An Outpost of Russian Statehood in the North‑West Caucasus

Abstract

The article examines the history of one of the most important centers of the formation of the Russian frontier in the Northwestern Caucasus in the late 18th – mid 19th centuries, namely, the fortress Prochnyj Okop founded in 1784. The authors analyze the circumstances of the fortress construction and its role during the Caucasian War when it served as an important administrative, communications and logistics centre. Prochnyj Okop served as a residence for the leadership of the Kuban and the Right Flank of the Caucasian line playing the role of a starting point and the main base of the military Cossack colonization of the territories of the Kuban. Large combined units were assembled here. Negotiations with the leaders of the highlanders were held in the fortress. At the same time, the fortress was also a major trading center since 1821, both for the Russians and for the highlanders. The past of Prochnyj Okop is closely connected with a galaxy of names of outstanding Russians. The detailed plan of the fortress of 1803, as well as the materials of the technical survey of the fortress of the Prochnyj Okop in 1925, are being introduced into scientific circulation. The authors argue that the main historical significance of the fortress Prochnyj Okop lies in the fact that it became the original core of the formation of a whole system of new settlements. The Cossack village of Prochnookopskaya, the soldier settlement of Forshtadt, Nogai Kaplanovskij and Cherkessky Vol’nyj villages were founded in the fortress district. An Armenian village, the future Armavir, was founded under the protection of Prochnyj Okop fortress. The article is addressed to readers interested in the history of the exploration of the Caucasus by the Russian Empire in the 18th – 19th centuries.