The Mozdok Question during the Ottoman-Russian War of 1768–1774

Abstract

This article is devoted to the consideration of one of the most important issues in Russian-Kabardian relations in the middle - second half of the eighteenth century. - the “Mozdok issue”, which has become a long-term stumbling block for the interests of the Kabardian nobility and the Russian authorities. The relevance of this article is due to the fact that at present a number of Caucasian experts will introduce it as the starting point of the so-called Caucasian war, considers it the beginning of the “colonial policy of tsarism” in the region. At the same time, many historians consider the construction of the fortress and the consequences of this step of the Russian authorities to be part of the positive integrative processes in the North Caucasus. Thus, this issue is quite controversial in the realities of modern Caucasian studies. The purpose of this article is to study the actual state of the “Mozdok issue”, which developed simultaneously with the construction of the fortress, during the Ottoman-Russian war of 1768 - 1774. As materials for the study, both thematic collections of documents and the scientific works of Russian Caucasian experts were used. The fundamental methodological principles of the research were the principles of historicism and objectivity, the methods - historical-genetic and historical-systemic. An in-depth study of this problem reveals the regional components associated with the traditional sociocultural lifestyle of the highlanders in the period under review, as well as those foreign policy factors that have had a direct impact on the state of the “Mozdok issue” in the dynamics that took place. Documentary sources, as well as differences of opinion among many Caucasian experts indicate the objective priority of the issue in the context of a general analysis of Russian-mountain interaction in a wide chronological range.