"Nations and fatherland": nomadic peoples in the era of multi-power and competing legitimacies (1917–1920s)

The article analyzes the transformation of political behavior strategies and managerial mechanisms of interaction of nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples historically residing in Stavropol Province, and traces their fate during the Civil War and subsequent administrative-territorial transformations. The research is based on the principles of historical-systemic and institutional analysis. The source base consists of documents from central (the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History) and regional (the State Archive of the Stavropol Krai) archives, including legislative acts, administrative records, reports and correspondence of governing bodies, as well as periodical press materials (the newspaper "Stavropolsky Inorodets" – The Stavropol Native). By 1917, the imperial model of governing nomads, based on a combination of indirect administration (the prikaznichestvo system) and elements of traditional self-government, had exhausted its stabilizing potential. Its collapse after the February Revolution did not bring democratization but instead exacerbated the key agrarian conflict with the Russian peasantry and exposed the weakness of the new authorities, who were unable to propose a legitimate mechanism for its resolution. Under conditions of multi-power (the Provisional Government administration, structures of the Union of United Mountaineers of the North Caucasus and Dagestan, and the White Movement), nomadic societies demonstrated a pragmatic search for allies to protect their land rights and resources, guided by a logic of survival rather than ideological allegiance. The Civil War led to the total economic ruin of the nomads: a catastrophic loss of livestock, mass famine, and a demographic crisis. This socio-economic catastrophe became the decisive factor that forced nomadic societies to seek salvation within the framework of the Soviet project. The establishment of Soviet power opened a stage of administrative self-determination, manifested in the creation of national districts and autonomies. Within their framework, the implementation of the korenizatsiia (indigenization) policy and programs of ethnocultural development began, while the task of restoring the national economy was addressed in parallel. This process, formally corresponding to the principle of self-determination, in practice became a forced compromise, associated with the transition to a settled way of life and the transformation of the traditional economic-cultural type.

1. BRUSINA O.I. Transformatsiya kochevogo obraza zhizni stavropol’skikh turkmenov v XIX–XX vv. [Transformation of the Nomadic Way of Life of the Stavropol Turkmens in the 19th – 20th Centuries]. IN: Kaspiiskii region: politika, ekonomika, kul’tura [Caspian Region: Politics, Economics, Culture]. – 2023. – № 2 (75). – P. 62–71. (In Russ.).

2. DZHUMAGULOVA A.T. “S kem nam po puti?”: stavropol’skiye turkmeny na perelome epokh (Konets XIX – nachalo XX vekov) v kontekste prirodno-klimaticheskikh faktorov [“Who Are We to Follow?”: Stavropol Turkmens at the Turn of Epochs (Late 19th – Early 20th Centuries) in the Context of Natural and Climatic Factors]. IN: Nomadic Civilization: Historical Research. – 2024. – Vol. 4, No. 4. – P. 24–42. DOI 10.53315/2782-3377-2024-4-4-24-42. (In Russ.).

3. DZHUMAGULOVA A.T., KIDIRNIIAZOV D.S. Polozhenie nomadnogo zhivotnovodstva Stavropol’skoi gubernii v XIX – nachale XX vv. [The State of Nomadic Animal Husbandry in Stavropol Province in the 19th – Early 20th Centuries]. IN: Kaspiiskii region: politika, ekonomika, kul’tura [Caspian Region: Politics, Economics, Culture]. – 2024. – № 4 (81). – P. 43–58. – DOI 10.54398/1818-510X.2024.81.4.004. (In Russ.).

4. GARF – Gosudarstvennyi arkhiv Rossiiskoi Federatsii (GARF) [State Archive of the Russian Federation (GARF)]. F. 1788. Op. 2. D. 143; F. R-1235. Op. 140. D. 690; F. R-1318. Op. 7. D. 100; F. R-5446. Op. 7. D. 397; F. R-5677. Op. 6. D. 345. (In Russ.).

5. GASK – Gosudarstvennyi arkhiv Stavropol’skogo kraia (GASK) [State Archive of the Stavropol Krai (GASK)]. F. 37. Op. 1. D. 10, 11, 19; F. 2567. Op. 1. D. 3. (In Russ.).

6. Istoriia Kalmykii s drevneishikh vremen do nashikh dnei: v 3 t. [History of Kalmykia from Ancient Times to the Present Day: In 3 Vols.]. – Elista: Gerel, 2009. – Vol. 2. – 840 p. (In Russ.).

7. KAZHAROV A.G. Organizatsiia "soiuz ob"edinennykh gortsev" i separatizm na Severnom Kavkaze: predposylki, dvizhushchie sily i itogi (1917-1919 gg.) [The Organization "Union of United Mountaineers" and Separatism in the North Caucasus: Prerequisites, Driving Forces and Results (1917-1919)]. IN: Vestnik Adygeiskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Ser. Regionovedenie: filosofiia, istoriia, sotsiologiia, iurisprudentsiia, politologiia, kul’turologiia [Bulletin of the Adyghe State University. Ser. Regional Studies: Philosophy, History, Sociology, Jurisprudence, Political Science, Culturology]. – 2018. – № 1 (214). – P. 28–38. (In Russ.).

