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Caucasian War [2] [3] [4] (1817 or 1829 [5] -1864) - military action of the Russian army connected with the accession of mountain areas of the North Caucasus to Russia, and confrontation with the Caucasian Imamate. At the beginning o fnineteenth century Russian Empire gained control ot the Georgian Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti (1801-1810 gg.), as well as some predominantly Azerbaijani Transcaucasian Khanates (1805-1813 gg.). However, between the newly acquired land and Russia were mostly Islamic mountain peoples that had sworn allegiance to Russia [6], but were  de facto independent. Suppression of raids by the Hilanders was one of the main objectives of Russian policy. Many mountain peoples of the northern slopes of the Greater Caucasus mountain range offered fierce resistance to the expanding power. The most fierce fighting took place in the period 1817-1864. The main areas of military operations - West (Adygea) and Northeast (Chechnya, Dagestan) Caucasus.There were also armed clashes between the highlanders and Russian troops took place in the South Caucasus, Kabarda and Karachai. After the pacification of the Big Kabarda (1825), the main opponents of the Russian troops were, in the west, the Circassians from Black Sea coast and along the Kuban River, and in the east - the Highlanders, united in a military-theocratic Islamic state - Imamate of Chechnya and Dagestan, headed by Shamil. At this stage, the Caucasian war intertwined with the Russian war against Persia. Military action against the highlanders required significant forces and was very bitter. From the mid-1830. conflict escalated with the rise in Chechnya and Dagest anof a religious-political movement under the banner gazavat which received moral and military support of the Ottoman Empire, and during the Crimean War - and the Biritish Empire. The resistance of the mountaineers of Chechnya and Dagestan was broken only in 1859. The war with the Adigeya tribes of the Western Caucasus lasted until 1864 and ended with the eviction of the Circassians to the Ottoman Empire, or the lowlands along the Kuban.

Name
The term "Caucasian War" was introduced by the Russian military historian, publicist, and contemporary of the events,  R. A. Fadeev ( 1824 - 1 883 ) who in 1860 published, "Sixty years of the Caucasian war"  which was written on behalf of the supreme commander of the Caucasus Prince A. I. Bariatinskii. However, the pre-revolutionary and Soviet historians up until the 1940s preferred term “Caucasian wars of the empire”. In the Great Soviet Encyclopedia article about the war used the term "Caucasian War 1817-64" [11]. After the collapse of the USSR and the formation of the Russian Federation in the autonomous regions of Russia intensified separatist tendencies. This is reflected in the attitude toward the events in the North Caucasus (and in particular to the Caucasian War), in their assessment. In "Caucasian War: Lessons of History and the Present", presented in May 1994 at a scientific conference in Krasnodar the historian Valery Ratushnyak spoke of a " Russian-Caucasian war  lasting half a century, " [2]. In his book "Chechnya Invictus", published in 1997 after the First Chechen War, the social and political activist Lyoma Usmanov called the war years 1817-1864 " The first Russian-Caucasian war " [3]. Political analyst Viktor Chernous noted that the Caucasian war was not only the longest in Russian history, but also the most controversial, including the question of whether there was one Caucasian War or several..

