‘For Sound Reconciliation between the Kaisak and Kalmyk Peoples, It Is Necessary to Please Them’: a Mediating Means in the Mid-18th-Century Steppe Diplomacy

Studies of relations between the peoples of Russia at various stages of its statehood development remain much needed and relevant in contemporary historical science. The process of Russia’s historical development involved most different nations into the orbit of its domestic and foreign policies. So, the Russian government was constantly facing with the challenge of retaining them within the state. To facilitate that, it was essential to determine their places and roles in the state structure. However, not all nations had previously maintained peaceful relations with their new neighbors. The central and local Russian authorities had to search for ways to overcome the difficulties encountered in establishing peaceful coexistence of different peoples, employing vast military, administrative and diplomatic methods. The latter included retention and return of hostages or captives. Goals. The paper seeks to examine Kalmyk-Kazakh relations in the mid-18th century, identifying the Russian government’s role in establishing peaceful coexistence of the two steppe peoples within one state under the rule of Russian law; it also aims to investigate various aspects related to the role of captives in diplomatic contacts between the Russian establishment and representatives of steppe nobility. Results. The fact that in the 1730s Kazakhs of the Junior and Middle Zhuzes virtually became Russian citizens resulted a certain phenomenon: one state was then housing two steppe peoples relations between which were primarily reduced to mutual raids and hostilities. In the 1740s, Russian authorities made some efforts to facilitate peaceful coexistence of Kalmyks and Kazakhs under the rule of the Russian Empire. The diplomatic tool to have accompanied negotiation processes was the practice of voluntary return of captives. Conclusions. The analysis of the facts examined suggests that when it came to relations with the steppe peoples in the mid-18th century, the Russian authorities made extensive use of captives exchange to achieve wanted results in negotiation processes.

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