Vasilyev D. V. Afghanistan at the Сenter of the Great Game. 1878—1879. Act Two: The Embassy of N. G. Stoletov

Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal. 2022. № 3 (43). P. 69—85

HISTORICAL SCIENCES

UDC 94(47)“1878/1879”

Vasilyev Dmitry Valentinovich, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor
Moscow City University

AFGHANISTAN AT THE СENTER OF THE GREAT GAME. 1878—1879. ACT TWO: THE EMBASSY OF N. G. STOLETOV

Abstract

The embassy of N. G. Stoletov to Kabul in 1878 has its own historiography. However, there is a need for a thorough analysis of historical realities in order to identify all aspects of this controversial event. The article fully recreates the history of the embassy of General Stoletov. Particular attention is paid to the role of individual actors and the dynamics of the foreign policy situation — factors that had a major impact on the effectiveness and political significance of the mission. The involved official and diplomatic correspondence, as well as sources of a memoir nature, led to the use of methods of analysis and criticism of historical sources. Compliance with the principle of historicism made it possible to create a possibly objective narrative of the episode of Russian-Afghan relations. The study made it possible to assess the place of Afghanistan in the Asian and European politics of the Russian Empire and showed an example of using various diplomatic tools to implement the political tasks of the state.

Key words

N. G. Stoletov, embassy, Russian-Turkish war, 1878, Afghanistan, the Great Game, Turkestan, Shir-Ali, K. P. Kaufman, Berlin Congress, second Anglo-Afghan war.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2022.43.6

The full text of the article PDF (Russian)

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Bibliography link to this article:

Vasilyev D. V. Afghanistan at the Сenter of the Great Game. 1878—1879. Act Two: The Embassy of N. G. Stoletov. Vestnik of Orenburg State Pedagogical University. Electronic Scientific Journal, 2022, no. 3 (43), pp. 69—85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32516/2303-9922.2022.43.6.