The authors of the articles included in the collection focused on the analysis of the conceptual achievements of recent years, which carry a positive charge that can help overcome historiographic dead ends. In these concepts, the Caucasian war is considered not as a field of a classic armed clash, but as a space of complex and largely fruitful interaction of people representing different cultures, ideas, traditions and skills. A new stage in understanding the events of the Caucasian War is associated with the departure of representatives of various scientific schools from fierce intellectual historiographic duels, and the recognition of the need to understand mutual respect for the creative searches of their colleagues.