Activities of district commanders in the national and ethnic diversity: search methods of study

The article is devoted to the specificity of activities of land captains in terms of national and ethnic variety of the Russian population (using the documents of the Volga region and the South Urals). General problems of the institute of land captains and its specific features depending on the territory, national structure of the population and economy of the region are shown. Great attention is paid to the relations between the government and Muslim population of the region.