Moldovans from the Lower Dniester Region in the Russian Captivity: A Case of the Imperial War Policy of the 18th Century. 1.

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Open Access Open Access
Restricted Access Access granted
Restricted Access Subscription Access

Abstract

The article is devoted to a previously unknown dramatic episode from the history of the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 – the fate of a large group of ethnic Moldovans from the left bank of the Dniester river in captivity in the Russian Empire. In October 1769, during military actions near the Bendery Fortress, Russian troops devastated the villages inhabited by Moldovans on the left bank of Dniester, which were under the jurisdiction of the Crimean Khanate. About a thousand of their inhabitants, including women and children, were taken prisoner and taken away to Russia. The commander of the advanced Russian corps, Major General Count Ch.L.K. zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, under the pretext of saving these people from starvation, distributed them among the officers of his troops, effectively turning them into serfs. This decision not only did not comply with the European laws and customs of war of that time, but also ran counter to the interests of the state policy of Russia in the context of the struggle with the Ottoman Empire, contradicted specific orders of the supreme power regarding people from Moldova. The article is written on the basis of archival documents of the military and diplomatic departments of the Russian Empire, introduced into scientific circulation for the first time.

Full Text

Restricted Access

About the authors

Vasiliy B. Kashirin

Institute of Slavic Studies of Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: vbkashirin@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2653-7063

PhD (History), Senior Research Fellow

Russian Federation, Moscow

References

  1. Bacalov S. «Satele hăneşti». Localizare şi aspecte etnodemografice. Conferința «Republica Moldova între Este şi Vest. Opţiunile tineretului la etapa actuală». Chişinău, Moldova, 15 aprilie 2013, pp. 39–73.
  2. Chirtoagă Ion. Din istoria Moldovei de sud-est: până în anii '30 ai sec. al XIX-lea. Chişinău, Museum Publ., 1999, 224 p.
  3. Druzhinina E.I. Kyuchuk-Kajnardzhijskij mir 1774 goda (ego podgotovka i zaklyuchenie). Moscow, Izdatel`stvo Akademii nauk SSSR Publ., 1955, 368 p. (In Russ.)
  4. Kabuzan V.M. Narodonaselenie Bessarabskoj oblasti i levoberezhny`x rajonov Pridnestrov`ya (Konecz XVIII – pervaya polovina XIX v.). Kishinyov, Știința Publ., 1974, 158 p. (In Russ.)
  5. Kabuzan V.M. Zaselenie Novorossii (Ekaterinoslavskoj i Xersonskoj gubernij) v XVIII – pervoj polovine XIX veka (1719–1858 gg.) Moscow, Nauka Publ., 1976, 307 p. (In Russ.)
  6. Kashirin V.B. Osvoboditel` Bukharesta: Tajny`j e`missar Ekateriny` II podpolkovnik Nazar Karazin (1731–1783). Moscow, Indrik Publ., 2022, 623 p. https://doi.org/10.31168/91674-673-0 (In Russ.)
  7. Kashirin V.B. Dnestrovskaya kampaniya generala knyazya A.M. Golicyna 1769 g. i strategiya Rossii v otnoshenii knyazhestva Moldaviya v nachal`ny`j period russko-tureczkoj vojny` 1768–1774 godov. Slavyanovedenie, 2024, no. 1, pp. 5–30. https://doi.org/10.31857/S0869544X24010012 (In Russ.)
  8. Kotenko I.A. Iz istorii osvoboditel’nogo dvizheniya v Moldavii v period russko-turetskoy voyny 1768–1774 gg. Uchenye zapiski Tiraspol’skogo gosudarstvennogo pedagogicheskogo instituta im. T.G. Shevchenko. Kishinev, 1957, vyp. 3, pp. 23–42. (In Russ.)
  9. Kotenko I.A. Iz istorii uchastiya moldavskikh otryadov v russko-turetskoy voyne 1768–1774 gg. Vekovaya druzhba: Materialy` nauchnoj sessii Instituta istorii Moldavskogo filiala AN SSSR, sostoyavshejsya 27–29 noyabrya 1958 g., ed. Ya.S. Grosul, N.A. Mokhov. Kishinev, 1961, pp. 240–244. (In Russ.)
  10. Mulina S.A. Pravovy`e praktiki Rossijskoj imperii v otnoshenii plenny`x barskix konfederatov. Metody i środki oddziaływania imperiów: ideologia i praktyka polityczna państwa rosyjskiego/sowieckiego/rosyjskiego w latach 1689–2022. Warszawa, 2024, pp. 429–443. (In Russ.)
  11. Petrov A.N. Voyna Rossii s Turtsiey i pol’skimi konfederatami. S 1769–1774 god, sost., preimushchestvenno iz pisnykh materialov, General’nogo shtaba kapitanom A. Petrovym. St. Petersburg, v tip. Eduarda Veymara, 1866, t. 1. God 1769, 332 p. (In Russ.)
  12. Poznakhirev V.V. Tureczkie voennoplenny`e v Belgorodskoj gubernii v period russko-tureczkoj vojny` 1768–1774 gg. Via in tempore. Istoriya. Politologiya, 2013, no. 8 (151), pp. 89–93. (In Russ.)
  13. Poznakhirev V.V. Tureczkie generaly` i admiraly` v russkom plenu (XVIII–XX vv.). St. Petersburg, Nestor-Istoriya Publ., 2019, 224 p. (In Russ.)
  14. Prudovskij P.I. Sud`ba pol`sko-litovskix plenny`x po Andrusovskomu peremiriyu 1667 g. i migracii naseleniya mezhdu Rossiej i Rech`yu Pospolitoj. Slavyanovedenie, 2021, no. 4, pp. 29–39. https://doi.org/10.31857/S0869544X0015962-1 (In Russ.)
  15. Shishmarev V.F. Romanskie poseleniya na yuge Rossii. Leningrad, Nauka Publ., 1975, 246 p. (In Russ.)

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML
Download

Copyright (c) 2025 Russian Academy of Sciences