Slavic identity. The Scouts and “poteshnie”, though to varying degrees, paid a lot of attention to patriotism and national unity. The paper specifically examines the methodology of such education and concludes that some of these methods are still relevant today.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772443817.pdf
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Abstract:
The article reconstructs and interprets the social structure of the student body at Kharkiv University during the 1914–1916 academic years. The study is based on mass administrative sources – official printed lists of students for the 1914–1915 and 1915–1916 academic years that provide systematic information on faculty affiliation and social origin, recorded in estate-based categories. Methodologically, the study combines a comprehensive quantitative analysis with a qualitative institutional interpretation of the data, enabling analysis at two levels: the university as a whole and a comparative faculty-level perspective. The results demonstrate that the university entered the wartime period with a socially mixed profile rather than a strictly noble-dominated one. Students of burgher origin constituted the core of the student body, while the nobility retained a significant presence, and the peasant component was already substantial at the beginning of the war. A comparison between the 1914–1915 and 1915–1916 academic years reveals a consistent direction of change: the share of nobles decreased, the proportion of students of peasant origin increased, and burghers maintained their dominant position. These shifts indicate that the war did not generate social transformation ex nihilo but rather intensified pre-existing tendencies within the university. A comparative faculty-level analysis reveals a pronounced asymmetry in wartime dynamics. The Faculty of Medicine functioned as the most socially open segment of the university and displayed the strongest growth of students of peasant origin, supporting the interpretation of medical education as a channel of professional mobility under conditions of wartime demand. In contrast, the Faculty of History and Philology remained the most elite part of the university, maintaining a comparatively high share of noble students and demonstrating strong institutional inertia. The Faculty of Law occupied an intermediate position, combining a notable noble presence with a stable burgher core, while the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics exhibited the greatest structural stability and the slowest pace of social change. The article argues that the impact of World War I on the social composition of Kharkiv University should be understood primarily as a catalytic effect rather than a decisive disruption. The observed transformations are interpreted as selective (asymmetrical) modernization, in which openness by social origin increased unevenly across faculties, whereas other boundaries, most notably the gender boundary of the classical university remained unchanged in the analyzed period. The findings provide an empirically grounded basis for further research on 1917–1918, when revolutionary developments may have altered not only quantitative proportions but also the institutional principles of access, accounting, and governance in higher education.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772357634.pdf
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Abstract:
This article, based on archival materials from the Orenburg Region State Archives, analyzes a little-known episode: the 1914 “denunciation campaign” against the editorial board of the Kazakh newspaper “Kazak” and its leaders, A. Baitursunov and M. Dulatov. Using source analysis and discourse analysis of administrative documents, the authors demonstrate that denunciation in late imperial Russia was not only a form of private political persecution but also part of an institutionalized mechanism of colonial surveillance. Letters from “trusted Kyrgyz from the Turgai and Ural regions” sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and governor's offices demonstrate a strategy by which some of the local elite positioned themselves as loyal intermediaries between the “authorities” and the “ignorant masses”. The bureaucratic trajectory of these appeals – from local officials to the police department – is traced, revealing the depth of the inclusion of peripheral regions in the imperial surveillance system. A comparison of the texts of denunciations and official responses allows us to reconstruct the logic of imperial administrative culture, in which suspicion and denunciation became the primary instruments of control over the national outskirts.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772370667.pdf
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Abstract:
This article is the third and final part of our work on the study of sources on the activities of the partisans in the Russian Empire during the First World War (1914–1918). The research materials were documents from the Russian State Military Historical Archive. Historiographical, historical-genetic, historical-systemic and other methods were used as a methodological complex. By the summer of 1916, 50 partisan detachments had been created, but not all of them operated behind enemy lines. The ideologist of the Russian partisan movement during the First World War, A.G. Shkuro, and his patron in the highest military circles, A.P. Bogaevsky, indicated the pros and cons of the partisan work done in the above documents. On the positive side, the following were noted: successful sabotage activities at the end of 1915 near Nevel and Kukhotskaya Volya; great desire of the Russian army personnel to serve in partisan detachments; a good ideological concept of the partisan movement; high personal motivation and patriotism of the fighters of the partisan detachments. Of the negative aspects, the following are noted: the reluctance of many commanders to use the partisan detachment for its direct, sabotage purpose; unsatisfactory provision of rotation of the detachment's personnel, as well as ammunition, food, and medicines. As a solution to these problems, Shkuro and Bogaevsky propose creating small sabotage and reconnaissance groups sent to the enemy's rear for appropriate work, while the main detachment is in good hiding (forest, swamps, etc.), maintaining combat capability for direct clashes with the enemy in cases of self-defense of the detachment. It is also proposed to immediately change the command of the detachment in case of incompetence, namely, failure to comply with the main task of the partisan detachment: covert and multiple attacks on the enemy's infrastructure through sabotage in the deep rear. The guerrillas should also pay attention to propaganda work among the population.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772358093.pdf
