Galashians

Galashians (Галашкахой), were a historical Ingush ethnoterritorial society, which formed in the middle of the 18th century. The name comes from the village of Galashki, which is geographically located in the very center of the society. Galashians were located in the middle and lower reaches of the river Assa and the basin of the river Fortanga.

Formation of the Society
The Galashian society formed in the second half of 18th century from the mountain Ingush that settled in lowlands between Assa and Fortanga rivers. The Orstkhoy and Ghalghai (Tsorin and Khamkhin) societies played the greatest role in the formation of the Galashian society. The settlements of the Galashians are first recorded on the map of 1768, where they are marked as Galachi at the confluence of the Assa river into the Sunzha river.

Caucasian War
During the Caucasian War, the Galashians bitterly resisted the Russian expansion in the region and were commonly referred as "un-ruly" or "half-conquered" by the Russian Empire, as they never really did bow under the Russian rule and continued on making raids on Russian royal fortifications and settlements.

The Galashians actively participated on the side of Imamate, so on March of 1840, the Galashian and Karabulak (Orstkhoy) societies participated in the uprising of Chechnya and with their deputies together with Chechens solemnly swore allegiance to Imam Shamil in the large center village of Lesser Chechnya, Urus-Martan, thus becoming part of the Imamate.

As the letter of Muhammad Amin Asiyalav dating back to October of 1848 states, the Naib of Vilayet Kalay (Galashkinskoe Naibstvo) was selected Muhammad-Mirza Anzorov, a Kabardian naib, who also at the time ruled Minor Chechnya as the district of Imamate: From the knowledgeable mudir, adherent of Islam Muhammadamin to his generous brothers and glorious friends, the valiant, zealous, brave inhabitants of Kalai and Arashdi – salam is constant.

And then – obedience to the imam is the duty of every person, and helping Islam is the duty of men.

You should obey the one who is placed over you, and he is our faithful brother Muhammadmirza.

The Galashians were conquered in the end of Caucasian War after numerous punitive expeditions.

Chronology of major events:


 * 1830 — Punitive expedition of Abkhazov to mountainous Ingushetia, during which the Galashian society was also affected.
 * 1832 — Due to the collaboration of Ingush with Ghazi Muhammad and the murder of a bailiff, Rozen led a punitive expedition on Ingush and went through Dzheyrakh and Metskhal around Khamkhi and Tsori, during which the Galashian society was also affected.
 * 1840 — the Karabulak (Orstkhoy) and Galashian societies joined the uprising of Chechnya and with their deputies together with Chechens solemnly swore allegiance to Imam Shamil in the large center village of Lesser Chechnya, Urus-Martan. Thus Galashkinskoe Naibstvo was established.
 * January of 1847 — Russian troops under the command of General Nesterov made a punitive expedition to Galashian Gorge.
 * 1858 — The Galashians together with the Nazranians took part in one of the episodes of the Great Caucasian War — the Nazran uprising, which ended unsuccessfully and the leaders of the uprising were either executed or exiled.
 * After the end of the war — Galashians, alongside Akkins, Tsorins and Ghalghaï were forcibly evicted/resettled to lowlands and their lands were given to Cossacks.

Modern History
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, when the Cossack stripes that divided the Ingush societies were mostly eliminated, the official significance of territorial societies weakened, and soon after the formation of the Ingush Autonomous Oblast, it completely disappeared. Nevertheless, for some time the Ingush who inhabited the foothill lands and especially the Galashkinsky District, continued to be called Galashians.