NEGOTIATED POWER ON THE IMPERIAL FRONTIER: THE KHIVA KHANATE AND RUSSIA DURING THE REIGN OF MUHAMMAD RAHIMKHAN I (1806–1825)

This thesis argues that relations between the Khiva Khanate and the Russian Empire during the reign of Muhammad Rahimkhan I (1806–1825) constituted a consciously regulated system of interaction shaped by strategic calculation rather than imperial inevitability. It is maintained that Khiva was not a passive object of Russian expansion but an active political actor that pursued a policy of selective diplomacy, economic control, and informational management to preserve sovereignty. At the same time, Russian policy toward Khiva is interpreted as cautious, exploratory, and constrained, relying on intelligence gathering, commercial probing, and symbolic diplomacy rather than direct domination. By integrating Western historiography, Russian imperial records, Central Asian narrative traditions, and materials from major archival and museum collections, this study reconsiders early nineteenth-century Russo–Khivan relations as a negotiated frontier relationship marked by agency, restraint, and mutual strategic awareness.