By Royal Authority (Investigation Data, Concerning Mines Theft in Fort Navaginsky of the Black Sea Coastal Frontier. 1851)

The article, basing on archive data, considers one of the most celebrated criminal cases, controlled by the Russian Emperor Nicholas I during the Caucasian War. It is concerned with the divulgence of state military secret – new types of the defensive arms, namely galvanic cell mines. The state secret was divulged in Fort Navaginsky of the Black Sea coastal frontier in summer, 1851. The article reconstructs the crime, attaching special attention to the daily life of the fort, difficulties of the garrison life, shows reasons for social misconduct of some servicemen, describes relations between Russian administration and mountain tribes, particularly with Ubykhs