V monografii rassmatrivaetsya sotsial'no-ekonomicheskaya zhizn' naseleniya Pamira i Alaya v trudakh rossiyskikh puteshestvennikov i issledovateley vtoroy poloviny XIX v. V dannoy monografii v pervye dany analiz kharakter i tseli ekspeditsii rossiyskikh puteshestvennikov. V nauchnyy oborot vvoditsya mnozhestvo novykh arkhivno-dokumental'nykh materialov, vyyavlennykh avtorami v arkhivakh i bibliotekakh g. Bishkeka, Tashkenta i Peterburga. Monografiya adresovana istorikam i vsem tem,kto interesuetsya istoriy Sredney Azii.