in the campaign “Land plunder: the colonial repartition of land, land hunger and Cossack colonization of the Terek oblast (1860-1917)”
By the viceroy's authorization of 6 April 1867, writes historian Z. Kh. Ibragimova, "8674 desiatinas were given out into private ownership, for services, to influential local people of Chechnya" (a desiatina is a little over a hectare); 57 Chechens received it, and Ibragimova names the viceroy in the Caucasus, Baryatinsky, as the initiator of the handouts[1]; the largest allotments went to the Chechen ruling families - the Taymazovs (6550 desiatinas), the Bekovich-Cherkasskys (over 6350), the Turlovs, the Eldarovs; land was also handed out to Russian officers - "Colonel Ippolitov received more than 1 thousand desiatinas of land in the Argun okrug"[2]. The hierarchy of the handouts followed estate lines: to the largest highland owners - "from 1 to 5 thousand desiatinas, depending 'on the degree of significance and the services rendered by each to the government'", to persons of the second category (the highland notability, the first being Russian nobles) - up to 1 thousand[1]. Land also paid the lower administration: "village elders received five shares each of arable and hay lands"[2], aul secretaries - up to 75 desiatinas[3].