Зензелинское собрание: попытка реформирования обычного права по пути интеграции в общероссийское правовое пространство

Abstract

The article is devoted to the imperial policy of integrating non-Russian suburbs into the legal space of the Russian state on the example of the Kalmyk nobility meeting held in 1822 in p. Zenzeli of the Astrakhan province. On the basis of documentary sources identified in the funds of the National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia, an analysis was made of the process of preparation and holding of the congress of Kalmyk nobility and clergy, who sought to preserve the privileges granted by the imperial persons earlier. The microhistorical study allowed to review in detail the measures proposed by local officials to reform the judicial system in Kalmykia, which served as a kind of legislative initiative. A distinctive feature of the imperial policy in the field of judicial organization and legal proceedings in relation to nomadic aliens was its dualism: on the one hand, the desire to eliminate the independence of the judiciary, on the other — the sanctioning of customary law and the preservation of national institutions. An attempt by representatives of the privileged strata of the Kalmyk people to preserve their independence in the sphere of the judicial system and legal proceedings failed. In conclusion, the author concludes that the judicial system and legal proceedings of foreigners, based on customary law norms, did not correspond to the aspirations of the central authorities aimed at unifying the legal system.