in the campaign “The amanat-and-tribute system of colonel Pullo in the seized auls of Chechnya (1836-1840)”
The amanat-and-tribute system of Pullo, commander of the left flank of the Caucasus Line (a chain of imperial fortifications on the land of the Nokhchi), created within Chechen society a privileged layer with power over its compatriots. The offices of the overseers appointed by the empire over the auls (the pristavs) were handed by the empire to Chechens themselves: the imperial historian Yurov writes that the pristavs "were chosen predominantly, if not exclusively, from among the militiamen" - from the highland militia, armed units of highlanders in the empire's service[1]. The historian N. I. Pokrovsky showed the mechanics of the split: the office of pristav was unpaid, so only "certain representatives of strong families" could take it, and they "took advantage of the opportunity to use their power for further accumulation"; "by creating in Chechnya a local administration, Chechen by nationality, tsarism hoped to create at the same time the Chechen 'aristocracy' it so needed"[2]. The empire gave part of the society power and privileges over the rest and bound this layer to itself, not to the people: the handing of offices to the "strong families" is documented; the calculation of growing a loyal "aristocracy" was formulated by the historian N. I. Pokrovsky.