"THE RUSSIAN-JUNGAR DIFFERENCE IN THE IRTIS: SIGNIFICANCE AND CONSEQUENCES"
BYKOV ANDREY YURIEVICH
Doctor of Historical Sciences, PhD / Doctor of Philosophy
Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences
After joining in the XVI century. The Siberian Khanate The Muscovite kingdom, among other things, included in its composition the territory and population of part of the Ob and Lower Irtysh regions. The founded cities of Tobolsk, Tyumen, Tara and others gradually became centers of contacts with neighboring countries and peoples. These contacts were by no means always regular and were predominantly of a commercial nature. However, there were also diplomatic relations and military clashes. There was also a gradual process of explaining the local population.
The defeat of Kuchum was considered by the Moscow court as an automatic entry of all territories and population of the former Siberian Khanate into Russia. In particular, the territories of the basins of the Ob and Irtysh rivers are indicated as part of the state. This is evidenced by the diplomatic correspondence of that time. Later, in 1613, already under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, in correspondence with European states, it was emphasized that, despite the Time of Troubles, the eastern kingdoms that became part of Russia at the end of the 16th century remained part of the Muscovite state[1].
During the Time of Troubles, the geopolitical situation in the region is significantly transformed. The weakened Russian state could not for some time provide serious centralized support to the colonization processes. Even despite the absence of Russian settlements along the Irtysh, at the beginning of the 17th century. there were regular trade contacts between the Oirats and the Russian cities of Western Siberia. Moreover, in 1607-1608. embassies led by taishis arrived in Tara, Tomsk and Moscow, during which questions were raised not only of expanding trade, but also of citizenship. Moreover, Vasily Shuisky, who reigned at that time, reacted very favorably to the acceptance of the Jungars into citizenship [2].
Citizenship was not accepted, and even despite the growth of caravan trade, primarily in Chinese goods, the situation gradually became more tense. In 1611, the Oirats began to attempt to levy tribute on the same local population that paid yasak to the Russian treasury. As shown by O.V. Boronin, until the end of the 1620s, the Western Mongols failed to collect tribute, but from 1630 part of the local population began to pay taxes to both Russians and Dzungars, and gradually a situation of double tribute and double citizenship, atypical for international relations, began to take shape, sometimes turning into multi-tributary and multi-subordination[3].
In parallel, serious geopolitical changes were taking place in Central Asia itself. Created by Batur-khuntaiji in 1635, the Dzungar Khanate led an active external expansion. The activity of the young Dzungar state, whose rulers sought to expand their territory and resource base, including through new taxpayers, was directed against neighboring countries and peoples: China, Russia, a number of independent or semi-dependent principalities, Central Asian states and Kazakhs. Despite the fact that the basis of the population of Dzungaria was made up of nomadic pastoralists, this state was distinguished by higher levels of organization and centralization of control and concentration of power in the hands of the supreme ruler compared to the Kazakh Khanate. Moreover, the Kazakh-Dzungarian rivalry was of the most acute nature, since both sides fought for pasture lands - the basis of their economy. For a long time the struggle went on with varying success, but at the end of the 17th century. the Dzungars were able to secure a number of south-eastern territories of nomadic pastures, previously exploited by the Kazakhs. The reasons for the gradual preponderance towards the Western Mongols were a higher level of organization of internal administration and military discipline, the subjugation of the Uighur beks by Dzungaria, as well as internal strife among the Kazakh rulers[4].
In the XVII - early XVIII centuries. between Russia and Dzungaria a number of mutual diplomatic missions and military expeditions took place, during which the Dzungarian rulers declared their sovereignty over the newly built Siberian fortifications and settlements along the Yenisei, in Khakassia, in the Southern Altai[5].
At the same time, the Russian state increased its attention to the region. During the Northern War, Peter I sought to put under the control of Russia the transcontinental trade routes that passed through Central Asia. In addition, the questions of explaining the local population and the search for minerals, primarily precious metals and stones, were of particular interest to the treasury. As the main direction, the sovereign determined the movement to the Indian subcontinent by land.
