North Caucasian nobility leaders in the 1860s-1900s

Based on a wide range of archival sources, the research described public and educational activities of the North Caucasian nobility leaders. The author noted that the Nobility Assembly was headed by Colonel Dionisy Mikhailovich Serdakovsky (1862-1875), Lieutenant General Ivan Diomidovich Popko (1875-1893), Court Counselor Konstantin Aleksandrovich Roslyakov (1893-1896), Major General Pavel Aleksandrovich Machkanin (1896-1904). The main milestones in their biography demonstrated that they were involved in hostilities and became famous for their impeccable service to the state. The leaders of the Nobility Assembly were comprehensively educated, politically active and made a significant contribution to the development of social thought. I.D. Popko was engaged in scientific research, showed a deep interest in the history of his native land, and published a number of works on the history of the Cossacks. He was involved in educational activities; in 1869, I.D. Popko was appointed as a chairman of the commission on the arrangement of Stavropol Cossack Junker School in the city. He developed the regulations of this military school as well. In the late 19th century, the activity of the noble society became more dynamic. P.A. Machkanin became a noble leader, participated in the Special Meeting on the Nobility Affairs in 1897, and proposed a project to strengthen the position of noblemen in society. The author reviewed daily activities of nobility leaders associated with the class needs in Stavropol province, Terek and Kuban regions. They kept genealogical books, were the custodians of the noble capital and were responsible for their proper use. They headed up such institutions as the Nobility Assembly and Nobility Guardianship as well. It was concluded that the social activity of the nobility leaders contributed to the consolidation of the noblemen, the preservation of the noble culture based on the idea about the high purpose of the noble class regarding the duty and service to the Fatherland as the priority and spiritual values.