Avar linguistics in the Novocherkassk gymnasium in the 1850s - 1860s: The experience of the incorporation of the Caucasian highlanders into the imperial cultural space

Abstract

The presented article is devoted to one of the little-known historical plots related to the scientific and educational practices of the Department of Oriental Languages of the Novocherkassk Military Gymnasium in the middle of the 19th century. The consistent creation of methodological manuals on the Avar language and specialized training in the “native dialect” of future officers are considered as an important element of the administrative and cultural incorporation of the Caucasus into the Russian imperial space, which was not limited to the well-known Russification. The empirical basis of the article under consideration was formed as a result of a comprehensive study of differentiated documentary and narrative sources, some of which are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The author's reflections are determined by the established historiographical tradition devoted to the systemic interaction of the Russian Empire and mountain communities, an organic element of which were specialized educational practices.