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On the basis of archival sources and materials taken from periodical press, the authors investigate the history of the Persian diaspora in Ossetia. The article discusses the causes of Persian migration to Ossetia, which began in the second half of the 19th century; their settlement and adaptation processes; and mechanisms of intra-ethnic consolidation. The authors identify the means Persians used to adapt to the economy of the host society, in particular by fi nding economic niches in industry, craft, trade, and domestic services, and analyze their integration into new economic forms of urban lifestyle. Ethnic entrepreneurship emerges as the foundation of Persian community life. The article investigates the diaspora’s infrastructure, including the Persian Consulate, a Shiite mosque, the Persian school Navruz , the charitable society Himmat , and several other institutions. In general, for most minority communities the place of worship becomes the focus point of intraethnic consolidation and preservation of national identity, especially when the community is not simply ethnic but rather ethno-confessional. In the Persian community, however, the main regulatory and communicative functions were performed by the Consulate. The authors argue that the prominence of the Consulate resulted from the uncertain status of the mosque, from the fact that Shiite worshippers came from various nationalities, and from the confl icts among them. The authors examine the degree of preservation of traditional Persian culture in festive and ceremonial life, community behavior, and relations with the motherland. They identify how the Persian community integrated into the socio-cultural environment of poly-ethnic Vladikavkaz through trade relations, everyday contacts, and other means.
Исследование проведено при финансовой поддержке РФФИ в рамках научного проекта № 20-59-56005 «Иранские диаспоры на Северном Кавказе в контексте российско-иранского взаимодействия (вторая половина ХIХ – первая треть ХХ века)»В истории иранского населения, обосновавшегося со второй половины ХIХ в. на Северном Кавказе, все еще сохраняются малоизвестные страницы и спорные вопросы, к числу которых следует отнести и деятельность персидских вице-консульств в регионе, которым посвящена настоящая статья. Актуальность темы исследования определяется важной ролью персидских вице-консулов в процессах адаптации иранцев к экономике, законодательству и культуре «принимающих» обществ Северного Кавказа, в развитии российско-иранских отношений в целом. Кроме своих непосредственных обязанностей, они выполняли функции неформальных лидеров, от которых зависел уровень инкорпорации иранцев в экономическое, социальное и культурное пространство региона, с одной стороны, и сохранение традиционного образа жизни, этнической идентичности, с другой. В руках вице-консула были сосредоточены механизмы всех индивидуальных и коллективных адаптивных практик иранской общины. Однако, несмотря на ключевую роль вице-консулов, организация их деятельности пока не получила должного исследовательского внимания. Цель настоящей статьи – восстановить хронологию деятельности вице-консулов, систему назначения, личные характеристики и определить роль в организации диаспорной жизни на территории распространения их влияния, которая включала Владикавказ, Петровск и всю Дагестанскую область. Представленное в настоящей статье исследование основано на архивных источниках, анализ которых позволил пересмотреть дату основания вице-консульства во Владикавказе, выявить имена неизвестных вице-консулов, исправить допущенные ошибки в хронологии их деятельности, проследить динамику в регламенте назначения, оценить вклад отдельных иранских лидеров в жизнеустройство иранских общин. In the history of the Iranian population, who settled in the North Caucasus since the second half of the 19th century, there are still little-known pages and controversial issues, including the activities of Persian vice-consulates in the region, to which this article is devoted. The relevance of the research topic is determined by the important role of the Persian vice-consuls in the processes of adaptation of the Iranians to the economy, legislation and culture of the "host" societies of the North Caucasus. In addition to their direct duties, they performed the functions of informal leaders, on whom the level of incorporation of the Iranians into the economic, social and cultural space of the region, on the one hand, and the preservation of the traditional way of life, ethnic identity, on the other, depended. In the hands of the Vice-Consul, the mechanisms of all individual and collective adaptive practices of the Iranian community were concentrated. However, despite the key role of vice-consuls, the organization of their activities has not yet received due research attention. The purpose of this article is to restore the chronology of the activities of vice-consuls, the appointment system, personal characteristics and to determine the role in the organization of diaspora life in the territory of the spread of their influence, which included Vladikavkaz, Petrovsk and the entire Dagestan region. The study presented in this article is based on Russian and Iranian sources, the analysis of which made it possible to revise the date of foundation of the vice-consulate in Vladikavkaz, to identify the names of unknown vice-consuls, to correct the mistakes made in the chronology of their activities, to trace the dynamics in the appointment regulations, to assess the contribution of individual Iranian leaders to the life of Iranian communities.
The study of the processes of adaptation of labor migrants in the modern world is actualized by the impact of active cross-border movements on the economy, culture, politics and interstate interaction. The study of the historical experience of the legal and economic aspects of the adaptation of Iranian migrants in the North Caucasus in the second half of the X1X - early XX century undertaken in this article significantly complements and corrects the known, but rather contradictory information about Iranian immigrants, and also makes a certain contribution to the theory of the life structure of the diaspora. The analysis of Russian laws regulating the life of foreigners in Russia and the peculiarities of their application in the North Caucasus, identified from archival sources, made it possible to study the adaptation practices of Persian migrants. Among Persian migrants, the vast majority crossed the border illegally, as the adjacent territory between the northern part of Iran and the southern borders of Russia, in particular, the Azerbaijani lands, for a long time remained accessible to residents of both countries. In this regard, the first adaptive practices of migrants were associated with shelter from Russian legislation. However, over time, the rules were tightened, and their non-implementation undermined the life of the migrant. The official registration of a residence permit, a “Russian ticket”, Russian citizenship, a voluntary change of the family name to the Russian manner, with the addition of the suffix “ov”, the election of intermediaries to interact with local authorities and other individual practices identified from archival sources, strengthened the social prestige of the migrant, necessary for the successful organization of entrepreneurial activity. The organization of ethnic entrepreneurship, the creation of jobs for compatriots, were the basis and guarantor of the success of the life of the Persian community. The status of a migrant was also enhanced by a noticeable participation in charitable activities aimed both at solving common problems and at helping the Persian community: the foundation of mosques, Persian schools and charitable societies, which together ensured both the preservation of identity and integration into the host society.
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