Польские пленники северокавказских горцев в первой половине XIX в.

The work reveals the circumstances of the appearance of the Poles in the North Caucasus and their stay in the captivity of the highlanders. The reasons for this phenomenon and the attitude of the Russian administration to the practice of the slave trade are shown. The article describes the fate of those people who were able to free themselves and find salvation in the Russian fortifications. It is suggested that, having experienced slavery, the former slaves changed their appraisal of the Russian state which, in this situation, was their protector and liberator. In the research, for the first time, the material identified in the State Archives of the Stavropol Region of the Russian Federation is introduced into scientific circulation.