Background
Relationships betwee Russia and peoples and states on both sides o fthe Caucasus Mountains have a long and complicated history .After the collapse of Georgia in 1460s. several separate kingdoms and principalities ( Kartli, Kakheti , Imereti ,Samtskhe-Javakheti ) their rulers often turned to the Russian tsars asking for protection. In 1557 was signed a military-political alliance between Russia and Kabarda (in 1561 the daughter of Prince KabardianTemriuk Idarov Kuchen (Mary) became the wife of Ivan the Terrible ), whose rulers were at war with gazikumuhskim Shamkhalov. The sons of the exiled pro-Moscow Nogai Josef Bey sought shelter (??In Kabardia. In 1560 "... by request of the Kabardian princes and for the unrighteousness of the Shemkal [13]” troops under Astrakhan governor  I. S. Cheremisinova (see. Cheremisinova Hike in Dagestan ) landed on the Caspian coast two kilometers from the center of the Shamkhalate at Tarka****.The  Shamkhhal organized resistance, but was defeated and fled to the mountains. Having ravaged Tarka, the Russian force returned unhindered to their ships and left the Shamkhalate In 1582, the inhabitands of the area around Beshtay , suffering from raids of the Crimean Tatars , placed themselveer under the protection of Russian tsar. In the same year the  Shamhal  [*which one?*], working through the Astrakhan governor,  testified to his friendly attitude to Ivan IV, and in 1587 expressed a desire to serve him. In response Moscow sent an ambassador to the  Shamkh and proposed the construction of a fortress on the Sulak. The Shamhal expressed full agreement. Stop<<<<< Meanwhile, some Dagestaninobles continued to raid the Georgiana and Persiana [17] as well as Russian villages [18]. I 1586 Kakheti tsar Alexander II, troubled by attacks of the gazikumukh Shamkhal  sent an embassy to Tsar Fedor I. In 1589 Terek Governor A. I. Khvorostinin sent against the  Shamkhal governor Zasyekin. Shamhal met the Russian army on the river Kois, but could not hold it, and fled to the mountains. During a punitive raid Zasyekin burned Endireevo village and slaughtered or captured a large number of mountaineers. Soon the Shamhal made another major raid on Georgian soil, which led to another request by the Kakheti Tsar Alexander to subdue the Shamkhal, Alexander pledging to assist with troops. In 1594 Khvorostinin captured Sulak ford and the second capital Gazikumukh Shamkhalate - TarkI<<< (see. Khvorostinin Hike in Dagestan ) .Shamhal again fled to the mountains and soon gathered a large army of Kumyks and other peoples of Dagestan, led a guerrilla war. Alexander’s promised help never arrived, and the Russian army retreated with heavy losses to Sulak ford [19] [20] [21]. SAVE###### Came in 1598 Boris Godunov came to the throne and continued the policy of Fyodor towards the Caucasus. In 1604 another campaign in Dagestan was again organized under voyevode  okolnichy I. M. Buturlina (see. Buturlina Hike in Dagestan ). In addition to streltzi and Cossacks where were allied Nogais and, Kabardians (Circassians of Kabardia and Pyatigorya). Alexander, like last time, promised to send Kakheti army, but, due to a palace coup at the instigation of the Persian Shah Abbas I the Georgian army did not arrive. Buturlina,made a number or raids on the mountaineers, gained control to the Kumykh lowlands and took Tarka by storm. The Shamhal appealed for help to the Turkish Sultan Ahmed I, and the next year (1605) the Turkish army, the Crimean Tatars and Dagestani militia besieged Russians at Tarka. Storming of the fort was not successful, and both sides entered into negotiations. As a result, the Russians pledged to evacuate Tarka and Turkish pasha and Shamhal pledged not to interfere. After the withdrawal of Turkish troops, the Kumyks and their allies, led endireevskogo ruler Sultan Mahmud, violating the treaty, caught Buturlin’s army, which at Karamanskoy battle was almost completely destroyed [20] [22]. At the same time Kartalinia Tsar George X gave the oath of allegiance to Tsar Boris, but the latter died in 1605, leading to the Time of Troubles which suspended Russian relations with the Caucasus for several decades. From the time of Peter the Great Russian influence on Caucasus region became more definite and constant, although the Caspian region, conquered by Peter during the Persian campaign (1722-1723), soon reverted back to Persia. The boundary between the two powers remained north-eastern arm of the Terek, the so-called old Terek. Under Anna Ivanovna the Caucasian line was begun. By an 1739 treaty the Ottoman Empire  signed with the, Kabardia was recognized as an independent and was to serve as "a barrier between the two powers." The foundation of the fortress of Mozdok ( 1763 ). Mozdok was founded on the left bank of the Terek and garrisoned by the highland Cossack command, dr(Kurgokoy Konchokinym). The fortress began receiving runaway Kabardian serfs, which angered the free Kabardians, despite the Catherine the Great’s offer of 3,000 rubles in monetary compensation. From the beginning of the Russo-Turkish War, Russia maintained continuous relations with Georgia. Tsar Irakli II even helped Russian troops, who under the command of Count Totleben, crossed the Caucasus range and through Kartli entered in Imereti. By Treaty of St. George on July 24th 1783 the Georgian King Irakli II was taken under the protection of Russia. In Georgia Russia decided to maintain 2 battalions with 4 cannons. By the Act of 1792, Catherine II granted land to the Black Sea troops from the Taman Peninsula to the mouth of the River Laba. The following year, 1793, was founded the military town of Ekaterinodar (now Krasnodar) and a number of Cossack villages. Relocation process lasted several years. In the Black Sea area were settled not only Cossacks but also runaway peasants and soldiers who had served their term.

Russian-Turkish War Main article: Russian-Turkish War of 1787-1792 In 1787 ,in view of the pending break with Turkey Russian troops in the Transcaucasus were withdrawn to a fortified line, for the defense of which along the Kuban were created an number of forts and two corps: the Kuban Jaeger, under the command of General-in-Chief Tekeli, and Caucasian, under Colonel-General Potemkin. The Kabardians stoped fighting in exchange for the return of arable land around Pyatigorsk .A local army of Ossetians, Ingush and Kabardians was established .Because the area around Pyatigorsk was not returned in 1790 the Kabardians withdrew from the Russian troops operating against Turkey. General Potemkin, and then General Tekelli undertook an expeditions in the Kuban, but the situation on the line did not change much and raids by Highlanders continued. Communication with Transcaucasia almost ceased. Vladikavkaz and other fortified points on the way to Georgia were in abandoned in 1788. A campaign against Anapa failed(1789). In 1790, the Turks with so-called Trans-Kuban Highlanders moved into the Kabardia, but were defeated by the general Herman. In June 1791, the Gudovich stormed Anapa , where Sheikh Mansour was wounded and captured. Under the terms of the Treaty of Jassy in the same year Anapa was returned to the Turks. With the end of the war the Caucasian Line was strengthens and new Cossack stanitsas built. Don Cossacks settled on the Terek and upper Kuban., but on the right bank of the Kuban from Yst-Labinsky fort to the shores of the Sea of Azov and Black seas, sere settled  Black Sea Cossacks.

Russian-Persian War (1796)
Main article: Russian-Persian war of 1796 Georgia was at this time in the most pitiable condition. Using this, Mohammad Khan Qajar invaded Georgia and on September 11, 1795 and took and ravaged Tiflis. Tsar Irakli with a handful of retainers  fled to the mountains. At the end of that year, Russian troops entered Georgia and Dagestan. Dagestani rulers acknowledged the Russians, except Surkhay Khan II Kazikumukh and Derbent Khan Sheikh Ali. On 10 May 1796 the fortress of Derbent was taken despite the stubborn resistance. In June Baku was taken. Commanded the troops of Lieutenant-GeneralCount Valerian Zubov was appointed to replace Gudovich chief ruler>>> of the Caucasus region; but his activities there soon put an end by the death of Empress Catherine. Paul I ordered Zubov suspend hostilities. Commander of the Caucasian Army was re-appointed Gudovich. Russian troops were withdrawn from the Transcaucasus, except two battalions left at Tiflis.

