Peculiarities of Russian expansion towards Turkic and Finno-Ugric peoples (last quarter of the 15th – middle of the 19th century): historical and legal paradigm

Abstract

The article considers the peculiarities of socio-political and state-legal processes associated with the course of Russian expansion against the Turkic and Finno-Ugric peoples during the last quarter of the XV – mid-XIX centuries. The author emphasizes that due to the meaning of Russia’s existence as a state, traditionally in its political and legal doctrine, war has always been interpreted as a continuation of foreign policy in peacetime, which determined the features of Russia’s foreign policy. It is noted that the beginning of Russia’s direct seizure of Turkic and Finno-Ugric possessions is associated with the conquest of such great powers as the Kazan, Astrakhan and Siberian Khanates. In general, the peculiarities of Russian expansion in relation to the Turkic and Finno-Ugric peoples include the following: ideological conditionality; paying considerable attention to the preparatory phase of expansion; combination of military and hybrid means of influencing the conquered peoples; application of a wide range of methods of national assimilation after the conquest of territories; development and implementation of a wide range of measures of influence in case of possible cases of disobedience among the local population; support of expansion at all stages by means of information and psychological struggle. It is emphasized that the ideology of Russian expansionism has been supplemented by the following basic provisions: in the process of resolving international conflicts, force must always prevail, not justice; the victors of military conflicts are listened to and agreed with, they are not judged or complained about, even when they commit atrocities, they are not reproached for any sins; weak, backward and dependent states should be subjugated and left no chance for revival; in the event that the state, which was previously in the rank of winner, has weakened and can no longer defend its privileged position, it must be attacked and killed as soon as possible; acceptance of persistent, growing aggression in relations with weakened states as the basis of military-political tactics; the use of a wide arsenal of means of assimilation of the population both on the eve of expansion and in all its subsequent stages, the development of theories about the “backwardness” of peoples.