Caucasian Viceroy and Regional Elites, 1845–1854: Patronage and Arbitration

This article examines the mechanisms of interaction between Prince Mikhail Vorontsov, the first Caucasian Viceroy, and the regional elites of Transcaucasia between 1845 and 1854. It analyses the imperial strategy, which combined patronage – through awards, appointments, and personal connections – with the Viceroy’s arbitration in disputes between different elite groups and/or the Russian administration. The study focuses on Vorontsov’s relations with three principal elite groups: the Georgian nobility, the Armenian merchant class, and the Muslim aristocracy. It demonstrates that the Viceroy pursued a flexible ethnopolitical strategy, accommodating the interests of these groups while managing their competition with one another. Patronage of influential aristocratic families and leading entrepreneurs formed an important part of his policy, as illustrated by the Georgian princely family of Orbeliani and the prominent Armenian merchant Ivan Mirzoev. The research is based on an extensive range of archival materials, including documents from the Central Historical Archives of Georgia that are introduced here for the first time. The article argues that Vorontsov’s approach contributed to the temporary stabilisation of the region, though its long-term effectiveness was limited. It challenges the explanatory weight given in existing historiography to the concepts of the “colonial elite” and “middlemen”. Vorontsov’s policy sought the full integration of regional elites into the wider social space of the Russian Empire, with many members of the traditional Transcaucasian aristocracy achieving distinguished careers in the imperial centre. The evidence suggests that the role of “intermediaries” was not decisive, their functions being largely confined to maintaining the technical operation of imperial administrative institutions.