The annexation of Georgia (1800-1804)
George XII came to the Georgian throne in 1798. He asked the Emperor Paul I take Georgia under his protection and give her armed support. Because of this, and because clearly hostile measures of Persia, Russian troops in Georgia were significantly strengthened. In 1800 Georgia was invaded by Umma Khan of the Avars. Nov. 7 on the banks of the river Iori, he was defeated by General Lazarev. On December 22, 1800 in St. Petersburg signed a manifesto on the annexation of Georgia by Russia. After that Tsar George died. At the beginning of the reign of Alexander I (1801) Russian rule was introduced into Georgia. General Knorring was appointed Commander in Chief, and civil governor of Georgia - Kovalensky. Neither knew the manners and customs of the people of Gdańsk, and the officials that came with them commited various abuses. Many in Georgia were unhappy with subjection to Russia. Unrest in the country did not stop, and on the borders raiding continued. The annexation of eastern Eastern Georgia (Kartli and Kakheti) was announced in the manifesto of Alexander I on 12 September 1801. According to this manifesto reigning dynasty of Georgian Bagratids was deprived of the throne, the management of Kartli and Kakheti passed to the Russian governor, and Russian administration was introduced. At the end of 1802 Knorring and Kovalensky were withdrawn, and as commander of the Caucasus was appointed Lieutenant-General Prince Pavel Tsitsianov, himself a Georgian native who is familiar with the country. He sent to Russia members of the former Georgian royal house, thinking them guilty of stiring up trouble. He spoke with a threatening and imperious tone to the Khans and rulers of the Tatar and mountain regions. Residents of Jaro-Balakan area, do not stop their raids, were defeated a detachment of General Gulyakova, and the area annexed to Georgia. The ruler of Abkhazia, Shervashidze Keleshbei Chachba-, made military campaign against Prince of  Megrelia Grigol Dadiani. Grigol’s son Levan taken hostage by Keleshbei (** Amanat). In 1803 Mingrelia joined the Russian Empire. In 1803 the Georgian Tsitsianov organized militia of 4,500 volunteers, joined to the Russian army. In January 1804 stormed the fortress of Ganja, subjecting the Ganja Khanate , for which he was promoted to general of infantry. In 1804 Imereti and Guria  joined the Russian Empire.

Russian-Persian war
Main article: Russian-Persian war of 1804-1813 10 June 1804 Persian Shah Fath Ali (Baba Khan) (1797-1834), entered into an alliance with Great Britain declared war on Russia. The attempt of Fath Ali Shah to invade Georgia ended in complete defeat of his troops near Echmiadzin in June. In the same year Tsitsianov subdued as Shirvan Khanate. He took a number of measures to promote crafts, agriculture and trade. He founded in Tiflis noble college which was later converted into a gymnasium (in the German sense), established a print shop, sought for the Georgian youth the right to receive education in higher educational institutions of Russia. In 1805 - &KS??? Karabakh and Sheki, Jahan Gir Khan shagahsky and Budag Sultan shuragelsky. Fath-Ali Shah Qajar reopened offensive, but on hearing of the approach of Tsitsianov he withdrew to the Aras. 8 February 1805 Prince Tsitsianov, who had come with an army to Baku, during a ceremony for the peaceful surrender of the city was killed servants of the Khan. In his place was again appointed Gudovich, who was familiar with the situation on the Caucasian line, but not in the Transcaucasus. Recently subjugated Tatar rulers of various areas were again clearly hostile to the Russian administration. Actions against them were successful. Derbent, Baku, Nukha were taken. But the situation was complicated by Persian invasions and the subsequent  rupture with Turkey (1806).

