magistrate

Caretakers were established in 1779 as “protectors” of settlers. They were mentioned in Nakhchivan only in 1784 (in 1782–1783 – the town governor). Newly appointed by the magistrate in 1837, two custodians functioned until 1844, and their functions were transferred back to the magistrate’s assessors. In 1780, four custodians were appointed in the villages. They, as lower police officers, acting according to the “Instruction” received from the magistrate, existed until the reforms of the 1860s.

The report of Senator Zhemchuzhnikov on the results of the audit of the Nakhichevan district in 1844 contains significant materials on the organization and activities of the self-government bodies of the Armenian colony in the Lower Don Region, formed in 1779 by Armenian immigrants from the Crimea. The duties of the mayor were not determined either by law or public sentence, and therefore the limits of his power depended on personal qualities and on the respect that he commanded in the district.