Russian Caucasian wars. Caucasian war

During the years of the first Chechen war, the author of this book, General Kulikov, was the commander-in-chief of the united group of federal troops in the North Caucasus and the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. But this book is not just a memoir, more than the personal experience of one of the most knowledgeable participants in the tragedy. This is a complete encyclopedia of all Caucasian wars from the 18th century to the present day. From the campaigns of Peter the Great, the exploits of the "Catherine Eagles" and the voluntary annexation of Georgia to the victories of Yermolov, the surrender of Shamil and the exodus of the Circassians, from the Civil War and Stalin's deportations to both Chechen campaigns, forcing Tbilisi to peace and the latest counter-terrorist operations - you will find in this book not only comprehensive information about the hostilities in the Caucasus, but also a guide to the "Caucasian labyrinth", in which we still wander. It is estimated that since 1722, Russia has fought here for a total of more than a century, so this endless war was not called the “Hundred Years” for nothing. It is not finished to this day. “For 20 years, there has been a “Caucasian syndrome” in the minds of the Russian people. Hundreds of thousands of "refugees" from the once fertile land flooded our cities, "privatized" industrial facilities, retail outlets, markets. It's no secret that today in Russia the vast majority of immigrants from the Caucasus live much better than the Russians themselves, and high in the mountains and remote villages, new generations of people are growing up who are hostile to Russia. The Caucasian labyrinth has not been completed to the end even today. But every maze has a way out. You just need to show intelligence and patience to find it ... "

A series: All Russian wars

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by the LitRes company.

Russia's first war in the Caucasus

Caucasian region at the beginning of the 18th century

The Caucasus, or, as it was customary to call this region in past centuries, the "Caucasian Territory", in the 18th century, geographically was a space located between the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas. It is crossed diagonally by the Greater Caucasus mountain range starting at the Black Sea and ending at the Caspian Sea. Mountain spurs occupy more than 2/3 of the territory of the Caucasus region. Elbrus (5642 m), Dykh-Tau (Dykhtau - 5203 m) and Kazbek (5033 m) were considered the main peaks of the Caucasus Mountains in the 18th–19th centuries, today another peak, Shkhara, also having a height of 5203 m, has added to their list. Geographically, the Caucasus consists of Ciscaucasia, the Greater Caucasus and Transcaucasia.

Both the nature of the terrain and the climatic conditions within the Caucasian region are extremely diverse. It was these features that most directly affected the formation and ethnographic life of the peoples living in the Caucasus.

The diversity of climate, nature, ethnography and the historical development of the region formed the basis for its division into natural components in the 18th-19th centuries. These are the Transcaucasus, the northern part of the Caucasian region (Caucasus) and Dagestan.

For a more correct and objective understanding of the events in the Caucasus in past centuries, it is important to represent the characteristic features of the population of this region, the most important of which are: the heterogeneity and diversity of the population; the diversity of ethnographic life, various forms of social organization and socio-cultural development, the diversity of beliefs. There are several reasons for this phenomenon.

One of them was that the Caucasus, located between North-Western Asia and South-Eastern Europe, was geographically located on the routes (two main routes of movement - northern or steppe and southern or Asia Minor) of the movement of peoples from Central Asia (Great Migration of Peoples) .

Another reason is that many states, neighboring the Caucasus, during their heyday tried to spread and assert their dominion in this region. Thus, the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Turks acted from the west, Persians, Arabians from the south, Mongols and Russians from the north. As a result, the inhabitants of the plains and accessible parts of the Caucasus Mountains constantly mixed with new peoples and changed their rulers. Recalcitrant tribes retreated to hard-to-reach mountainous regions and defended their independence for centuries. Militant mountain tribes were formed from them. Some of these tribes united with each other due to common interests, while many retained their originality, and finally, some tribes, due to different historical fates, became divided and lost all connection with each other. For this reason, in the mountainous regions it was possible to observe the phenomenon when the inhabitants of the two nearest villages differed significantly both in appearance, and in language, and in manners, and in customs.

The next reason is closely related to this - the tribes, driven into the mountains, settled in isolated gorges and gradually lost their relationship with each other. The division into separate societies was explained by the severity and wildness of nature, its inaccessibility and the isolation of mountain valleys. This seclusion and isolation are obviously one of the main reasons why people from the same tribe live different lives, have different customs and habits, and even speak dialects that are often difficult to understand by neighbors of the same tribe.

In accordance with ethnographic studies carried out by 19th-century scientists Shagren, Shifner, Brosse, Rosen, and others, the population of the Caucasus was divided into three categories. The first included the Indo-European race: Armenians, Georgians, Mingrelians, Gurians, Svanets, Kurds, Ossetians and Talyshians. To the second - the Turkic race: Kumyks, Nogais, Karachays and other mountaineer communities occupying the middle of the northern slope of the Caucasus Range, as well as all the Transcaucasian Tatars. And finally, the third included tribes of unknown races: Adyghe (Circassians), Nakhche (Chechens), Ubykhs, Abkhazians and Lezgins. The Indo-European race made up the majority of the population of Transcaucasia. These were Georgians and Imeretians of the same tribe, Mingrelians, Gurians, as well as Armenians and Tatars. Georgians and Armenians were at a higher level of social development in comparison with other peoples and tribes of the Caucasus. They, despite all the persecution from their neighboring strong Muslim states, were able to preserve their nationality and religion (Christianity), and the Georgians, in addition, their identity. Mountain tribes lived in the mountainous regions of Kakhetia: Svanets, Tushins, Pshavs and Khevsurs.

Khevsurian warriors of the second half of the 19th century.

Transcaucasian Tatars made up the bulk of the population in the khanates subject to Persia. All of them professed the Muslim faith. In addition, Kurtins (Kurds) and Abkhazians lived in Transcaucasia. The first were a militant nomadic tribe, partly occupying the territory bordering with Persia and Turkey. The Abkhazians are a small tribe, representing a separate possession on the Black Sea coast north of Mingrelia and bordering on the Circassian tribes.

The population of the northern part of the Caucasus region had an even wider spectrum. Both slopes of the Main Caucasian Range west of Elbrus were occupied by mountain peoples. The most numerous people were the Circassians (in their language it means - island) or, as they were commonly called, Circassians. The Circassians were distinguished by their beautiful appearance, good mental abilities and indomitable courage. The social structure of the Circassians, like most other highlanders, can most likely be attributed to democratic forms of coexistence. Although at the heart of Circassian society there were aristocratic elements, but their privileged estates did not enjoy any special rights.

The people of the Circassians (Circassians) were represented by numerous tribes. The most significant of them were the Abadzekhs, who occupied the entire northern slope of the Main Range, between the upper reaches of the Laba and Sups rivers, as well as the Shapsugs and Natukhians. The latter lived to the west, along both slopes of the ridge up to the mouth of the Kuban. The rest of the Circassian tribes, who occupied both the northern slopes and the southern ones, along the eastern coast of the Black Sea were insignificant. Among them were Bzhedukhs, Khamisheevs, Chercheneevs, Khatukhaevs, Temirgoevs, Yegerukhavs, Makhoshevs, Barakeis, Besleneevs, Bagovs, Shakhgireevs, Abazins, Karachays, Ubykhs, Vardanes, Dzhigets, and others.

In addition, the Kabardians, who lived east of Elbrus and occupied the foothills of the middle part of the northern slope of the Main Caucasian Range, could also be attributed to the Circassians. In their customs and social structure, they were in many ways similar to the Circassians. But, having made significant progress on the path of civilization, the Kabardians differed from the first in softer morals. It should also be noted that they were the first of the tribes of the northern slope of the Caucasus Range, which entered into friendly relations with Russia.

The territory of Kabarda was geographically divided by the bed of the Ardon River into the Greater and the Lesser. The tribes of the Bezenyevs, Chegemians, Khulams, and Balkars lived in Bolshaya Kabarda. Small Kabarda was inhabited by the Nazran tribes, Karabulakhs and others.

The Circassians, like the Kabardians, professed the Muslim faith, but between them at that time there were still traces of Christianity, and among the Circassians, traces of paganism.

To the east and south of Kabarda lived Ossetians (they called themselves irons). They inhabited the upper ledges of the northern slope of the Caucasus Range, as well as part of the foothills between the Malka and Terek rivers. In addition, part of the Ossetians also lived along the southern slopes of the Caucasus Range, to the west of the direction where the Georgian Military Highway was subsequently laid. This people was few and poor. The main societies of the Ossetians were: Digorians, Alagirs, Kurtatins and Tagaurs. Most of them professed Christianity, although there were those who recognized Islam.

Chechens or Nakhche lived in the basin of the Sunzha, Argun and upper reaches of the Aksai River, as well as on the northern slopes of the Andi Range. The social structure of this people was quite democratic. Since ancient times, Chechen society has had a teip (teip - tribal-territorial community) and a territorial system of social organization. Such an organization gave it a strict hierarchy and strong internal ties. At the same time, such a social structure determined the peculiarities of relations with other nationalities.

The fundamental function of the teip was the protection of the land, as well as compliance with the rules of land use, this was the most important factor in its consolidation. The land was in the collective use of the teip and was not divided between its members into separate sections. Management was carried out by elected elders on the basis of spiritual laws and ancient customs. Such a social organization of the Chechens largely explained the unparalleled stamina of their long-term struggle against various external enemies, including the Russian Empire.

The Chechens of the plains and foothill regions provided for their needs at the expense of natural resources and agriculture. The highlanders, moreover, were distinguished by their passion for raids with the aim of robbing the lowland farmers and capturing people for their subsequent sale into slavery. They practiced Islam. However, religion has never been assigned a key role in the Chechen population. Chechens traditionally were not distinguished by religious fanaticism; they put freedom and independence at the forefront.

The space to the east of the Chechens between the mouths of the Terek and the Sulak was inhabited by the Kumyks. Kumyks in their appearance and language (Tatar) were very different from the highlanders, but at the same time, in customs, the degree of social development they had much in common. The social structure of the Kumyks was largely determined by their division into eight main classes. The princes were the highest class. The last two estates, Chagars and Kuls, were in full or partial dependence on their owners.

The Kumyks, as well as the Kabardians, were among the first to enter into friendly relations with Russia. They considered themselves submissive to the Russian government from the time of Peter the Great. Just like most of the tribes of the highlanders, they preached the Mohammedan faith.

However, it should be noted that, despite the close proximity of two strong Muslim states, Safavid Persia and the Ottoman Empire, many mountain tribes by the beginning of the 18th century were not Muslims in the strict sense of the word. They, professing Islam, at the same time had various other beliefs, performed rituals, some of which were traces of Christianity, others traces of paganism. This was especially true for the Circassian tribes. In many places, the highlanders worshiped wooden crosses, brought gifts to them, and celebrated the most important Christian holidays. Traces of paganism were expressed among the highlanders by special respect for some reserved groves, in which touching a tree with an ax was considered sacrilege, as well as some special rites observed at weddings and funerals.

In general, the peoples who lived in the northern part of the Caucasus region, constituting the remnants of various peoples who separated from their roots in different historical periods and with very different degrees of social development, in their social structure, and in their customs and customs, were very diverse. As for their internal and political structure, and above all the mountain peoples, it was an interesting example of the existence of a society without any political and administrative authorities.

However, this did not mean the equality of all classes. Most of the Circassians, Kabardians, Kumyks and Ossetians have long had privileged classes of princes, nobles and free people. Equality of estates to one degree or another existed only among the Chechens and some other less significant tribes. At the same time, the rights of the upper classes extended only to the lower classes. For example, the Circassians have three lower classes: ob (people who depended on the patron), pshiteli (subordinate plowman) and yasyr (slave). At the same time, all public affairs were decided at popular meetings, where all free people had the right to vote. Decisions were implemented through persons elected at the same meetings who were temporarily given power for this purpose.

With all the diversity of life of the Caucasian highlanders, it should be noted that the main foundations for the existence of their societies were: family relations; blood feud (blood feud); ownership; the right of every free person to have and use weapons; respect for elders; hospitality; tribal unions with a mutual obligation to protect each other and responsibility to other tribal unions for the behavior of each.

The father of the family was sovereign over his wife and minor children. Their freedom and life was in his power. But if he killed or sold his wife without guilt, then he was retaliated by her relatives.

The right and duty of revenge was also one of the basic laws in all mountain societies. Not to avenge blood or insult among the highlanders was considered a highly dishonorable matter. Payment was allowed for blood, but only with the consent of the offended party. Payment was allowed in people, livestock, weapons and other property. At the same time, payments could be so significant that one guilty person was not able to give them away, and it was distributed over the entire family.

The right of private property extended to livestock, houses, cultivated fields, etc. Empty fields, pastures and forests did not constitute private property, but were divided between families.

The right to carry and use weapons at will belonged to every free person. The lower classes could use weapons only at the order of their master or for his protection. Respect for elders among the highlanders was developed to such an extent that even an adult could not start a conversation with an old man until he spoke to him, and could not sit down with him without an invitation. The hospitality of the mountain tribes obliged them to give shelter even to the enemy, if he was a guest in the house. The duty of all members of the union was to protect the safety of the guest while he was on their land, not sparing his life.

In a tribal union, the duty of each member of the union was that he had to take part in all matters relating to common interests, in a collision with other unions, to appear at the general request or on alarm with a weapon. In turn, the society of the tribal union patronized each of the people belonging to it, protected its own and avenged each.

To resolve disputes and quarrels, both between members of one union and between members of foreign unions, the Circassians used the court of mediators, called the adat court. To do this, the parties elected trusted people, as a rule, from the elderly, who enjoyed special respect among the people. With the spread of Islam, the all-Muslim spiritual court according to Sharia, performed by the mullahs, began to be applied.

As for the well-being of the mountain tribes that lived in the northern part of the Caucasus, it should be noted that the majority of the people had only the means to meet the most necessary needs. The reason was primarily in their manners and customs. An active, tireless warrior in military operations, at the same time, the highlander was reluctant to perform any other work. This was one of the strongest features of their national character. At the same time, in case of emergency, the highlanders were also engaged in righteous work. The arrangement of terraces for crops on rocky, barely accessible mountains, numerous irrigation canals drawn over considerable distances, serve as the best proof of this.

Being satisfied with a little, not giving up work when it is absolutely necessary, willingly indulging in raids and predatory attacks, the highlander usually spent the rest of the time in idleness. Domestic and even field work was predominantly the responsibility of women.

