The merchant class was considered one of the privileged classes of the Russian Empire and played an important role in the development of society. Interest in the history of entrepreneurship in general and the activities of individual ethnic and religious groups of the Russian Empire, in particular, increased in domestic historiography at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The merchant class of the city of Bakhchisarai is one of the little-studied topics. The purpose of this study is to analyze materials from archival funds that highlight the economic and social activities of the Crimean Tatar merchants of Bakhchisarai in the last quarter of the 19th - early 20th centuries. This information is reflected in the materials of city government bodies - the City Duma, the Council, which are stored in the State Archive of the Republic of Crimea. The dynamics of the number of this class from the end of the 18th century to the last quarter of the 19th century is demonstrated, based on statistical data. The article also examines the main areas of public activity, relationships with local authorities, such as participation as members of the Bakhchisarai Duma, in court hearings as jurors, and in elections of members of zemstvo institutions. The author comes to the conclusion that Crimean Tatars merchants being wealthy people, gradually integrated into the class structure of the Russian state during this period. They took an active part in the economic and social life of the city, expanded the network of commercial and industrial establishments, and were engaged in patronage being assigned to the 2nd merchant guild.

The merchant class was considered one of the privileged classes of the Russian Empire and played an important role in the development of society. Interest in the history of entrepreneurship in general and the activities of individual ethnic and religious groups of the Russian Empire, in particular, increased in domestic historiography at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. The merchant class of the city of Bakhchisarai is one of the little-studied topics. The purpose of this study is to analyze materials from archival funds that highlight the economic and social activities of the Crimean Tatar merchants of Bakhchisarai in the last quarter of the 19th - early 20th centuries. This information is reflected in the materials of city government bodies - the City Duma, the Council, which are stored in the State Archive of the Republic of Crimea. The dynamics of the number of this class from the end of the 18th century to the last quarter of the 19th century is demonstrated, based on statistical data. The article also examines the main areas of public activity, relationships with local authorities, such as participation as members of the Bakhchisarai Duma, in court hearings as jurors, and in elections of members of zemstvo institutions. The author comes to the conclusion that Crimean Tatars merchants being wealthy people, gradually integrated into the class structure of the Russian state during this period. They took an active part in the economic and social life of the city, expanded the network of commercial and industrial establishments, and were engaged in patronage being assigned to the 2nd merchant guild.