STOP)))))))))))))))) The war with Napoleon drew most of the army to the western frontier of the empire and thinned out the troops in the Caucasus. In 1808 the ruler of Abkhazia, Keleshbei Chachba-Shervashidze was killed as the result of a conspiracy and armed attack. . The Mingrelian court and Nina Dadian, favoring his [*son-in-law / brother-in-law*] -Safarbeya Chachba Shervashidze ,spread the rumor that his son Aslanbeya Chachba-Shervashidze was involved in the murder. This unverified story was picked up by General I. I. Rygkof, and the other Russians and became the main reason for their support of Safarbeya  in the struggle for the throne of Abkhazian throne. .From this moment begins the struggle between the two brothers and Safarbeem and Aslanbeem. In 1809 General Alexander Tormasov was named commander in chief.He intervened in the internal affairs of Abkhazia, where some factions of the ruling house sought for help from Russia, and others from  Turkey. The fortresses of Poti and Sukhumi were taken. Uprisings in Imereti and Ossetia were pacified. ==Uprising is South Ossetia (1810-1811) [*a note in the Russian Wike says that this section is pending expansion*] In the summer of 1811 ,as political tensions in Georgia and South Ossetia became heated, Alexander I was forced to withdraw from Tiflis General Alexander Tormasov and replace him in political and military command in Georgia by F. O. Paulucci. From the new commander they expected strict measures to make major changes in Transcaucasia. On 7 July 1811 General Rtishchev was placed in command of the Caucasian line  and the Governments of  Astrakhan and Caucasia. Philip Paulucci had to simultaneously fight a war against the Turks (from Kars ) and against the Persians (in Karabakh ) and fight insurgencies. Also at this time Alexander I received a memorial from the Georgian bishop and vicar Dosifeya who was leader of the Aznauri faction of Georgian noibles, questioning the legality of the feudal holdings of the  Eristavi princes in South Ossetia, The Aznauri faction hoped to oust the  Eristavi faction and divid the lands among themselves. But soon, in view of the impending war against Napoleon, he [*who?] was summoned to St. Petersburg. 16 February 1812 General Nikolai Rtishchev was appointed political and military commander of Georgia. The political situation in South Ossetia was one of the most acute problems he encountered. The complexity of it after 1812 was not only a relentless struggle Ossetia with the Georgian tavad, but the struggle for the control of South Ossetia, which between the two Georgian feudal factions. [24] .TRANS In the war with Persia, after many defeats, Crown Prince Abbas Mirza , proposed peace talks. 23 August 1812 Rtishchev left Tiflis for the Persian frontier and, with the mediation of the English ambassador, entered into negotiations, but the conditions proposed by Abbas Mirza were not acceptable and Rtishchev returned to Tbilisi. 31 October 1812 Russian troops gained a victory at by Aslanduz, and in December, they took the last Persian stronghold in Transcaucasia, the fortress of Lankaran , the capital of Talysh Khanate. In the autumn of 1812 there was a new uprising in Kakheti, under the Georgian crown prince Alexander. It was suppressed. Khevsurs and Kists took an active part. Rtishchev decided to punish the tribes, and in May 1813 undertook a punitive expedition into Khevsureti, which was little known to the Russians. Troops under Major-General Simanovich, despite stubborn defense by the mountaineers reached the main Khevsurian village of Shatili on the upper Argun and ravaged all villages on their path[25]. Raids into Chechnya were not approved by the Tsarr. Alexander I ordered Rtishchev try to maintain peace on the Caucasian line with friendship, concessions and mercy. 10 October 1813 Rtishchev left Tiflis for Karabakh and on 12 October in the near Gulistan, was signed a peace treaty , under which Persia renounced all claims to Dagestan , Georgia, Imereti ,Abkhazia , Megrelia and recognized the right of all Russia to all conquered and voluntarily submitted regions and Khanates. ( Карабахское, Гянджинское , Шекинское , Ширванское , Дербентс , Кубинское , Бакинское и Талышинское ). In the same year, a rebellion broke out in Abkhazia led by Aslanbeem Chachba-Shervashidze against the power of his younger brother Safarbeya Chachba-Shervashidze. A Russian battalion and troops of the Mengrellian ruler Levan Dadiani saved the life and power of the  Abkhazian ruler Safarbeya Chachba. STOP 1826 12jan15 Events 1814-1816 years [ edit | edit wiki text ] In 1814 Alexander I, occupied the Congress of Vienna, devoted his short stay in St. Petersburg, the problem of South Ossetia. He instructed the prince A. Golitsyn, the chief procurator of the Holy Synod , "inform himself" about South Ossetia, in particular, about the basis ot the feudal rights there by her Georgian princes, in consultation with Generals Tormasov and Paulucci, former commanders in the Caucasus who were in Petersburg at that time. After the report of AN Golitsyn and consultation with the commander of the Caucasus General Rtishchev and in the name of latter, on 31 August 1814, just before leaving for the Congress of Vienna, Alexander I issued a rescript over South Ossetia - the monarch letter to Tiflis. In it, Alexander I ordered the commander in chief to deprive Georgian feudal Eristavi possessory rights in South Ossetia, and estates and settlements, which were previously granted to them by the monarch, and transferred to state ownership and granted the princes compensation. Decisions of Alexander I, adopted them in late summer 1814 over South Ossetia, were taken negatively by the leading circles of the Georgian tavadskoy****. Ossetians also met this with satisfaction. However, the execution of the decree was hampered by commander-in-chief in the Caucasus, General of Infantry Nicholas Rtishchev. At the same time the Eristov princes provoked anti-Russian actions*** in South Ossetia. In 1816, with the participation of AA Arakcheev Committee of Ministers of the Russian Empire in the confirmed the transfer to the treasury of the holdings Eristavi princes, but in February 1817 the decree was disavowed. Meanwhile, long-term service, advanced in years and the disease forced Rtishchev ask dismissal from office. 9 April 1816 General Rtishchev been retired from his posts. However, he ruled temporarily until the arrival appointed in his place A. P. Yermolov. In the summer of 1816 by order of Alexander I, command of thesepearte? Georgian corps, the civil parts of the Caucasus and Astrakhan Government was appointed Lieutenant-General Alexei Yermolov, who won the respect in the wars against Napoleon. In addition, he was appointed ambassador extraordinary in Persia. / 1957 12jan15

The Yermolov period
In September 1816 Yermolov arrived at the border of the Caucasian province. In October, he came to the Caucasian line in the city Georgievsk. From there, he immediately went to Tiflis, where he expected the former commander of Infantry General Nikolai Rtishchev. 12 October 1816 by the tsar’s Rtishchev was retired from the army. After reviewing the border with Persia in 1817 he went a Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the court of the Persian Shah Fath Ali. Peace was affirmed and for the first time the permanent residence of a Russian charge d'affaires was allowed. TRANS\\\. On his return from Persia graciously awarded the rank of General of Infantry. After reviewing the situation in the Caucasus line, Yermolov formed a plan of action, which then held steady. Given the fanaticism of the mountain tribes, their unbridled self-will and hostility to the Russians, as well as features of their psychology, the new commander in chief decided that it was completely impossible to establish peaceful relations under existing conditions. Yermolov formed a consistent and systematic plan of offensive operations. He did not start decisive action without first equipping a base and creating offensive bridgehead. Among the components of Ermolov’s plan were the building of roads, cutting down forests, construction of fortifications, the colonization of the region by the Cossacks, the formation of wedges  between Russia hostile tribes by resettlement between them of pro-Russian tribes. " The Caucasus - said Yermolov - a huge fortress protected by a half-million-man garrison. It must either be stormed or taken by trenches. A storm will cost dearly. Therefore we will lay siege! " [26] 2147 12jan15

