The Everyday Life of Dagestan Women. The Caucasian War and Sociocultural Changes of the 19th Century

The Caucasian War had a huge impact not only on the political fate of the region but also on the daily lives of its peoples. In her book, Oksana Mutieva explores the influence of this conflict on the family and social life of Dagestani women. How did their habits and behaviors change during the Caucasian War, along with their personal, social, and legal status? For what purpose and in what forms did women participate in military actions? How were their conditions affected by the all-Russian reforms of the mid and late 19th century? Drawing on a wide variety of materials – from legal acts and ego-documents to folklore and local press – the author investigates the experiences of local women who were forced to adapt to the acute political and military crisis in the region. The heroines of this book include ordinary Dagestani women, representatives of families from the Caucasian administration, and the wives of military and government officials who, by the will of fate, became participants in those events. Oksana Mutieva is a Doctor of Historical Sciences and a professor at the Department of Domestic History of Dagestan State University.