The microcosm of the Russian-Asian caravan trade in the second third of the 19th century in the works of Ch.Ch. Valikhanov

The article considers the materials from the Kashgar expedition of Chokan Valikhanov in 1858–1859 in the context of anthropology and the history of everyday life. Based on the travel diaries of a direct participant in the business process, the authors aim to reconstruct the road-bound caravan life of the merchants. The analysis of the economic relations between Russia and Asia during the first half and the middle of the 19th century is carried out from the perspective of a business process subject placed in the space of everyday work; such a research allows us to understand the role of an individual in the history of the trans-Asian trade, to consider the conditions of professional activities of the merchants engaged in international trade, and to determine the mental and physiological characteristics of those merchants. Maintaining the identity of a trader by «copying» the labor functions of a merchant travelling with a caravan allowed Chokan Valikhanov to convey an objective picture of the everyday life of caravan trade participants. His diaries provide a detailed look at the challenges of financing a foreign trade enterprise, the social structure of a trade caravan, to see the people’s reactions to road incidents and to understand the mechanism of individuals’ adaptation to extreme conditions. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that the ego-legacy of Chokan Valikhanov has not yet been analyzed in an anthropological format from the standpoint of micro history and the history of everyday life. The architectonics of article’s text allows the reader to explore the microclimate of the caravan procession starting with the formation of a trading caravan, through the daily work of travelers, and ending with an overview of the culinary culture and the leisure activities of the caravan members. The conclusion of the study is that the author of the travel notes, who was a direct participant in the caravan passage, has quite clearly detailed the microcosm of the Russian-Asian caravan trade in the first half and the middle of the 19th century, describing the main challenges of the organization of that economic, logistic and transportation phenomenon.

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