The article examines the initial stage of the "Great Game"—the geopolitical rivalry between the British and Russian Empires in Central Asia. This period was characterized by the active expansion of both powers into the region, which led to mounting tensions between them. The article analyzes key events of the decade, including the missions of Alexander Burnes and Ivan Vitkevich to Kabul, the role of the Siege of Herat, and the influence of these factors on the decision to launch the First Anglo-Afghan War. It examines the motives of the parties involved: Russia’s desire to secure its southern borders and expand trade ties, and the British "Forward Policy" aimed at establishing buffer zones. Particular attention is paid to the personal factor in diplomacy and to an analysis of official correspondence between the two countries' foreign policy agencies. Emphasis is placed on the diplomatic struggle for influence in Afghanistan, a country viewed by the British as the "key to India." The study concludes that the diplomatic confrontation of this period laid the groundwork for long-term regional rivalry, defining the respective spheres of Russian and British influence in Asia for decades to come.
the “Big Game”; Afghan question; Anglo-Russian relations; Central Asia; diplomatic mission; the siege of Herat; 19th century geopolitics
1. The Portfolio; or, A Collection of State Papers. Vol. V. London, 1836, PP. 371.
2. Burns, A. Travels into Bokhara: In Three Parts. Part III. Moscow: University Press, 1850. 628 pp.
3. Blaramberg, I. Memoirs. Translated from German by O. I. Zhigalina and E. F. Schmidt. Introductory article by N. A. Khalfin. Moscow: Main Editorial Board of Oriental Literature, Nauka Publishers, 1978. 131 pp.
4. Duhamel, A. O. Autobiography. In: Russkii Arkhiv: Historical and Literary Collection, published at the Chertkov Library. Moscow, 1863–1917, Vol. II, 1885. 176 pp.
5. A Note Compiled from the Accounts of Ensign Vitkevich of the Orenburg Line Battalion No. 10 Concerning His Journey to and from Bukhara, by V. I. Daltma. Custodian: Central State Military Historical Archive (TsGVIA), Ya. 67 A. L. Danzas, File 103, fols. 5–55.
6. Ingle, H. L. Nesselrode and the Rapprochement between Russia and Great Britain, 1836–1844. Berkeley, Los Angeles, and London: University of California Press, 1976. 352 pp.
7. Martens, F. F. A Return to the Traditions of Conventions. In: The United States in Russia and Beyond, Vol. XI. St. Petersburg: Printing House of the Ministry of Railways (A. Benke), 1874–1909, 1898. 504 pp.
8. Metternich, K. Memoirs. Paris: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1881, Vol. IV. 640 pp.
9. Mohan Lal. The Rise of the Kabul Amir Dost Muhammad Khan in His Political Relations with the English, Russian, and Persian Governments. Vol. I. London: Manohar Books, 1846. 446 pp.
10. A History of British Policy, 1783–1922. Vol. II. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1923. 648 pp.
11. Correspondence Relating to Persia and Afghanistan. London, 1839, PP. 396–397.
12. Envoys from Afghanistan to Russia in 1833–1836. Russkaya Starina, 1880, No. 7–8, PP. 784.
13. Correspondence Relating to Persia and Affghanistan. London: Printed by J. Harrison and Son, 1839. 524 pp.
14.Rozhkova, M. K. The Economic Policy of the Tsarist Government in the Middle East in the Second Quarter of the Nineteenth Century. Moscow: Academy of Sciences of the USSR Press, 1949. 390 pp.
15. Soviet Military Encyclopedia. Vol. 3. Moscow: Voenizdat, 1977. 672 pp.
16. Archive of the Foreign Policy of Russia (AVPR). St. Petersburg, Second Main Archive: St. Petersburg (SPb.), Collection 11-3, 1831, File 8, fol. 13; A. Conolly, Journey to the North of India through Russia, Persia, and Afghanistan (London, 1838), Vol. I, PP. 294–295.
17. Archive of the Foreign Policy of Russia, St. Petersburg Collection, Main Archive I-3, 1831, Vol. 8, PP. 1–13.
18. Archive of the Foreign Policy of Russia, St. Petersburg Collection, Main Archive I-1, 1832, File 74, fols. 54–56.
19. Archive of the Foreign Policy of Russia, St. Petersburg Collection, Main Archive I-1, 1836, File 76, fols. 97–98.
20. Archive of the Foreign Policy of Russia, St. Petersburg Collection, Main Archive I-3, 1831, Files 8, 11, 12, 13, 99, 102, 148; 1839, File 2, fol. 1, pp. 189–190; St. Petersburg, Main Archive I-9, 1834, fols. 119–120.
21. Archive of the Foreign Policy of Russia, St. Petersburg Collection, Main Archive I-1, 1836, File 75, fol. 32.
22. Archive of the Foreign Policy of Russia, St. Petersburg Collection, Main Archive I-1, 1835, File 492, fols. 205–210. Asian Committee, October 25, 1835.
23. Archive of the Foreign Policy of Russia, St. Petersburg Collection, Main Archive I-9, 1858, File 25, fol. 159. N. V. Khanykov to E. P. Kovalevsky, Director of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, from Herat, September 23, 1858.
24. Archive of the Foreign Policy of Russia, St. Petersburg Collection, Main Archive I-9, 1837, File 18, fol. 44.
25. Archive of the Foreign Policy of Russia, St. Petersburg Collection, Main Archive I-9, 1839, File 20, fols. 55–56.
26. State Archive of the Orenburg Region, Collection 6, Inventory 7, File 738, fol. 9. Cited from N. A. Khalfin, Russia and the States of Central Asia (First Half of the Nineteenth Century). Moscow, 1974, PP. 248.
27. State Archive of the Orenburg Region, Collection 6. Memorandum by Zvenigorodsky, an official of the Orenburg Customs Office, to the Ministry of Finance concerning the prospects for trade with Afghanistan. Inventory 1, File 142, fols. 45–46 verso.
28. Russian State Military Historical Archive, Collection 400. Letter from V. A. Perovsky, Governor-General of Orenburg, to K. K. Rodofinikin, Director of the Asian Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, dated August 17, 1833. Inventory 1, File 930, fols. 1b–2.