The documents published in this collection shed light on the events of a difficult international situation in the first half of the 19th century. These events are mainly related to the 25-year war of the mountain peoples of the Caucasus against Russia under the leadership of Shamil. This war was regarded in old literature as the heroic struggle of the mountain peoples of the Caucasus against Russia for liberation and national independence, and Shamil's activities as the exploits of a national hero. This opinion was previously held by some Soviet historians, and it especially continues to be supported by Western, mainly English, historians. From the published documents it is clear that the war of mountain peoples with Russia under the leadership of Shamil was a reactionary war, which aimed at the forced conversion of non-Muslim peoples of the Caucasus to Islam and the complete economic, national and spiritual enslavement of all peoples and peoples of the Caucasus. One of the main features of this war is that it was constantly supported by Sultan Turkey, whose aggressive goal was fanned by the pan-Islamist ideology of Muridism. This actually distinguishes this warrior from the previous Russian-Turkish wars...