Based on an analysis of archival documents and periodical press materials, the present paper studies the impact of the liberal reforms of Alexander II on the policies of the imperial authorities for the nomadic peoples of the steppe of Ciscaucasia: the Kalmyks, Nogais and Turkmens. The liberal reforms of the 1860s and 1870s had a direct impact on the formation of the national intelligentsia, which during the revolutionary events of the early 20th century led to the rise of the national movement in the empires peripheries and to the struggle for self-determination of the non-Russian populations during the Russian Revolution of 1917. The article reconstructs individual facts and events from the life of the nomadic population under specific socio-economic and political-legal conditions. Using the historical-genetic method, the influence of liberal reforms on the vital activity of the nomadic peoples of the Stavropol province is revealed. The authors focus on the activities of regional authorities during the period under review, which were liberal in nature and carried out in the context of the reforms of Alexander II. The authors conclude that the pre-Caucasus steppe, the territory of the nomadic Kalmyks, Nogais and Turkmens, being the national edge of the Russian Empire and falling under a special system of governance related to the ethnic and religious characteristics of the populations, was not drawn into the orbit of liberal reforms. Meanwhile, a number of measures were approved by the regional executive authorities on the ground, of course, first of all, aimed at satisfying the needs of the imperial policy for incorporating the region into the common imperial space, but at the same time improving the lives of the nomadic peoples of the Stavropol province, in particular in the field of education and legal procedures.
Despite the long-standing interest of Russian historiography in the integration of ethnic border districts into the general Imperial legal space, certain aspects of this problem are out of scientific attention, which determined the relevance of the study. The subject of this article is a letter sent in May 1830 by the Emperor's office to the Combatant Commander on the Caucasian line and the head of the Caucasian region G.А. Emmanuel. This letter was devoted to the original jurisdiction of the legal relationships between parents and their children in a non-Russian environment. The reason for this letter was a special case, but since the proceedings took place at the highest level, this problem was of national importance. In the course of the study, the authors focus on the analysis of the imperial legislative framework devoted to the legal status of non-Russians. In conclusion, the authors resume that aspects of family legal relations in the non-Russian environment in the first half of the XIX century were controversial, transferred from the department of general imperial institutions under the jurisdiction of the spiritual authorities. The highest state bodies of the empire took part in consideration of a particular case, specifying the problem area of the legal framework along the way of integrating non-Russians into the general Imperial legal space. We believe it was due to the need of unifying the government system to improve the effectiveness of management decisions, both in the geopolitical and in the economical spheres.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.