The richest part of the population of the northern part of the Caucasus Range were the inhabitants of Kabarda, some nomadic tribes and inhabitants of the Kumikh possessions. A number of Circassian tribes were not inferior to the above-mentioned peoples in their prosperity. The exceptions were the tribes of the Black Sea coast, which, with a decrease in human trafficking, were in a materially constrained position. A similar situation was typical for the mountain communities that occupied the rocky upper ledges of the Main Range, as well as the majority of the population of Chechnya.

The militancy of the people's character, which prevented the highlanders from developing their well-being, the passion to seek adventure, lay at the basis of their small raids. Attacks in small parties from 3 to 10 people, as a rule, were not planned in advance. Usually, in their free time, which the highlanders had enough of in their way of life, they gathered at the mosque or in the middle of the village. During the conversation, one of them suggested going on a raid. At the same time, refreshments were required from the initiator of the idea, but for this he was appointed senior and received most of the booty. Larger detachments were usually assembled under the command of well-known riders, and numerous formations were convened by decision of the people's assemblies.

These are, in the most general terms, the ethnogeography, social structure, life and customs of the mountain peoples who lived in the northern part of the Caucasus Range.

Differences in the properties of the terrain of inland (upland) and coastal Dagestan significantly affected the composition and way of life of its population. The main mass of the population of inner Dagestan (the territory located between Chechnya, the Caspian khanates and Georgia) were the Lezgin peoples and Avars. Both of these peoples spoke the same language, both were distinguished by their strong physique. Both were characterized by a gloomy disposition and high resistance to hardship.

At the same time, there was some difference in their social structure and social development. The Avars were famous for their prowess and great military abilities. They have long established a social system in the form of a khanate. The social structure of the Lezgins was predominantly democratic and represented separate free societies. The main ones were: Salatavs, Gumbets (or Bakmols), Adians, Koysubs (or Khindatl), Kazi-Kumykhs, Andalali, Karakh, Antsukhs, Kapucha, the Ankratal Union with their societies, Dido, Ilankhevi, Unkratal, Boguls, Technutsal, Karat , buni, and other less significant societies.

Assault on a mountain village

The Caspian territory of Dagestan was inhabited by Kumyks, Tatars and partly by Lezgins and Persians. Their social structure was based on khanates, shamkhalates, umtsy (possessions), founded by conquerors who penetrated here. The northernmost of them was the Tarkov shamkhalate, to the south of it were the possessions of the umtiya Karakaytag, the khanates of Mehtuli, Kumukh, Tabasaran, Derbent, Kyura and Quba.

All free societies consisted of free men and slaves. In possessions and khanates, in addition, there was also a class of nobles, or beks. Free societies, like the Chechen ones, had a democratic structure, but represented closer alliances. Each society had its main aul and was subordinate to a qadi or foreman elected by the people. The circle of power of these persons was not clearly defined and largely depended on personal influence.

Islam has been developing and strengthening in Dagestan since the time of the Arabs and had an incomparably greater influence here than in other Caucasian tribes. The entire population of Dagestan mainly lived in large auls, for the construction of which the places most convenient for defense were usually chosen. Many of the Dagestan auls were surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs and, as a rule, only one narrow path led to the village. Inside the village, the houses formed narrow and crooked streets. The water pipelines used to deliver water to the village and to irrigate the gardens were sometimes laid over long distances and arranged with great skill and labor.

Coastal Dagestan in matters of welfare and improvement, with the exception of Tabasaran and Karakaitakh, was at a higher level of development than its inland regions. The Derbent and Baku khanates were famous for their trade. At the same time, in the mountainous regions of Dagestan, people lived quite poorly.

Thus, the area, social structure, life and customs of the population of Dagestan differed to a large extent from similar issues in the northern part of the Caucasus Range.

Between the territories inhabited by the main peoples of the Caucasus, as if small specks, lands were inserted where small peoples lived. Sometimes they made up the population of one village. Residents of the villages of Kubachi and Rutults and many others can serve as an example. They all spoke their own languages, had their own traditions and customs.

The presented brief review of the life and customs of the Caucasian highlanders shows the inconsistency of the opinions that developed in those years about the "wild" mountain tribes. Of course, none of the mountain societies can be compared with the position and social development of the society of the civilized countries of that historical period. However, provisions such as property rights, attitudes towards elders, forms of government in the form of popular assemblies deserve respect. At the same time, the militancy of character, predatory raids, the law of blood vengeance, unbridled freedom largely formed the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe "wild" highlanders.

With the approach of the southern borders of the Russian Empire to the Caucasus region in the 18th century, the diversity of its ethnographic life was not sufficiently studied and was not taken into account when solving military administrative issues, and in some cases was simply ignored. At the same time, the customs and customs of the peoples living in the Caucasus have evolved over the centuries and are the basis of their way of life. Their incorrect interpretation led to the adoption of unreasonable, ill-considered decisions, and actions without taking them into account led to the emergence of conflict situations and unjustified military losses.

Already at the beginning of the 18th century, the military-administrative bodies of the empire faced problems associated with various forms of social structure of the region's diverse population. These forms ranged from primitive fiefs to societies without any political or administrative authority. In this regard, all issues, ranging from negotiations of various levels and nature, the solution of the most common everyday issues up to the use of military force, required new, non-traditional approaches. Russia was not quite ready for such a development of events.

The situation was complicated in many respects by large differences in the socio-cultural development of people both within the tribes and in the whole region, the involvement of its population in various religions and beliefs.

In the matter of the geopolitical attitude and influence of the great powers on the Caucasus region, the following should be noted. The geographical position of the Caucasus predetermined the desire of many of them at different historical stages to spread and assert their influence in the political, trade, economic, military and religious spheres of activity. In this regard, they sought to seize the territories of the region, or at least exercise their patronage in various forms, from alliance to protectorate. So, back in the VIII century, the Arabs established themselves in the coastal Dagestan, formed the Avar Khanate here.

After the Arabs, the Mongols, Persians and Turks dominated this territory. The last two peoples, during the two centuries of the 16th and 17th centuries, continuously challenged each other for power over Dagestan and over Transcaucasia. As a result of this confrontation, by the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries, Turkish possessions spread from the eastern Black Sea coast to the lands of the mountain peoples (Circassians), Abkhazians. In Transcaucasia, the rule of the Turks extended to the provinces of Georgia, and continued almost until the middle of the 18th century. Persian possessions in Transcaucasia extended up to the southern and southeastern borders of Georgia and to the Caspian khanates of Dagestan.

By the beginning of the 18th century, the northern part of the Caucasus region was in the zone of influence of the Crimean Khanate, a vassal of Turkey, as well as numerous nomadic peoples - Nogais, Kalmyks and Karanogays. Russian presence and influence in the Caucasus at that time was minimal. In the northeastern part of the Caucasus region, under Ivan the Terrible, the Terek town was founded, and the free Cossacks (descendants of the Grebensky Cossacks) by decree of Peter the Great were relocated from the Sunzha River to the northern banks of the Terek in five villages: Novogladkovskaya, Shchedrinskaya, Starogladkovskaya, Kudryukovskaya and Chervlenskaya . The Russian Empire was separated from the Caucasus by a vast steppe zone, in which the steppe tribes roamed. The southern borders of the empire were located to the north of these camps and were determined by the borders of the Astrakhan province and the lands of the Don army.

Thus, the main rivals of the Russian Empire, Safavid Persia and the Ottoman Empire, seeking to establish themselves in the Caucasus region and thereby solve their interests, were in a more advantageous position by the beginning of the 18th century. At the same time, the attitude towards them on the part of the population of the Caucasus region was by this time mostly negative, and towards Russia more favorable.

Caspian campaign of Peter I

At the beginning of the 18th century, Persia stepped up its activities in the Eastern Caucasus, and soon all the coastal possessions of Dagestan recognized its power over them. Persian ships were full masters in the Caspian Sea and controlled its entire coast. But the arrival of the Persians did not put an end to civil strife between local owners. A fierce massacre was going on in Dagestan, in which Turkey, which was at enmity with Persia, was gradually drawn into.

The events that took place in Dagestan could not but alarm Russia, which through its lands carried on active trade with the East. Trade routes from Persia and India through Dagestan were, in fact, cut off. Merchants suffered huge losses, and the state treasury also suffered.

For the purpose of reconnaissance in 1711, Prince Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky, a native of Kabarda, who knew many eastern languages ​​and customs of the highlanders, was sent to the Caucasus, and Artemy Petrovich Volynsky was sent to reconnoiter the situation in Persia in 1715.

Upon his return in 1719, A.P. Volynsky from Persia, he was appointed governor of Astrakhan with great powers, both military and political. For the next four years, his activities were based on measures to bring Dagestan rulers into Russian citizenship and prepare the campaign of Russian troops in the Caucasus. This activity has been very successful. Already at the beginning of the next year, through Volynsky, Moscow received a petition from the Dagestan shamkhal of Tarkovsky Adil-Girey to accept him into Russian citizenship. This request was met kindly, and the shamkhal himself was granted “as a token of his sovereign grace” with valuable furs worth 3 thousand rubles.

As soon as having emerged victorious from the Northern War, Russia, proclaimed an empire, began to prepare for a campaign in the Caucasus. The reason was the beating and robbery of Russian merchants, organized by the Lezgi owner Daud-bek in Shamakhi. There, on August 7, 1721, crowds of armed Lezgins and Kumyks attacked Russian shops in the Gostiny Dvor, beat and dispersed the clerks who were with them, after which they plundered goods totaling up to half a million rubles.

A.P. Volynsky

Upon learning of this, A.P. Volynsky urgently reported to the emperor: “…according to your intention, it is no longer possible to start more legally than this, and there should be reasons: first, if you please stand up for your own; second, not against the Persians, but against their enemies and their own. In addition, the Persians can be offered (if they would protest) that if they pay your losses, then Your Majesty can give everything he has won. So you can show before the whole world that you deign to have a true reason for this.

In December 1721, Peter wrote to this letter: “I answer your opinion; that this case is not to be missed very much, and we have already ordered a satisfied part of the army to march towards you ... ". In the same year, 1721, the Terek-Grebensk Cossacks were placed under the jurisdiction of the military collegium of Russia and formalized as a military estate.

At the beginning of 1722, the Russian emperor became aware that the Persian Shah had been defeated by the Afghans near his capital. The country was in turmoil. There was a threat that, taking advantage of this, the Turks would strike first and appear on the coast of the Caspian Sea before the Russians. Further postponing the trip to the Caucasus became risky.

In the first days of May 1722, the guards were loaded onto ships and sent down the Moscow River, and then along the Volga. Ten days later, Peter set off with Catherine, who decided to accompany her husband on the campaign. Soon the expeditionary corps concentrated in Astrakhan, where Volynsky prepared a good material base for it in advance. On his orders, atamans of the Donets, the commanders of the Volga Tatars and Kalmyks, whose detachments were to take part in the campaign, arrived there to meet with the emperor. The total number of Russian troops intended for the invasion of the Caucasus exceeded 80 thousand people.

In addition, the Kabardian princes were to take part in the campaign: the brother of Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky Murza Cherkassky and Araslan-bek. With their military detachments, they were supposed to join the Russian army on August 6 on the Sulak River.

On July 18, ships with regular infantry and artillery left Astrakhan for the Caspian Sea. Nine thousand dragoons, twenty thousand Don Cossacks and thirty thousand cavalry Tatars and Kalmyks followed the seashore. Ten days later, Russian ships moored ashore at the mouth of the Terek in the Agrakhan Bay. Peter was the first to set foot on land and determined a place for setting up a camp, where he intended to wait for the cavalry to approach.

The fighting began earlier than expected. On July 23, the detachment of brigadier Veterani, on the way to the village of Enderi in the gorge, was suddenly attacked by the Kumyks. The highlanders, hiding in the rocks and behind the trees, put out 80 soldiers and two officers with well-aimed rifle fire and arrows. But then the Russians, having recovered from the surprise, went on the offensive themselves, defeated the enemy, captured the village and reduced it to ashes. Thus began a military expedition, which later received the name of the Caspian campaign of Peter the Great.

Subsequently, Peter acted very decisively, combining diplomacy with armed force. In early August, his troops moved to Tarki. On the outskirts of the city, they were met by Shamkhal Aldy Giray, who expressed his obedience to the emperor. Peter received him very kindly before the formation of the guard and promised not to repair the ruin of the region.

On August 13, the Russian regiments solemnly entered Tarki, where they were greeted with honor by the shamkhal. Aldy Giray gave Peter a gray argamak in a golden harness. Both of his wives paid a visit to Catherine, presenting her with trays of the best varieties of grapes. The troops received food, wine and fodder.

On August 16, the Russian army set out on a campaign to Derbent. This time the path was not entirely smooth. On the third day, one of the columns was attacked by a large detachment of the Utemish Sultan Mahmud. The soldiers repelled the enemy's blow relatively easily and captured many prisoners. As an edification to all other enemies, Peter ordered the execution of 26 captured military leaders, and the town of Utemish, which consisted of 500 houses, was turned into ashes. Ordinary soldiers were granted freedom under an oath no longer to fight with the Russians.

Highlanders attack

The loyalty of the Russian emperor to the submissive and his cruelty to the resisters soon became known throughout the region. Therefore, Derbent did not resist. On August 23, its ruler, with a group of eminent citizens, met the Russians a mile away from the city, fell on his knees and brought two silver keys to the fortress gates to Peter. Peter affectionately received the delegation and promised not to send troops into the city. He kept his word. The Russians set up a camp near the walls of the city, where they rested for several days, celebrating a bloodless victory. All this time, the emperor and his wife, fleeing from the unbearable heat, spent in a dugout specially built for them, covered with a thick layer of turf. The ruler of Derbent, having learned about this, was very surprised. In a secret message to the Shah, he wrote that the Russian Tsar is so wild that he lives in the land, from which he emerges only at sunset. Nevertheless, giving an assessment of the state of the Russian troops, Naib did not skimp on praise.

After taking possession of Derbent, the Russian camp began to prepare for a campaign against Baku. However, an acute shortage of food and fodder forced Peter to postpone it until the next year. Leaving a small detachment in Dagestan, he returned the main forces to Astrakhan for the winter. On the way back, the troops in the place where the Agrakhan River flows into the Sulak River, the Russians laid the fortress of the Holy Cross.

At the end of September, on the orders of Peter, ataman Krasnoshchekin, with the Don and Kalmyks, launched a series of attacks on the Utemish sultan Mahmud, defeated his troops and ruined everything that had survived from the last pogrom. 350 people were captured and 11 thousand heads of cattle were captured. This was the last victory won in the presence of Peter I in the Caucasus. At the end of September, the imperial couple sailed to Astrakhan, from where they returned to Russia.

