Russian Expeditions to the Turkmen Coast of the Caspian Sea in the First Quarter of the 19th Century

Abstract

In this article, based on the analysis of Russian literature, memoirs of participants and published materials, documents from the archives of the Russian Federation, the author reconstructed the history of expeditions organized by the Russian authorities to the eastern (Turkmen) shore of the Caspian Sea in the first quarter of the 19th century. The purpose of the expeditions was to find and organize a place for the foundation of the Russian commercial and naval fortifications. Military, officials, scientists, merchants were involved in the expeditions, which were of an intelligence and economic nature. The program of the expeditions was formulated by representatives of the highest authorities of the Russian Empire, the treasury also paid for all the costs of their organization and implementation. The expeditions were equipped and sent to the Turkmen coast from the Astrakhan port, the main Russian point on the Volga-Caspian route. During the expeditions, extremely important scientific data were obtained: on ethnography, socio-economic and cultural life of Turkmen tribes and cartography. It was possible to enlist the support of the heads of the Turkmen coastal tribes, to form a list of goods that was interesting for the local population. The results of the expeditions eventually allowed the Russian authorities to decide on a place to establish their trading post (and port) and begin building the Novo-Petrovsky fortification on Mangyshlak in the 1840s.