Vol 12, No 3 (2025)

The aim of our study is to examine the events that led to the 1768–1774 Russo-Turkish War through the perspective of Pierre Ruffin, a French diplomatic translator stationed in Bakhchisarai, the administrative center of the Crimean Khanate and located close to the Khan himself. By doing so, the study seeks to accurately depict how these events were perceived on the Crimean Khanate's side, how the state officials reacted, and the tense period that followed, ultimately culminating in the war.

During the occupation of Poland, Poles fleeing from advancing Russian and Cossack troops sought refuge in the city of Uman, located within the borders of the Crimean Khanate, in July 1768. The aforementioned troops attacked Uman and massacred its inhabitants. Those who managed to escape took refuge in the town of Balta, part of the Crimean Khanate. However, the marauders pursued them and burned down Balta. Russian forces then advanced into Ottoman territory as far as Bender, killing the Janissaries stationed there as well. While the events at Balta, which the Ottoman Empire considered a casus belli, did not appear extensively in Ottoman archival records beyond the declaration of war, Ottoman chronicles of the time mentioned them only briefly as causes of the war, without providing details and often conveying contradictory information. The lack of local sources recounting the Balta incidents from the Crimean Khanate’s perspective, highlights the value of the 1768 diary written by Pierre Ruffin, the French diplomatic translator in Bakhchisarai at the time.

This study is a qualitative research project that analyzes and evaluates the Balta incidents which led to the 1768–1774 Russo-Turkish War in light of historical sources. Using document analysis (Content Analysis), a method of qualitative research, raw data were collected from archival records, chronicles, manuscripts, diplomatic correspondence, and other historical documents from the Ottoman Empire, the Crimean Khanate, France, Russia, and Poland. These data were systematically analyzed and interpreted through an inductive approach.

The article is an analysis of information on the last rulers of the Crimean Khanate – Shakhbaz Geray and Baht Geray contained in the documents of Russian commanders participated in the Russian-Turkish war of 1787–1791. There is no a lot of attention for these khans (or, rather, pretenders to the throne) was paid in the modern historiography, and we have only a general data on their life and activity. The documents of Russian military leaders, who fought against Shakhbaz Geray and Baht Geray, contain valuable characteristics on them as commanders, statesman, their relations with the Ottoman authorities, population of invaded regions, etc. The source base of the research includes official documents (reports, dispatches, journals of operations) of such famous commanders as G.A. Potyomkin, P.A. Rumyantsev, A.V. Suvorov, M.I. Kutuzov.

The article examines the issues of the place and significance of historical themes in the Crimean Tatar oral folk art of the period 1783–1883. Using the example of emigrant and soldier songs, samples of other varieties of the Crimean Tatar historical song genre, as well as legends about the folk hero Alim Azamat-oglu, the special significance of these themes for the Crimean Tatar folklore of the period under review is shown, as well as the significant value of works of historical content for the entire Crimean Tatar literature of that time as a whole.

The article describes the development of the art of Arabic calligraphy husn-i hatt in Crimea and its use in written sources. It also describes the history of the development of calligraphic handwriting that arose on the basis of the first Arabic script Kufic. Examples of the main seven Arabic scripts heft kalem used in the Turkic languages are presented. Examples of additional handwritings that were not included in the main ones and are a feature of the Crimean written tradition are revealed. Calligraphic handwritings used in Crimean epigraphic and written monuments in various historical periods are presented and analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the description of calligraphic handwriting on epigraphic monuments: tombstones, durbes and mosques. Handwriting of written sources of various styles is presented and described: literary works, business documents, journalistic articles, personal letters, etc. The study established that Crimean epigraphic monuments were characterized by the use of the thuluth handwriting, in works of art Naskh was more often used, in the khan's business correspondence Diwani was used, and legal acts were recorded in the Ruqah handwriting. During the last period of use of Arabic script in Crimea, the light and understandable Naskh was used in printing, and daily correspondence was carried out in Ruqah handwriting.

This study offers a comprehensive historical and functional analysis of the newspaper “Millet” (“The Nation”), the official organ of the First Crimean Tatar Kurultai, situating it within the broader context of the Crimean Tatar national-democratic movement of the early 20th century. It particularly emphasizes its pivotal role as a catalyst for national identity formation and as a crucial platform for articulating and advancing the principles of self-determination amid the profound revolutionary upheavals in Crimea.

A core component of this research involves the biographical reconstruction and in-depth intellectual assessment of “Millet”'s less-examined contributors, including Ya. Bayburtlı, I. Akki, F. Altug, A. Abiyev, E. Feyzi, M. Kurti, M. İlmi, Ya. Kermenchikli, M. Rifatov, K. Cemaleddinov, S. Esadov, S. Turupchi, A. Shukri, S. Shemi, I. Kalaiji, B. Kabajanov, among others. Their multifaceted journalistic, educational, and cultural endeavors spanned a wide spectrum of issues, from socio-political and economic discussions to educational and social reforms, encompassing women's emancipation and linguistic standardization. This collective output underscores their definitive contribution to the national revival. This study also foregrounds the tragic destinies of many of these figures, who subsequently succumbed to the political repressions of the 1920s and 1930s.

The methodological underpinning of this investigation rests upon the meticulous examination of extensive archival holdings. This investigation drew primary sources from the newspaper collections of the State Archive of the Republic of Crimea (SARC), the V. Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine, the Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History, alongside significant international repositories, notably Keio University and the Berlin State Library.

This research not only integrates but also substantially augments the seminal works of leading scholars in Crimean Tatar print history, literature, linguistics, education, and culture, by introducing previously unexamined archival data into scholarly discourse. The emergent findings significantly enrich the historiography of the Crimean Tatar national-democratic movement, offering a more profound appreciation of the national press's indispensable role as a key engine of intellectual and cultural resurgence. Ultimately, this work illuminates new avenues for future inquiry into the historical memory of the Crimean Tatar intelligentsia and their enduring impact on national culture.

The article publishes a new version of the Crimean Tatar resettlement song of the late 1850s – early 1860s, preserved in the St. Petersburg branch of the Archive of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the collection of Khusain Faizkhanov. We only knew earlier about the recording of a close text from the so-called "jonk of the Mansursky family" published in 1941 by Victor Filonenko.

Information on the following events is provided: Round table “525 years since the founding of Zynjyrly madrasah” (Bakhchisaray, July 18, 2025)