The Caucasus can be compared to a powerful fortress, protected by nature itself, so the Russian struggle to capture it lasted for many decades. This book presents a chronicle of the conquest of the Caucasus from the appearance of the first expeditions at the end of the 17th century to the development of a full-scale war. Unlike the multi-volume work of General Potto, Baddeley managed to somewhat expand the scope of the narrative in one edition, covering the period of the Caucasian war and after the 1830s, describing the confrontation between the Russian army and the murids of Imam Shamil.