Trade treaties of Russian and British empires with Yattishar: historical and legal study

Abstract

The relations of the Russia and Britain with the self-declared state of Yettishar was a striking example of different approaches of two empires to the states and peoples of the Central Asian regions within so called Great Game, i.e. Russo-English rivalry in the 19th c. The trade treaties of Yattishar with the Russian Empire of 1872 and with the British Empire in 1874 became a legal reflection of these approaches and are of great interest within the context of the historical experience of the legal status of unrecognized states and positions of the rival world powers towards such states. The purpose of the article is a historical-legal analysis of above-mentioned treaties and comparative-legal analysis of them with the similar treaties signed by Russia and England with other Central Asian states during the same period. Author attempts to clarify if treaties of 1872 and 1874 confirmed recognition by both empires of Yettishar as a subject of international relations and how these legal documents reflected confrontation of Russia and England in the region. The study is mainly based on the formal-legal, historical legal and comparative-legal methods. Also author used the methods of legal anthropology and general history. The results of the research to a certain extant correlate with modern approaches in the policy of Russian and western powers in Central Asia in terms of political situation in the region as well as political, legal and cultural traditions of Central Asian states and peoples.

Keywords

• yattishar (kashgharia)
• russian empire
• british empire
• the great game
• international treaties of commerce