Yermolov moved left flank of the Caucasian line from the Terek to the Sunzha, where he strengthened the Nazranov redoubt and laid in October 1817 laid out the  Pregradnaya Stan on its middle reaches. In the autumn of 1817 the army was reinforced by troops under Count Vorontsov who had been occupying France. With the arrival of these forces Ermolov had about 4 divisions, and he could go over to decisive action. On the Caucasian line situation was as follows: the right wing was threatened by the Trans-Kuban Circassians, in the center the Kabardians, and against the left flank beyond the river Sunzha lived the Chechens who had a high reputation and authority with the mountain tribes. The Circassians were weakened by internal strife, Kabardians were mown down by plague - danger came mainly from the Chechens. " Now a sketch of the peoples that live up against the Caucasian Line. From the upper Kuban on south side live nations subservient to the Ottoman Porte, commonly called Transkubanians, who are well-known, warlike, and rarely quiet. Against the center is Kabardia, formerly populous, whose inhabitans are considered the bravest of the mountaineers, and who often in multitudes fiercely resisted the Russians in bloody battles. ... Plague was our ally against the Kabardians; for it destroyed completely the entire population Lesser Kabardia and produced devastation in the Greater and so weakened them that they could no longer gather in large forces, but could only make small raids; otherwise our troops would be overstretched and subject to danger. Very many expeditions undertaken in the Kabarda, sometimes forcing TRANS them to return or pay for the return of prisoners. ... Downstream on the Terek live Chechens, the worst of robbers who attack our line. A society of very few people, but greatly multiplied in the past few years, because they are happy to take in villains from all the neighboring tribes, who were driven from their homes for some crime or other. Here are they find their fellows and are immediately ready, either  to participate brigandage or to serve as faithful guides in the lands the Chechens do not know. Chechnya can rightly be called a nest of all brigands... " - from a note written by Yermolov written during his administration in Georgia - from the notes AP Yermolov while driving Georgia [27] " Your Majesty! The mountain peoples are an example of independence to the obedient subjects of your Imperial Majesty and spread a rebellious spirit and love of independence. " - A report from Ermolova Emperor Alexander I (12 February 1819) [28] In the spring of 1818 Yermolov turned to Chechnya. In 1818, in the lower reaches or the river was laid out the fortress of Grozny, It was hoped that this would put an end to rebellion of the Chechens who lived between the Sunzha and Terek, but in fact it was the beginning of a new war with Chechnya. Yermolov went over from individual punitive expeditions to the systematic penetration deep into Chechnya and Dagestan by the encirclement or mountain areas with a continuous ring of fortifications and the cutting of clearings in the impassable forests, road building, and the burning and destroying of rebellious villages together with their inhabitants. In Dagestan Yermolov  subdued the highlanders who were threatening the recently annexed  Shamkhalate Tarkovsky. In 1819 the fort of Vnezapnaya to keep the mountaineers in subjection. The Avar Khan’s attack on it was a complete failure. In December 1819 Yermolov campaigned against the Dagestani aul of Akusha. After a brief battle the native militia was broken, and the population of the free Akusha community was made to swear allegiance to the Russian Emperor. In Chechnya, Russian forces drove groups of armed Chechens farther into the mountains and resettled the population onto the plains under the guard of Russian garrisons. A clear area was cut through the dense forest to the village Germenchuk, which had served as one of the main Chechen bases. In 1820 Black Sea Cossack Host (up to 40 thousand. people) was placed under the Separate Georgian Corps which was renamed the Separate Caucasian Corps and reinforced. In 1821 the Burnaya fortress was built at the top of a steep hill on the slopes of which the city was Tarqui - the capital of Tarkovsky Shamkhalate. During construction the Avar Khan Akhmed, who was trying to stop the work was defeated. Possessions of the Dagestan princes who suffered a series of defeats in 1819-1821 were either transferred to vassals of Russia and subject to Russian commandants subordinated or licquidated. STOP HERE 00049 13jan15????????????????????????? On the right flank of the line the Trans-Kuban Circassians with ish help began to harass the border more strongly. came more alarming border. In October 1821 their army invaded in the land of the Black Sea troop, but was defeated. In Abkhazia Major-General Prince Gorchakov defeated the rebels near Cape Cawdor and took possession of the lands of Prince Dmitry Shervashidze. For a complete pacification of Kabarda in 1822 they built a series of fortifications at the foot of the mountains from Vladikavkaz to the upper reaches of the Kuban. This included Nalchik (1818 or 1822). In 1823 - 1824 there were a series of punitive expeditions against the Trans-Kuban Circassians. Some of the Black Sea Abkhazians rebelled against the successor Prince. Dmitry Shervashidze, Prince. Michael Shervashidze and in 1824 they were forced to submit. In Dagestan in the 1820s. the Murid movement was gaining popularity Muridism. Yermolov, visiting in 1824 Quba, ordered Aslankhan of Kazikumukh put an end to the agitation, aroused by followers of the teachings, but distracted by other things, could not enforce this commandment, so that the main preachers Muridism, Mullah Mohammad, and then Kazi-Mulla , continued to foment Mountaineers in the minds ofDagestan and Chechnya , and proclaim .harold to coming of gazavat , holy war against the infidels. The movement of the mountaineers under the banner Muridism was the impetus for the expansion of the Caucasian War, although some mountain peoples ( Ossetians, Ingush , Kabardians ) it has not joined. In 1825 in Chechnya began a general uprising. July 8 Highlanders captured the post of Amiradzhiyurt and tried to take Gerzel. July 15 it was rescued by Lt. Gen. Lisanevich. In the Gerzel aol(village) were gathered 318 Aksaevtsi Kumyk elders. The next day, July 18, Lisanevich and General Grekov were killed by the Kumyks of Mulla Hadji Ochar [?spell] (according to other sources Uchur-Mullah or Haji-Uchar-Gadzhi) during talks with kumyk elders. Ochar Hadji attacked with a dagger on Lieutenant General Lisanevich and stabbed in the back struck the unarmed general Grekova [29] .In response to the murder of two generals troops killed all Kumyk elders invited for negotiations The revolt was suppressed only in 1826 Kuban bankss began again raided major parties Shapsugs and Abadzekhs. Agitated Kabardians. In1826, the was committed by a number of campaigns in Chechnya, with the cutting of forests to make open areas and the pacification of villages that had been free of Russian troops. This activity ended Yermolov in 1827 recalled Nicholas Iand sacked on suspicion of having links with the Decembrists. It was the result of the consolidation of Russian power in Kabarda and Kumyk lands in the foothills and plains. Russian advancing slowly, methodically cutting down forests, which sheltered the Highlanders.

