Abstract: For a long time, Turki was the only Russian city in the North Caucasus, so without the military men who defended it, it simply could not exist. The study of the number and composition of these people, as well as the causes and consequences of their changes, is the main task of the study. The chronological framework of the work is 1660-1670. It was a very difficult period in the history of the city, when it experienced economic difficulties, famine, sea level rise, which forced the city to be moved to a new location, and the hostile actions of some neighbors. At the same time, the serving people of the Tersk city took an active part in military operations not only in the Caucasus, but also far beyond its borders – near Azov, in the Crimea, near Chigirin. Studying the background of these events is another goal of the study. The research is based on the study and analysis of documents. Some of them have been published, others are kept in archives and are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The article contains many new facts about the size and composition of the Tersk garrison, about the factors of their change. It is concluded that increasing the number of Russian military personnel was one of the most important tasks of the state. To do this, residents of other cities were transferred to the city for permanent or temporary service – Streltsy, Cossacks, soldiers, exiles who were enrolled in Streltsy. However, the disadvantage, the delay in the "bread salary", which all the people who served in the city received, led to their mass escapes and understaffing of the garrison. Representatives of the peoples of the Caucasus who served in the city – Princes Murza, Uzdeni, Okochans, Novokreschens – partially made up for the lack of military forces. Another opportunity to maintain the city's combat capability was military cooperation and mutual assistance with the peoples of the Caucasus and neighboring regions, for example, with the Kumyks.

Abstract: The city of Terki was founded in 1588 at the mouth of the Terek River, near the Caspian Sea. Most of its inhabitants were military-service people, who were in army service and received a royal salary. The article examines the number, composition, military service and trades of the military-service people of the city of Terki in comparison with other Russian cities. This allows to identify both the common features and peculiarities of the position of military people. The chronological framework of the research is 1620-1640, when there were no major military conflicts in the North Caucasus, but the town of Terki was gradually increasing its influence on the peoples of the region. One of the important tasks of the research is to study the participation of the military-service people in these processes.
The article is based on archival documents, some of which are first introduced into scientific circulation. As a result of the study some peculiarities of the social structure of the city of Terki are revealed. Military-service people constituted the majority of the city inhabitants, and there were few other populations. Another feature was the presence among the warriors of representatives of the peoples of the North Caucasus - the Okochan, Kabardian princes and uzdens, and "Novokreschens". They served alongside streltsys, Cossacks and "deti boyarskie". The duties of the military-service people were not limited to military campaigns. They played a major role in ensuring diplomatic relations with neighboring countries, and in the political relations of the peoples of the region. Such features are explained in many respects by the geographical location of the town of Terki. It also influenced the trades of Terek military-service people - the development of fishing or participation in trade with foreign countries.

Abstract: Shapsugs in the first half of the XIX century were the largest group of Adygs and settled in several natural zones of the north-western Caucasus – on the plain, in the foothills, in the mountains, on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. The article explores the mutual influence of traditional economy and cultural landscapes of Shapsugia, i.e. the dependence of agriculture and cattle breeding of that period on the landscape and other natural conditions, and the transformation of landscapes in the course of human economic activity. The article implements an ethnoecological approach and uses a comparative method to identify the features of economic activity and cultural landscapes in various parts of Shapsugia, as well as the main options for adapting shapsugs to the natural environment. Such a comparative study was conducted for the first time. Previously, this issue did not arouse sufficient interest among scientists. It is concluded that Shapsugs had different ways of adapting to the natural environment. This was expressed in the different ratio of agriculture, cattle breeding and gardening on the plain and in the mountains, in the use of various agrotechnical techniques, in the cultivation of various types of crops and in the breeding of various types and breeds of livestock. It was also noted that the cultural landscapes of the lowland Shapsugia had great similarities with other lowland areas of the northwestern Caucasus inhabited by the Adygs, and the Black Sea coast - with more southern lands where Ubykhs, Sadzis, and Abkhazians lived.

