in the campaign “Destruction of the Nokhchi Villages along the Sunzha and Construction of the Groznaya Fortress in Their Place (1817–1818)”
The Regular Army of the Russian Empire built a fortress on the occupied territory as a stronghold, in order to keep the approaches to the Chechen lands under fire and cut the inhabitants off from their lands. Historian D. A. Khozhaev records that the fortress was built «on Chechen land»[1]. The imperial general Yermolov attests in his «Notes» that the fortress, «constraining the inhabitants in their possession of the best lands… not far from the entrance through the Khan-Kale gorge, was named Groznaya», and that the earthworks were completed by mid-October 1818[2]. The imperial historian Potto confirms the founding on June 10, 1818: «to the thunder of cannon, a strong fortress of six bastions was laid, which Yermolov named Groznaya»[3]. As early as his most humble report of November 1817, Yermolov directly named the purpose of the Sunzha fortresses: «We must occupy the Sunzha River and build fortresses along its course: then the Chechens will be confined in their mountains, deprived of land suitable for cultivation and of the pasture grounds where throughout the winter they shelter their herds from the harsh mountain climate»[4].