At the edge of empire : the Terek Cossacks and the North Caucasus frontier, 1700-1860
At the Edge of Empire examines the history of the Cossack frontier settlements in the North Caucasus during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The specific focus is the Terek Cossacks, frontier settlers along the Terek river who became servants of the Russian state, warriors, and occasionally soldiers for (and deserters from) the Russian imperial armies. Barrett reconsiders Cossack history with an eye for its relation to the policies and reality of pre-Soviet Russian imperialism
History
xv, 243 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
9780813336718, 0813336716
41165407
Introduction: Frontier History and Methodology; The Origins of the Terek Cossacks; Formation and Colonization; The Ecology of Settlement; Land without Labor: The Cossack Economy; Crossing Boundaries: The Trading Frontiers; Seven Brides for Seventy Brothers: Gender Relations along the Frontier; Military Service and Warrior Culture; Frontier Identities; Epilogue: The Changing World of the Terek Cossacks