Abstract: The subject of this article is the policy and ruling techniques of the Ottoman Empire in Western Caucasus as a whole, and Abkhazia in particular, implemented due to expansion of military and economic presence of the Russian Empire in Caucasus in the early XIX century. Such methods include bringing local population (mostly representative of aristocracy – princes and noblemen) to the side of the Ottoman Empire for returning their dominance in the countries and cities (fortresses), considered by the Sublime Porte as the territories of their authority, and unlawfully annexed by the Russian Empire (namely the Principality of Abkhazia). This resulted in clash of interest of both superpowers that unfolded in Abkhazia and neighboring Circassia in the early XIX century. The scientific novelty consists in introduction into the scientific discourse of previously unpublished sources from the Ottoman State Archive of the President of the Republic of Turkey, as well as the Russian State Military-Historical Archive, which shed light on the methods of Ottoman control over the territories of Western Caucasus (Principality of Abkhazia, Circassia), as well as on the complicated questions regarding the clash of interests of the Russian and Ottoman empires in the region. The relevance of this work is substantiated by usage of both, Russian and Ottoman unpublished archival materials for describing the Ottoman ruling techniques in the region.

Abstract: The research subject of this article is the policy methods of the Ottoman Empire (in particular, the gift of Pishkesh) in the Western Caucasus in the first third of the 19th century. In the context of the existing fears associated with the loss of the region, the Ottoman Empire introduced various new methods to its policy. The gift of Piskesha (gift, bribe) was used in earlier periods, but in the first third of the 19th century it was applied in full scale. The Ottomans through all means tried to retain under their influence the numerous ethnic groups of the Western Caucasus, using the gift-giving practice on both the representatives of the upper class (Princes, nobles), as well as on prisoners and peasants. Upon writing this article, the author analyzed and generalized the policy methods of the Ottoman Empire in the Western Caucasus. Upon translating the archive document, the author used the main theoretical and practical methods of historical research. The novelty of this research lies in its study of the Ottoman Empire's policy method of the gift of Pishkesh, which in both Russian and foreign historiographies has practically not been examined. The previously unpublished archival document from the Ottoman archive of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey is introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, in which the author found valuable information about the named gift-giving practice.

Abstract: The object of this research is the representations of the Ottoman authors about the ethnic situation in Western Caucasus in the early XIX century. Considering the throughout more than a 300 year history (from 1454 to 1829) fell within the scope of the Ottoman Empire, special interest for studying the history of the regional residents and their relationship with the Ottoman Empire represent the unpublished archival Ottoman materials that reveal the peculiarities of Ottomans’ understanding of the ethnic situation in Western Caucasus. One of the aforementioned documents is considered in the article. The author conducted analysis and generalization of the Ottoman historical works that contain information about the peoples of the region, as well as used the basic theoretical and practical methods of historical research. For the first time into the scientific discourse is introduced the document from the Ottoman State Archive Hatt- Hatti hümayün 1104/ 444590- Y, which provides a description of the peoples of Western Caucasus. Due to the fact that they remained non-literate until the second half of the XIX century, the majority of historical research of the region is presented by the memoirs compiled by the foreign travelers, military men, ambassadors, agents, etc. Thus, the indicated document will allow the scholars of history and ethnography to have a new perspective upon the ethnic history of the peoples of Western Caucasus.