Abstract: The article's subject is the social status of the two groups of Terek Cossacks: the “free” and the serving Cossacks. Many scholars do not know or forget about the second group. The aim of this study is to reveal the features of the two groups' social statuses, which are attested by the circumstances of their service, the nature and amount of their salaries, and their relationship with Terek governors. The author pays particular attention to some of the differences in the relations of the Terek “free” and the Don Cossacks with the state. The article is based on documents from the late 16th - 17th centuries, both preserved in archives and published. Among the research methods used, one of the most important ones was the historical-comparative method. The author compares the social statuses of Terek "free" and serving Cossacks, and of the Terek and Don Cossacks. The conducted study has allowed the author to sustain the conclusion that at the end of the 16th - 17th centuries on the Terek lived both the “free” and serving Cossacks. These two groups differed in their social organization. The "free" united themselves into a Cossack army, while the service Cossaks obeyed "heads" and the Terek governors. For the first time in historiography, evidence is provided to support the thesis that the Tersk-Grebensky "free" Cossacks in the 17th century were much more dependent on the state than the Don Cossaks.

Abstract: The research subject of this article is the distinctive features of the cultural policy conducted in Kabardino-Balkaria in the 1920s - 1930s. This was a period of cultural modernization for the peoples of Kabardino-Balkaria as well as for the country as a whole, which influenced its entire subsequent history. The aim of this article is to identify the general trends in the development of the education system, national languages, and artistic culture. A significant part of this work is dedicated to the attitude of the Soviet government towards religion, which predetermined the course of many cultural processes. The authors analyze the regulatory acts of the Soviet government, as well as documents characterizing cultural construction in Kabardino-Balkaria. The region's cultural policy is studied dynamically, which has permitted the authors to highlight the main periods and turning points in its development. The first of them (in the mid-1920s) was expressed in the authorities' refusal of partially tolerating Islam. From that time onwards, the cultural transformation of the peoples of Kabardino-Balkaria has been reduced mainly to the imposition of atheism and of modernization processes. The second turn took place in the mid-1930s. It is characterized, above of all, by the translation of the written language of the Kabardians and Balkars from the Latinized graphic base to the Cyrillic one, as well as by the strengthening of the role of the Russian language in education in general.

Abstract: The research object of this study is the military settlement created at the Nalchik Fortress in 1839 - 1851. The aim of this article is to identify the insufficiently studied aspects in the daily life of military settlements in the North Caucasus, which played a key role in the economic, social and cultural development of this region in the 19th century. The main focus is placed on such issues as the specifics of economic activity, the social and family life of the inhabitants of the settlement, and their relationship with neighboring peoples, which reveals important features of their daily life. The research is based on the analysis of original documents, published and stored in archives. Some of these documents are used for the first time in historiography. The daily life of the Nalchik military settlement is studied in comparison with military settlements in other regions, as well as the stanitsas and villages of the North Caucasus. The conducted research revealed the main aspects of daily life in the Nalchik military settlement. One of these was its militarization, which in the Caucasus was aggravated by the dangers of wartime. The second aspect is associated with the first and it is the strict regulation of all aspects of life and the complete dependence on the orders of the military command, whom all villagers obeyed. Another aspect was the close, despite the ongoing Caucasian War, ties with the peoples of the Caucasus, especially with the Kabardians.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the origin of the Terek Cossacks living in the Prokhladnensky and Maysky districts of Kabardino-Balkaria. It was precisely in these areas that the Cossack gene pool was studied a few years ago, making it now possible to compare the geneticists' findings with the results of the author's analysis of historical sources. The appearance of Cossacks in these areas began relatively late: in the second half of the 18th century. These Cossacks included Volga and “Little Russian” Cossacks who moved to the Caucasus, retired soldiers, freeholders, and Russian and Ukrainian peasants. In this study, the author applied the historical approach, and consequently, the composition of the Cossacks population in each village is studied dynamically. The article's main research methods are the analysis of information contained in the sources, their systematization and synthesis. The comparison of the results derived from genetic and historical studies on the origin of the Terek Cossacks was conducted for the first time in historiography. The findings within the framework of population genetics of the Cossacks' assimilation of the areas belonging to the autochthonous population of the Caucasus are not supported by historical sources, where no such information is available. The revealed discrepancy and the discussions stemming from it will contribute to a further investigation of this topic, which thus highlights the relevance of this work.