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Abstract:
The article analyzes the state of primary education in the Asian part of the Russian Empire as of January 1, 1915, based on archival materials from the Russian State Historical Archive. The focus is on the correlation between the total number of school-age children (8–11 years old) and the number of pupils enrolled in primary schools across 23 administrative units of Siberia, the Far East, the Steppe Region, Central Asia, and Transcaucasia. Using statistical data, the study identifies regional differences in the level of primary school enrollment and determines the percentage of enrolled pupils relative to the total number of children of the corresponding age group. The research shows that out of more than 2.2 million school-age children in the Asian part of the empire, approximately 550,000 were enrolled in schools, which accounted for about 25 percent. The highest level of enrollment was recorded in the Amur Region, while the lowest was observed in the Fergana Region. The author analyzes the factors influencing these disparities, including geographical remoteness, population density, specific features of colonial policy, and the degree of integration of the regions into the imperial administrative and educational system. The study refines our understanding of the scope and limitations of educational modernization in the eastern peripheries of the Russian Empire on the eve of the revolutionary events.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772358254.pdf
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Abstract:
The article explores the understudied procedural, legal, and source-study aspects of the investigation and trial of the participants in the July 11, 1916, uprising in Tashkent. These events became one of the most prominent episodes of mass protests in the Turkestan Governor-Generalship, provoked by the Imperial Decree on the mobilization of the “alien” (inorodtsy) population for rear-line work during World War I. Based on unpublished materials from the National Archives of Uzbekistan (specifically, the “Turkestan Military District Court” fund), the author reconstructs the mechanisms of the Russian law enforcement and judicial systems under colonial conditions. The work provides a detailed analysis of the sequence of investigative actions, ranging from crime scene inspections and forensic medical examinations to the interrogation of witnesses from the colonial administration and the accused. The particular attention is paid to the legal qualification of the rebels' actions. The study demonstrates how, through the application of the Penal Code and the Provisions on Measures for the Preservation of State Order, the authorities interpreted the protest as an armed rebellion against the state, which, under wartime conditions, carried the death penalty. The article describes the activities of the Special Temporary Military Court, the specifics of the “question sheets”, and the role of the defense in the trial. A key element of the research is the analysis of the confirmation of the sentence by Governor-General A.N. Kuropatkin. The author concludes that the significant mitigation of punishments for the majority of the convicted was dictated not only by humanism but also by a pragmatic desire to stabilize the region and avoid further escalation of the conflict. The article emphasizes that despite the formal severity of imperial justice, judicial practice allowed for variability and considered the social factors that had turned peaceful residents into “hardened criminals”. The research contributes to the understanding of the colonial policy of the Russian Empire and the instruments of legal control during periods of crisis.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772358337.pdf
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Abstract:
The use of child and adolescent labor in agricultural work was an economically necessary condition for the functioning of peasant households and a means of labor education for children, inseparable from their practical participation in the production process. The gender difference in the participation of children and adolescents in agricultural work recorded by the census program (plowing, haymaking, harvesting) consisted in the lower involvement of girls, especially in arable work, which was traditionally considered a male occupation. The practice of wider involvement of children and adolescents in agricultural work in peasant families who have lived in Siberia for a long time, compared with migrant families, is explained by the shorter duration of the growing season in the region, which required maximum concentration of household labor resources when performing basic production activities within the framework of the annual agricultural cycle. A comparative analysis of the use of child labor in the households of peasants belonging to different ethnic groups of the rural population of Altai shows that in the households of German peasant colonists child labor in agricultural work was used on a smaller scale than in the households of peasants of the main Slavic ethnic groups (Russians and Ukrainians), which is explained by the lower damage from military mobilization, caused to the labor potential of this ethnic group, as well as a higher level of technical equipment for field work. The least widespread use of child and adolescent labor was in the households of the aboriginal population (Altaians, Kazakhs), for whom agriculture and stationary cattle breeding were not traditional occupations, but acquired with inclusion in modernization processes. An analysis of the relationship between the use of child and adolescent labor and the size of production in peasant households showed that it was used on the largest scale in the middle-sown group of households (with sowing from 4 to 12 dessiatines), in small-sown households (with sowing up to 4 dessiatines), its use was restrained by limited demand for labor, and in households of the highest sown group (with more than 12 dessiatines sown) – because they had better opportunities to use the labor of hired workers. Sending children for employment to outside households was more typical not for old-time residents, but for migrant households, especially newly settled peasants, who were in dire need of funds necessary for the speedy economic and household arrangements in their new place of residence.

URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772358421.pdf
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URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772531460.pdf
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URL: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1772358492.pdf
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