Lidzhieva I.V. Nomadic minorities of the steppe area of the North Caucasus

Abstract: The subject of this research is the process of administrative-territorial modelling by the imperial authorities of the steppe territory of North Caucasus, populated by the nomadic people in the XIX century. The author thoroughly examines such aspects of the topic as the administrative-territorial structure of the Kalmyks, Nogais, and Turkmens, as well as its legislative formalization. Peculiar attention is given to the laid in the foundation of the administrative-territorial modelling ethnical principle, which did not violate the economic purposefulness, but rather rationally and effectively complemented it. With preservation of the admissible legal norms and local customs and traditions, the major goal of the imperial policy, regarding the entered into the composition of Russia ethnic groups, consisted in unification of the system of administration due to the growing strategic and economic importance of the region. The scientific novelty of this research lies in the analysis of the determined sources, based on which the conclusion was made that the administrative-territorial modelling pf the steppe area of North Caucasus depended on the political, economic, and ethnical factors, which justified the multivariant government structure as a whole.

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