After Peter's departure, the command of all Russian troops in the Caucasus was entrusted to Major General M.A. Matyushkin, who enjoyed the special confidence of the emperor.

Türkiye was alarmed by the appearance of Russian troops on the Caspian coast. In the spring of 1723, a 20,000-strong Turkish army occupied the space from Erivan to Tabriz, then moved north and occupied Georgia. King Vakhtang took refuge in Imereti, and then moved to the Russian fortress of the Holy Cross. From there, in 1725, he was transferred to St. Petersburg and received by Catherine I. Astrakhan was assigned to him for residence, and the Russian treasury annually allocated 18 thousand rubles for the maintenance of the court. In addition, he was granted lands in various provinces and 3,000 serfs. The exiled Georgian king lived comfortably in Russia for many years.

Fulfilling the will of the emperor, in July 1723 Matyushkin with four regiments made a sea crossing from Astrakhan and after a short battle occupied Baku. 700 Persian soldiers and 80 cannons were captured in the city. For this operation, the detachment commander was promoted to lieutenant general.

The alarm was sounded in Isfahan. The internal situation in Persia did not allow the Shah to engage in Caucasian affairs. I had to negotiate with Russia. Ambassadors were urgently sent to St. Petersburg with a proposal of an alliance in the war with Turkey and with a request for help to the Shah in the fight against his internal enemies. Peter decided to focus on the second part of the proposals. On September 12, 1723, an agreement was signed on favorable terms for Russia. It stated: “The Shakhovo Majesty cedes to His Imperial Majesty the All-Russian in the eternal possession of the city of Derbent, Baku with all the lands and places that belong to them and along the Caspian Sea, also the provinces: Gilan, Mazanderan and Astrabad, in order to keep the army that His The Imperial Majesty will send his Shakhov Majesty against his rebels to help, without demanding money for that.

View of Derbent from the sea

In the autumn of 1723, the Persian province of Gilan was under the threat of occupation by the Afghans, who entered into a secret agreement with Turkey. The governor of the province, in turn, turned to the Russians for help. M.A. Matyushkin decided not to miss such a rare opportunity and preempt the enemy. Within a short time, 14 ships were prepared for sailing, which were boarded by two battalions of soldiers with artillery. The squadron of ships was commanded by Captain-Lieutenant Soimanov, and the infantry detachment was commanded by Colonel Shipov.

On November 4, the squadron left Astrakhan and a month later it began to raid at Anzeli. Having landed a small landing, Shipov occupied the city of Rasht without a fight. In the spring of the following year, reinforcements were sent to Gilyan from Astrakhan - two thousand infantry with 24 guns, commanded by Major General A.N. Levashov. By combined efforts, Russian troops occupied the province and established control over the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. Their individual detachments seeped into the depths of the Caucasus, frightening the vassals of Persia, the Sheki and Shirvan khans.

The Persian campaign was generally completed successfully. True, having captured vast territories on the coast of the Caspian Sea, Russian troops lost 41,172 people, of which only 267 died in battle, 46 drowned, 220 deserted, and the rest died of wounds and diseases. The campaign, on the one hand, showed the weakness to the resistance of the rulers of the Eastern Caucasus, on the other hand, the unpreparedness of the Russian army for operations in the southern latitudes, the shortcomings of its medical support, supplies, and much more.

Peter highly praised the military merits of his soldiers. All officers were awarded special gold, and the lower ranks - silver medals with the image of the emperor, which were worn on the ribbon of the first Russian Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. This medal was the first of a large number of awards established for military operations in the Caucasus.

Thus, Peter the Great, proceeding primarily from the trade and economic interests of Russia, was the first of its rulers to set the task of joining the Caspian coast of the Caucasus at the forefront of the empire's policy. He personally organized a military expedition to the Eastern Caucasus with the aim of conquering it and achieved some success. However, the appearance of Russian troops in the Caucasus intensified the aggressive activity of this region also from Persia and Turkey. Military operations in the Caucasus by Russia were in the nature of expeditions, the purpose of which was not so much to defeat the main forces of the opposing enemy, but to seize territory. The population of the occupied lands was taxed with an indemnity, which was mainly used to maintain the occupation administration and troops. During the expeditions, it was widely practiced to bring local rulers into Russian citizenship by means of an oath.

A bargaining chip of palace intrigues

Empress Catherine I tried to continue her husband's policy, but she did not succeed well. The war with Persia did not stop with the signing of the Treaty of Petersburg, which many of the Shah's subjects refused to recognize. Their detachments now and then made attacks on the Russian garrisons, whose forces were gradually dwindling. Some Dagestan rulers were still aggressive. As a result, the interest of the St. Petersburg court in the Caucasus began to noticeably decline. In April 1725, the Senate met on the Persian question. After a long debate, it was decided to send Matyushkin a decree to temporarily stop the conquest of new territories. The general was required to gain a foothold in the previously captured areas and, above all, on the coast of the Caspian Sea and on the Kura River, after which he should concentrate his main efforts on restoring order in the rear of the Russian troops, where the aggressiveness of some Dagestan rulers was indicated. The reason for this decision was that the commander of the Salyan detachment, Colonel Zimbulatov, and a group of his officers were treacherously killed during lunch at the local ruler. While the investigation was going on in this case, Shamkhal of Tarkov Aldy Giray also betrayed his alliance with Russia and, having gathered a large detachment, attacked the fortress of the Holy Cross. It was repulsed with heavy losses for the highlanders. But since then, any movement of Russians in the vicinity of the fortress has become practically impossible.

Highlanders ambush on the road

Putting things in order Matyushkin decided to start with Shamkhal Tarkovsky. By his order, in October 1725, Major Generals Kropotov and Sheremetev made a punitive expedition to the lands of the traitor. Aldy Giray, having three thousand troops, did not dare to resist the superior forces of the Russians and left Tarok for the mountains along with the Turkish envoy who was with him. His possessions were devastated. Twenty villages perished in the fire, including the capital of Shamkhalate, which consisted of a thousand households. But this was the end of the active operations of the Russian troops in the Caucasus. Matyushkin was recalled from the Caucasus by order of Menshikov.

The Turks immediately took advantage of the weakening of the Russian positions. Putting pressure on the shah, they achieved the signing of a treaty in 1725, according to which the Kazikums and part of Shirvan were recognized as territories subject to the sultan. By that time, the ruler of Shirvan, Duda-bek, had somehow managed to offend his Turkish patrons; he was summoned to Constantinople and killed. Power in Shirvan passed to his long-time rival Chelok-Surkhay with his confirmation in the rank of khan.

Gathering their strength with difficulty, in 1726 the Russians continued to “pacify” Shamkhalism, threatening to turn it into a deserted desert. Finally, Aldy Giray decided to stop resisting and surrendered to Sheremetev on May 20. He was sent to the fortress of the Holy Cross and taken into custody. But this did not solve the problem of the edge. In the absence of a high command among the Russian generals, there was no unity of ideas and actions. It became more and more difficult to keep the occupied territories in such conditions.

Frequent disagreements between the generals prompted the Russian government to appoint an experienced commander to the Caucasus, entrusting him with full military and administrative power in the region. The choice fell on Prince Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgoruky.

Arriving in the Caucasus, the new commander was struck by the deplorable state of the Russian troops stationed there. In August 1726, he wrote to the Empress: “... The generals of the local corps, headquarters and chief officers cannot feed themselves without an increase in salary due to the local high cost; the officers have fallen into extreme poverty, unbearable, that already one major and three captains have gone crazy, already many of their signs and scarves are pawning ... ".

Official Petersburg remained deaf to Dolgoruky's words. Then the general, at his own peril and risk, made requisitions among the local population and gave salaries to the troops. In addition, with his power, he eliminated the material inequality between the Cossacks and the mercenaries. “In the Russian army,” he wrote to the Empress, “there are two foreign companies - Armenian and Georgian, each of which receives state support; Russian Cossacks are not given anything, but meanwhile they serve more and the enemy is more terrible. I also gave them money, because, in my opinion, it is better to pay your own than strangers. True, the Armenians and Georgians serve pretty well, but the Cossacks act much more courageously.” Not surprisingly, with this approach, the morale of the troops increased significantly. This allowed the commander to continue the work begun by his predecessors.

In 1727, Vasily Vladimirovich, with a small detachment, traveled along the entire coast of the sea, demanding that the local rulers confirm their oath of allegiance to Russia. Upon his return to Derbent, he wrote to the empress: “... on his journey he brought the provinces lying along the coast of the Caspian Sea, namely: Kergerut, Astara, Lenkoran, Kyzyl-Agat, Ujarut, Salyan, into citizenship to Your Imperial Majesty; steppes: Muran, Shegoeven, Mazarig, from which there will be an annual income of about one hundred thousand rubles. According to his calculations, these funds should have been enough to maintain a detachment of only 10-12 thousand people, which could not ensure the firm power of Russia in the lands it occupied. Dolgoruky proposed either to increase the cost of the treasury for the maintenance of the corps, or to impose special tribute on local rulers, or to reduce the number of troops and the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe territories controlled by them. However, none of his proposals found understanding and support in St. Petersburg. The heirs of Peter the Great saw no prospects for Russia in the Caucasus and did not want to waste their time, energy and money on it.

Prince Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgoruky

The death of Catherine I, which happened in 1727, and the struggle for power that followed, diverted the attention of the Russian government from the Caucasus for some time. Peter II on the day of the coronation, February 25, 1728, produced V.V. Dolgoruky to Field Marshal General and recalled to St. Petersburg. When leaving the Caucasus, Vasily Vladimirovich divided the territory under his jurisdiction into two parts, appointing a separate chief in each. Lieutenant General A.N. remained in Gilan. Levashov, and in Dagestan, Lieutenant General A.I. took command of the troops. Rumyantsev is the father of the great commander.

At the beginning of the reign of Anna Ioannovna, another attempt was made to strengthen the position of the Russian Empire in the Caucasus. To do this, it was necessary to achieve significant political concessions from Persia and official recognition for Russia of the territories captured by it in the Caspian region. The complexity of the problem lay in the fact that it also affected the interests of Turkey and local rulers, some of whom did not want Russia's presence in the Caucasus. To resolve this issue, not so much experienced military leaders were required as diplomats.

Unraveling the "Persian knot" was entrusted to the commander of the Caspian Corps, Alexei Nikolaevich Levashov, who was promoted to General-in-Chief and endowed with special powers. He was a fairly experienced military leader, but an extremely weak diplomat.

Vice-Chancellor Baron Pyotr Pavlovich Shafirov was sent to help Levashov to conduct diplomatic negotiations with the Persians. They were instructed "to try as soon as possible to conclude an agreement beneficial for Russia with the Persian Shah and use all means to deviate him from the agreement with Porto."

Negotiations began in the summer of 1730 and were unsuccessful. But Levashov and Shafirov searched in vain for the causes of failures on the spot - they lurked in St. Petersburg, where the favorite of the Empress Ernst Johann Biron took matters into his own hands. His palace was secretly visited not only by the Persians, but also by the Austrians. The Persians promised the Russians support in the war with Turkey on the condition that all the Caspian territories would be returned to the shah free of charge. The Austrians also tried in every possible way to push Russia against Turkey in their own interests. Biron himself, having become a mediator in these negotiations, did not think about the benefits of Russia, but only about his own interests. Therefore, in St. Petersburg, bargaining over the Caucasus was much more active than in the negotiations between Levashov and Shafirov.

In June, the Austrian envoy Count Wrotislav presented Biron with a diploma for the county of the Holy Roman Empire, a portrait of the emperor, showered with diamonds and 200 thousand thalers, with which the favorite bought an estate in Silesia. After that, he began to stubbornly recommend to the Empress "the most optimal way to solve the Caucasian problem."

In the spring of 1731, Levashov and Shafirov received new instructions from the government. They said the following: “the empress does not want to leave any of the Persian provinces behind her and orders first to clear all the lands along the Kura River, when the shah orders to conclude an agreement on the restoration of neighboring friendship and ratifies it; and the other provinces from the Kura River will be ceded when the Shah drives the Turks out of his state.

Thus, having made concessions to the Shah, Russia put itself on the brink of war with Turkey, which, gradually ousting the Persians, continued the policy of conquering the entire Caucasus. Their emissaries flooded the Caspian khanates, planting anti-Russian sentiments there, which often fell on favorable ground and gave bloody shoots.

In 1732, Biron's henchman Lieutenant-General Ludwig Wilhelm Prince of Hesse-Homburg took command of the Russian troops in Dagestan. At that time, the prince was only 28 years old. He had neither military nor diplomatic experience behind him, but passionately desired to curry favor.

The new commander set to work with enthusiasm and undertook a number of private expeditions. This caused a backlash, and already in the autumn of 1732, cases of highlanders attacks on Russian troops became more frequent. So, in October, they defeated a 1,500-strong detachment of Colonel P. Koch. As a result of the surprise attack, the Russians lost 200 people killed and the same number captured. Aboriginal attacks on Russian military detachments and posts took place in the next two years.

At this time, the Turkish sultan sent a 25,000-strong horde of Crimean Tatars to Persia, the path of which ran through the territory of Dagestan controlled by Russian troops. Prince Ludwig decided to put up a barrier in the path of the enemy. With difficulty, a detachment of four thousand people was assembled, which blocked two mountain passes in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe village of Goraichi.

The Russians met the Tatars with friendly rifle and artillery fire and repulsed all their attacks. The enemy retreated, leaving over a thousand people killed and wounded on the battlefield, as well as 12 banners. The latter were brought to St. Petersburg and cast down at the feet of the Empress. The losses of the Russians themselves amounted to 400 people.

The prince was unable to enjoy the fruits of his victory. Not believing in the steadfastness of his subordinate troops, without conducting reconnaissance of the enemy, he withdrew units at night across the Sulak River, and then to the fortress of the Holy Cross. Taking advantage of this, the Tatars broke into Dagestan, plundering everything in their path.

Delighted by the victories in Dagestan, in 1733 the Sultan sent troops to Persia, but they were defeated near Baghdad. After that, the Turks were forced to cede to the Persians all the lands previously conquered from them, including in Dagestan. However, the ruler of Dagestan, Surkhay Khan, did not submit to the Shah. In response to this, in 1734, Persian troops invaded Shemakha and defeated Surkhay Khan, who, with the remnants of his troops, began to retreat to the north. Pursuing him, Nadir Shah occupied Kazikum and several other provinces.

The Russian commander-in-chief, Prince of Hesse-Homburg, had no influence on the events unfolding in the Caucasus, and in fact lost power over the rulers of Dagestan. In 1734 he was recalled to Russia.

