Nakhichevan Armenian Colony on the Don (1779-1870)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the Armenian colony of New Nakhichevan on the Lower Don with an emphasis on institutional aspects, which should help in solving the general task of analyzing the mechanisms and methods of effective self-organization of ethno-cultural groups in a foreign environment in different times.
 The author assumes that the system of self-government, formed on the basis of Catherine the II’s letter of grant, was an important tool for ensuring the identity and preserving the ethno-cultural specificity of the residents of Nakhichevan-on-Don and five Armenian villages of the Armenian district.
 A characteristic feature of its public administration was its formation on an ethnic basis – it united the Armenians (urban and rural residents) who had migrated from the Crimea. The legal basis of the colony was, in addition to the all-Russian laws, the Armenian “rights and customs”. At the same time, from the very first years of the colony’s foundation there started a process of its quite close integration into the all-Russian system of administration as well as gradual limitation of the granted privileges and benefits in other issues. Limitation of independence of the colony occurred in connection with the gradual unification of urban governance, and it was also associated with an increase in the Orthodox (Russian) population of the city. Full and final transition to the all-Russian model occurred in the era of “great reforms”.
 Nevertheless, until the February Revolution of 1917 and the radical democratization of suffrage (“four-tail”) the Armenian element entirely dominated the city authorities. After the complete loss of influence in the city Duma, the Armenian community had to create the “Nakhichevan on the Don Armenian Community” in the form of national-cultural autonomy in order to preserve its ethnic identity.
 The self-government of Nakhichevan provided internal stability and the possibility to preserve the ethno-cultural identity. The rapid socio-economic development of the region and the ethno-demographic changes inevitably led to assimilation processes. The loss of autonomy and actual dominance in Nakhichevan-on-Don by the Armenian part of the population only accelerated these processes.