Paper long abstract:

The history of the presence of the Russian Empire in Central Asia knows examples of the implementation of various governance models, each of which was established depending on the problems that the government intended to solve on a particular territory. Among these tasks was chosen the main one, which determined not only the facade of any administration model but also its subordination. At the turn of the 1860s - 1870s. two objectives of the occupation of Krasnovodsk were defined in the decisions of the supreme authority: the development of transit trade with khanates and the pacification of Khiva. It is possible that the order of priorities made for the eastern Caspian coast was based on the foreign policy considerations rather than determined by the lack of familiarity with regional conditions. One way or another, the formulated goals predetermined the emergence of dual power in Krasnovodsk, when the security issues of servicemen, Russian and foreign traders were attributed to the competence of commander of the military detachment, but the trade promotion, legal proceedings for commercial disputes, the certification of various acts, customs operations, the collection of numerous information and the development of proposals for the administrative organization, an industrial development and improvement of the legal status of natives have become the areas of responsibility of the Agent of the Ministry of Finance. The further course of events put everything in its place. The Khiva campaign of 1873 predetermined the further existence of the Trans-Caspian region under the aegis of the War Ministry.

The study was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research in the framework of the research project No. 18-09-00078 "Policy of the Russian Empire in Central Asia. The late 19th and the early 20th centuries".