The Impact of the Russian Military System on Nineteenth Century Russian Expansionism in the Caucasus and Central Asia

This work explores the Russian military system after the Napoleonic Wars, and the impact the military ideologies developed therein had on Russian expansionist efforts in two separate conflicts. The Russian conquests of the Caucasus and Central Asian regions are the expansionist efforts under focus, and specifically battles at Dargo in the Caucasus and Khiva in Central Asia are analyzed. It is argued that, due to a Russian military system that refused to move away from Napoleonic era tactics and ideas, the conquest of the Caucasus was a far more difficult endeavor than the Russian seizure of Central Asia, where largely similar tactics were employed. The established Russian military system created a military that was ill-suited for combat in the Caucasus, and disabled its ability to learn from that conflict. This same system was equally responsible for allowing the Russians to easily defeat their enemies in a Central Asian setting.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

European, Russian and Eurasian Studies

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2014

Author dc:creator

• Eaton, Scott

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2014 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2014-10372

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/38515