A brief overview of the activities of historical scientific communities in the Russian empire regarding the preservation of cultural heritage sites in the Caucasus region from the late XIX - early XX centuries

The article provides a brief review of the activities of historical scientific communities in the Russian Empire during the post-reform period, predominantly focusing on the Moscow Archaeological Society and the Imperial Archaeological Commission. It outlines the main results of their work in the North Caucasus region, detailing the emergence of practices for organizing research expeditions within these historical scientific communities and the evolution of the research process concerning dolmens, monuments of the northeastern part of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, Armenia, Georgia, Chechnya, and Dagestan. The article also highlights the individual contributions of several scholars to the study of the region’s heritage, including P.S. Uvarova, E.D. Felitsyn, and others. It examines administrative protective measures for culturally and historically significant objects. Moreover, the article delineates additional research directions and perspectives for further exploration of the functioning of historical scientific communities in the Russian Empire. Moving forward, continued exploration and examination of administrative protective measures are essential for ensuring the ongoing safeguarding of culturally and historically significant objects. This brief overview underscores the importance of historical scientific communities in shaping our understanding of the region’s heritage and points towards promising avenues for future research in the field.