Military Engineering Development of the North-East Caucasus in the First Half of the 19th Century: Landscape Transformation and Socio-Cultural Consequences

The article examines the military engineering activities of the Russian Empire in the North-Eastern Caucasus in the first half of the 19th century and its impact on the natural and geographical landscape of the region, the processes of state acculturation and the formation of historical memory in the region through landscape transformations. Based on archival documents and literature, the scale and nature of fortification construction on the left flank of the Caucasian cordon line are developed, including the construction of fortresses, clearing of clearings, laying roads, and regulation of river beds. It is shown that landscape transformations were accompanied by a transformation of economic practices, socio-cultural interactions between the empire and local peoples. Military facilities and altered natural spaces act as markers of the imperial presence in the region, entrenched in the collective memory of local peoples.