Abstract: The object of this research is the military actions on the Caucasus-Asia Minor Theatre of the Russo-Turkish War in 1877. The subject is the participation of the steamship “Grand Duke Konstantin” under the command of Stepan Osipovich Makarov in the liberation of Abkhazia from Turkish occupation and aid to the Sochi detachment of Shelkovnikov Boris Martynovich in forced crossing the Gagra Gorge. The goal of this research lies in comprehensive examination of the actions of Makarov and his team during cruising at the east coast of the Black Sea, as well as in determination the role and importance of their participation in the military actions in the beginning of August 1877. The conclusion is made that successful actions of Makarov helped the Sochi detachment to avoid heavy losses in Gagra; and that damages inflicted on the Turkish warship “Asar-i Tevfik” during Makarov’s night attack suspended it from evacuation of the Turks from Sukhumi. The reconstruction of the results of torpedo attack and comparison of the tactical and technical characteristics of ships draw particular interest. The author concludes that the Turkish warship that attacked by Makarov at Gagra, was not “Asar-i Şevket”, as described in the pre-revolutionary, Soviet and modern Russian historiography.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the military operations during the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878 on the territory of Sochi's Black Sea coast, in particular: the repulsion of Turkish landings near Adler and Sochi; the local military clashes during reconnaissance missions of ungoverned territory south of the river Kherota in the Sochi department; the relationship between the administration of the department and the mountain population of the Kichmay and Krasno-Aleksandrovsky aulys; the issues of the evacuation of the civilian population and the damage of civilian private property by the rebel Abkhazian population, soldiers and Cossacks deployed on the territory of the department; and the impact of the war on the peaceful development of this Black Sea territory. The author used the traditional scientific principles of historicism and objectivity in this research, as well as the traditional methods of analysis and synthesis, the narrative method and the methods of concretization and generalization. This has made it possible to comprehensively study and analyze the source material and to identify causal relationships. A source analysis has allowed the author to conclude that although the war was notable for its small number of military clashes and casualties, the peaceful colonization of the new outskirts of the Russian Empire was temporarily interrupted. After this, it was revived with renewed vigor in the post-war period.