Gercow
''This is a translation of the corresponding article in the German Wikipedia as of January 2015, with a few changes. The Results section has been much shortened.''

Caucasus War (1817-1864) is a general term the military attempt by the Russian Empire to gain complete control of the north side to the Caucasus Mountains. The defenders were the native peoples of the Caucasus, such as the Circassians and Chechens.

Causes and Beginning of the War
From at least the time of Peter the Great Russia sought access to the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. Under Catherine the Great, during the Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) Russia gained large parts of the Ukraine and part of the central north Caucasus. By the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca(1774), the Crimean Khanate, formerly an Ottoman vassal became nominally independent, but was annexed by Russia in 1783. The treaty also made Russia the protecting power of the Orthodox Christians in the Ottoman Empire (Romanians, Bulgars, Serbs, Greeks, Georgians and later Armenians). In the next decades Russia used this status to expand its power around the Black Sea. The ultimate goal was the conquest of the "narrow seas", that is, the Bosporus, Dardanelles and the city of Constantinople (the former capital of Orthodox Christendom) and link the Russian Black Sea ports to the Mediterranean. The Turks kept this sea route closed to Russian ships. Thus began the Russian attempt to expand on both sides to the Black Sea into the Balkans and Transcaucasia.



Early fighting: Originally the Russians had no wish to conquer the difficult mountain country of the North Caucasus, which did not belong to the Turks in any case and had almost never been controlled by any outside power. What they did want was a secure road to the Christian state of Georgia – the Georgian Military Road thru the Darial Pass. To secure this the neighboring princedoms of Great Kabardia and Little Kabardia were declared protectorates in 1774 (these were annexed in 1825). These were the lands of the North Ossetians, the Ingush and Balkars. Also annexed were the northern lowlands of the Chechens. Here Russia met stiff resistance under a Sufi preacher named Sheik Mansur Ushurma. In 1785-91 he drove the Russian army out of north Chechnya. In four campaigns he was defeated, taken prisoner and died in Schusselburg in 1794.

The Caucasus Line: Thereafter the Russians tried to isolate the North Caucasus. They built a chain of forts - the Caucasus Line - between the Black and Caspian Seas. Among these forts were Vladikavkaz and Groznaya Krepost ("the awe-inspiring fort", today Grozny). In addition Cossacks were settled as soldier-peasants along the Caucasian foreland. This cut the mountaineers off from their traditional winter pastures, which increased hostility.

Yermolov: Local hostilities gradually grew into a proper war. Yermolov, the Governor-General of Transcaucasia, decided to try for complete control of the Caucasus. The mainly Muslim mountaineers, or rather the majority of them, offered stiff resistance. After the annexation of Kabardia in 1825 the main defenders of Caucasian liberty were the Circassians on the west and in the east the Chechens and the numerous peoples of Dagestan. At times the war against the mountaineers became entangled with the Russo-Persian War (1826–28), the Russo-Turkish War (1828–29) and the Crimean War 1853-56.

When did the war begin? The majority of authors set the beginning of the war in 1817, when general Yermolov conquered the lowlands of north Chechnya and founded the city of Grozny. A minority set the date as 1800-1802, to include a number of campaigns against Circassian and Dagestani princes, and especially the activities of a Georgian general in the Russian service, Prince Pavle Zizishvili, who built up the Georgian Military Road and undertook large campaigns against the mountaineers. A few even choose the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca in 1774.

Local rulers who were willing to cooperate were granted membership in the Russian nobility. Difficult geographic and climatic conditions and long supply lines in an age of horse-drawn transport cost the Russians dearly. Each side saw the other as culturally alien. Both sides fought with increasing brutality.

At first there were three expeditionary armies under Prince Rayevsky, Prince Golovin and Count Grabbe.

Controlling the Coasts: In 1818-1830 the Russians took the eastern side of Dagestan, that is, the western coast of the Caspian Sea. This was done by general Yermolov and his successor Count Paskevitch. This opened up a second supply line to Transcaucasia via Derbent and Baku along the Caspian coast. Another line of forts called the Caspian Line was built. Most of the local Muslim rulers accepted Russian supremacy. A few resisted in alliance with the Persians. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-29 the Russians took the Turkish-held ports along the Black Sea from Anapa through Tuapse to Gagra – roughly Abkhazia. Here they built the Black Sea Line. In the next decades these forts were often attacked, besieged, and sometimes captured by the Circassians in order to open up sea communication with the Ottoman Empire. During the Crimean War all these places were abandoned.