In 1714, the Siberian governor Prince M.P. Gagarin reported to the sovereign about the large reserves of native gold deposits in the Yarkand region. These data were confirmed by other evidence. Peter I ordered to equip expeditions up the Irtysh[6]. Their number did not exceed 3 thousand people, the first was headed by I.D. Buchholz[7]. The difference between the Irtysh expeditions was not just the advance to Central Asia, but also the consolidation of new territories for Russia through the construction of fortified points. The instructions given by Gagarin said: “And the first city should be made on the aforementioned Irtysh River near Yamyshev Lake, and from then on, having seen where it is necessary, other cities should be made”[8]. The Buchholz expedition founded the fortifications of Yamyshevskoye and Omskoye, but in 1716, due to opposition from the Jungars, it returned back, and the Yamyshevskaya fortress was partially destroyed.
During the years 1715-1720. in the same direction, a number of expeditions were equipped, which founded the fortifications of Zhelezinskoye, Semipalatnoe and Ust-Kamenogorsk. The expedition of I.M. Likharev. They were not able to reach Yarkand, however, they managed to gain a foothold in the Middle and partially Upper Irtysh, and here Russia faced not only Dzungaria, but also the Kazakhs[9].
The issues of military expeditions and diplomatic embassies are covered in detail in the work of V.A. Moiseev "Russia and the Dzungar Khanate" [10]. We will focus only on some aspects that have both theoretical and applied significance.
When moving further on Lake Zaisan along the Black Irtysh, the Russians already encountered Chinese border signs and set up their border beacons [11].
In 1724, Emperor Peter I granted the request of the Siberian authorities to protect the border settlements along the Ishim, for which it was decided to use the thousandth dragoon regiment, 3 Ishim companies and another regiment to move to prisons near the cities, because. “The reliability of the protection of settlements will not be ensured by one regiment”[12].
In 1732, the Siberian governor A.L. Pleshcheev reported to the Empress Anna Ioannovna that further strengthening of the borders of the Siberian possessions was required, primarily on the border with the Dzungars and the Chinese. Together with P.I. Baturin, he reported that the existing three infantry regiments, an incomplete dragoon regiment and irregular troops were not enough to reliably protect the border. Also, in their opinion, it was necessary to strengthen the garrisons on the borders with the Kazakhs, since from the summer of 1731 “to this day the Cossack horde always comes to the Siberian borders, and from this dragoon regiment there are two companies on business trips: one on the Chinese border, the other in the Siberian Ober-Bergamte, and the Yakutsk regiment on the Chinese border, of the two infantry regiments from Tobolsk and Yenisei, they contain the Irtysh fortresses and the Siberian Ober-Bergamt and are on incessant business trips for various Your Imperial Majesty's affairs in different places "[13].
Thus, in contrast to most other regions of Siberia, the protection of the borders along the Irtysh was entrusted to the Russian authorities at an early stage of development of the territory mainly by regular troops. At the same time, their number was minimal until the middle of the 18th century. So, in all the Upper Irtysh fortresses in 1744 there were only 1114 l.m.p.[14] Later, the Cossacks were involved in the protection of the borders here. And only in the XIX century. the Cossacks became the dominant element in carrying out the border service. In addition to the initially created fortresses, lighthouses, cordons, fenced villages, redoubts, new full-fledged fortresses and unfortified settlements were gradually founded. Their density gradually increased. By 1757, the distance between the fortifications was from 50 to 70 versts[15]. By 1815, the length of the Siberian border lines was estimated at 2360 versts, and about 3 people per verst were assigned to guard the borders, and the average distance between the fortifications was reduced to 21.8 versts, which made it possible to overcome this distance on horseback in an hour and a half[16] .
Since the announcement of the expedition of Buchholz in 1714, the Dzungarian authorities have protested against the advance of Russian expeditions up the Irtysh, noting that the territory belongs to them[17].
The Russian authorities, for their part, at all negotiations emphasized their own sovereignty over the Irtysh region.
