Abstract:
The article analyses the scientific researches, which are related to the study of the role of Central Asia in the
formation of the Tsarist Empire. The XIX century entered world history as a period and stage when the views
of European political figures, scientific researchers, entrepreneurs and the military were riveted to previously
unknown and inaccessible corners of Asia. Furthermore, the general worldviews of foreign and Russian scientists
of the XIX century were also analyzed. Particular attention was paid to the study of natural conditions,
history, ethnography, religion and culture of the peoples of Central Asia. The authors singled out and analyzed
the scientific work of 1885 by the well-known researcher Henry Lansdell «Russian Central Asia» as
one of the primary sources in a broad historical and socio-cultural context.
