Pristav Directorates in the Central Caucasus and Southern Steppe Ciscaucasia, 1800–1803: Migration as a Transformation Factor

Introduction. The article examines migration as a factor for the transformation of the system of pristav directorates in the Central Caucasus and southern steppe Ciscaucasia between 1800 and1803. Goals. The work seeks to identify some specifics of how authorities and officials would approach the issue of resettling Iki-Dorbet Kalmyks that had left lands of the Don Host for those of Astrakhan Governorate in 1800, to outline certain features inherent to the transformation of pristav directorates in 1800–1803 through the example of the established position of Chief Pristav and subsequent separation of the latter’s office. Materials and methods. The study employs the chronological, historical genetic, historical systemic methods, and involves an institutional approach to analyze some newly discovered documentary narratives from the Russian State Historical Archive and National Archive of Kalmykia. Results. Particular attention is given to the circumstances and key directions of activities undertaken by authorities to determine the territorial jurisdiction (subordination) of the Chief Pristav’s Office in 1800–1801, with due regard of how territorial jurisdictions of other pristav directorates would be reshaped after the Kalmyk People’s Chief Pristav’s Office was established in 1801. Conclusions. In the early eighteenth century, internal migrations remained an important factor when it came to transform the then system of pristav directorates across the Central Caucasus and southern steppe Ciscaucasia. The measures undertaken by authorities did contribute to the strengthening of the Russian government apparatus in the south of the country, and yielded somewhat comfortable conditions for the incorporation of the region’s indigenous peoples — into Imperial Russia’s political and legal environments.

1. Abeeva O. N. Administrative systems for Caspian nomads, nineteenth century: The case of Kalmykia. Vestnik Prikaspiya: arkheologiya, istoriya, etnologiya. 2012. No. 3. Pp. 77–86. (In Russ.)

2. Abramyan L. P. Government Control over Outer Non-Russian Populations of Northern Ciscaucasia, Mir-Eighteenth to Mid-Nineteenth Centuries. Cand. Sc. (history) thesis. Pyatigorsk, 2009. 201 p. (In Russ.)

3. Batyrov V. V., Goryaev M. S., Komandzhaev A. N., Komandzhaev E. A. Changes in Kalmykia’s Administrative System, Late Eighteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries. Elista: Dzhangar, 2014. 159 p. (In Russ.)

4. Goryaev M. S. Kalmykia as Part of the Russian Empire: The Specific of Socioeconomic and Political Environments, 1771–1825. Elista: Dzhangar, 2009. 131 p. (In Russ.)

5. Izbassarova G. B., Lyubichankovskiy S. V. Pristavstva on the outskirts of the Russian Empire in the 18th — first half of the 19th century: From a personal position to a management system. Russian History. 2018. No. 2. Pp. 13–21. (In Russ.)

6. Maksimov K. N., Ochirova N. G. (eds.) History of Kalmykia: From Earliest Times to Present Days. In 3 vols. Elista: Gerel, 2009. Vol. 1. 848 p. (In Russ.)

7. Kalmykov I. Kh., Kereytov R. Kh., Sikaliev A. I. The Nogai: An Essay in History and Ethnography. Cherkessk: Stavropol Book Publ., 1988. 230 p. (In Russ.)

8. Kidirniyazov D. S. Nogais of the Northeast Caucasus, Nineteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries: A Study of the Economic and Sociopolitical Agenda. Makhachkala, 2005. 219 p. (In Russ.)

9. Komandzhaev E. A. Kalmykia’s Administrative System, Eighteenth–Nineteenth Centuries. Elista: Kalmyk State University, 2009. 100 p. (In Russ.)

10. Komandzhaev E. A. Institutes of public authority in Kalmykia in the 17th – early 20th centuries from the perspective of civilization and cultural approach. RUDN Journal of Law. 2019. Vol. 23. No. 2. Pp. 219–243. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.22363/2313-2337-2019-23-2-219-243

11. Komandzhaev E. A., Komandzhaev A. N. Appointment of N. I. Strakhov as the Chief Bailiff of the Kalmyk people (Based on the materials of Russian legislation of 1801–1802). Nomadic Civilization: Historical Research. 2023. Vol. 3. No. 3. Pp. 25–38. (In Russ.) DOI: 10.53315/2782-3377-2023-3-3-25-38

12. Lidzhieva I. V. Local Governance in Kalmyk Steppe, Nineteenth to Early Twentieth Centuries: A Perspective from History and Ethnography. Elista: Kalmyk Scientific Center (RAS), 2016. 328 p. (In Russ.)

13. Maksimov K. N. Kalmykia in Russia’s Past and Present National Policies and Administrative System. Moscow: Nauka, 2002. 524 p. (In Russ.)

14. Marzei I. R. A System of Pristav (Commissioner) Directorates in the North Caucasus, 1769–1864. Cand. Sc. (history) thesis. Nalchik, 2021. 193 p. (In Russ.)

15. Ochir-Garyaeva I. K., Yataeva N. V. Legal formalization of the Pristav’s authority in Kalmykia, 1800s – 1820s. Law and State: The Theory and Practice. 2018. No. 12 (168). Pp. 30–34. (In Russ.)

16. Palmov N. N. Kalmyks within Russia’s Borders: A Historical Essay. Astrakhan: Kalmgosizdat, 1922. 137 p. (In Russ.)

17. Skiba V. A. Legal status of Kalmykia after the abolition of Kalmyk Khanate, 1771–1890s. Vestnik Severo-Kavkazskogo gosudarstvennogo tekhnicheskogo universiteta. 2012. No. 2 (31). Pp. 182–185. (In Russ.)

18. Strakhov N. I. Present-Day Conditions of the Kalmyk People, Their Laws and Procedures, Ten Precepts of Their Faith, a Prayer, a Didactic Novel, a Folktale, Proverbs and Sarvadin Song. St. Petersburg: Schnor, 1810. 95 p. (In Russ.)

19. Trepavlov V. V. ‘Ethnic policies’ in polyethnic Russia, sixteenth–nineteenth centuries. Historical Psychology & Sociology. 2009. Vol. 2. No. 1. Pp. 60–73. (In Russ.)

20. Esadze S. E. Administering the Caucasus: A Historical Essay. Vol. 1. Tiflis: Guttenberg, 1907. 616 p. (In Russ.)

21.

22.