8. KLYCHNIKOV IU.IU. Kriminal’naia situatsiia na Tsentral’nom i Severo-Vostochnom Kavkaze v gody revoliutsii 1917 g. i grazhdanskoi voiny [Criminal Situation in the Central and North-Eastern Caucasus during the 1917 Revolutions and the Civil War]. IN: Izvestiia SOIGSI [Proceedings of the North Ossetian Institute for Humanitarian and Social Studies]. – 2014. – № 13 (52). – P. 17–31. (In Russ.).

9. KUZHELEVA L.N. Sotsialisticheskie preobrazovaniia v khoziaistve, kul’ture i bytu nogaitsev: diss. … kand. ist. nauk [Socialist Transformations in the Economy, Culture and Life of the Nogai People: PhD (History) Diss.]. – Leningrad, 1964. – 249 p. (In Russ.).

10. LIDZHIEVA I.V. "Net somneniia, chto sud tselogo obshchestva est’ vernieishii i bespristrastnyi sud kakogo mozhet zhelat’ tol’ko pravda...". Predpisanie grazhdanskogo gubernatora Stavropol’skoi gubernii P. A. Briandchaninova glavnomu pristavu kochuiushchikh narodov polkovniku P. N. Ivanovu. 1860 g. ["There is no doubt that the judgement of the whole society is the most reliable and impartial judgement that only truth can desire..." Directive of the Civil Governor of Stavropol Province P. A. Briandchaninov to the Chief Steward of the Nomadic Peoples, Colonel P. N. Ivanov. 1860]. IN: Vestnik arkhivista [Archivist Bulletin]. – 2019. – № 3. – P. 838–851. – DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2019-3-838-851. (In Russ.).

11. LIDZHIEVA I.V. Institut pristavstva v sisteme upravleniia okrainami Rossiiskoi imperii [The Institute of Stewardship in the System of Administration of the Outskirts of the Russian Empire]. IN: Vestnik Moskovskogo universiteta. Seriia 8: Istoriia [Moscow University Bulletin. Series 8: History]. – 2024. – Vol. 65, № 5. – P. 47–69. – DOI 10.55959/MSU0130-0083-8-2024-65-5-47-69. (In Russ.).

12. LINETS S.I. Voennye deistviia na Severnom Kavkaze v gody Grazhdanskoi voiny: narody regiona v poiske prioritetov [Military Actions in the North Caucasus during the Civil War: The Peoples of the Region in Search of Priorities]. IN: *Rossiiskaia gosudarstvennost’ v sud’bakh narodov Kavkaza – X: Materialy region. nauch.-prakt. konf. (Piatigorsk, 24–25 noiab. 2017 g.)* [Russian Statehood in the Fates of the Peoples of the Caucasus – X: Proceedings of the Regional Scientific and Practical Conference (Pyatigorsk, 24–25 November 2017)]. – Piatigorsk: Piatigorskii gos. un-t, 2017. – P. 257–272. (In Russ.).

13. LIAMIN V.V. Agrarnyi vopros v Stavropol’skoi gubernii v 1917 godu [The Agrarian Question in Stavropol Province in 1917]. – Stavropol’: ZAO «Pressa», 2004. – 205 p. (In Russ.).

14. Materialy s"ezdov gorskikh narodov Severnogo Kavkaza i Dagestana 1917 goda [Proceedings of the Congresses of the Mountain Peoples of the North Caucasus and Dagestan in 1917] / Comp. by A.Kh. Karmov. – Nalchik: Izdatel’skii otdel KBIGI, 2014. – 168 p. (In Russ.).

15. NEVSKAIA T.A. Turkmeny Stavropol’ia v revoliutsionnykh sobytiiach 1917 g. [The Turkmens of Stavropol in the Revolutionary Events of 1917]. IN: Turkmeny Iuga Rossii: istoricheskii kontekst i sotsiokul’turnye transformatsii [Turkmens of the South of Russia: Historical Context and Sociocultural Transformations]. – Moscow: IEA RAN, 2016. – P. 36–45. (In Russ.).

16. OCHIROV U.B. Konnye chasti gortsev i kochevnikov Severo-Vostochnogo Kavkaza v beloi armii (1918-1920 gg.) [Cavalry Units of Highlanders and Nomads of the North-Eastern Caucasus in the White Army (1918-1920)]. IN: Vestnik KIGI RAN. – 2009. – № 2. – P. 35–39. (In Russ.).

