Projects and realities of transforming the village of Nalchik into a city in the 1880s.

This work is devoted to the issue of the emergence of the Nalchik settlement and its formation as a center of administrative, judicial and cultural life in the region. Based on the provided documentary materials, the issue of an attempt by the population of Nalchik settlement to change the legal status of the settlement is considered. The article provides an overview of the historiography of projects for the transformation of Nalchik settlement into a city in the 80s of the 19th century. The purpose of the study is to systematize existing sources and critically comprehend the interpretations of chronicles, archival materials, materials of local authorities and periodicals with an emphasis on historiographical approaches. Methodologically, the work combines a comparative analysis of sources and a rhetorical and historiographical reconstruction of various paradigms of the modernization project, assessing their relationship to the real socio-economic conditions of the settlement: demographic dynamics, transport accessibility, land and legal regime, economic practice and everyday aspects of life of the population. The study of the history of the emergence and development of Nalchik, during its formation as an administrative, judicial and cultural center, reveals a complex process of interaction between local initiatives and imperial policy. The analysis of archival documents demonstrates the desire of residents for an urban lifestyle, the desire to receive benefits provided to citizens of the Russian Empire, was not accompanied by a deep understanding of the legal and financial consequences of such a transformation. In conclusion, the directions for future research are formulated: a more accurate dating of fortress projects and their stages of implementation, and a rethinking of the role of the local population in the formation of urban identity.

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