About the book: 2019 / The book, for the first time in Russian science, attempts to analyze the information of Russian and Western travelers about the statehood and law of the countries, regions and peoples of Central Asia in the 18th - early 20th centuries . Diplomats, scientists, intelligence officers, traders, sometimes tourists and even prisoners had the opportunity to observe the functioning of government bodies and the regulation of legal relations in the Central Asian states, often becoming participants in these relations themselves. As part of the study, notes and stories from more than 200 travelers, compiled based on the results of their stay in Central Asia, were analyzed. Systematization of their information made it possible to form a fairly detailed picture of the state structure and legal relations in the Central Asian states and possessions. The book is intended for specialists in the history of state and law, comparative law, legal anthropology, historians of Russia, orientalists, source scholars, political scientists, ethnographers, and can also serve additional material for students studying these specialties.