Issues:
Sections:
Issue 99
HISTORY, ARCHAEOLOGY, ETHNOGRAPHY
UDK: 95(47)
PROJECTS OF THE RUSSIAN MILITARY ELITE ON THE CONQUEST OF THE CAUCASUS. THE FIRST THIRD OF THE XIX CENTURY
The article attempts to study and analyze the projects of the Russian military elite to «pacify» the North-East Caucasus, with the aim of final annexation and subsequent "development". The purpose of the study is to show the evolution of the Russian military policy in the Caucasus through the personal factor. The methodological basis of the study was the comparative-historical method, which allows identifying the general and the specific in the subject of the study. Since the integration of the North-Eastern Caucasus into the Russian imperial space took place in conditions of military confrontation, the projects of the highest military leadership of Russia in the person of the Caucasian governors are of great interest. The plans for the conquest of the Caucasus by A.P. Ermolov, I.F. Paskevich and A.A. Velyaminov, considered in the article, are a striking example of imperial ideology and practice. Comparative analysis shows that the forms and methods of the policy of conquest of the aforementioned representatives of the highest elite of Russia were not very diverse and the power component was at the forefront of their projects. Many ideas were borrowed by subsequent military leaders from their predecessors, such as limiting the sale of salt, economic blockade, and others. Undoubtedly, A.P. Ermolov, I.F. Paskevich, A.A. Velyaminov were major figures of the time. Participants in many European military campaigns, they did not immediately understand the distinctive features of mountain warfare. In addition, at the beginning of the XIX century, knowledge of the Caucasus was not yet systematized, and the lifestyle and psychology of a mountaineer were little known to Russians. As time has shown, violence against the mountain peoples of the North-Eastern Caucasus did not always justify itself. This was a significant disadvantage of the military elite's projects. A balanced search for other methods of influence was needed, the correct combination of which should have led to the integration of the Caucasus and Russia.
Pages: 79 - 85
Date: 30.12.2025