Putimtsev’in Günlüklerinde Kulca
Kulca in the Diaries of Putimtsev

Summary/Abstract: The written materials left by the Russian officials sent to East Turkestan may have subjective aspects, but they are still a source for the history of the region. In 1811, Putimtsev, who was sent by the Russian government to the Ili region in East Turkestan to conduct a reconnaissance, traveled from the Altai Mountains along the border with East Kazakhstan, reaching first the city of Chuguchak and then Kuldja, and during his journey, which lasted 5 months in total, he made detailed notes of his observations about the administrative, geographical, economic and military situation and social life of the region. Putimtsev’s fluency in the language of the region -which his interpreter title may be related to- and his familiarity with the people of the region might be the main reason why he was chosen for this journey. As Russian merchants were forbidden by the Manchu government to trade in the region, Putimtsev disguised himself as a merchant by masquerading as a merchant in Asian clothes. Daily notes Putimtsev made during his journey were strategically crucial for the Russian government’s preparation for a possible future operation to be carried out in East Turkestan lands. Because Putimtsev inspected the environment elaborately with a colonialist approach in this so-called commercial journey. Bearing in mind that the psychoanalytic analysis of the human ambition to possess and dominate matter is a problematic that goes beyond the limits of this text, this study will be limited to drawing a panorama by focusing on the city of Kuldja in the early nineteenth century based on a journey notes with limited content.

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