THE MAIN FEATURES OF THE NATIONAL POLICY OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN THE CAUCASUS.

The expansion of the Russian Empire to the Caucasus in the late 18th and 19th centuries implied the development and application of national policies in the newly conquered regions. National policy was heterogeneous. An official treaty was signed with the nations who had statehood in the conquered regions. This was a transitional phase, since later state institutions have been eliminated, and this state was transformed into an ordinary administrativepolitical unit of the empire. Stateless nations were obliged to swear allegiance to the Russian throne. In the Caucasian region, Russia emphasized the religious factor, because the emphasis on the ethnic factor could subsequently lead to the rise of nationalist sentiments. Ethnonational criteria were taken into account, but actually did not prevent social mobility. Nevertheless, the national policy of the Russian Empire contributed to the rise of national sentiments among relatively developed nations such as the Armenians, Poles, Georgians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]