The Acts Collected by the Caucasian Archeographic Commission (AKAK) is one of the most important documentary collections ever published on the history of the Caucasus. Compiled in Tiflis under the editorship of A. P. Berzhe and completed by his successors in the early twentieth century, this monumental work brings together official archives, military reports, administrative correspondence, and diplomatic records of the Russian Empire across thirteen published books. Beyond its thousands of pages of documents, the collection is enriched with engravings depicting the landscapes of the Caucasus, military campaigns, and portraits of the influential figures who shaped the region’s history.

Organized chronologically, AKAK offers readers a unique opportunity to follow the course of Russian expansion into the Caucasus through the records of the empire itself. Each volume focuses on a different period and administration, covering the policies and actions of successive Governors-General and Commanders-in-Chief. From the administrations of Paulucci and Rtishchev to the campaigns of Yermolov, Paskevich, Vorontsov, Muravyov, and Baryatinsky, the collection reveals how imperial rule was established, expanded, and maintained across the region during the nineteenth century.

For anyone seeking to understand the human consequences of the Caucasian War and the Circassian Genocide, AKAK is an indispensable resource. Its pages contain firsthand accounts of military operations, the destruction of villages, forced displacement, and the policies that ultimately led to the mass expulsion of the Circassian people from their ancestral homeland in 1864. What makes these records especially significant is that they were written by the officials and officers who carried out these actions themselves. As a result, AKAK is more than a collection of historical documents—it is a powerful testimony to both the realities of Russian imperial expansion and the resilience and suffering of the indigenous peoples who fought to defend their homeland.