Caucasus as part of the Russian Empire

The Presidential Library will host a video lecture “Knowledge of Russia” on “Caucasus as part of the Russian Empire” theme on October 23, 2019 at 11 a.m.

There was a rapid integration of the territory of the Caucasus into the Russian Empire after Caucasian war ended. The Russian authorities generally respected the traditional institutions and customs of the highlanders. A tolerance policy was carried out: the autocracy, while maintaining the primacy of the Orthodox Church, did not take measures to forcibly Christianize the population professing Islam.  

The Muslim clergy were granted judicial rights in civil matters based on the Qur'an, namely: they had family and marriage relations, maintaining metric books, and resolving hereditary disputes based on Sharia principles.

Giving such an influential role to the clergy, the Russian government took organizational measures aimed at ensuring its trustworthiness in order to prevent religious influence from Turkey and Persia. Only Russian subjects who passed the test in the order indicated by the governor were accepted into the clergy.

The accession of the Caucasus to Russia contributed to the political, economic and cultural development of the peoples of the region, the emergence of industry, transport and national intelligentsia. More information is available at a lecture by V. V. Lapin - doctor of historical sciences, a leading researcher at the St. Petersburg Institute of History of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the author of a book about the uprising of the Semenovsky regiment, which analyzes the situation in the guard of the last period of the reign of Alexander I and the role of the Russian army in the Caucasian war.

We invite you to participate in the event, ask a question or speak up on the results of the video lecture. We look forward to an interesting and informative dialogue. In addition, the event will be available live on the Presidential Library’s portal, in the official group on the VKontakte social network and on our YouTube channel.

To enter the building please pre-register.

Electronic registration is open until October 22, 2019.

Accreditation for media representatives is until October 22, 2019, 10 a.m.

Please forward applications for accreditation following the attached with the note “Media accreditation” to media@prlib.ru, pechnikova@prlib.ru Tatyana Pechnikova, tel. (812) 305-16-21, ext. 234; mob. +7 981 436-72-86. The letter should contain the full name, name of the media, date and place of birth, passport data (series, number, place of registration), a list of carry-on equipment, contact numbers.

Please note that journalists enter the Presidential Library through entrance № 2 only upon prior request and upon showing a passport.