So, in 1719, Major Likharev sent Cossack head I.D. to negotiate with the ruler Tsevan-Rabdan. Cheredov. Among other things, he was tasked with trying to resolve relations with the Dzhungars, which had aggravated as a result of the start of the construction of fortresses along the Irtysh, if possible, to agree on the resumption of trade, the possibility of a safe search for precious metal deposits by Russians, and also to convey the position of the Russian government that the Yamyshevskaya fortress is located "on the land of the Russian , and the Irtysh from the mouth to the top of the Russian, and the cities are not for a quarrel with him "[18]. It should be noted that the principle of ownership of rivers from mouth to source was characteristic of the Russian foreign policy approach in the East in the XVII-XVIII as a whole, and not only in relation to possessions along the Irtysh.
The Dzungarian ruler agreed to the development of trade and the search for deposits, but did not recognize the fortresses newly built by the Russians as legally located. In particular, he stated to Cheredov that the Yamyshev fortress was built “transgressing the edges and notches”, and “he sent Cheren-Donduk to ask about that building and from that fortress they fought, and Buholts Cheren-Donduku said through the interpreter that the borders and notches were transgressing, the city was set up by order of Prince Gagarin. In addition, Tsevan-Rabdan expressed the hope that the Russian authorities would assist him in the fight against the Chinese, would allow him to collect taxes from the Siberian peoples, from whom the Dzungars collected yasak before, and would not accept “Kalmyks who fled from the Evo”[19] .
Again, the question of the disputed territories of the Siberian administration with the Dzungars was raised by the successor of Tsevan-Rabdan, Galdan-Tseren, who in 1742 demanded the demolition of Russian fortresses along the Upper Irtysh, referring to the agreements of the former rulers of the two countries, who allegedly “agreed to delimit those places, and tako, along the mouth of the Black Om, they fixed the border and, as a sign of that border, made a notch with such an agreement that from that time on both sides, no one in foreign places would catch animals and fortresses, and build other dwellings "[20]. Those. demanded to demolish all the fortresses from Omsk inclusive up the Irtysh. Galdan-Tseren sent four delegations with oral and written demands. All territorial claims of the Dzungarian ruler were rejected by the Russian side. Moreover, in 1743 the proposal of the heads of the Orenburg and Siberian departments I.I. Neplyuev and A.M. Sukharev “on the creation of a border line to close the Zyungortsy (Dzungars - A.B.) along the Irtysh to the Semipolatnaya fortress and from there to Lake Teletskoye” in Altai[21]. In 1744, the Governing Senate gave relevant instructions to Major General H.Kh Kinderman[22].
The Dzungar Khan Tsevan-Rabdan in his appeal to the Siberian governor A.M. Sukharev also insisted on tearing down the fortresses along the Irtysh and returning their lands to the Dzungars. This was followed by another order to strengthen the protection of the borders with the Dzungars[23]. In a response letter to the Dzungarian Khuntaiji, the Siberian governor pointed out: “And that you call the land on which the Semipolatnaya and Yamyshevskaya fortresses were built your own, it can hardly be proved on your part, for there is a well-known case that both these and other border fortresses from ancient times were built on their own Russian lands, and not those of others”[24]. The Dzungar ruler even tried to involve the Kazakh rulers in the struggle for the Irtysh territories, but was refused[25]. On the contrary, the Kazakhs used the Irtysh fortresses not only for the development of trade, but also in case of a threat of attack from the Jungars[26].
The claims of the Dzungarian rulers on the Irtysh continued to come until the liquidation of the Dzungar state. Although it should be noted that there was also an appeal of the rebellious Amursana to the Russian government with a proposal to build another Russian fortification in the area of Lake Zaisan, the Dzhungars could be involved in the protection of which and the borders with the Chinese[27].
The fortresses on Bukhtarma and Zaisan were built on the personal order of Empress Catherine II a few years after the fall of the Dzungar Khanate. Their main function was to protect the borders and prevent the possibility of both land and water (along the river) invasion of the Chinese[28].
