The Kuban campaigns (1736–1739) were a series of coordinated military operations conducted during the Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739) in the North Caucasus and the Kuban. They involved Russian imperial forces, Kalmyk contingents under Donduk-Ombo, and allied Cossack and Kabardian detachments acting against the Nogai hordes and Crimean-Tatar-aligned groups in the steppe frontier.
The campaigns formed part of Russia’s broader strategy to secure its southern borders and weaken Ottoman and Crimean influence in the North Caucasus. Fighting took place across the Kuban basin, including river valleys such as the Kuban, Laba, Yeya, and adjacent steppe zones. The operations were characterized by large-scale mobile warfare, shifting alliances among regional powers, and repeated incursions into Nogai-controlled territories.
By the end of the campaigns, significant portions of the Kuban steppe population had been displaced or subordinated, and Russian influence in the region was strengthened, although control remained contested in the broader frontier zone.
Background Following the unsuccessful Pruth campaign of 1711, which ended with the signing of a peace treaty unfavorable to Russia, Peter the Great was forced to cede to the Ottoman Empire the territories previously conquered during the Azov campaigns of 1695–1696, including the fortresses of Azov and Taganrog. Peter I almost immediately began preparations for a new war, but his death led to these plans being postponed. The Russo-Turkish War (1735–1739) was the result of Russia's prolonged expansion into the southwestern lands. Russia officially declared war on the Ottoman Empire on April 12, 1736, but by that time the Russian army had already been besieging the fortress of Azov since March. A work by H. G. Manstein indicates that the St. Petersburg court in 1736 was not content with merely attacking the Porte in Crimea and besieging Azov; it also sought to subdue the Kuban Nogais, and to this end ordered Donduk-Ombo to attack them.
According to the study by K. P. Shovunov, Essays on the Military History of the Kalmyks (17th–19th Centuries), based on archival materials, during the four years of the war Donduk-Ombo annually formed an army of up to 40,000 men. However, this figure may be somewhat overstated, as it contradicts the demographic capabilities of the Kalmyk Khanate: according to generally accepted estimates, in 1733 the total number of kibitkas in the khanate did not exceed 55,000. The actual conscription and formation of units among the Kalmyks took place in the following manner: in the uluses this was carried out by taishis, in the aimaks by zaisangs, and in the khotons by akhaa (elders). In the works of U. B. Ochirov, it is noted that the formation of military contingents among the Kalmyks was generally carried out under the leadership of the khan, who determined their internal structure, command staff, armament, and other key aspects of organization. It can be assumed that during the reign of Donduk-Ombo, rules already existed that were later enshrined in the “laws of Donduk-Dashi,” including strict discipline and fines for failure to appear for campaign or unauthorized withdrawal. The army retained the traditional decimal system (tens, hundreds, and thousands), where command was exercised by noins (large detachments) and zaisangs (hundreds and thousands), while units of ten were led by commoners.
The Kalmyks were mobilized according to the kibitka principle: one equipped warrior was sent from every two or three kibitkas, while the remaining men supported the families of those who had gone on campaign. They fought in rotation, and even those incapable of service (such as the blind or disabled) were required to provide a substitute. On March 28, 1736, the Kalmyk ruler Donduk-Ombo received an imperial charter demanding a military contingent. He equipped 3,000 men and sent them to the troops of Lieutenant General A. I. Rumyantsev. Following this, a new letter was sent to Donduk-Ombo on March 29. In it, the Astrakhan governor I. P. Izmailov reported that, on the orders of Empress Anna Ioannovna, Donduk-Ombo was required to lead a campaign against the Kuban with his entire army.
In the spring of 1736, the Kalmyk army prepared to advance into the Kuban. However, in accordance with the Kalmyk–Crimean treaty, Donduk-Ombo first issued an official declaration of war to the Kuban Nogais, which effectively served as a warning of the impending invasion. According to information received in Tsaritsyn, during the winter of 1735–1736, and even before the campaign, Donduk-Ombo repeatedly sent envoys to the Kuban Nogais with this announcement. Many Kuban inhabitants followed this advice, which, according to eyewitnesses, allowed them to avoid major losses during the spring Kalmyk invasion. Donduk-Ombo's formal declaration of war was delivered to the Kuban by the Crimean Tatar Tugul Darkhan, accompanied by six Kalmyks. The message was delivered specifically to the Nogai tribe of Hatay-Kipchak. Its main content was a warning about the outbreak of the Russo-Turkish War and the impending Kalmyk campaign. Since Russian troops had not yet arrived, Donduk-Ombo advised the Kuban population to flee as quickly as possible. This action was consistent with Kalmyk foreign policy traditions of the time. As early as 1711, on the eve of the Russo-Turkish War (1710–1711), the Kalmyk Khan Ayuka informed the Astrakhan Oberkommandant M. I. Chirikov of the existence of a Kalmyk–Crimean peace agreement. However, in the event of a Russo-Turkish war, this treaty was to be terminated by mutual consent.
Campaigns First campaign On April 12, 1736, Russia officially declared war on the Ottoman Empire, although Russian troops had already begun the siege of the Turkish fortress of Azov in March. The Kalmyk army set out on April 3, and, as Khansha Jan reported in a letter, the Kalmyks traversed the distance from the Lake Sarpa to the Kuban in exactly 21 days. He also reported that, despite the defensive measures taken by the Kuban rulers Batura Azamat San-Mirza, Arslan-Mirza, and others, Donduk-Ombo managed to defeat them completely and take their wives and children captive.