The command of the troops in Dagestan was again entrusted to General A.N. Levashov, who at that time was on vacation in his estates in Russia. While he was about to leave for the Caucasus, the situation there deteriorated sharply. Resolute measures were required to improve the situation, primarily forces and means. General A.N. Levashov repeatedly appealed to St. Petersburg with a request to send reinforcements and improve the material support of the troops of the Grassroots (Astrakhan) Corps, promising in this case to restore order in the controlled area in a short time. But Biron stubbornly rejected the requests and suggestions of the commander. At the same time, he strongly recommended to Empress Anna Ioannovna to withdraw troops from the Caucasus. And the efforts of the favorite were not in vain.

According to the Ganji Treaty of March 10, 1735, Russia stopped hostilities in the Caucasus, returned to Persia all the lands along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, liquidated the fortress of the Holy Cross and confirmed the outline of the border along the Terek River.

To strengthen the line of the new border, in 1735 a new fortress of Kizlyar was founded, which for many years became an outpost of Russia on the coast of the Caspian Sea. This was the last case of General A.N. Levashov in the Caucasus. Soon he was assigned to Moscow and left the mountainous region forever.

In 1736, a war began between Russia and Turkey, the purpose of which was the destruction of the Prut Treaty, which was humiliating for Russia. In the spring, the corps of Field Marshal P.P. was moved to Azov. Lassi, who on July 20 captured this fortress. Russia again had a foothold on the coast of the Sea of ​​Azov, from where some of their detachments began to seep to the south, and, above all, to Kabarda. There, the Russians quickly found a common language with some princes who had long sought an alliance with Russia. As a result of the Belgrade Peace Treaty, signed in September 1739, Russia retained Azov, but made concessions to the Turks regarding Kabarda. Big and Small Kabarda were declared a kind of buffer zone between the possessions of Russia and the Ottoman Empire in the Caucasus. Russian troops left these lands.

The signing of the Ganji and Belgrade treaties was essentially a betrayal of the Caucasian policy of Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great. Russian troops gratuitously left strategically important areas that ensured control over the Caspian Sea and land communications with Persia, and through it - with the Near and Middle East, China and India. At the same time, not having the strength to hold on and develop new lands, the Russian Empire annually suffered losses that exceeded profits dozens of times. This became the main trump card in the political game of Biron, who was able to bring it to the end with profit for himself.

Thus, as a result of political games, Russia in the Caucasus received nothing but huge human and material losses. So her first attempt to establish herself in this region ended unsuccessfully, which, according to the most rough estimates, cost more than 100 thousand human lives. At the same time, Russia has not found new friends, but it has more enemies.

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The following excerpt from the book All Caucasian wars of Russia. The most complete encyclopedia (V. A. Runov, 2013) provided by our book partner -

The year 2004 was a turning point not only for the militants who were sitting in the mountains - the war tested the strength of the Kadyrov clan. After the death of the first president of Russian Chechnya, his son Ramzan not only did not disappear from the horizon of local politics - he began to quickly score points. The post of president was occupied by Alu Alkhanov, but in fact he turned out to be a locum tenens under the real ruler. 2003-2004 became the time of formation of Kadyrov's private army. In 2007, the number of all formations controlled by Kadyrov (the regiments of the PPS, private security, internal troops) was estimated at the level of 6-7 thousand people, and then their ranks only increased - up to 11-12 thousand by 2011.

Ramzan Kadyrov, In 2004, already the unspoken leader of Chechnya

The Kadyrovites used the services of Russian instructors, including officers of the TsSN FSB. The Kadyrov Guard grew and grew stronger against the backdrop of the gradual withdrawal of Russian formations from Chechnya. Ramzan made a lot of efforts, trying to reduce the number and activity of the “federals”, and in the end he achieved his goal: a few Russian units remained on the territory of Chechnya, showing very little activity inside the republic.

From 1818 to 1864, the Russian government waged a protracted and bloody war against a number of mountain peoples of the North Caucasus. The reason for this war was the desire of Russia to annex the lands located in the foothills and mountains of the northern part of the Main Caucasian Range from the Black to the Caspian Sea. It became a logical continuation of the expansion of the Russian state in the southern direction in the XVIII-XIX centuries.

Background to the conflict

It so happened that some small states of Transcaucasia (for example, Kartli and Kakheti) became part of the Russian Empire much earlier than the North Caucasus. From the territory of vast Russia they were separated by the high mountains of Dagestan and the impenetrable forests of Chechnya.

In 1768, Turkey, dissatisfied with the presence of Russian troops in Poland, declared war on Russia. The commander of the Russian army, Gottlieb von Totleben, in 1770 captured the Georgian city of Kutaisi. In 1774, the Kyuchuk-Kai-narji peace was concluded with Turkey; along it, the Russian border moved to the Kuban. In 1783, the Kakhetian king Erekle II signed the Treaty of St. George, according to which a Russian protectorate was established in Kartli and Kakheti. Two Russian battalions under the command of Potemkin, numbering about 1600 people with four guns, entered Tiflis. However, soon, in February 1784, Russian troops were withdrawn from Tiflis and Vladikavkaz.

In May 1795, the Persian Shah Agha Muhammad invaded Georgia and defeated a small army of Erekle II near Tiflis, who was left without the support of Russia. The Shah's soldiers committed a terrible massacre in the city. In response, Empress Catherine II declared war on Persia. Russian detachments captured Kubakh, Baku and Derbent. After the death of Catherine in 1796, Paul I wanted to give up the conquered territories. But in 1799, the new Persian Shah Fet Ali Khan demanded that the Georgian king George XII take his son as a hostage. George turned to the Russian Emperor Paul I for help, and he sent troops to Kakheti and prevented the Persian invasion. In gratitude for this, in 1800, before his death, the Georgian king turned to the Russian emperor with a request to accept Kartli and Kakheti under the direct rule of Russia. In 1801, these states became part of Russia.

“The annexation of Christian principalities,” wrote a Russian historian of the 19th century. V. O. Klyuchevsky, - brought Russia into a clash with Persia, from which numerous khanates dependent on it had to be conquered. But as soon as the Russians stood on the Caspian and Black Sea shores of Transcaucasia, they naturally had to provide their rear by conquering the mountain tribes. Such a complex series of phenomena was caused by the testament of George XII of Georgia.

In 1804, the small western Georgian principalities of Mingrelia, Imeretia and Guria voluntarily joined the Russian Empire, and in 1805 the khanates of Karabakh, Shirvan and Sheki. Along with this, in 1803 the Lezgins of Chartalakh and the Sultanate of Eli-su were annexed by force of arms, and in 1804 Ganja was taken by storm, later renamed Elizavetpol.

In 1804, Russia entered the war with Persia, and in 1807 - with the Ottoman Empire. Despite the fact that they had to fight on two fronts (also in Europe against Napoleon), convincing victories were won in the southern direction. Under the Bucharest Peace Treaty of 1812 with the Ottoman Empire and the Gulistan Treaty of 1813 with Persia, Russia confirmed its rights to Kartli, Kakhetia, Imeretia, Mingrelia, Abkhazia, the khanates of Ganja, Karabakh, Sheki, Derbent, Kubakh, Baku and part of Talish.

The Caucasian War proper began with the appointment in 1816 of General Alexei Yermolov, hero of the 1812 war, as governor of Georgia. In addition to the governorship, he served as Ambassador Extraordinary to Persia and commanded the Separate Caucasian Corps. Yermolov insisted on the widest powers in his actions in relation to the highlanders. Emperor Alexander I hesitated, since most of the mountain peoples of the North Caucasus by that time had allied relations with Russia, and this, apparently, suited Alexander quite well. By the way, during the war with Napoleon, the highlanders offered their help to the Russian Tsar, which, however, he did not use.

N. G. Chernetsov. Tiflis. 1830

“Repeated experiments,” the Russian tsar wrote, “made the rule indisputable that it is not by killing inhabitants and ruining dwellings that it is possible to restore calm on the Caucasian line, but by affectionate and friendly treatment of the mountain peoples ...” Surprisingly accurately noting one of the reasons pushing the Russian military to the war in the Caucasus, the emperor noted: “The attacks contain, for the most part, one intention of the military commanders on the line to rob and receive part of the looted cattle and other property of imaginary enemies ...”.

War

Aleksei Petrovich Ermolov (1777-1861), general of infantry, commander-in-chief of Georgia, commander of the Separate Caucasian Corps (1816-1827).

Nevertheless, in the end, the "party of war" won at court. Through his friend, the chief of the General Staff of His Imperial Majesty Prince P. Volkonsky, Yermolov managed to prepare a draft imperial decree, giving him carte blanche to "taming the predations of the Chechens and their neighboring peoples." One of his arguments was as follows: “Sire! It is impossible to fear an external war... Internal disturbances are much more dangerous for us! The mountain peoples, as an example of their independence, in the very subjects of Your Imperial Majesty give rise to a rebellious spirit and love for independence ... ". Apparently, this was too much even for the liberal Alexander I. But the main reason for the long and bloody Caucasian war was the desire of the ruling elite to quickly and unconditionally include the North Caucasus in Russia. This desire was reinforced by the result of the recent victorious war with Napoleon, which instilled confidence in the future, as it seemed then, an easy victory over the Caucasian "savages".

On May 12, 1818, Russian troops crossed the Terek River, which was bordering at that time, which caused an uprising of the Chechens living beyond the Terek, which General Yermolov brutally suppressed. Here is how the battle for the center of this uprising, the Chechen village of Dada-Yurt, one of the participants and historians of the war, Russian General V. A. Potto, describes: then take by storm. Soldiers on their hands dragged guns from one house to another. And as soon as the slightest breach made its way, the soldiers rushed into the gaps, and there, in dark and stuffy huts, an invisible bloody massacre took place with bayonets and daggers.

Bitterness on both sides grew with each new victim. Some Chechens, seeing that they could no longer resist, slaughtered their wives and children in front of the soldiers; many of these women themselves rushed at the soldiers with daggers or, on the contrary, threw themselves from them into burning houses and died alive in the flames ... The village was finally taken only when all its defenders were exterminated without exception, when from the large Dada-Yurt population only fourteen people remained, and even then they were seriously wounded.

To imagine the scale of this massacre alone, we note that the population of a large aul ranged from several hundred to several thousand inhabitants. For cruelty, the highlanders gave Yermolov the nickname Yarmul (“child of a dog”).

Moving across Chechnya, Yermolov founded the fortresses of Groznaya and Vernaya. At the same time, he is trying to win over a number of local tribes to the side of the Russians.

In 1825, an uprising broke out in Chechnya against Yermolov's policy, which destroyed auls, cut down forests, burned pastures and vineyards. The Chechens made a number of bold attacks on the Russian fortresses they had built.

Friedrich Bodenstedt, a German researcher, a Slavic professor, an expert in Russian and some Caucasian languages, who lived for some time in the Caucasus, who knew Mikhail Lermontov and Alexander Herzen, describes one of the episodes of this round of the war as follows: “Yermolov’s last important action was a devastating campaign against peoples of Chechnya. Encouraged by Mullah Muhammad's murids, they inflicted many painful losses on the Russians with their bold attacks ... ".

A group of Chechens united in order to storm the important fortress of Amir-Khadzhi-Yurt. Having learned from the defector about the threat of an attack on the fortress, Brigadier General Grekov transmitted from the fortress of Vakh-Chai, located about 50 miles away, ordered the commandant of Amir-Khadzhi-Yurt to make the necessary preparations.

Whether the apparently too careless commandant followed the order, we will not say for now; the Chechens, on the other hand, probably received news of the general's order, but were not afraid, but tried to use it to their advantage. In the silence of the night, they made their way through the forest, located next to Amir-Khadzhi-Yurt, to the walls of the fortress; one of the Chechens, who knew Russian, shouted to the sentry: “Open the gate! The general is coming with reinforcements."

Soon this order was carried out, and in a moment the whole fortress was filled with the sons of the mountains. A bloody massacre began ... In less than a quarter of an hour, the entire personnel of the fortress was killed, and the banner with the crescent was already fluttering over it. Not a single Russian left the avenging sabers of the Chechens.

General Grekov, having learned about the daring sortie, sent messengers in all directions to get reinforcements; his brigade set off immediately. Lieutenant-General Lisanevich joined him from Georgievsk, and the army thus formed reached the captured fortress in a forced march. A deadly fight ensued. The Chechens stubbornly defended themselves until the supplies of gunpowder ran out; then they rushed from the fortress with sabers in their hands, making their way - with wild cries along the bloody path through the dense formation of Russians, and rushed into the forest shelters, none of them fell into the hands of the attacking enemy. The Russians entered the smoking ruins of Amir-Khadzhi-Yurt over the corpses of their brothers.

Circassian. Watercolor. Mid 19th century

The troops were so mixed up and there were so many soldiers with wounds and injuries that the generals, thirsting for revenge, did not dare to take further action. After a long hesitation, General Grekov decided to resort to negotiations in order to put an end to the bloodshed for a while and prepare for new battles. Finally, he summoned the leaders and elders of the hostile tribes to the fortress of Wah Chai.

About 200 (according to other sources, about 300) Chechens came, led by a mullah. Grekov wanted to open the gates of the fortress to the envoys, but, mindful of the bloody scenes in the Amir-Khadzhi-Yurt fortress, the alarmed General Lisanevich stubbornly objected and insisted on letting only the mullah in to negotiate on behalf of the whole people.

Soon, a fearless Chechen appeared in the house where both generals and their entourage gathered.

Why did your people, - Grekov began his speech, - having violated the agreement, again entered the war?

Because you were the first to break the treaties and because my people hate you as their oppressor,” the mullah replied.

Shut up, traitor! interrupted the angry general. "Don't you see that your servants have left you and you are in my hands?" I command you to be bound and your lying tongue torn out...

So this is how you honor your guest? - the Chechen shouted angrily, rushed at the general and pierced him with his dagger.

Those present rushed, drawing their swords, at the mullah, shouts were heard, several people fell victim to an angry Chechen, until he himself fell, pierced by bullets and bayonets. Lieutenant General Lisanevich was also among those killed, one colonel and two other officers were wounded.

Russian soldiers killed about 300 people, among whom were not only the elders of the village of Aksai, called by Lisanevich. A few Georgians devoted to Russia and even Cossacks dressed in Circassian style also fell under the hot hand.

In 1826, General Yermolov was removed from his post for excessive independence and on suspicion of having links with the Decembrists.

