On the History of the Anglo-Russian Confrontation in the Western Caucasus

The article examines the scale and methods of the anti-Russian military-political activity of British emissaries in the Western Caucasus in the first half of the 19th century. The scientific novelty lies in the fact that for the first time in the work the intelligence activity of British “traveling” agents in the Western Caucasus is subjected to a special study, as an independent, gaining strength way of fighting in international contradictions for the Caucasus. The relevance of the topic of the proposed article seems to us indisputable due to the incompleteness of international rivalry and the eternal Eastern question. Russian Empire in the late 20s — early 30s XIX century. took possession of all legal rights to the North-West Caucasus and outlets to the Black Sea. With its confident military successes and new territorial accessions, Russia threw a serious challenge to the European powers, and especially England, the dominant power on the European continent at that time. One of the most important tasks of England is to nullify all the achievements of Russia in Turkey and prevent its consolidation in the territory of the Western Caucasus. England, adhering to the favorite method of “raking in the heat with someone else’s hands”, and in Circassia is testing its effectiveness. Since the 30s. XIX century. Numerous British agents flooded the Caucasus, turning the Circassians against Russia. The Black Sea coast of the Caucasus has become a place of uninterrupted supply of weapons to the mountaineers. As a result of the work, the author comes to the conclusion that the sources considered in the work can represent a scientific basis for confirming the involvement of Britain in anti-Russian agitation in the Western Caucasus. The uninterrupted supply of weapons to the highlanders organized by British agents helped to maintain military tension and a fighting spirit in Circassia.