ABSTRACT
This chapter offers the case study of twin cities that embody some typical features of a Russian imperial city in the periphery. Nakhichevan was founded by the empire in the late eighteenth century to settle Armenian traders and craftsmen from Crimea and soon established itself as an important trading hub. In direct proximity, and drawing on Nakhichevan’s resources, the town of Rostov grew in a rather uncontrolled process from a small fortress to an important commercial center, which overshadowed its neighbor in the second half of the nineteenth century. The success of Rostov was built on the close cooperation of trade networks from both cities in the booming Black Sea region. The chapter examines the conflicts over land, cooperation over infrastructure development, and the gradual merger of both cities into one metropolis in the late nineteenth century. In contrast to many other case studies in this volume, the key factors that expressed the imperial character of the two cities were ethnic diversity and migration rather than imperial representation.
