СЛУЖБА ГОРЦЕВ СЕВЕРНОГО КАВКАЗА В ПОЛКАХ ТЕРСКОГО КАЗАЧЕСТВА В ПЕРИОД КАВКАЗСКОЙ ВОЙНЫ

Abstract

The article examines the motives and consequences of the North Caucasian mountaineers’ service in the Terek Cossack regiments in the period of the Caucasian war. The paper analyzes relations of the Caucasians, who served in the Cossack regiments, with their compatriots and with the Cossacks-Slavs. Special attention is paid to the problem of religious identity of the non-Russian Cossacks. The very existence of the Cossacks-Caucasians indicates the complexity and ambiguity of the problem of the North Caucasian peoples’ and the Terek Cossacks’ participation in the Caucasian war and leads to the conclusion that they shouldn’t be considered as implacable opponents. The Cossacks of Caucasian origin played a considerable role in the integration of the North Caucasian peoples into the political and socio-economic structure of the Russian Empire. The paper is aimed for specialists in the field of Caucasian studies and the Cossacks’ history.