THE IMAGE OF AFGHANS IN THE TRAVEL NOTES OF N.I. GRODEKOV IN THE LAST THIRD OF THE 19TH CENTURY

Nasrulla Atik Nakibullaevich

The article is devoted to the analysis of the travel notes of the Russian military man N.I. Grodekov, who goes to Russia on vacation through the lands of Afghanistan. During his journey, he forms a rather interesting idea of the Afghans and their attitude towards Russia. The source is of great interest for understanding the political subtext of the events of the last third of the 19th century, and also contains information of ethnographic value. The source introduces some of the rituals of the Afghans, the attitude of various Asian peoples, primarily the Uzbeks, towards the Afghans, and also allows us to agree with the hypothesis of Grodekov's biographers that this journey was of an intelligence nature, given that all this is happening against the backdrop of a major geopolitical game between Great Britain and Russia for strengthening their positions in Asia.

Keywords:travel notes, Afghans, customs, army, N.I. Grodekov