THE NORTHWESTERN AZOV REGION AS A FRONTIER: ETHNOCULTURAL PROCESSES IN THE LATE 18th – MID-19th CENTURIES

Abstract

The article presents a comprehensive study of the ethnocultural processes in the Northwestern Azov region during the late 18th – mid-19th centuries within the framework of the frontier concept. It examines the peculiarities of the region’s settlement, the formation of its ethnic and cultural com-position, and the interaction between local and migrant populations. It is emphasized that the frontier character of the Northwestern Azov region was determined by its geographical position on the border of civilizations and state boundaries, which shaped the specific dynamics of ethnocultural processes.

Based on the analysis of historiography, archival sources, and the works of modern researchers, the study demonstrates that for a long time, adminis-trative and economic approaches prevailed in the scholarly interpretation of the region, while its frontier nature remained on the periphery of academic attention. The article offers a new perspective on the Northwestern Azov region as a space of interethnic and intercultural contacts, where the co-existence of diverse communities was accompanied by cultural interaction and mutual influence.

Special attention is paid to the migration movements of Ukrainian Cos-sacks, state peasants, Old Believers, Dukhobors, Mennonites, as well as to the integration of the local nomadic Nogai population. It is shown that the state policy encouraged the development of the southern steppes through incentives and privileges for settlers; however, its focus mainly on foreign colonists created a socio-economic imbalance among different groups. The study traces the authorities’ attempts to transform the Nogais into sedentary farmers, which ultimately failed due to the incompatibility of their tradition-al nomadic lifestyle with the imposed imperial models of land cultivation.

As a result, the research concludes that the Northwestern Azov region func-tioned as a typical frontier – a space of active ethnocultural exchange, where new social communities emerged, traditional ways of life were transformed, and the foundations of the further cultural development of southern Ukraine were laid.