ABSTRACT
Russia’s policy in the Caucasus in the nineteenth century switched back to military aggression and subordination, albeit often through arrangements with local leaders and tribes – at the time there were some 10 ‘feudal’ estates and 60 jamaat unions of rural communities. The shifting arrangements with these, and the levers used which included bribery, salaries and hostage taking, and the degrees of ‘self-governance’ agreed and allowed, are detailed; the tension between traditional law adat and Russian impositions, and between Russian Christianity and local Islamic tradition, highlighted. Deportations and resettlements were also used by the Russians in an attempt to enforce control.