After the defeat of the Dzungar Khanate, the Chinese authorities also several times entered into diplomatic correspondence with the Russian authorities, considering the Irtysh and a number of other regions to be disputable, since, in their opinion, these lands should have belonged to China as the victorious state. Moreover, part of the Kazakhs, on the basis that they paid tribute to the Dzhungars for some time, also automatically began to be considered by the Chinese authorities as their subjects, who accepted titles and ranks from the Chinese government[29]. The local Russian authorities reported that the Kazakhs were in a state of choice and would choose the citizenship of the strongest state[30]. The Russian authorities continued to defend the position of non-recognition of Chinese sovereignty over either the Kazakhs or the territory of the Upper Irtysh, stating that the Qings have no rights to this territory, and the Kazakhs have been Russian subjects for many years[31]. Ultimately, in the 19th century this position was reflected in the St. Petersburg Treaty between Russia and China[32].
As part of the preparation of the Steppe Regulations (1891), the Russian authorities collected significant material on the issue of relations with subject and neighboring peoples. On the question of belonging to the Irtysh region in the first half of the 18th century. for internal use, the following was stated: “During the construction of fortresses along the Om, Ishim and Irtysh rivers at the beginning of the 18th century, the lands adjacent to these rivers from the southeast side were part of the Dzungar Khanate”[33]. At the same time, in the international arena, Russia continued de facto to defend the principle of ownership of the territory of the Irtysh from mouth to source. That ultimately was enshrined in international legal acts.
Thus, the Russian policy towards the territories of the Yenisei and the south of Western Siberia, on the one hand, and the Middle and Upper Irtysh, on the other, had significant differences. If in relation to the first regions the policy of dual tribute and dual citizenship was allowed within the framework of international relations with the Dzungar Khanate and the Qing Empire, then this approach was never applied to the latter. Russia rigidly and consistently defended its own sovereignty over the Irtysh region and did not de jure recognize double- or multi-tributary part of the Kazakhs, even when it existed de facto.
The work is carried out within the framework of the targeted funding program of the project BR10965282 "Kazakhstan-Russian border: historical context and new geopolitical reality".
The article was published in: Banzarov readings: materials of the international scientific conference dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of D. Banzarov and the 90th anniversary of the Belarusian State Pedagogical Institute - BSU. At 2 pm Part I / Nauch. Ed. V.V. Nomogoev; resp. ed. HE. Polyanskaya. Ulan-Ude: Publishing House of the Buryat State Council, 2022.
Read other articles by the author
The defeat of Kuchum was considered by the Moscow court as an automatic entry of all territories and population of the former Siberian Khanate into Russia. In particular, the territories of the basins of the Ob and Irtysh rivers are indicated as part of the state. This is evidenced by the diplomatic correspondence of that time. Later, in 1613, already under Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, in correspondence with European states, it was emphasized that, despite the Time of Troubles, the eastern kingdoms that became part of Russia at the end of the 16th century remained part of the Muscovite state[1].
During the Time of Troubles, the geopolitical situation in the region is significantly transformed. The weakened Russian state could not for some time provide serious centralized support to the colonization processes. Even despite the absence of Russian settlements along the Irtysh, at the beginning of the 17th century. there were regular trade contacts between the Oirats and the Russian cities of Western Siberia. Moreover, in 1607-1608. embassies led by taishis arrived in Tara, Tomsk and Moscow, during which questions were raised not only of expanding trade, but also of citizenship. Moreover, Vasily Shuisky, who reigned at that time, reacted very favorably to the acceptance of the Jungars into citizenship [2].
Citizenship was not accepted, and even despite the growth of caravan trade, primarily in Chinese goods, the situation gradually became more tense. In 1611, the Oirats began to attempt to levy tribute on the same local population that paid yasak to the Russian treasury. As shown by O.V. Boronin, until the end of the 1620s, the Western Mongols failed to collect tribute, but from 1630 part of the local population began to pay taxes to both Russians and Dzungars, and gradually a situation of double tribute and double citizenship, atypical for international relations, began to take shape, sometimes turning into multi-tributary and multi-subordination[3].
