Policing by non-Russian local government bodies in the 19th - early 20th centuries

The aim of this article is to examine the activities on ensuring public order and public security of non-Russian local authorities in the south of the Russian Empire in the 19th - early 20th centuries on the basis of the analysis of a wide range of sources. When Kalmyks, Nogais and Turkmens populated the steppe territory of Ciscaucasia and the Lower Volga they had already been integrated into the imperial legal system, yet preserved elements of self-regulation by customary law. The author aims to consider the legal aspects of public order and security, and based on the analysis of documentary materials from the collections of the National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia and the State Archive of Stavropol Krai focuses on local government activities in this period in order to ensure public order. Public order is a state of society characterized by the behavior of shared values of its members based on the observance of social norms prevailing at this stage. At the same time the protection of public order and public security is a form of implementation of the law enforcement functions of the state. The study analyzed the record keeping documentation of the local authorities, judicial bodies, the Office of the Chief Police Officer of the Nomadic Peoples of Stavropol Province, the Office of the Kalmyk People of Astrakhan Province found in the National Archive of the Republic of Kalmykia and in the State Archive of Stavropol Krai. The territorial scope of the study covers the boundaries of the Kalmyk steppe of Astrakhan Province and the territory inhabited by the nomadic peoples of Stavropol Province. The study was based on scientific and objective principles. The author used the research methods of reconstruction, which restored individual facts and the local government’s activities in this area, and comparison, which helped to analyze the local authorities’ activities to ensure public order and security. The author concludes that the local government bodies of the nomads of the south of the Russian Empire worked in two main ways: (1) administered justice and prevented unlawful acts, and (2) funded law enforcement. The imperial authorities, integrating existing legislation into the customary law of the nomads, gave the local authorities powers to ensure public order and security in society.

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