In captivity of the Highlanders: from history of the participation Don Cossacks in the Caucasian War

Abstract. This publication presents four documents about the circumstances of the captivity of the don cossacks and the conditions of their release from bondage. All documents are the reports of commanders of the don cossack regiments, which were stationed on the Caucasian line. Reports simply record the circumstances of the capture of the cossacks, and then the mechanism of their release from captivity. As can be seen from the documents of the cossacks could redeem for money or exchanged for the highlanders in the Russian fortifications of the Caucasian line. The cossack Safronov was redeemed from captivity, and cossack Khodin traded for a highlander. Published evidence allow to expand representations about military everyday life of the don cossacks on the Caucasian line, practices of interaction with the mountaineers of the North Caucasus. Documents are stored in the 344 Fund of the State archive of the Rostov region.

Keywords: Don Cossacks, prisoner, the mountaineers of the North Caucasus, Caucasian war.