According to other information obtained from the Kalmyk uluses, the first military clash between the Kalmyks and the Kuban forces occurred in the upper reaches of the Orpa River, located 100 miles from the Kuban. There, in a forested area, the Kalmyks discovered and defeated a Kuban Nogai ulus numbering 3,000 wagons. All the mirzas and the male population of this ulus were killed, and 10,000 women and children were captured. P. G. Butkov's Materials reports that the first to suffer from Donduk-Ombo's army were the Nogai tribe of Navruz-ulu, numbering 5,000 wagons. These Kuban Nogais failed to escape the Kalmyks in time and, in the area between the Kuban and Orpa rivers, constructed a fortification consisting of three rows of carts and oxen. Remaining near the Kuban, Donduk-Ombo sent his son, Galdan-Normo, at the head of a 20,000-strong force against the Nogai camp. The Kalmyks were forced to storm it, attacking on foot from all sides. Despite losses, the Nogai camp was completely destroyed, and all its male defenders were killed, including Batyr-Azamat, described as “a nobleman of the entire Kuban Horde,” along with 23 mirzas. Nogai losses amounted to 6,000 people, while 421 were killed and 783 wounded on the Kalmyk side.
After the initial clash, Donduk-Ombo stationed his main force of 22,000 men in the upper reaches of the Yegorlyk River, near the Kuban, where he allowed his troops to rest after the long march and awaited the arrival of 4,000 Don Cossacks led by Ivan Krasnoshchekov, as well as Kabardian rulers with their forces. According to the plan, they were to join forces, cross the Kuban, and invade the main territory of the Kuban Horde. Some Kuban mirzas, such as Bek-Ulu-Mus and Kara-Ulu-Mus, having learned of the arrival of the Kalmyk army, took up positions in the upper reaches of the Indzhik River. However, they hastened to send envoys to Donduk-Ombo, agreeing to accept Russian allegiance. The Kalmyk ruler sent representatives to these mirzas with the condition that they avoid the devastation of their uluses by immediately submitting to the Empress's rule.
During a period of rest, reconnaissance units reported that four Nogai uluses of the Saltan-Ulu tribe, numbering approximately 30,000 wagons, were located 160 versts from the Kalmyk camp. Donduk-Ombo immediately decided to advance in that direction. Having fortified themselves in an inaccessible position, the Nogais refused to engage in negotiations. Their strong defensive position forced the Kalmyks into a protracted siege. The arrival on May 20 of Don and Terek Cossacks led by the military elder Ivan Krasnoshchekov, together with a 2,000-strong Kabardian detachment led by Aslanbech the Red-Mustached, Bemat Kurghoqo, and Qasey Hatokhshoqo, dramatically changed the situation, and the combined forces went on the offensive. During continuous attacks, on the 37th day of the siege, the Kuban mirzas were forced to negotiate, agreeing to accept Russian allegiance. Two hundred Nogai mirzas from four families, along with their sultan, signed a written oath of allegiance and gave their sons as hostages. The mirzas also received assurances from the Russian side that after the war they would remain under Russian protection and would not be handed over to the Ottomans. The Nogai rulers were ordered to migrate to the regions along the Terek River, Malka, and Kuma rivers, near the Russian frontier, where they immediately began to move.
According to Donduk-Ombo, he took four individuals from four Nogai families as hostages and handed them over to Danila Efremov. These Nogais also pledged to migrate to Kabardia and pay tribute to Donduk-Ombo, as they had previously paid to his grandfather, Ayuka Khan. Despite this success, not all Kuban Nogais were subdued, and Empress Anna Ioannovna ordered the continuation of the campaign. The southward advance of Donduk-Ombo's army led to the Nogai tribe of Kazbulat-Ulu surrendering without resistance. Only after this did the Kalmyks return to their uluses.
Aftermath When the Russian army besieging Azov received news of the successful actions of the Kalmyks, Kabardians, and Cossacks in the Kuban in May, it sparked general rejoicing among the troops. Field Marshal P. P. Lassi reported in his Journal of Military Operations during the Siege of the Azov Fortress that he learned of the victory on May 7, during which 30,000 “nomadic Tatars” were killed and up to 10,000 captured. According to P. G. Butkov, in total about 20,000 women and children were taken prisoner by the Kalmyks.
This news had a demoralizing effect on the defenders of the Turkish fortress and deprived them of their last hope of assistance from the Kuban Nogais. On June 19, the Azov pasha surrendered the fortress to Field Marshal P. P. Lassi. As a result of the Kalmyk spring campaign, the Russian army's Azov operation was crowned with success. St. Petersburg highly praised the Kalmyks' military contribution at the beginning of the campaign and commended their “notable actions against the Kuban people.” Empress Anna Ioannovna, by a decree of August 11, ordered that Donduk-Ombo receive annually, for life, an additional 2,500 rubles and 1,000 quarters of rye flour, in addition to his previous salary. Other Kalmyk nobles also received annual allowances: Dorji Nazarov and his children received 600 rubles; Bokshurga, Galdan-Normo, and Cheter received 300 rubles; Solom-Dorji received 200 rubles; and Lekbey, Serbet, and Batu received 100 rubles each.