The ransom of Russian subjects from Asian captivity in 1817–1831: based on materials from the chancellery of the Orenburg military governor

Abstract

This article examines the activities of the Border Department of the Orenburg Military Governor’s Chancellery and the Orenburg Border Commission for the ransom of Russian subjects from Asian captivity. It is noted that not only ordinary citizens (peasants, workers, and the wives and daughters of Cossacks) but also armed Cossacks were captured. The military governor personally handled correspondence with private individuals and government officials regarding the search for captives. The redemption of Russian captives by elders and sultans from remote Kazakh villages was less an act of humanitarianism than a desire to curry favor, receive a reward, or secure the release of hostages. The release of captives from the Khiva and Bukhara emirates required significant financial outlays and the presence of a Muslim intermediary willing to personally deliver the captive to the border line. Relatives of captives were invited to contribute a sum to the Commission's treasury for their ransom.

Financing. The work was carried out within the framework of the research topic “Russians in the regions of the Volga Federal District: history and modernity” No. FZSM-2026-0057 of the program of complex scientific research related to a comprehensive interdisciplinary ethnographic study of constituent Russian people “Russian people: traditions, values, image of the future”.

For citation: Chetverikov S.A. The ransom of Russian subjects from Asian captivity in 1817–1831: based on materials from the chancellery of the Orenburg military governor. From History and Culture of Peoples of the Middle Volga Region. 2026, vol. 16, no.3, pp. 66–81. https://doi.org/10.22378/2410-0765.2026-16-3.66-81 (In Russian)