The proposed research will concentrate on four major problems: 1) the debates on the Empire and their implication--for the policies in the area; 2) ethnic stereotypes of the people of the Caucaus; 3) the routine of war and everyday life in the camps; and 4) the impact of the Caucaus on the Russians who faught an served in the area. The interaction between the images of the Caucaus and their impact on the conduct of the policies in the area will be the core problem of the dissertation. The proposed research will help understanding the nature, of Russian colonialism, namely the complexity of the factors that caused Russian expansion and wars on the borderlands. In a broader sense the dissertation will help in understanding Russian imperial myth as well as Russia current desire to remain the main actor in all developments in the Caucaus at the present time.