In parallel, serious geopolitical changes were taking place in Central Asia itself. Created by Batur-khuntaiji in 1635, the Dzungar Khanate led an active external expansion. The activity of the young Dzungar state, whose rulers sought to expand their territory and resource base, including through new taxpayers, was directed against neighboring countries and peoples: China, Russia, a number of independent or semi-dependent principalities, Central Asian states and Kazakhs. Despite the fact that the basis of the population of Dzungaria was made up of nomadic pastoralists, this state was distinguished by higher levels of organization and centralization of control and concentration of power in the hands of the supreme ruler compared to the Kazakh Khanate. Moreover, the Kazakh-Dzungarian rivalry was of the most acute nature, since both sides fought for pasture lands - the basis of their economy. For a long time the struggle went on with varying success, but at the end of the 17th century. the Dzungars were able to secure a number of south-eastern territories of nomadic pastures, previously exploited by the Kazakhs. The reasons for the gradual preponderance towards the Western Mongols were a higher level of organization of internal administration and military discipline, the subjugation of the Uighur beks by Dzungaria, as well as internal strife among the Kazakh rulers[4].
In the XVII - early XVIII centuries. between Russia and Dzungaria a number of mutual diplomatic missions and military expeditions took place, during which the Dzungarian rulers declared their sovereignty over the newly built Siberian fortifications and settlements along the Yenisei, in Khakassia, in the Southern Altai[5].
At the same time, the Russian state increased its attention to the region. During the Northern War, Peter I sought to put under the control of Russia the transcontinental trade routes that passed through Central Asia. In addition, the questions of explaining the local population and the search for minerals, primarily precious metals and stones, were of particular interest to the treasury. As the main direction, the sovereign determined the movement to the Indian subcontinent by land.
In 1714, the Siberian governor Prince M.P. Gagarin reported to the sovereign about the large reserves of native gold deposits in the Yarkand region. These data were confirmed by other evidence. Peter I ordered to equip expeditions up the Irtysh[6]. Their number did not exceed 3 thousand people, the first was headed by I.D. Buchholz[7]. The difference between the Irtysh expeditions was not just the advance to Central Asia, but also the consolidation of new territories for Russia through the construction of fortified points. The instructions given by Gagarin said: “And the first city should be made on the aforementioned Irtysh River near Yamyshev Lake, and from then on, having seen where it is necessary, other cities should be made”[8]. The Buchholz expedition founded the fortifications of Yamyshevskoye and Omskoye, but in 1716, due to opposition from the Jungars, it returned back, and the Yamyshevskaya fortress was partially destroyed.
During the years 1715-1720. in the same direction, a number of expeditions were equipped, which founded the fortifications of Zhelezinskoye, Semipalatnoe and Ust-Kamenogorsk. The expedition of I.M. Likharev. They were not able to reach Yarkand, however, they managed to gain a foothold in the Middle and partially Upper Irtysh, and here Russia faced not only Dzungaria, but also the Kazakhs[9].
The issues of military expeditions and diplomatic embassies are covered in detail in the work of V.A. Moiseev "Russia and the Dzungar Khanate" [10]. We will focus only on some aspects that have both theoretical and applied significance.
When moving further on Lake Zaisan along the Black Irtysh, the Russians already encountered Chinese border signs and set up their border beacons [11].
In 1724, Emperor Peter I granted the request of the Siberian authorities to protect the border settlements along the Ishim, for which it was decided to use the thousandth dragoon regiment, 3 Ishim companies and another regiment to move to prisons near the cities, because. “The reliability of the protection of settlements will not be ensured by one regiment”[12].
In 1732, the Siberian governor A.L. Pleshcheev reported to the Empress Anna Ioannovna that further strengthening of the borders of the Siberian possessions was required, primarily on the border with the Dzungars and the Chinese. Together with P.I. Baturin, he reported that the existing three infantry regiments, an incomplete dragoon regiment and irregular troops were not enough to reliably protect the border. Also, in their opinion, it was necessary to strengthen the garrisons on the borders with the Kazakhs, since from the summer of 1731 “to this day the Cossack horde always comes to the Siberian borders, and from this dragoon regiment there are two companies on business trips: one on the Chinese border, the other in the Siberian Ober-Bergamte, and the Yakutsk regiment on the Chinese border, of the two infantry regiments from Tobolsk and Yenisei, they contain the Irtysh fortresses and the Siberian Ober-Bergamt and are on incessant business trips for various Your Imperial Majesty's affairs in different places "[13].
