THE BASHKIR FACTOR IN THE E.I. PUGACHYOV REBELLION: SOURCE CRITICISM AND THE EVOLUTION OF HISTORIOGRAPHY

This research investigates the "Bashkir factor" during the Peasant War (1773–1775) through the lens of newly analyzed Senate and regional administrative records. The study provides a comparative-critical analysis of punitive expedition reports and economic-geographic surveys of the Southern Urals. The evolution of historiography is examined from a socio-anthropological perspective, uncovering the ethno-confessional dimensions of the uprising. The findings establish new academic trajectories for objectively assessing the nature of regional national liberation movements.