Tsar Nicholas I, who came to replace him, the new Caucasian governor Ivan Paskevich, admonished with these words: “You will have to pacify forever the mountain peoples or exterminate the recalcitrant.”

Forests continued to be cut down, auls were destroyed, Russian fortresses were built everywhere on the lands of the highlanders. In their operations against them, the tsarist army made extensive use of artillery. But for the advancement of artillery in the mountains of Dagestan and the forests of Chechnya, carts and pack horses were required. I had to cut down the forest and cut through the clearings. In the mountains, guns were rolled by hand, and pack horses were led by the bridle in single file. They brought with them a supply of firewood and fodder for horses. As a result, the fighting was carried out by the forces of mobile teams of "hunters" and "scouts", copying the methods of the highlanders. The latter, being limited in manpower and having practically no artillery, which they had only during the time of Shamil, resorted to the tactics of sudden raids and guerrilla warfare. In a direct confrontation, the highlanders, as a rule, could not cope with the organized formations of the Russian troops.

Lezgin (left) and Circassian (right). Colored engraving. 1822

In Chechnya, the war was fought mainly in winter, when the rivers became shallow and the forests were exposed, in which the highlanders set up ambushes in the summer. In Dagestan, on the contrary, in winter the mountain passes were practically impassable for heavy carts, but in the spring swollen mountain rivers interfered here. Military operations began only in the summer with the advent of pasture for horses. With the first snowfalls, they stopped fighting until the next summer.

"Warm Siberia"

To wage war in the Russian army, a Separate Caucasian Corps was formed. It received the ironic name "warm Siberia" because it served as a place of exile. After the defeat of the Decembrist uprising, many of them were sent to the Caucasus as privates. After the Polish uprising, unreliable Poles were sent to the Caucasus. In addition to the political ones, duelists, gamblers and other violators of discipline were referred there. In the Caucasus, corporal punishment was almost never used in the Russian army. The relations between officers and soldiers were more friendly and trusting than in other regions of Russia. The form of clothing was practically not respected and was often replaced by a local costume (Circassian coat, cloak, hat). Due to the ongoing war, combat training in the Caucasian Corps was higher than in the rest of the Russian land army.

The range of rifle fire from the highlanders reached 600 steps, since they used a double charge of gunpowder prohibited by Russian military regulations, which made it possible to conduct aimed fire at gun servants. Russian guns and pistols were smooth-bore, with a flintlock. There were few rifled weapons. With the introduction of new models of guns and pistols, old samples were not removed from service.

Each soldier for a smoothbore gun had 192 cartridges and 14 flints. The shooter, armed with a rifled rifle, had 180 rounds and 25 flints.

In 1828, at the congress of representatives of the peoples of Dagestan in the Avar village of Untsukul, the creation of an imamate, a theocratic state of the highlanders, was proclaimed.

Theocracy(from the Greek "theos" - "god" and "kratos" - "power") - a form of government in which the head of state is both its secular and spiritual leader. The norms of life and the laws of such a state are regulated by the prescriptions of the dominant religion.

The first imam (secular and spiritual ruler) of Dagestan (and later of Chechnya) was appointed Gazi-Magomed, who came from free Avar peasants.

The high-mountainous Avar Khanate was that part of Dagestan that was under the protectorate of Russia. Supporters of Gazi-Magomed led a merciless struggle against the Avar khans, who did not want to enter the imamate and live according to Sharia law.

Sharia(from Arab, "Sharia" - literally "the right way") - a set of laws and religious and ethical norms based on the holy book of Muslims, the Koran, the Sunnah (traditions about the instructions of Muhammad) and fatwas (decisions of authoritative Muslim jurists).

When the Russian troops came to the defense of the Avar rulers, Gazi-Magomed began a fight with Russia under the slogans of a holy war with the infidels - jihad.

A. S. Pushkin, who visited the Caucasus in 1829, wrote: “Neither peace nor prosperity is observed under the shadow of a double-headed eagle! Moreover, it is not safe to travel around the Caucasus... The Circassians hate us. We drove them out of free pastures; their auls were devastated, entire tribes were destroyed. Hour by hour they go deeper into the mountains and direct their raids from there.

In 1830, Paskevich developed a plan for the development of the North-Western Caucasus by creating an overland communication along the Black Sea coast. As a result, the western transport route between the Sea of ​​Azov and Georgia has become another arena of struggle between Russia and the highlanders. For 500 km from the mouth of the Kuban to Abkhazia, under the cover of the guns of the Black Sea Fleet and landing troops, 17 forts were created, the garrisons of which immediately found themselves under constant siege. Even trips to the forest for firewood turned into military expeditions for them.

Shamil and his state

Since 1830, Gazi-Magomed made a number of attacks on Russian fortresses. He died in 1832 in the battle for his native village of Gimry, throwing himself with a naked saber at the bayonets of Russian soldiers from the tower, in which he locked himself with the highlanders. Among the latter was his childhood friend, closest associate, the future legendary Imam Shamil (1799-1871).

Shamil himself survived this battle by a miracle. Before jumping out of the window of the same tower after Gazi-Magomed, Shamil threw his saddle out of him. Without understanding, the soldiers standing below began to shoot at the saddle. At that moment, Shamil made an incredible jump, finding himself behind the encirclement. One of the Russians who climbed onto the roof of the tower threw a heavy stone at him, breaking his shoulder. The wounded Shamil hacked a soldier who got in the way with a saber and tried to escape, but two more blocked his way. One of them fired a rifle almost at point-blank range - Shamil dodged the bullet and cracked the soldier's skull. However, the other somehow contrived and plunged a bayonet into the chest of a desperate highlander. In front of the shocked enemies, Shamil pulled him to him by this bayonet and brought down his saber on the soldier. His next victim was an officer who rushed at him with a saber. Shamil, who was bleeding, knocked the saber out of the officer's hands. He tried to defend himself with his cloak, but Shamil pierced him with a saber, after which, with one of his murids, he rushed off a cliff into the deepest abyss.

The enemies decided that he was dead, and did not even begin to look for the body. However, during the fall, Shamil and his friend caught on a thorny bush that grew on an almost sheer wall, and thanks to this, they remained alive. His mighty organism, despite the most severe wounds, defeated death. The local doctor and Shamil's wife Patimat took care of him. When after some time he appeared before his countrymen, they took him for a risen from the dead.

The place of the deceased Imam Gazi-Magomed was taken by Gamzat-bek. He destroyed almost the entire family of the Avar khans and was killed for this in the mosque according to the law of blood feud. After that, Shamil was proclaimed imam.

He understood that disunity was the main reason that prevented the highlanders in the fight against the Russian Empire, and made an attempt to unite the disparate tribes of the North Caucasus into a single state. This task turned out to be very difficult, because it was necessary to reconcile dozens of peoples who spoke different languages ​​and were often at enmity with each other. The North Caucasus was at that time a boiling cauldron, where there was a war of all against all. Shamil tried to find something in common that could unite the highlanders. This common was Islam, which, according to the new imam, was to become both a single religion and a banner of struggle against the invaders. With the help of Mohammedanism, he wanted not only to introduce common faith among fellow countrymen (in many mountain villages the remnants of ancient pagan beliefs were still very strong), but also to establish common laws for them, before which everyone would be equal - and know, and ordinary peasants.

The fact is that almost all tribes, and sometimes individual auls, lived according to ordinary laws (adat). This constantly led to clashes, since adat was often interpreted by each in his own way. By and large, the right of the strong triumphed in the mountains. Who was stronger, richer, more noble, he imposed his own will on fellow tribesmen. A terrible misfortune was the widespread custom of blood feud, sometimes destroying entire auls without exception. In an attempt to find at least some protection from the reigning arbitrariness, local residents often turned under the patronage of Russian generals. Those, in turn, handed over all internal affairs to the discretion of the local khans who had passed into Russian citizenship and looked through their fingers at the monstrous lawlessness perpetrated by the latter.

To put an end to this orgy of lawlessness and violence, according to Shamil, there should have been a common law for all, based on Sharia. The state created by Shamil and his predecessors included almost all of Chechnya, part of Dagestan and some regions of the North-Western Caucasus. It was divided into administrative units, taking into account the resettlement of mountain tribes and peoples. Instead of the traditional tribal nobility, naibs (governors) appointed personally by Shamil were placed at the head of the new provinces.

However, his idyllic plans for building a just state, where equality and fraternity for all will reign, failed to materialize. Pretty soon, the naibs began to abuse their position no less than the former tribal khans, whom they exterminated. This was one of the reasons for the defeat of Shamil. Dissatisfaction with the new government grew among the people, under pressure from the Russian troops, former loyal comrades-in-arms betrayed the imam.

A new round of war has begun. Russian troops organized several expeditions against Shamil. In 1837 and 1839 his residence on Mount Akhulgo was taken by storm. The authorities hastened to convey to St. Petersburg about the complete appeasement of the Caucasus. But in 1840, the highlanders of the North-Western Caucasus began decisive actions against the Russian fortifications on the Black Sea coast, taking by storm and destroying four of them together with the garrisons. When defending the fortification of Mikhailovsky, Private Arkhip Osipov blew himself up along with a powder magazine and hundreds of highlanders surrounding him. He became the first Russian soldier forever listed in his unit.

F. A. Roubaud. The assault on the village of Akhulgo. 1888

In the same 1840, Shamil managed to unite the rebellious highlanders of Chechnya with the Dagestanis. Shamil moved away from the practice of head-on collisions and the defense of fortified villages to the last. Punitive expeditions of government troops began to fall into ambushes and be subjected to unexpected attacks. The largest defeat of the Russians turned out to be the campaign of the new Caucasian governor M. S. Vorontsov against the capital of Shamil - Dargo. This expedition was carried out at the personal request of Nicholas I in 1845. Shamil did not defend Dargo, left it to Vorontsov, but during the withdrawal of the detachment, which found itself without food supplies, the highlanders inflicted a number of blows on him. Russian losses amounted to 4 thousand people; four generals were killed.

However, the imam's attempts to unite the entire North Caucasus against Russia were unsuccessful. The highlanders saw that the "state of justice" founded by Shamil rests on repression. The crisis in the imamate was halted by the Crimean War, when the Turkish sultan and his European allies promised support to Shamil. The period of the Crimean War was the last surge in the combat activity of the highlanders.

Final stage

The final outcome of the hostilities in the Caucasus was predetermined by the rearmament of the Russian army with rifled guns. This significantly reduced her losses, as it allowed her to open fire to kill from a longer distance. The highlanders, on the other hand, managed with the same weapons.

The new tsar's governor in the Caucasus, Prince A.I. Baryatinsky, continued the policy begun in the late 40s. 19th century Vorontsov. He abandoned senseless punitive expeditions deep into the mountains and began systematic work on building fortresses, cutting through forests and resettling Cossacks in the occupied territories.

After the surrender of Shamil in 1859, part of the Abadzekhs, the Shapsug and Ubykh tribes continued to resist. Until 1864, the highlanders slowly retreated further and further to the southwest: from the plains - to the foothills, from the foothills - to the mountains, from the mountains - to the Black Sea coast. The capitulation of the Ubykhs in the Kbaada tract (now Krasnaya Polyana) on May 21, 1864 is considered the date of the official end of the Caucasian War. Although isolated pockets of resistance persisted until 1884,

The result of the Caucasian War was the annexation of the entire North Caucasus to Russia. For almost 50 years of hostilities, the population of Chechnya alone, according to some sources, has decreased by 50%. According to Friedrich Bodenstedt, for 80 years of the XIX century. the number of this people decreased from 1.5 million to 400 thousand. At the same time, despite the cruelty and huge sacrifices suffered by the mountain peoples during the war, their colonization by Russia had certain positive aspects. Through the Russian language and culture, they joined the achievements of European and world civilization, which contributed to the development of their economy, culture and social consciousness. However, the methods by which the North Caucasus was “civilized” in the 19th century became time bombs that exploded at the end of the 20th century. new, now the Chechen war.

10.07.2010 – 15:20 – Natpress

Source: cherkessian.com

May 21, 2010 marks 146 years since the day in 1864, in the tract of Kbaada (Kuebyde) on the Black Sea coast (now the ski resort Krasnaya Polyana, near Sochi), a military parade was held on the occasion of the victory over the Country of Adygs - Circassia and its deportation population in the Ottoman Empire. The parade was hosted by the brother of Emperor Alexander II - Grand Duke Mikhail.

The war between Russia and Circassia lasted 101 years, from 1763 to 1864.

As a result of this war, the Russian Empire lost over a million healthy men; destroyed Circassia - its long-standing and reliable ally in the Caucasus, acquiring in return the weak Transcaucasia and ephemeral plans to conquer Persia and India.

As a result of this war, the ancient country - Circassia disappeared from the world map, the Circassian (Adyghe) people - a longtime ally of Russia, suffered genocide - lost 9/10 of its territory, over 90% of the population, was scattered around the world, suffered irreparable physical and cultural losses .

Currently, the Circassians have the largest relative diaspora in the world - 93% of the people live outside the boundaries of their historical homeland. Of the peoples of modern Russia, the Circassian diaspora ranks second in the world after the Russian one.

All researchers admit that THERE HAVE NOT BEEN OBSERVED IN THE WORLD HISTORY IN WORLD HISTORY!

During the war with Circassia, five emperors changed on the Russian throne; The Russian Empire defeated Napoleon, captured Poland, the Crimean Khanate, the Baltic States, Finland, annexed Transcaucasia, won four wars with Turkey, defeated Persia (Iran), defeated the Chechen-Dagestan imamate of Shamil, capturing him, but could not conquer Circassia. It became possible to conquer Circassia in only one way - by expelling its population. According to General Golovin, one sixth of the vast empire's income went to the war in the Caucasus. At the same time, the main part of the Caucasian army fought against the Country of the Adygs.

TERRITORY AND POPULATION OF Circassia

Circassia occupied the main part of the Caucasus - from the coast of the Black and Azov Seas to the steppes of modern Dagestan. At some time, East Circassian (Kabardian) villages were located along the coast of the Caspian Sea.

Eastern Circassia (Kabarda) occupied the territories of modern Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, the southern part of the Stavropol Territory, the entire flat part of North Ossetia, Ingushetia and Chechnya, the toponymy of which still retained many Adyghe names (Malgobek, Psedakh, Argun, Beslan, Gudermes etc.). Abazins, Karachays, Balkars, Ossetians, Ingush and Chechen societies were dependent on Kabarda.

Western Circassia occupied the territory of the modern Krasnodar Territory. Later, Tatar tribes settled north of the Kuban.

