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From article Caucasian War:

expansion of section ' Causes'

Causes
Russian imperial ambitions in the Caucasus date back to the beginning of the 18th century and were inspired by the strategic value of the region in both economic and political terms. Peter the Great sought to expand Russian presence in the South in order to gain control of the major seaports on the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, with the long-term purpose of establishing a commercial route towards India. In 1722, an opportunity to initiate a southward intervention by Russia arose in 1722, when Russian traders were attacked by Dagestani highlanders while trading along the Caspian coast, which was then the domain of the Persian Empire. The Russian expedition ended with the conquest of the fortresses of Derbend in 1722 and Baku in 1723 by Peter the Great, and the surrender of the eastern Caucasus and Caspian seacoasts by Persian forces. The conquest of Derbend, in particular, guaranteed privileged access to one of the principal highroads between Europe and Asia.

After the death of Peter the Great in 1725, active expansion in the Caucasus was suspended until the coronation of Catherine II in 1762. Motivated by a desire to defeat the Ottoman enemy in the long run, the new Empress actively resumed and upgraded plans for the southern expansion by starting with the maintenance and extension of the Cossack Line. The establishment of the fort of Mozdok in 1763 caused further hostilities with the Ottoman Empire that took place between 1768 and 1774 on Caucasian lands, where the Ottomans could count on the support of local Islamic populations. Russian operations in eastern Georgia and Imeretia were first led by the general von Todtleben, later succeeded by general Sukhotin. The end of the war was sealed with the peace treaty of Küçük Kaynarca (1774), which defined the boundary between the Russian and the Ottoman Empires along the Kuban River. The Russian Empire gained in this way effective control of the Black Sea and North-west Caucasus and exploited this position to unofficially consolidate its presence in Crimea. Meanwhile, the Ottoman forces maintained their dominance on Imeretia and eastern Georgia (kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti), the latter still looking to Russia as its main protector.

In 1783, the Treaty of Georgviesk sanctioned the establishment of the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom as an official Russian protectorate due to the growing pressure by the emerging Qajars dynasty in Persian Azerbajan, ultimately triggering hostilities between Russia and Persia. In 1799, eastern Georgia was annexed to the Russian Empire under tsar Paul I (1801-1825) and the Georgian royal house was eventually deposed in 1801 under Alexander I (1801-1825). Under the command of Pavel Tsitianov, imperial governor of the Caucasus military forces, new protectorates were to follow in Mingrelia in 1803, and in Imeretia and Guria in 1804. In the same year Russia conquered the khanate of Ganja, followed by the khanates of Kabarda, Shirvan and Sheki in 1805, and Baku in 1806. These events provoked further conflicts between Russia and Persia (1806-1813), as well as between Russia and the Ottomans (1806-1812), which were respectively terminated by the Treaty of Gulistan and the Treaty of Bucharest, and confirmed Russian sovereignty over a great part of the Caucasus. However, the situation was unstable and much resistance was posed by local populations. An aggressive plan towards the submission of the Caucasus and securing of territorial control was then initiated by Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov, who was appointed Commander in Chief in the Caucasus in 1816.