Kalmyks in 1727 Negotiations on Sultan Bahti Giray of Kuban to Become Russia’s Protectorate

Abstract

Introduction. The article scrutinizes the 1727 Kalmyk-Kuban contacts and — within the latter — the role of the rebellious Sultan Bahti Giray of Kuban to have dramatically destabilized the Russian-Ottoman steppe frontier. The recent years witness an increasing interest in Bahti Giray’s biography examined in a series of special publications. Goals. The paper aims to introduce some newly discovered data on Kalmyk-Kuban relations. Materials. The work focuses on materials from the National Archive of Kalmykia to have collected unique documents of correspondence between Kalmyk princes and South Russian authorities, as well as secret eyewitness reports on Kalmyk-Kuban contacts. Results. The article provides a detailed historical review of Kalmyk-Kuban relations as of 1727. Conclusions. In 1726–1727, Bahti Giray — after a number of misfortunes — joined another struggle for power in Kuban with the military aid of the Kalmyks. Kalmyk leaders were eager to seize the opportunity for minimizing any threats from Kuban rather than for regaining control over Yedisan and Jamboiluk Nogais. So, those were common military and political interests that brought Bahti Giray and Kalmyk chieftains together. Meanwhile, the Russian Government was worried enough by the tense situation in the Russian-Turkish frontier and sought for various means to neutralize the rebellious sultan — from political murder to proclamation of a protectorate, the latter having been welcomed by both the sultan himself and most Kalmyk princes that took an active part in the negotiation process. However, Colonel V. Beklemishev who was acting as Russia’s chief representative throughout the negotiations did fear the two parties may have initiated a political imitation but had no efficient levers to influence the situation and cancel the forthcoming Kuban campaign.