At that time, the population of Eastern Circassia (Kabarda) was estimated at 400-500 thousand people. Western Circassia, according to various estimates, numbered from 2 to 4 million people.

Circassia for centuries lived under the threat of external invasions. To ensure their safety and survival, there was only one way out - the Circassians had to turn into a nation of warriors.

Therefore, the whole way of life of the Circassians became highly militarized. They developed and perfected the art of warfare, both mounted and on foot.

Centuries passed in a state of permanent war, so the war, even with a very strong enemy, was not considered something special in Circassia. The internal structure of the Circassian society guaranteed the independence of the country. In the Country of the Adyghes, there were special classes of society - pshi and warki. In many regions of Circassia (Kabarda, Beslenee, Kemirgoy, Bzhedugiya and Khatukay), the Works made up almost a third of the population. Their exclusive occupation was war and preparation for war. For the training of soldiers and the improvement of military skills, there was a special institute "zek1ue" ("riding"). And in peacetime, detachments of Warks, numbering from several people to several thousand, made long-distance campaigns.

None of the peoples of the world had military culture brought to such completeness and perfection as that of the Circassians.

During the time of Tamerlane, Circassian Warks even raided Samarkand and Bukhara. Neighbors, especially the wealthy Crimean and Astrakhan khanates, were also subjected to constant raids. “... The Circassians most willingly make campaigns in winter, when the sea freezes to rob the Tatar villages, and a handful of Circassians put to flight a whole crowd of Tatars.” “One thing I can praise in the Circassians,” the Astrakhan governor wrote to Peter the Great, “is that all of them are such warriors as are not found in these countries, because if there are a thousand Tatars or Kumyks, there are quite two hundred Circassians here.”

The Crimean nobility sought to raise their sons in Circassia. “Their country is a school for the Tatars, in which every man who has not been trained in military affairs and good manners in Circassia is considered a “tentek”, i.e. insignificant person."

"Khan's male children are sent to the Caucasus, from where they return to their parental home as boys."

“The Circassians are proud of the nobility of blood, and the Turks show them great respect, they call them “Circassian spaga”, which means a noble, equestrian warrior.”

"The Circassians always invent something new in their manners or weapons, in which the surrounding peoples imitate them so fervently that the Circassians can be called the French of the Caucasus."

The Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible, in search of allies against the Crimean Khanate, could only count on Circassia. And Circassia was looking for an ally in its struggle with the Crimean Khanate. The military-political alliance of 1557 concluded between Russia and Circassia turned out to be very successful and fruitful for both sides. In 1561, he was reinforced by the marriage between Ivan the Terrible and the Kabardian princess Guashanya (Maria). The Kabardian princes lived in Moscow under the name of the Cherkassky princes, and had great influence. (The places of their original residence opposite the Kremlin are now called Bolshoy and Maly Cherkassky lanes). Circassian was the first Russian generalissimo. In the "Time of Troubles" the question of the candidacy of Prince Cherkassky for the Russian throne was considered. The first tsar in the Romanov dynasty, Mikhail, was the nephew of the Cherkasskys. The cavalry of its strategic ally, Circassia, took part in many campaigns and wars of Russia.

Circassia spewed out a huge number of soldiers not only to Russia. The geography of military holiday work in Circassia is extensive and includes countries from the Baltic to North Africa. The literature widely covers the Circassian military otkhodnichestvo to Poland, Russia, Egypt, and Turkey. All of the above fully applies to the related country of Circassia - Abkhazia. In Poland and the Ottoman Empire, the Circassians enjoyed great influence in the highest echelons of power. For almost 800 years, Egypt (Egypt, Palestine, Syria, part of Saudi Arabia) was ruled by Circassian sultans.

Circassian Etiquette Norms of Warfare

In Circassia, which has waged wars for centuries, the so-called "War Culture" has been developed. Is it possible to combine the concept of "war" and "culture"?

War - such was the constant external background against which the Circassian people developed. But in order to remain people in the war, to follow the rules of the Circassian etiquette "Work Khabze", many norms were developed that regulate people's relations during the war. Here are some of them:

1). Prey was not an end in itself, but was only a SIGN, a SYMBOL of military prowess. The people condemned the Warks to be rich, to have luxury items, with the exception of weapons. Therefore, at Wark Khabze, the booty should have been given to others. It was considered shameful to acquire it without a fight, which is why the riders were always looking for the possibility of a military clash.

2). During hostilities, it was considered categorically unacceptable to set fire to dwellings or crops, especially bread, even among enemies. Here is how the Decembrist A.A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky, who fought in the Caucasus, describes the attack of the Kabardians: “In addition to booty, many prisoners and captives were a reward for courage. The Kabardians invaded houses, carried away what was more valuable or what came to hand in a hurry, but did not burn the houses, did not deliberately trample the fields, did not break the vineyards. “Why touch the work of God and the work of man,” they said, and this rule of the mountain robber, who is not horrified by any villainy, “is a valor that the most educated nations could be proud of if they had it.”

The actions of the Russian army in the Russian-Circassian war of 1763-1864. did not fit into this idea of ​​war, but, nevertheless, even to their own detriment, the Circassians strove to be true to their ideas. I. Drozdov, an eyewitness and participant in the war in the Caucasus, wrote in this regard: "The chivalrous way of waging war, constant open meetings, gathering in large masses - hastened the end of the war."

3). It was considered unacceptable to leave the bodies of dead comrades on the battlefield. D.A. Longworth wrote about this: “In the character of the Circassians, there is, perhaps, no trait more deserving of admiration than caring for the fallen - about the poor remains of the dead, who can no longer feel care. If any of the compatriots fell in battle, many Circassians rush to that place in order to carry out his body, and the heroic battle that follows ... often entails terrible consequences ... "

4). It was considered a great shame in Circassia to fall alive into the hands of the enemy. Russian officers who fought in Circassia noted that they very rarely managed to take Circassians prisoner. Often death was preferred to captivity even by women in surrounded villages. A historical example of this is the destruction of the village of Hodz by the tsarist troops. Women, in order not to fall into the hands of the enemy, killed themselves with scissors. Respect and compassion, admiration for the courage of the inhabitants of this Circassian village were reflected in the Karachay-Balkarian song "Ollu Khozh" ("Great Khodz").

Johann von Blaramberg noted: "When they see that they are surrounded, they give their lives dearly, never surrendering."

Chief of the Caucasian Line, Major General K.F. Steel wrote: “Surrendering to prisoners of war is the height of infamy, and therefore it never happened that an armed soldier surrendered. Having lost his horse, he will fight with such bitterness that he will finally force himself to be killed.

“Seeing all the ways to salvation cut off,” testified the Russian officer Tornau, “they killed their horses, lay behind their bodies with a rifle on a priso, and shot back as long as possible; having fired the last charge, they broke their guns and checkers and met death with a dagger in their hands, knowing that with this weapon they could not be captured alive. (The guns and checkers were broken so that they would not get to the enemy).

Circassian war tactics

The Ukrainian Caucasian scholar of the early 20th century, V. Gatsuk, gave an accurate description of the Circassian war for independence: “For many years they successfully fought for their homeland and freedom; many times they sent their cavalry militias to Dagestan to help Shamil, and their forces broke down in front of the huge numerical superiority of the Russian troops.

The military culture of Circassia was at a very high level.

For a successful fight against the Circassians, the Russian army was forced to adopt all its elements - from weapons (checkers and Circassian sabers, daggers, Circassian saddles, Circassian horses) and uniforms (Circassian, cloak, hat, gazyri, etc.) to methods of conducting fight. At the same time, borrowing was not a matter of fashion, but a matter of survival. However, in order to catch up in combat qualities with the Circassian cavalry, it was necessary to adopt the entire system of training a warrior in Circassia, and this was impossible.

“From the first time, the Cossack cavalry had to yield to the Circassian cavalry,” wrote Major General I.D. Popko, - and then she was never able to take advantage of her, or even catch up with her.

In the literature, the recollections of eyewitnesses, there is a lot of evidence of the conduct of the battle by the Circassians.

“The horsemen attacked the enemy with lashes in their hands, and only twenty steps away from him they snatched their guns, fired once, threw them over their shoulders and, exposing their saber, delivered a terrible blow, which was almost always fatal.” It was impossible to miss from a distance of twenty paces. The Cossacks, having adopted the checkers, galloped, raising them up, in vain bothering their hand, and depriving themselves of the opportunity to make a shot. In the hands of the attacking Circassian there was only a whip, with which he dispersed the horse.

“The Circassian warrior jumps from his saddle to the ground, throws a dagger into the chest of the enemy's horse, jumps back into the saddle; then he stands up straight, strikes his opponent ... and all this while his horse continues at a full gallop.

In order to upset the ranks of the enemy, the Circassians began to retreat. As soon as the ranks of the enemy, carried away by the pursuit, were upset, the Circassians rushed at him in checkers. This technique was called "Shu k1apse". Such counterattacks were distinguished by such swiftness and onslaught that, according to E. Spencer, the enemy "is literally torn to shreds within a few minutes."

As quick and unexpected as these counterattacks were, the retreat was just as quick. The same Spencer wrote that "their manner of fighting is to disappear, like lightning, in the forests after a furious attack ...". It was useless to pursue them in the forest: as soon as the enemy turned in the direction from where the most intense shelling came from or an attack took place, they immediately disappeared and started shelling from a completely different side.

One of the Russian officers noted: “The area is such that the battle breaks out in a clearing, and ends in a forest and a ravine. That enemy is such that if he wants to fight, it is impossible to resist him, and if he does not want to, it is impossible to overtake him.

The Circassians attacked the enemies with battle cries "Eue" and "Marzhe". The Polish volunteer Teofil Lapinsky wrote: “Russian soldiers, who turned gray in the war with the highlanders, said that this terrible cry, repeated by a thousand echoes in the forest and mountains, near and far, front and back, right and left, penetrates to the marrow of bones and produces on the impression of the troops is more terrible than the whistle of bullets.

M.Yu. briefly and succinctly described this tactic. Lermontov, who fought in the Caucasus:

But the Circassians do not give rest,
They hide, then attack again.
They are like a shadow, like a smoky vision,
Far and near at the same time.

WHAT IS THE WAR CALLED: CAUCASIAN, RUSSIAN-CAUCASUS OR RUSSIAN-CIRCASSIAN?

In Russian history, the "Caucasian War" refers to the war that Russia waged in the Caucasus in the 19th century. It is surprising that the time interval of this war is calculated from 1817-1864. In a strange way, they disappeared somewhere from 1763 to 1817. During this time, the Eastern part of Circassia - Kabarda was basically conquered. The question of how to call the war to Russian historians, and how to calculate its chronology, is the sovereign business of Russian historical science. It can call the "Caucasian" war that Russia waged in the Caucasus and arbitrarily calculate its duration.

Many historians correctly noted that in the name "Caucasian" war it is completely incomprehensible who fought with whom - whether the peoples of the Caucasus among themselves, or something else. Then, instead of the indefinite term "Caucasian" war, some scientists proposed the term "Russian-Caucasian" war of 1763-1864. This is a little better than the "Caucasian" war, but also incorrect.

Firstly, of the peoples of the Caucasus, only Circassia, Chechnya and Mountainous Dagestan fought against the Russian Empire. Secondly, "Russian-" reflects NATIONALITY. "Caucasian" - reflects GEOGRAPHY. If you use the term "Russian-Caucasian" war, then this means that the Russians fought with the Caucasian ridge. This is, of course, unacceptable.

Circassian (Adyghe) historians should write history from the point of view of the Circassian (Adyghe) people. In any other case, it will be anything but national history.

Russia began hostilities against the Circassians (Adygs) in 1763 by building the Mozdok fortress in the center of Kabarda. The war ended on May 21, 1864. There are no ambiguities here. Therefore, the war between Russia and Circassia is correctly called the Russian-Circassian, and its time interval from 1763 to 1864.

Does this name of the war ignore Chechnya and Dagestan?

Firstly, Circassia and the Chechen-Dagestan imamate did not act as a united front against the expansion of the Russian Empire.

Secondly, if the Chechen-Dagestan imamat fought under religious slogans, then Circassia, never known for religious fanaticism, fought for national independence - "the preaching of Muridism ... did not have much influence on people who still remained Muslims only in name", - wrote General R. Fadeev about the Circassians (Adygs).

Thirdly, Circassia did not receive any specific support from the Chechen-Dagestan Imamat.

Thus, in that war, the Circassians (Adygs) were united with the Chechen-Dagestan imamate only by geographical proximity. Shamil's attempt to come to Kabarda was made a few years after the conquest of the latter. The reduction in the number of Kabarda from 500 thousand to 35 thousand people made further resistance virtually impossible.

You can often hear that Circassia and the Chechen-Dagestan imamate were united by the presence of a common enemy. But here is not a complete list of the parties with which the Russian Empire fought during the war with Circassia: France, Poland, the Crimean Khanate, four times with Turkey, Persia (Iran), the Chechen-Dagestan imamate. Then all of them will also have to be taken into account in the name of the war.

The name "Russian-Circassian War" does not pretend to include actions in the Chechen-Dagestan imamate or in other regions. The Russian-Circassian war is the war of the Russian Empire against Circassia.

Among the Circassians (Adyghes) this war is called "Urys-Adyge zaue", literally: "Russian-Circassian war". That's what our people should call her. The Circassians waged war INDEPENDENTLY FROM ANYONE. The Adyghe country waged war WITHOUT HELP FROM ANY STATE IN THE WORLD. On the contrary, Russia and the Circassian "ally" Turkey have repeatedly colluded with each other, used the Muslim clergy of Circassia to implement the ONLY way to conquer our country - to expel its population. The conquest of the Adyghe Country lasted from 1763 to 1864 - the "Caucasian" war began in Circassia and ended in Circassia.

THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR

What is the reason for the start of the war between long-standing allies - Russia and Circassia? By the middle of the 18th century, the territorial expansion of the Russian Empire reached the Caucasus. With the voluntary annexation of weak Transcaucasian territories to Russia (the so-called "Georgia", i.e. the "kingdoms" of Kartli-Kakheti, Imereti, etc.), the situation worsened - the Caucasus turned out to be a barrier between Russia and its Transcaucasian possessions.

In the second half of the 18th century, the Russian Empire switched to active military operations to conquer the Caucasus. This made war with the dominant country of the Caucasus, Circassia, inevitable. For many years she was a consistent and reliable ally of Russia, but she could not cede her independence to anyone. Thus, the Circassians, the people of warriors, faced a clash with the strongest empire in the world.

