URBANIZED VILLAGES IN THE EASTERN CAUCASUS IN THE XIX - BEGINNING OF THE XX CENTURY (ON THE MATERIALS OF DAGESTAN)
The article examines the process of the emergence and development of large settlements in Dagestan with the functions of cities. It is noted that the processes of urbanization did not take place in all of Dagestan, but where small settlements merged into large ones. According to the author, the process of uniting and separating villages, depending on different circumstances: historical, economic, associated with epidemics, was repeated. The article argues that the villages - "cities" of Dagestan were not cities in the full sense of the word. At the same time, they performed a number of functions of cities: they were the centers of the economic, political and cultural life of the surrounding villages, the population of which called them "shekher" - the city. The author of the article notes that the mentality of the inhabitants of urbanized villages was different than in other villages. It is shown how the secular intelligentsia of Dagestan was formed from representatives of villages - "cities".