THE ROLE OF MERCHANTS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RUSSIAN TRADE IN THE EAST: THE FORTRESS OF KIZLYAR (the late 18<sup>th</sup> - early 19<sup>th</sup> centuries)
The article analyzes various sources to investigate the role of multilingual Russian merchants in trade promotion in the east in the territory of Dagestan. The article focuses on the significance of principal trading cities in the Northeast Caucasus and the role of the fortress of Kizlyar. To prove her theory, the author provides merchantsʼ itineraries and analyzes the role of merchants in the establishment of trade routes and diplomatic interactions between Russia and some eastern countries. The author highlights that the role of Kizlyar as a transit city in Russia-Iran relations enabled the city to play the same role in Russian trade with some eastern countries. To prove this assertion, the author analyzes the assortment of goods sent through Kizlyar in the process of the transit trade with the countries of the Northeast Caucasus and the South Caucasus. The author maintains that being aware of the importance of trade development in the region, the Russian government patronized eastern merchants. The author underlines that Armenian, Persian, Georgian, Azerbaijan, and other ethnic-minority merchants played an important role in the promotion of commerce in the Northeast Caucasus. The analysis of archival materials shows that there was an increase in the number of Dagestan villages that traded with Kizlyar in the early 19<sup>th</sup> century, which enables the author to conclude that Russian-Caucasian commercial interaction underwent rapid development.