A BRIEF OUTLINE OF THE CONQUERATION OF EASTERN Circassia (Kabarda)

The conquest of the Caucasus The Russian autocracy decided to start with the Eastern region of Circassia - Kabarda, which at that time occupied vast territories. The most important roads in Transcaucasia passed through Kabarda. In addition, the influence of Kabarda on the rest of the peoples of the Caucasus was enormous. Abazins, Karachays, Balkar societies, Ossetians, Ingush and Chechens were culturally and politically dependent on the Kabardian princes. Serving in the Caucasus, Major General V.D. Popko wrote that "peasant Chechnya", as best they could, followed the rules of etiquette of "knightly Kabarda". According to the Russian historian V.A. Potto, the author of the five-volume monograph “The Caucasian War”, “The influence of Kabarda was enormous and was expressed in the slavish imitation of the surrounding peoples of their clothes, weapons, customs and customs. The phrase "he is dressed ..." or "he drives like a Kabardian" sounded the greatest praise in the lips of neighboring peoples. Having conquered Kabarda, the Russian command hoped to seize the strategic route to Transcaucasia - the Darial Gorge was also controlled by the Kabardian princes. The conquest of Kabarda, in addition to giving control over the Central Caucasus, was supposed to have an impact on all the peoples of the Caucasus, especially on Western (Trans-Kuban) Circassia. After the conquest of Kabarda, the Caucasus was divided into two isolated regions - Western Circassia and Dagestan. In 1763, on the Kabardian territory, in the Mozdok tract (Mezdegu - "Deaf Forest"), without any agreement with Kabarda, a fortress of the same name was built. Russia responded with a categorical refusal to the demand to demolish the fortress, deploying additional armed forces to the conflict area. An open demonstration of aggression by Russia quickly united the whole of Kabarda. Warks from Western Circassia also arrived to participate in the battles. Russian historian V.A. Potto wrote: “In the Kabardians, the Russians found very serious opponents who had to be reckoned with. Their influence on the Caucasus was enormous ... "The long-standing alliance with Russia played against Kabarda. The Russian generals reproached the Circassians for the fact that, by opposing Russia, they were violating the long-standing allied relations that had developed between their ancestors. To this, the princes of Kabarda replied: "Leave our lands, destroy the fortresses, return the runaway slaves, and - you know that we can be worthy neighbors."

The generals used scorched earth tactics, trampled crops, and stole livestock. Hundreds of villages were burned. Thus, the tsarist command kindled the class struggle in Kabarda, hosting fugitive peasants and inciting them to oppose the rulers, presenting themselves as the defenders of the oppressed classes. (In the Russian Empire itself, called the "gendarme of Europe", headed by one of the most odious and ferocious emperors - Nicholas the First, no one thought about the Russian peasants). In addition, it was announced to the neighboring peoples that after the victory over Kabarda, they would be allocated flat lands at the expense of Kabarda, and they would get rid of dependence on the Kabardian princes. As a result, "the Caucasian peoples watched with joy the weakening of the Kabardians."

During the war, all Kabardian villages located in the region of the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody and Pyatigorye were destroyed, the remnants were resettled across the river. Malka, and new fortresses were erected on the "liberated" territory, including the fortification of Konstantinogorsk (Pyatigorsk). In 1801, in the natural boundary of Nartsana (“drink of the Narts”, in Russian transcription - narzan), the Kislye Vody (Kislovodsk) fortress was founded, cutting the roads to Western Circassia. Kabarda was finally cut off from the rest of Circassia. A big blow to Kabarda was the plague epidemic (in Circassian “emyne ​​uz”) at the beginning of the 19th century. A long war contributed to the spread of the epidemic. As a result, the population of Kabarda decreased by 10 times - from 500 thousand people to 35 thousand.

On this occasion, the Russian generals noted with satisfaction that the now depopulated Kabarda could not fully use its terrible weapon - the swift blows of many thousands of cavalry. However, the resistance continued. On the Kumbalei River (Kambileevka, which is now located on the territory of modern North Ossetia and Ingushetia), a grandiose battle took place in which Kabarda was defeated. It is to this period that the proverb “Emynem kyelar Kumbaleim Ihya” (“Who escaped from the plague, Kumbalei carried him away”) belongs. The mountainous Kabardian villages were brought to the plane, the line of fortresses cut them off from the mountains, which were always a stronghold in repulsing the enemy. One of these fortresses was the fortress of Nalchik. In 1827, General Yermolov made a campaign in the weakened Kabarda. Many princes and warks, retreating with battles along the Baksan Gorge, through the Elbrus region, went to Western Circassia to continue resistance, forming villages of "fugitive Kabardians" there. Many went to Chechnya, where to this day there are many Circassian surnames and teips. Thus, Kabarda was finally conquered for 60 years. Its territory was reduced by 5 times, and the population from 500 thousand people to 35 thousand. The dreams of the generals came true - to bring Kabarda to the state of other mountain peoples.

Some Ossetian, Ingush societies and Tatar societies (modern Balkars), having freed themselves from Kabardian dependence, took the oath to Russia. Karachay was annexed during a one-day battle on October 30, 1828.

Chechens and Ingush were resettled from the mountains to the deserted land of Malaya Kabarda (the plane of modern Chechnya and Ingushetia). Plain Kabardian lands were transferred to Ossetians, Karachays and mountain communities (Balkarians) evicted from the mountains.

The conquest of Eastern Circassia (Kabarda) caused almost no protest from other states. They considered Kabarda a part of the Russian Empire. But the territory of Western Circassia was not considered part of the Empire.

THE BEGINNING OF THE WAR IN WESTERN Circassia

In 1829, the Russian Empire, using diplomatic tricks, declared itself the "master" of Western Circassia in the eyes of the international community.

Long before these events, the Ottoman Empire made attempts to conquer Circassia, including it in its composition. This was done both through the Crimean Khanate and through attempts to spread the Muslim religion in Circassia. There was only one military clash between Turkish troops and Circassians - when they tried to land troops on the Circassian coast of the Black Sea and establish a fortress. The landing force was destroyed by a swift blow of the Circassian cavalry. After that, the Ottoman authorities began to negotiate and, having agreed with the local princes of Natukhai (the historical region of Circassia - the modern Anapa, Novorossiysk, Crimean, Gelendzhik and Abinsk regions of the Krasnodar Territory), they built the fortresses of Anapa and Sudzhuk-Kale. The assurances of the Turks about bringing the Circassians into citizenship did not at all correspond to reality.

“The Circassians still tolerated the Ottomans on their territory for a reward, but did not allow, or rather, ruthlessly beat them at any attempt to interfere in their affairs.” On their maps, wishful thinking, the Turks drew Circassia included in the Ottoman Empire. Russia was quite happy with this. Having won the next Russian-Turkish war, she concluded the Andrianopol peace, under the terms of which Turkey "ceded" Circassia to Russia, recognizing it "in the eternal possession of the Russian Empire." Thus, "the entire diplomatic corps of Europe was outmaneuvered by Moscow's cunning."

As the founder of communism, Karl Marx, rightly noted, "Turkey could not cede to Russia what it did not own." He also emphasized that Russia is well aware of this: “Circassia has always been so independent from Turkey that while the Turkish pasha was in Anapa, Russia entered into an agreement on coastal trade with the Circassian leaders.” A Circassian delegation was sent to Istanbul to clarify relations with Turkey. The Turkish government offered the Circassians to recognize Turkish citizenship and convert to Islam, which was categorically rejected.

Having untied its hands on the international plane, Russia was well aware that the Andrianopol peace was "only a letter that the Circassians did not want to know," and that "they can only be forced into obedience with weapons."

In 1830, military operations against Western (Zakuban) Circassia were sharply intensified. The Adygs sent a delegation to the military command for negotiations. They were told that Circassia and its inhabitants had been handed over by their master, the Turkish Sultan, to Russia. The Circassians answered: “Turkey never conquered our lands by force of arms and never bought them for gold. How can she give what is not hers? One of the Adyghe elders figuratively explained how Turkey "gave" Circassia to Russia. Pointing to the general at a bird perched on a tree, he said: “General! You are a good person. I give you this bird - it is yours!

The “Memorandum of the Union of the Western Circassian Tribes”, sent to the Russian emperor, said: “There are four million of us and we are united from Anapa to Karachay. These lands belong to us: we inherited them from our ancestors and the desire to keep them in our power is the cause of a long enmity with you ... Be fair to us and do not ruin our property, do not shed our blood if you are not called to do so. .. You are misleading the whole world by spreading rumors that we are a wild people and under this pretext you are waging war with us; meanwhile, we are human beings just like you... Do not seek to shed our blood, since WE DECIDED TO DEFEND OUR COUNTRY TO THE LAST EXTREME ... "

In Western Circassia, Russian generals also used scorched earth tactics, destroyed crops, and stole livestock, dooming the population to starvation. Hundreds of villages were burned, destroying all the inhabitants who did not have time to escape. The shameful mound of General Zass with human heads, built to intimidate the surrounding Circassian villages, became widely known. Such actions of the general even aroused the indignation of the emperor himself. Such methods of warfare led to casualties among the civilian population, but militarily, the Russian command suffered crushing defeats.

Entire punitive armies of 40-50 thousand people literally disappeared in Circassia. As one of the Russian officers wrote: “To conquer Georgia, two battalions were enough for us. In Circassia, entire armies simply disappear…” The Russian tsars staged a real massacre in Circassia not only for the Adyghes, but also for their army. “The losses of the Russian army in Circassia,” wrote the British officer James Cameron in 1840, an eyewitness of those events, “represent a horrifying picture of human sacrifice.”

BLOCCADE OF THE Circassian coast of the Black Sea

For the blockade of the Black Sea coast of Circassia on the Circassian coast of the Black Sea from Anapa to Adler, the so-called Black Sea coastline was erected, which consisted of many fortresses. Painting by I.K. Aivazovsky's "Landing in Subashi" captured the shelling of the Black Sea Fleet of the coast and the landing at the mouth of the Shakhe River, in Shapsugia (the historical region of Circassia - the modern Tuapse district and the Lazarevsky district of Sochi. Fort Golovinsky was founded there (named after General Golovin). This the fortification was part of the Black Sea coastline, founded in 1838 with the aim of blocking the Black Sea coast of Circassia.

The Adygs repeatedly destroyed the fortresses of this line. So, on February 19, 1840, the Circassians captured and destroyed the Lazarevsk fortress; March 12 - Velyaminovsk (Circassian name - Tuapse); April 2 - Mikhailovsk; April 17 - Nikolaevsk; May 6 - Navaginsk (Circassian name - Sochi). When the Circassians took the Mikhailovskaya fortress, the soldier Arkhip Osipov blew up the powder magazine. In honor of this event, the Mikhailovskaya fortress was renamed Arkhipo-Osipovka.

The head of the Black Sea coastline, General N.N.Raevsky, a friend of A.S. actions in the Caucasus, and from this he is forced to leave the region. Our actions in the Caucasus are reminiscent of all the disasters of the conquest of America by the Spaniards, but I do not see here any heroic deeds or successes in conquests ... ".

FIGHT AT THE SEA

Stubborn struggle was not only on land, but also at sea. Since ancient times, the coastal Circassians (Natukhians, Shapsugs, Ubykhs) and Abkhazians were excellent sailors. Strabo also mentioned the Adyghe-Abkhazian piracy; in the Middle Ages it reached enormous proportions.

The Circassian galleys were small and manoeuvrable; they could be easily hidden. “These vessels are flat-bottomed, steered by 18 to 24 rowers. Sometimes they build ships that can accommodate from 40 to 80 people, which are controlled, in addition to rowers, by an angular sail.

Eyewitnesses noted the high mobility, high speed and inconspicuousness of the Circassian ships, which made them extremely convenient for piracy. Sometimes ships were armed with cannons. The sovereign princes of Abkhazia already in the 17th century produced huge galleys that could accommodate 300 people.

With the outbreak of war with Russia, the Circassians used their fleet very effectively. Bulky Russian ships were completely dependent on the wind and did not have high maneuverability, which made them vulnerable to Circassian galleys. Circassian sailors on large galleys with crews of 100 or more people entered into battles with enemy ships. Successfully attacked Russian ships and small but numerous Circassian galleys. On their ships, they went out into the moonless nights and silently swam up to the ship. “First, they shot down people on deck with rifles, and then they rushed to board with sabers and daggers, and in a short time they decided the matter ...”.

During the war and the blockade of the Circassian coast, Circassian (Adyghe) delegations and embassies freely traveled by sea to Istanbul. Between Circassia and Turkey, despite all the efforts of the Black Sea Fleet, until the very last days of the war, about 800 ships constantly plied.

CHANGING THE TACTICS OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE IN THE WAR WITH CIRCASIA

How well the military organization of Circassia was adapted to waging war is evidenced by a phrase from a letter from the Circassians to the Ottoman Sultan: “For many years we have been waging war with Russia, but there is no big trouble in that. On the contrary, it allows us to have good prey.” This letter was written in the 90th year of the war! At the same time, it should be noted that the size of the army that fought against Circassia was several times greater than the army put up by Russia against Napoleon. Unlike the Eastern Caucasus (Chechnya and Dagestan), where the war ended with the capture of Shamil, the war in Circassia was of a nationwide, total and uncompromising nature and took place under the slogan of national independence. Because of this, the "hunt for leaders" could not bring any success. “In this respect, as in everything else, the situation was completely different in the western Caucasus (i.e., in Circassia) than in the eastern (Chechnya-Dagestan). Starting with the fact that the Lezgins and Chechens were already accustomed to obedience .... by the power of Shamil: the Russian state had to overcome the imam, take his place in order to command these peoples. In the Western Caucasus (in Circassia) one had to deal with each person separately,” General R. Fadeev wrote.

The classic ideas of defeating the enemy by capturing his capital, winning several pitched battles, also could not be realized in the war with Circassia.

The Russian military command began to realize that it was impossible to defeat Circassia without changing the tactics of the war. It was decided to completely evict the Circassians from the Caucasus and populate the country with Cossack villages. For this, a systematic seizure of certain parts of the country, the destruction of villages and the construction of fortresses and villages were assumed. ("Their land is needed, but they themselves have no need"). “The exceptional geographical position of the Circassian country on the shores of the European sea, which brought it into contact with the whole world, did not allow us to confine ourselves to the conquest of the peoples inhabiting it in the ordinary sense of the word. There was no other way to strengthen this land (Circassia) behind Russia, indisputably, how to make it really Russian land ... .. extermination of the highlanders, their total expulsion instead of subjugation", "We needed to turn the eastern coast of the Black Sea into Russian land and in order to clear it of mountaineers all along the coast..... The expulsion of the mountaineers from the slums and the settlement of the western Caucasus (Circassia) by Russians - that was the plan of the war in the last four years, ”general R. Fadeev talks about the plans for the genocide of the Circassians.