Center, East and West
The axis of Russian penetration was always the Georgian Military Road through the Darial Pass. The three peoples that lived in this area generally stayed out of the conflict. These were the 85% Christian Ossetians on the west, the mostly Muslim Kabardians to the north who remained on good terms with the Russians and the Ingush to the east who were mostly passive. This divided resistance into eastern and western halves, each with its own history.

Origin of the Murid Movement


From the 1820s the conflict was radicalized both politically and religiously. In the politically divided North Caucasus there already existed Sufi brotherhoods of the Naqshbandi and later the Qadiriyya. They began to combine the Sufi concept of Murid or disciple with the broader concept to Ghazi or Islamic warrior. At first there was a Naqshbandi preacher called "Mullah Muhammad", a Lezgian from the village of Jarag. In 1825 near Derbent he led military resistance against the Russians and the local princes who were partly allied with them. The movement spread very rapidly over Dagestan, Chechnya and other parts of the North Caucasus. By the time the Russians realized that this was a political mass movement it was already too late. From 1827/28 the Murids went over to armed conflict. This is sometimes called the Murid War.

The Sufi orders differ from other Muslims by their mystical interpretation of Islam and their use of ritual (Dhikr). The two above mentioned orders differ from other Sufis by their stricter adherence to Islamic law. This had direct political consequences.

The first Imam of the Murids was Ghazi Muhammad who was killed in a Russian surprise attack on the aul (village) of Himry. The second Imam was Gamzat-bek who in 1834 was killed by Hadji Murad in revenge for his murder of an Avar princely family. Power now passed to Imam Shamil. Both Ghazi Muhammad and Shamil had been educated in Naqshbandi madrasas which led the mountaineers to consider them religious authorities. The North Caucasus was a complex network of often-quarreling princedoms, khanates, clans, tribes and language groups where only the Sufi Imams could claim more than local authority. At the beginning of the 1840s the conflict increased and Russia lost more and more soldiers. From the time of the Crimean War the Murids had support from the Turkish Empire. Shamil was able to capture several Russian fortresses. The 1845 Russian expedition against the Murid capital of Dargo under Vorontsov was a disaster. An 18,000 man army occupied the previously-evacuated town but was forced to evacuate it and lost 3 generals, 195 officers and 3538 soldiers dead or wounded. International newspapers reported increasingly on the war.

After this the Russians changed their strategy under the leadership of Baryatinsky. Shamil would be systematically encircled and his land taken village by village. From the southeast Baron Vrevsky and later Orbeliani defended the Russian-held parts of Dagestan and pushed northwest. From the northwest first Orbeliani and later Baryatinski and Yevdokimov started from the Military Road and the northern foothills and pushed southeast. Baryatinsky's and Yevdokimov's strategy involved a "war against nature" in which large areas of forest were cut down to destroy hiding places and in which former mountain paths were converted into roads with bridges to allow the passage of large military units with artillery.

Shamil reacted with shifting attacks in many directions which were sometimes massive and beat back the Russian army. In 1843 from Chechnya he reconquered most of the Avar lands, then in 1845 took parts of south Dagestan and later attacked the Russian fortress of Vladikavkaz. The Murids took advantage of their knowledge of the local geography with its many valleys, passes and mountain paths.

The Imamate of the Caucasus
From the 1840s Shamil built up a proper government with a standing army, tax and finance administration, deputy governors (niab) and postal service. This strict government caused some resentment among the local population. Corruption was strictly punished.

Researchers have characterized the state ideology by nine points: Especially the last three points characterized Muridism as a form of strict Islam, something that cost him many supporters, for example Haji Murad who switched sides several times. Placing all power in Shamil led the Murid movement to quickly break up once Shamil surrendered.
 * Sufi-ism: Important elements of social life were the teachings of the Naqshbandi Sufis. The Murids divided themselves into "Tariqa-Murids" who celebrated the Naqshbandi rituals and the "Naib-Murids" who were only fighters.
 * Puritanism: Strict discipline for Murids.
 * Ghazawat: war against Russia
 * Deepening of faith ("lesser Jihad"): Struggle against pre-Islamic religious rituals an ideas. Shamil was particularly opposed to three Caucasian traditions that he thought Un-Islamic: alcohol, tobacco and most traditional dances which involved romantic relations between men and women.
 * Equality: Slavery, serfdom and the traditional privileges of princely families were abolished.
 * Imamate: The unlimited religious and secular power to Shamil.
 * Islamic Orthodoxy: Emphasis on the rules of the Koran and Sunnah.
 * Salafiyya: Imitation of conditions during the lifetime of Mohammed
 * Struggle for the Sharia against traditional law (adat).

In recent years Russian and international researchers have criticized this view of the Imamate and have refuted some points. Certainly the Naqshbandi disciples (Murids) and teachers were a large and noticeable part of the population but they never formed a hierarchic leading class and were "never the driving force", in the words of one scholar. Of the ten or more provincial governors only one was a Naqshbandi teacher, and many were not practicing Naqshbandi deciples. Decisive for their appointment were their closeness to the Imam, their military skills and the number of supporters they could bring with them. The second Imam was not a Naqshbandi. Shamil dealt pragmatically with traditional custom. Islamic scholars in Dagestan had doubts about his use of Islamic law.

