Administrative and territorial transformations in the Central Caucasus during the transition to military-people's administration, as reflected in legal acts (second half of the 19th century)

The article is devoted to the analysis of the main regulatory acts that reflected the administrative and territorial transformations in the Central Caucasus during the transition to military and people's administration in the second half of the 19th century. The empirical basis of the study consists of the regulatory acts of the Russian authorities on the administrative and territorial structure of the Central Caucasus in the second half of the 19th century. These include: the Caucasian Committee's Regulation "On Certain Changes in the Administration of the Submissive Tribes of the Caucasus" dated December 10, 1857, the Emperor's Personal Decree to the Senate on the Transformation of the Vladikavkaz Fortress into a City dated March 31, 1860, the Regulation "On the Administration of the Terek Region" dated 1862, the Regulation "On the Administration of the Caucasian Viceroyalty" dated December 9, 1867, the Institution for the Administration of the Caucasian and Transcaucasian Regions dated 1876, and others. The study found that the legal framework for administrative and territorial transformations in the Central Caucasus during the period under review was a complex set of interrelated documents that reflected the imperial policy of integrating the region and the desire to establish sustainable military and public administration. It was taken into account that the legal and regulatory framework for administrative and territorial transformations and changes in the territorial jurisdiction of government agencies and local judicial and administrative control in the Central Caucasus from 1769 to 1858 evolved from fragmented legal acts (decrees, instructions, and rescripts) to more systematic legal acts (Regulations, institutions, etc.). At the same time, elements of traditional governance were preserved and adapted to the conditions of the Russian administration.