Thus, in contrast to most other regions of Siberia, the protection of the borders along the Irtysh was entrusted to the Russian authorities at an early stage of development of the territory mainly by regular troops. At the same time, their number was minimal until the middle of the 18th century. So, in all the Upper Irtysh fortresses in 1744 there were only 1114 l.m.p.[14] Later, the Cossacks were involved in the protection of the borders here. And only in the XIX century. the Cossacks became the dominant element in carrying out the border service. In addition to the initially created fortresses, lighthouses, cordons, fenced villages, redoubts, new full-fledged fortresses and unfortified settlements were gradually founded. Their density gradually increased. By 1757, the distance between the fortifications was from 50 to 70 versts[15]. By 1815, the length of the Siberian border lines was estimated at 2360 versts, and about 3 people per verst were assigned to guard the borders, and the average distance between the fortifications was reduced to 21.8 versts, which made it possible to overcome this distance on horseback in an hour and a half[16] .
Since the announcement of the expedition of Buchholz in 1714, the Dzungarian authorities have protested against the advance of Russian expeditions up the Irtysh, noting that the territory belongs to them[17].
The Russian authorities, for their part, at all negotiations emphasized their own sovereignty over the Irtysh region.
So, in 1719, Major Likharev sent Cossack head I.D. to negotiate with the ruler Tsevan-Rabdan. Cheredov. Among other things, he was tasked with trying to resolve relations with the Dzhungars, which had aggravated as a result of the start of the construction of fortresses along the Irtysh, if possible, to agree on the resumption of trade, the possibility of a safe search for precious metal deposits by Russians, and also to convey the position of the Russian government that the Yamyshevskaya fortress is located "on the land of the Russian , and the Irtysh from the mouth to the top of the Russian, and the cities are not for a quarrel with him "[18]. It should be noted that the principle of ownership of rivers from mouth to source was characteristic of the Russian foreign policy approach in the East in the XVII-XVIII as a whole, and not only in relation to possessions along the Irtysh.
The Dzungarian ruler agreed to the development of trade and the search for deposits, but did not recognize the fortresses newly built by the Russians as legally located. In particular, he stated to Cheredov that the Yamyshev fortress was built “transgressing the edges and notches”, and “he sent Cheren-Donduk to ask about that building and from that fortress they fought, and Buholts Cheren-Donduku said through the interpreter that the borders and notches were transgressing, the city was set up by order of Prince Gagarin. In addition, Tsevan-Rabdan expressed the hope that the Russian authorities would assist him in the fight against the Chinese, would allow him to collect taxes from the Siberian peoples, from whom the Dzungars collected yasak before, and would not accept “Kalmyks who fled from the Evo”[19] .
Again, the question of the disputed territories of the Siberian administration with the Dzungars was raised by the successor of Tsevan-Rabdan, Galdan-Tseren, who in 1742 demanded the demolition of Russian fortresses along the Upper Irtysh, referring to the agreements of the former rulers of the two countries, who allegedly “agreed to delimit those places, and tako, along the mouth of the Black Om, they fixed the border and, as a sign of that border, made a notch with such an agreement that from that time on both sides, no one in foreign places would catch animals and fortresses, and build other dwellings "[20]. Those. demanded to demolish all the fortresses from Omsk inclusive up the Irtysh. Galdan-Tseren sent four delegations with oral and written demands. All territorial claims of the Dzungarian ruler were rejected by the Russian side. Moreover, in 1743 the proposal of the heads of the Orenburg and Siberian departments I.I. Neplyuev and A.M. Sukharev “on the creation of a border line to close the Zyungortsy (Dzungars - A.B.) along the Irtysh to the Semipolatnaya fortress and from there to Lake Teletskoye” in Altai[21]. In 1744, the Governing Senate gave relevant instructions to Major General H.Kh Kinderman[22].
