Princes Urakovy in the History of Russia: The Story of One Falsification
Throughout history, a gradual renewal of the elites took place in the Russian state, including the successful adaptation of the multiethnic nobility. People from the East have always enjoyed a high status in Russia. In the case of conversion to Orthodoxy, the children and grandchildren of “natural” sovereigns and heads of tribal associations were successfully incorporated into the Russian nobility. However, over time, the situation began to change towards the gradual “devaluation” of such nobility. It was reflectednot only in a significant reduction of their income, but also in facilitating the evidence provision of their rights to princely dignity. This problem has not been analysed in historiography yet. The article is devoted to the history of one of these families - the Nogai descendants of the Urakov princes. Based on a critical analysis of the nobility case initiated by one of the representatives of the family at the beginning of the 19th century, the article concludes that most of the Urakov princes did not in fact have the right to princely dignity and did not belong to this dynasty. The documents they provided were falsified.