The Caucasus and Service in the Caucasus in the Mind of the Don Cossack Sergeant. The 18th Century

Introduction. Long before the official start of the Caucasian War, the Don Cossacks took part in the fighting in the Caucasus, and they had their own attitude to these events, which differed from the romantic descriptions of the Caucasus and the war in the Caucasus, which appeared in the 19th century. Materials and methods. The authors analyze the annual reports of Don officers written in the 18th century about their service in the Caucasus and reveal the personal attitude of the authors to the battles in the Caucasus and to the region as a whole. Historical-genetic, historicalcomparative, problem-chronological, and contextual methods were used. Analysis. The military operations that were conducted in the 18th century in the foothills of the Caucasus and in the Caucasus itself were primarily considered by the Cossacks as a war against the population of the Kuban and the Western Caucasus, as protection of their territory from enemy raids. The prevailing definitions of the situation in the service records of the Cossacks were “precaution” and “punishment.” The transfer of the Russian border to the Kuban and the intensification of hostilities in other regions of the North Caucasus have changed the attitude of the Cossacks to the war. The war was considered primarily as a royal service, including police service (“pacification”). The recorded losses among the command staff of the Donets during this period were minimal. Authors’ contribution. A.V. Venkov analyzed the service of the Don officers. Kh.-M.A. Sabanchiev connected it with historical events in the Caucasus in the 18th century.