Discussion on the book by A. V. Belyakov “Nogai nobility in Russia in the 16th–17th centuries”

A discussion on the monograph by A.V. Belyakov “Nogai Nobility in Russia in the 16th - 17th Centuries” (Moscow, 2023) is presented, in which six leading experts in the field of socio-political relations of the Moscow state of the 16th - 17th centuries took part. I.O. Tyumentsev writes about A.V. Belyakov’s many years of experience in studying the history of the Chinggisids in Russia in the 15th - 17th centuries and the author’s professionalism. He emphasizes the novelty of the study and the validity of the conclusions and notes issues that remain controversial. A.P. Pavlov shows the importance of A.V. Belyakov’s monograph for understanding the principles of recruiting the ruling elite of the Russian state, the policy of the Russian government towards representatives of national elites, and the process of formation of the multinational Russian state as a whole. The author notes the novelty of A.V. Belyakov’s methods and approaches and his use of a wide range of archival sources. It is concluded that A.V. Belyakov’s monograph is a fundamental prosopographical study that covers a wide range of aspects of the life of representatives of the Nogai nobility in Russia - their origin, family ties, official activities, land ownership, private life, etc. M.V. Moiseev analyzed the strengths of the book and showed the unsuccessful and insufficiently substantiated provisions of the study. In general, it is concluded that A.V. Belyakov made titanic efforts to identify the maximum number of Nogai descendants, which allowed him to recreate a fairly complete picture of the genealogical ties of noble descendants of the Nogai Horde, making the study unique. B.R. Rakhimzianov points out the differences between a monograph and a reference book; the specific “microhistorical nature” of A.V. Belyakov’s research has been noted; the author of the review designates the genre of the book under review as “popular source studies.” It is noted that the elaboration of the historiography of the issue is extremely selective and weak, and the text of the book is descriptive. The author’s heavy style and inadequate understanding of the subject of the study are also noted. The conclusion is an opinion about the book as a reference publication, but not a scientific monograph in its classical sense. A.V. Sergeev considers A.V. Belyakov’s book to be a significant contribution to Russian historical science but notes that the research is primarily focused on clarifying the genealogies of the Nogais who left for Russia and, to a lesser extent, studying their social evolution and points out a number of controversial conclusions by the author. N.V. Rybalko characterized the work under review from the position of the theory of the method of prosopography, noting that the monograph by A.V. Belyakov is a solid prosopographical study; the author collects numerous biographical facts, combines them into genealogies, and forms a holistic idea of the place of the Nogai nobility in Russian society during the Middle Ages.