Military and everyday life of Transcaucasia during the Crimean war through the eyes of a contemporary
https://doi.org/10.31143/2542-212X-2025-3-295-310
EDN: OPGCYJ
Abstract
This article analyzes the field diary of Lieutenant General I.D. Popko as a historical source that reconstructs the military and everyday life of Russian soldiers during the Crimean War (1853-1856). The main plots are devoted to the description of battles and moods in the army, consideration of the ethnography of Transcaucasia, natural and climatic features of the region, urban life, and the local education system. Ivan Diomidovich was interested in the history of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, studied the life of the Terek and Kuban Cossacks, as well as the mountain peoples. He sought to preserve the historical memory of the military events in which he participated, so many of his scientific publications were devoted to military topics. During the Crimean War, I.D. Popko was enlisted in the corps operating on the Caucasian-Turkish border as a duty staff officer. In his field diary, Ivan Diomidovich reflected the military everyday life, heroism and exploits of the Russian soldier. The travel diary of I.D. Popko is an important historical source not only for researchers studying the military daily life of Russian soldiers during the Crimean War, but also the ethnography of the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, the culture and life of local peoples, their traditions and customs.
Keywords
I.D. Popko,
field diary,
military everyday life,
Caucasus,
Transcaucasia,
Russian Empire,
Crimean War,
Russian-Turkish border.
Supporting agencies: The study has been funded by the Russian Science Foundation, № 25-28-00152, https://rscf.ru/en/project/25-28-00152/
About the Author
Anastasia I. Chernigovskaya
North Caucasus Federal University
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Postgraduate student, Assistant Professor of the Department of Russian History
References
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Supplementary files
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For citations:
Chernigovskaya A.I. Military and everyday life of Transcaucasia during the Crimean war through the eyes of a contemporary. Kavkazologiya. 2025;(3):295-310. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31143/2542-212X-2025-3-295-310. EDN: OPGCYJ
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