During the military-political events in the Caucasus, the Russian military administration took a series of measures which was designed to adapt the Muslim region for integration into the Russian Empire. The interaction of Russian officials with Muslim theologians in the region, as well as attempts to influence the strictly regulated by the canons of Islam life of the mountain society through religious policy is considered against the backdrop of the confrontation of the empire with the statehood of the mountaineers of Chechnya and Nagorno-Dagestan - the imamate based on a wide range of historical sources.