Papkov A. I. The Dnieper-Don Forest-steppe as an Ethno-contact Zone: Russia, the Crimean Khanate and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth // TRACTUS AEVORUM 1(2). Fall 2014. - P. 213-233
This article deals with the process of Russian territorial expansion to the south in the sixteenth century. It analyzes the conflict between Russia, the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Crimean Khanate in the struggle for domination of the Dnieper-Don forest-steppe. The author concludes that this competition resulted not only in the annexation of certain territories by these countries, but also in their gaining valuable experience in interacting with interstate and borderland populations. At the same time, local inhabitants of Russia and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in these contested territories had to develop effective mechanisms of coexistence.
