The Confessional Policy of the Russian Empire in the North Caucasus (19th–Early 20th Centuries)

Abstract

The article examines the evolution of the Russian Empire's confessional policy in the North Caucasus during the 19^th and early 20^th centuries, with a focus on Kabarda. Through analysis of archival materials and legislative acts, the author identifies three main stages in the development of the system for governing Muslim communities in the region: I) 1792–1820s – Adoption of the «Regulations for the Kabardians» (1792), which recognized religious rights and the jurisdiction of Islamic legal proceedings under imperial oversight; II) 1820–1870s – Initial bureaucratic integration of local institutions through proclamations to the Kabardian people (1822) and tightened control during the Caucasian War and the Murid movement; III) 1870–1917 – Attempts at unification and systematization of governance through the reformist activities of Viceroy Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, the adoption of the «Temporary Rules on the Administration of Sunni Muslim Clergy in the Kuban and Terek Oblasts» (1890), and other regulatory acts. The permanent military status of the region, geopolitical competition with the Ottoman Empire, and the internal differentiation among the Muslim communities led to the incomplete establishment of a North Caucasian muftiate by the early 20^th century, reflecting the distinctive features of the Russian Empire's confessional policy in the North Caucasus.