"One should be guided by predecessors' many years experience": D.A. Milyutin and research on the history of Russian policy in the Caucasus (1840s)

Abstract

The article investigates D.A. Milyutin's contribution to research on Caucasus in the 1840s based on his own works which are kept in the Russian State Military History Archive and Manuscript Department of the Russian State Library. From intellectual history perspective, the author analyses the impact of Milyutin's ideas on Russia's policy in North Caucasus during the confrontation with highlanders. It is concluded that Milyutin insisted on a flexible policy based on profound and comprehensive knowledge of the history and specific conditions of particular areas of North Caucasus. His concept brought the understanding among the military that settling the Caucasian issue is impossible without due regard for previous historical experience and the local population's sentiments. Milyutin's research led to the true picture of Caucasus and, moreover, facilitated the formation of the right strategy which resulted in the pacification of peoples in North Caucasus