17. OCHIROV U.B. Natsional’nye chasti narodov Iuga Rossii v period revoliutsii 1917 g. i Grazhdanskoi voiny [National Units of the Peoples of the South of Russia during the Revolution of 1917 and the Civil War]. IN: Velikaia Rossiiskaia revoliutsiia v sud’bakh narodov Iuga Rossii: Materialy Vseros. nauch. konf. (Elista, 13–14 sent. 2017 g.) [The Great Russian Revolution in the Fates of the Peoples of the South of Russia: Proceedings of the All-Russian Scientific Conference (Elista, 13–14 September 2017)]. – Elista: Kalmytskii nauch. tsentr RAN, 2017. – P. 30–47. (In Russ.).

18. Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiiskoi Imperii. Sobranie Pervoe (PSZRI-I). 1649-1825 gg.: V 45 t. [Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire. First Collection (PSZRI-I). 1649-1825: In 45 Vols.]. – St. Petersburg: Tip. II Otdeleniia Sobstvennoi Ego Imperatorskogo Velichestva Kantseliarii, 1830. (In Russ.).

19. Polnoe sobranie zakonov Rossiiskoi Imperii. Sobranie Vtoroe (PSZRI-II). 12 dekabria 1825 – 28 fevralia 1881 gg.: V 55 t. [Complete Collection of Laws of the Russian Empire. Second Collection (PSZRI-II). 12 December 1825 – 28 February 1881: In 55 Vols.]. – St. Petersburg: Tip. II Otdeleniia Sobstvennoi Ego Imperatorskogo Velichestva Kantseliarii, 1830-1885. (In Russ.).

20. Polozhenie ob upravlenii kalmytskim narodom: Ukaz e.i.v. Pravitel’stvuiushchemu senatu i Shtat dlia kalmytskogo upravleniia [Regulation on the Administration of the Kalmyk People: H.I.M.'s Decree to the Governing Senate and the Staff for Kalmyk Administration]. – St. Petersburg, 1835. – 95 p. (In Russ.).

21. RGASPI – Rossiiskii gosudarstvennyi arkhiv sotsial’no-politicheskoi istorii (RGASPI) [Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History (RGASPI)]. F. 17. Op. 13. D. 989, 1107; Op. 16. D. 977. (In Russ.).

22. Soiuz ob"edinennykh gortsev Severnogo Kavkaza i Dagestana (1917-1918 gg.), Gorskaja respublika (1918-1920 gg.): dokumenty i materialy [The Union of United Mountaineers of the North Caucasus and Dagestan (1917-1918), the Mountain Republic (1918-1920): Documents and Materials] / Ed. by A.I. Osmanov. – Makhachkala: Iupiter, 1994. – 438 p. (In Russ.).

23. Stavropol’skii inorodets [Stavropol Native]. – 1918. – № 2, 9. (In Russ.).

24. TUMAILOV M. Turkmeny Severo-Kavkazskogo kraia: (Kratkii istoriko-etnograficheskii ocherk) [The Turkmens of the North Caucasus Region: (A Brief Historical and Ethnographic Essay)]. – Poltoratsk (Askhabad): Turkm. gos. izd-vo, 1925. – 34 p. (In Russ.).

25. UBUSHAEV K.V. Sozdanie sovetskoi natsional’noi gosudarstvennosti kalmytskogo naroda [The Creation of the Soviet National Statehood of the Kalmyk People]. IN: Iuzhno-rossiiskii vestnik geologii, geografii i global’noi energii [South Russian Bulletin of Geology, Geography and Global Energy]. – 2006. – № 8(21). – P. 313–317. (In Russ.).

26. UBUSHAEV K.V. Nachal’nyi etap natsional’no-gosudarstvennogo stroitel’stva kalmytskogo naroda v pervye gody Sovetskoi vlasti [The Initial Stage of National-State Building of the Kalmyk People in the First Years of Soviet Power]. IN: Vestnik Kalmytskogo universiteta [Bulletin of Kalmyk University]. – 2016. – № 2 (30). – P. 60–66. (In Russ.).

27. Uchrezhdeniia upravleniia Kavkazskogo i Zakavkazskogo kraia: 9 dekabria 1867 [Institutions for the Administration of the Caucasian and Transcaucasian Region: 9 December 1867]. – St. Petersburg, 1869. – 60 p. (In Russ.).

28. VAS’KINA D.S. Kochevye narody Severnogo Kavkaza v nachale XX veka [Nomadic Peoples of the North Caucasus in the Early 20th Century]. IN: Gumanitarnye i iuridicheskie issledovaniia [Humanitarian and Legal Research]. – 2020. – № 2. – P. 16–22. (In Russ.).

29. ZVEREVA L.A. 1917 god na Stavropol’e [The Year 1917 in Stavropol Region]. IN: Izvestiia SOIGSI [Proceedings of the North Ossetian Institute for Humanitarian and Social Studies]. – 2018. – № 27 (66). – P. 86–93. (In Russ.).