Book review: Dubovikov A.M. Pre-Revolutionary Literature about the Role of the Ural Cossacks in the Annexation of Central Asia (Kazan, 2025)

Abstract

This review is dedicated to the analysis of a new fundamental monograph by Doctor of Historical Sciences A.M. Dubovikov. The book titled “Pre-Revolutionary Literature about the Role of the Ural Cossacks in the Annexation of Central Asia” is the fruit of his long-term scientific research on the participation of the Ural Cossacks in military campaigns to Central Asia in the 17th–19th centuries and the interpretation of these events in pre-revolutionary literature. The author thoroughly approaches their analysis, compares numerous accounts of contemporaries, and documentary facts on military campaigns in which the Ural (formerly Yaik) Cossacks took direct part, thus building an objective historical picture of the subject under study. The events considered by the author related to the participation of the Ural (Yaik) Cossacks are as follows: the raid of the Yaik Cossacks on Urgench led by Ataman Nechai in 1603, the Khiva campaign of 1717 led by Prince A. Bekovich-Cherkasskiy, expeditions to the “Kirghiz” (Kazakh) steppe for reconnaissance and equipping strongpoints there for further advancement south and laying routes for future expeditions to Central Asia in the 1st half of the 19th century, Central Asian military campaigns of the 2nd half of the 19th century, including the Akhal-Teke expedition of 1880–1881. This research on the participation of the Ural Cossacks in military campaigns to Central Asia in the 17th–19th centuries makes A.M. Dubovikov one of the leading specialists in the history of the Russian Cossacks. The author emphasizes the multinational composition of the Ural Cossacks, noting that never in history have there been conflicts on interethnic or interconfessional grounds within the military units of the Ural Cossack Host. The book by A.M. Dubovikov may be of interest to both professional historians, local historians, and ethnographers, as well as a wide range of readers interested in the history of the Cossacks and the military history of Russia.

For citation: Nasyrov K.Z. Book review: Dubovikov A.M. Pre-Revolutionary Literature about the Role of the Ural Cossacks in the Annexation of Central Asia (Kazan, 2025). From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2026, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 159–166. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2026-16-1.159-166 (In Russian)