On the Question of Studying, Preservation and Popularization of Fortification Sites of the Southern Middle Volga Region Borderland of the Late XVI – Early XVIII Centuries

Abstract

This paper presents the results of the study of the field fortification formation in the Southern Middle Volga and adjacent territories of the Lower Volga region at the end of the XVI – 30s of the XVIII century. In this area an integral system of defensive structures was created during this period, which provided conditions for its agricultural and commercial development. In recent years, the interest of historians in the study of this issue has grown significantly, its source base has expanded. It has allowed to change significantly the ideas about the military fortification system of the Southern Middle Volga region. It became possible to identify the main stages of its formation, to consider the peculiarities of each of them, starting from the creation of Zasechnaya lines in the late XVI – early XVII centuries and ending with the construction of extended fortified lines in the Volga region in 1730. It is concluded that at each of these stages, the regional field fortification was formed in close connection with similar processes taking place in the European part of Russia as a whole. The author presents the evolution of the Russian model of field military architecture over a longitudinal period. The strong Western European influence on it, manifested during the construction of the Ukrainian and New Zakamskaya lines, was particularly noted. A concrete study of this topic allows us to assert that the fortification art sites, preserved in the Southern Middle Volga region, are of particular importance for preserving the historical memory of the population of the region, the formation of its historical and cultural identity.

Keywords

• archaeology
• southern middle volga region
• fortification
• zasechnaya lines
• western european influence
• outposts
• garrisons
• peter i
• g.s. kropotov
• trans-volga region