ETHNOPOLITICAL PICTURE OF ASTRAKHAN ACCORDING TO THE MATERIALS OF THE ''PHYSICAL'' EXPEDITION OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES IN 1768–1774.

Ethno-political processes and the ethnic-confessional image of Astrakhan in the second half of the 18th century have been the subject of several scientific publications and studies, but the problem has not been fully exhausted. In this work, we aim to recreate the most complete and objective picture of the formation of the ethnic and confessional composition of Astrakhan in the second half of the 18th century and the life of its communities based on the materials of the ''physical'' expedition of the Academy of Sciences in 1768–1774, which previously did not often attract the attention of researchers. ''Physical'' expeditions of the 18th century occupy an important place in the activity of the Russian Academy of Sciences. They were one of the main methods to study the territory of the Russian Empire and neighbouring countries to obtain new facts, accumulate ethnographic material, collect museum collections, etc. The methodological basis of the study is the principle of historicism, i.e. an approach to the object under study as changing in time, and objectivity, in which the assessment of events is based on a comprehensive analysis, reliability and informativeness of the historical source. Within the framework of these principles, the study applied the method of source criticism based onarchival and printed material. The study showed that ethnic and confessional processes in Astrakhan were greatly influenced by events of a foreign political, trade and economic nature in the region. Astrakhan was the centre of international trade, linking Europe with Asia, and European mores and traditions quickly seeped into the city, which absorbed a certain amount of foreign elements. However, the author has revealed that each of the city's communities possessed its own identity, and set of traditions and values, simultaneously creating a distinctive ethnocultural landscape of Astrakhan, as an example of interethnic and inter-confessional unity within a multi-ethnic state. Moreover, the main source of population growth in Astrakhan in the 18th century was not natural increase, but migration.