According to various plans, it was supposed to either resettle the Circassians in scattered villages inland, or squeeze them out to Turkey. Formally, they were also assigned swampy places in the Kuban, but in fact there was no choice. “We knew that the eagles would not go to the chicken coop,” wrote General R. Fadeev. In order for the ALL Adyghe population to go to Turkey, Russia entered into an agreement with it. Türkiye sent emissaries to Circassia, bribed the Muslim clergy to agitate for the move. The clergy described the "beauties" of life in a Muslim country, the emissaries promised that Turkey would allocate the best lands to them, and subsequently help them return to the Caucasus. At the same time, Turkey sought to use the warlike people to keep the Yugoslav Slavs and Arabs in subjection, who sought to secede from the Ottoman Empire.

The Circassians have always occupied a strong position in the highest echelons of power in Turkey. The mother of the Turkish Sultan was a Circassian. This was also used in campaigning.

It should be noted that high-ranking Circassians in Turkey, who had a sharply negative attitude towards this project, and urged their compatriots not to succumb to agitation, were arrested by the Turkish government, many were executed.

However, the plans of the Russian Empire were put on hold due to the Crimean War. Russia's international position worsened. England and France did not recognize Russia's rights to Circassia. In many capitals of Europe, "Circassian committees" were created, which put pressure on their governments in order to provide assistance to Circassia. The founder of communism, Karl Marx, also expressed admiration for the struggle of Circassia. He wrote: “The formidable Circassians again won a series of brilliant victories over the Russians. Peoples of the world! Learn from them what a people can do if they want to remain free!” Relations with Europe were aggravated not only because of the "Circassian issue". In 1853, the "Crimean War" of Russia began with the Anglo-French coalition.

To everyone's surprise, instead of landing troops on the Circassian coast of the Black Sea, the coalition landed in the Crimea. As the Russian generals later admitted, the landing of the allies in Circassia, or at least the transfer of cannons to Circassia, would have led to disastrous results for the Empire, and the loss of Transcaucasia. But the allied command landed in the Crimea, and even demanded from Circassia 20,000 cavalry for the siege of Sevastopol, without any promises of support for the war of independence. The assault on Sevastopol, the base of the fleet, after the Russian Black Sea Fleet itself was flooded, had no military significance. The refusal of the allied command to land their troops on the coast of Circassia made it clear that there would be no need to wait for any military assistance from the allies.

The war ended with the defeat of Russia - she was forbidden to have her own fleet in the Black Sea and was ordered to withdraw troops from Circassia. England insisted on the immediate recognition of the independence of Circassia, but she was not supported by France, which was waging war in Algeria. Thus, the victory of England and France over Russia did not bring tangible changes. Feeling the political weakness of its rivals, the Russian Empire decided to quickly implement its plan to expel the population of Circassia, regardless of any human and material means. It is interesting that the British Empire, having forbidden Russia to have a fleet on the Black Sea, suddenly began to allow Russia to use ships if they were intended for the export of Circassians to Turkey. The change in British policy becomes clear from her newspapers of those times. The Russian emperors did not hide the fact that after mastering the Caucasus, "weak and defenseless Asia" opens before them. The British Empire feared that after conquering the country, the Circassians would be used by Russia to capture Persia and India. “Russia will have at its disposal the most warlike people in the world to capture Bombay and Calcutta” - the main idea of ​​the English newspapers of that time. The British government also decided in every possible way to facilitate the resettlement of the Circassians in Turkey, allowing Russia, even in violation of the peace treaty, to use the fleet in the Black Sea.

Thus, the eviction was carried out with the full consent of the Russian, Ottoman and British empires, and was supported from within by the Muslim clergy against the backdrop of an unprecedented scale of military operations against Circassia.

THE EXPLOITATION OF THE Circassians

Huge military forces were concentrated against Circassia. In 1861, the Beslenians were deported to Turkey. They were followed by Kuban Kabardians, Kemirgoevs, Abazins. In 1862 it was the turn of the Natukhais who lived in the region of Anapa and Tsemez (Novorossiysk).

In the winter of 1863-1864 troops were thrown against the Abadzekhs. Abadzekhia, filled with tens of thousands of refugees from the “subjugated” regions of Circassia, resisted courageously and stubbornly, but the forces were unequal. Carrying out the offensive in winter led to heavy casualties among the population. “The destruction of stocks and pickles is detrimental, the highlanders remain completely homeless and extremely constrained in food”, “no more than a tenth of the dead population fell from weapons, the rest fell from deprivation and harsh winters spent under snowstorms in the forest and on bare rocks.”

“A striking sight presented itself to our eyes along the way: scattered corpses of children, women, old people, torn to pieces, half-eaten by dogs; migrants exhausted by hunger and disease, who could hardly lift their legs from weakness ... ”(officer I. Drozdov, Pshekh detachment).

All the surviving Abadzekhs emigrated to Turkey. “Out of greed, Turkish skippers piled, like a load, the Circassians who hired their kocherma to the shores of Asia Minor, and, like a load, threw them overboard at the slightest sign of illness. The waves threw the corpses of these unfortunates onto the shores of Anatolia ... Hardly half of those who went to Turkey arrived at the place. Such a calamity and on such a scale has rarely befallen mankind. But only horror could have an effect on these warlike savages ... ".

On February 28, 1864, the Dakhovsky detachment of General von Geiman, having crossed the Caucasus Range along the Goyth Pass, entered the Black Sea Shapsugia and occupied Tuapse. Punitive operations began against the Shapsugs and Ubykhs. From March 7 to 10, all the Circassian villages of the densely populated Black Sea valleys of Dederkoy, Shapsi and Makopse were exterminated. On March 11 and 12, all the villages in the Tuapse and Ashe valleys were destroyed. On March 13-15, along the Psezuapse valley, "all encountered auls were destroyed." March 23, 24 "on the river Loo, in the community of Vardan, all the villages were burned." From March 24 to May 15, 1864, all Circassian villages along the valleys of the Dagomys, Shakhe, Sochi, Mzymta and Bzyb rivers were destroyed.

“The war was fought by both sides with merciless cruelty. Neither the harsh winter, nor the storms on the Circassian coast were able to stop the bloody struggle. Not a single day passed without a battle. The suffering of the Adyghe tribes surrounded on all sides by the enemy, which occurred due to a lack of funds, food and ammunition, exceeded everything that can be imagined ... ... on the shores of the Black Sea, under the sword of the winner, one of the bravest peoples on the entire globe bled ... "

It became impossible to defend the country. Emigration took on a monstrous scale. The Circassians were given the shortest time frame for which they had to move to Turkey. Property and livestock were abandoned or sold for next to nothing to the military and Cossacks. Huge masses of the population crowded along the entire Circassian coast of the Black Sea. The entire coast was littered with the bodies of the dead interspersed with the living. People, having miserable food supplies, sat on the shore, "experiencing all the blows of the elements" and waiting for the opportunity to leave. Turkish ships arriving every day were loaded with settlers. But there was no way to transfer them all at once. The Russian Empire also hired ships. “The Circassians fired their guns into the air, saying goodbye to their homeland, where the graves of their fathers and grandfathers were located. Some, having fired for the last time, threw expensive weapons into the depths of the sea.

Specially sent detachments combed the gorges, looking for people who tried to hide in hard-to-reach places. From 300 thousand Shapsugs, about 1 thousand people remained, scattered over the most impregnable areas; 100 thousand Ubykhs were completely evicted. Only one village remained from Natukhai, called Suvorov-Cherkessky, but its population was also resettled in 1924 in the Adygei Autonomous Region. Of the large population of Abadzekhia in the Caucasus, only one village remained - the village of Khakurinokhabl.

According to official figures from the Russian authorities, 418,000 Circassians were deported. Of course, this number is an underestimate. It is obvious that the official authorities are striving to hide the scale of the genocide. Besides, even these 418,000 people are only migrants officially registered by the Russian authorities. Naturally, these figures are not able to take into account all the Circassians, "who had absolutely no interest in reporting who and where was going to Turkey." According to the Turkish “Muhajir Commission” (Commission for Settlers), 2.8 million people remained alive and settled in the vilayets (regions) of the Ottoman Empire, of which 2.6 million are Adygs. And this despite the fact that a huge number of people died on the Black Sea coast and when moving. The Adyghe proverb of that time says: "The road by sea to Istanbul (Istanbul) is visible from the Circassian corpses." And 140 years after these events, the Primorye Circassians, the miraculously surviving Shapsugs, do not eat fish from the Black Sea.

Huge were the losses in the quarantine camps of immigrants on the Turkish coast. It was an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. For example, mortality from starvation and disease in the Achi-Kale camp alone reached about 250 people a day, and these camps were located along the entire Turkish coast. The Turkish government, which did not expect such a scale of resettlement, could not provide all the camps with food. Fearing epidemics, the camps were surrounded by army units. Turkey asked Russia to stop the flow of refugees, but it only increased. The Sultan's mother, a Circassian by birth, donated all her personal savings and organized a fundraiser to buy food for the Circassians. But it was not possible to save many, many thousands from starvation. "Parents sold their children to the Turks in the hope that they would at least eat a satisfying meal"

“My heart was filled with bitterness when I recalled the astonishing poverty of these unfortunates, whose hospitality I enjoyed for so long”, “These poor Circassians, how unhappy they are,” I told him (the Turk) ....

Circassian women will be cheap this year at the market, he answered me ... quite calmly, the old pirate "

(French volunteer A.Fonville, according to the book "The Last Year of the Circassian War for Independence, 1863-1864") By May 21, 1864, the last bastion of the Circassian resistance fell - the Kbaada tract (Kuebyde, now - the ski resort Krasnaya Polyana, near Sochi).

There, in the presence of the brother of Emperor Alexander II - Grand Duke Michael, a victory parade took place on the occasion of the end of the Caucasian War and the expulsion of the Circassians (Circassians) to Turkey.

The huge edge is empty. From the four million population by 1865 in the Western Caucasus, only about 60 thousand people remained, settled in scattered villages, surrounded by Cossack villages. The eviction continued almost until the end of 1864 and, by 1865, instead of the numerous and integral Circassian people - the dominant people of the Caucasus, there were only small, territorially divided ethnic "islands" of the Circassians.

The same fate in 1877 befell Abkhazia, related to the Circassians. The total number of Circassians in the Caucasus after the war (excluding Kabardians) did not exceed 60 thousand people. Yes, the Circassians lost this war. In its consequences, it was a real national catastrophe for them. Over 90% of the population and about 9/10 of all land were lost. But who can reproach the Circassian people for not defending their homeland while pitying themselves? That he did not fight for every inch of this land until the last warrior? In the entire history of Circassia, the ONLY army that managed, at the cost of colossal sacrifices and incredible effort, to occupy this territory was the Russian army, and even then, it was possible to do this only by expelling virtually the entire Circassian population.

Both during and after the end of the war, many participants in these events paid tribute to the courage with which the Adygs defended their homeland.

We could not retreat from the work we had begun and abandon the conquest of the Caucasus just because the Circassians did not want to submit ... Now that our power in the Caucasus is completely consolidated, we can calmly pay tribute to the heroism and selfless courage of the defeated enemy, who honestly defended his homeland and their freedom to the point of complete exhaustion.

In the book “The Last Year of the Circassian War for Independence (1863-1864)”, the Frenchman Fonville, an eyewitness of those events, described the Circassians who settled in Turkey as follows:

“their sabers, daggers, carbines made some kind of special, impressive, warlike noise ... It was felt that this mighty people, if they were defeated by the Russians, defended their country as much as they could, and ... there was no lack of courage in them , nor in energy. THIS IS THE CIRCASSIAN PEOPLE LEAVED UNDEFEATED....!!!

This is how General R. Fadeev described the expulsion of the Circassian people: “The entire coast was humiliated by ships and covered with steamships. At each verst of 400 versts of its length, large and small sails whitened, masts rose, steamboat chimneys smoked; on each cape the flags of our pickets fluttered; in every beam there was a crowd of people and there was a bazaar…. But he was empty for a short time. On the abandoned ashes of the condemned Circassian tribe, a great Russian tribe has become ... the eastern coast with its magnificent beauty is now part of Russia .... The tares are uprooted, the wheat will spring up.”

And this is the general’s forecast for the future of the Circassians: “... just look at the reports of the consuls to know how the Circassians are melting in Turkey; half of them have already dropped out, there are no more women between them .... Turkish Circassians will exist only in one generation ... "

BUT THE Circassian (Adyghe) PEOPLE HAVE NOT DISAPPEARED! HE SURVIVED DESPITE OTHERS AND IS CONFIDENTLY STARTED ON THE PATH OF REVIVAL!

According to the 2002 census, the Circassians (Adygs), for the first time after the Russian-Circassian war, again became the largest people in the Caucasus. The Circassian diaspora numbers, according to various estimates, from 5 to 7 million people who retain their national identity.

Adygs! Do not forget your great past, study your history! Take care of your language, your culture, your traditions and customs! Be proud of your ancestors, be proud that you belong to the Great Circassian People!

Do your best to revive it!

www.newcircassia.com aheku.net May 23, 2007

LITERATURE

1. S. Hotko. History of Circassia. - S.-Pb, ed. S.-Pb University, 2002.

2. A.S. Marzey. Circassian riding - "Zek1ue". - Nalchik, El-Fa, 2004.

3. North Caucasus in European literature of the XIII-XVIII centuries. Collection of materials. - Nalchik, El-Fa, 2006.

4. T.V. Polovinkin. Circassia is my pain. Historical sketch (the most ancient time - the beginning of the 20th century). - Maykop, Adygea, 2001.

5. N.F. Dubrovin. About the peoples of the Central and northwestern Caucasus. - Nalchik, El-Fa, 2002.

6. T. Lapinsky. Highlanders of the Caucasus and their liberation war against the Russians. - Nalchik, El-Fa, 1995.

7. E. Spencer. Travel to Circassia. - Maykop, Adygea, 1995

8. A. Fonville. The last year of the Circassian war for independence 1863-1864. - Nalchik, 1991.

9. I. Blaramberg. Caucasian manuscript. - Stavropol book publishing house, 1992.

10. R. Fadeev. Caucasian war. - M., Algorithm, 2005.

11. V.A. Potto. Caucasian War, in 5 volumes - M., Tsentrpoligraf, 2006.

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