The Dzungar Khan Tsevan-Rabdan in his appeal to the Siberian governor A.M. Sukharev also insisted on tearing down the fortresses along the Irtysh and returning their lands to the Dzungars. This was followed by another order to strengthen the protection of the borders with the Dzungars[23]. In a response letter to the Dzungarian Khuntaiji, the Siberian governor pointed out: “And that you call the land on which the Semipolatnaya and Yamyshevskaya fortresses were built your own, it can hardly be proved on your part, for there is a well-known case that both these and other border fortresses from ancient times were built on their own Russian lands, and not those of others”[24]. The Dzungar ruler even tried to involve the Kazakh rulers in the struggle for the Irtysh territories, but was refused[25]. On the contrary, the Kazakhs used the Irtysh fortresses not only for the development of trade, but also in case of a threat of attack from the Jungars[26].
The claims of the Dzungarian rulers on the Irtysh continued to come until the liquidation of the Dzungar state. Although it should be noted that there was also an appeal of the rebellious Amursana to the Russian government with a proposal to build another Russian fortification in the area of Lake Zaisan, the Dzhungars could be involved in the protection of which and the borders with the Chinese[27].
The fortresses on Bukhtarma and Zaisan were built on the personal order of Empress Catherine II a few years after the fall of the Dzungar Khanate. Their main function was to protect the borders and prevent the possibility of both land and water (along the river) invasion of the Chinese[28].
After the defeat of the Dzungar Khanate, the Chinese authorities also several times entered into diplomatic correspondence with the Russian authorities, considering the Irtysh and a number of other regions to be disputable, since, in their opinion, these lands should have belonged to China as the victorious state. Moreover, part of the Kazakhs, on the basis that they paid tribute to the Dzhungars for some time, also automatically began to be considered by the Chinese authorities as their subjects, who accepted titles and ranks from the Chinese government[29]. The local Russian authorities reported that the Kazakhs were in a state of choice and would choose the citizenship of the strongest state[30]. The Russian authorities continued to defend the position of non-recognition of Chinese sovereignty over either the Kazakhs or the territory of the Upper Irtysh, stating that the Qings have no rights to this territory, and the Kazakhs have been Russian subjects for many years[31]. Ultimately, in the 19th century this position was reflected in the St. Petersburg Treaty between Russia and China[32].
As part of the preparation of the Steppe Regulations (1891), the Russian authorities collected significant material on the issue of relations with subject and neighboring peoples. On the question of belonging to the Irtysh region in the first half of the 18th century. for internal use, the following was stated: “During the construction of fortresses along the Om, Ishim and Irtysh rivers at the beginning of the 18th century, the lands adjacent to these rivers from the southeast side were part of the Dzungar Khanate”[33]. At the same time, in the international arena, Russia continued de facto to defend the principle of ownership of the territory of the Irtysh from mouth to source. That ultimately was enshrined in international legal acts.
Thus, the Russian policy towards the territories of the Yenisei and the south of Western Siberia, on the one hand, and the Middle and Upper Irtysh, on the other, had significant differences. If in relation to the first regions the policy of dual tribute and dual citizenship was allowed within the framework of international relations with the Dzungar Khanate and the Qing Empire, then this approach was never applied to the latter. Russia rigidly and consistently defended its own sovereignty over the Irtysh region and did not de jure recognize double- or multi-tributary part of the Kazakhs, even when it existed de facto.
The work is carried out within the framework of the targeted funding program of the project BR10965282 "Kazakhstan-Russian border: historical context and new geopolitical reality".
The article was published in: Banzarov readings: materials of the international scientific conference dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of D. Banzarov and the 90th anniversary of the Belarusian State Pedagogical Institute - BSU. At 2 pm Part I / Nauch. Ed. V.V. Nomogoev; resp. ed. HE. Polyanskaya. Ulan-Ude: Publishing House of the Buryat State Council, 2022.
Read other articles by the author
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