The End


During the Crimean War of 1853/56 Shamil overestimated his chances. Equipped with Turkish cannon he shifted from guerrilla to regular warfare. For a time Russia had to put in the field 200,000 regular soldiers, Cossacks and Caucasian militia. In open battle General Yedokimov's army was undoubtedly superior. After a series of defeats Murid resistance ended with the surrender of Shamil in 1859. Marshal Baryatinsky's vastly superior army stormed the last remaining village of Gunib which was held by a few hundred loyal men. Shamil went to an honorable exile in Kaluga and died in 1871 on a pilgrimage to Mecca. Shamil was often compared to another Naqshbandi Imam (sic in the German wiki), Abd-el Kader in Algeria who corresponded with him in 1865.

The percent of the North Caucasian population that participated in the Murid movement has been variously estimated. Not everyone was involved. Some, because of clan feuds or loyalty to their chief remained neutral or stood on the Russian side. The anti-noble policy of the Murids made almost all of the princes anti-Murid with a few exceptions. In the core region of the Imamate, the lands of the Chechens and Dagestan Avars, Murid supporters were as least 60% of the male population. In the eastern mountains of Dagestan it was significantly less. Here there were princedoms under Russian protection and the majority of the local population (Kumyks, Laks, Tabassarans and a minority of the Lezgians) felt bound to their leaders. The anti-Russian state of the Dargwas no longer existed and the exiled ruler of the Sultanate of İlisu of the Tsakhurs resisted along with the Murids. Shortly before 1859, after a quarrel with Shamil, Sultan Daniel Bek went over to the Russians. In the high mountains of south Dagestan there were clans that were completely on the Murid side or were completely uninvolved.

The names of linguistic nationalities are given here only for geographic orientation. Two hundred years ago a man's loyalty was to friends, kin, clan, and chief and almost never to language group.

Circassians and Abkhazians
In the west the Circassians lived north to the Caucasus from near the Sea of Azov to somewhat beyond the Darial Pass. The Abkhazians lived south of the mountains between the mountains and the Black Sea. Both spoke Northwest Caucasian languages.

In the Northwest Caucasus political relations were different from the Northeast. Here the only participants in the Murid movement were the majority of the Turkic-speaking Karachays and Balkars and a minority of the Circassians under the Murid deputy Mahomet Amin. The resistance was led by the majority of the princely class. Support from Turkey came through the Abkhazian prince and general Saffar Bey who claimed to be the 'leader of all the Circassians', which is debatable. In Abkhazia the resistance was also non-Murid. Mahomet Amin and Saffar Bey were rivals and briefly fought in 1856 and 1858. The Murid's strict Islam found little support in the west. There was no Shamil here; in practice every Circassian clan had its own leader.

Circassian society was traditionally divided into 12 tribes, each with its own dialects and traditions. One of these, the Ubykhs, is now considered to have spoken a distinct language. Some tribes had a complex four-estate society with the princes (pshi) at the top, while others in the high mountains had a classless clan society. Although Circassian tradition (Adyghe Habze) forbad the princes from piling up wealth and property and putting it on display, the princes did form a collective noble class, married only among themselves and sometimes formed monarchical states. Exceptions were the east-Circassian Kabardians, who had already fallen to the Russians and the very old Abkhazians. Three non-Circassian groups were associated with the Circassians. These were the Abazins who came from Abkhazia in the 15th century, the Turkic Karachay and a remnant of the Nogais (Kuban-Nogais).

War in the Northwest was first led by General Filipson, and then (1859-64) by Marshall Yedokimov. Above them were Baryatinsky and his successor as Governor General Grand Duke Michael, the younger brother of Alexander II. In 1859 Filipson conquered the Circassian lands from the Taman Peninsula to the hill and mountain country and south of the Kuban. The Circassians were by far the most populous people in the North Caucasus (600,000 or more) and could put 100,000 men in the field as opposed the Murid's 20-30,000. A larger fraction of the population participated than in the east, although the Murids were better disciplined. After the fall of Shamil in 1859, 91 army units were moved from east to west. Here also the land was conquered village by village and valley by valley. In May/June of 1864 the last high mountain regions were conquered by the Russian army.

The war became increasingly bitter and brutal. In 1859-61 the third-from-last Circassian tribe, the Abadsekhs, were conquered and their villages were often destroyed. The reason for this policy is debated. In the summer of 1861 Alexander II met with the leaders of the three tribes who were still resisting – Abadsekhs, Shapsugs and Ubykhs – and accused the Abadsekhs of revolting after having surrendered. Perhaps it was that the fighting became more radical and perhaps it was to prevent the Circassians from recapturing their villages after withdrawing into the mountains. After the plan for resettlement was finalized, from the beginning to 1862 every conquered village without exception was burnt down and destroyed. Especially affected at this time were the villages in the Black Sea hinterland where lived part of the Shapsugs ('Little Shapsugia'), the Ubykhs and some of the Abazins. Survivors who were not deported fled to the forests and mountains. Only in 1877-80 did the Russian government allow the reestablishment of some Shapsug villages between Tuapse and Sochi, which still exist today. At one time (1923-45) there was a Shapsug National District.

The last unconquered tribe of the Circassians was, from the end of 1862(sic), the Ubykhs and a few western Abazins ('Zads-Abkhazians', 'Zads') in the vicinity of modern Sochi. They were led by their last elected prince Kirantukh Berzek. In May/June 1864 the entire population of four valleys – men, women, children and the old- were armed and resolved to fight to the death, which made their conquest a massacre.

The Svans
Related to this is the conquest of Svaneti on the south side of the mountains. These warlike mountaineers spoke a distinct dialect of Georgian and had been Christian since the sixth century but had many pre-Christian customs. Part of Svaneti was tribal territory and parts were ruled by the houses of Gelovani and Dadeshkeliani. They were conquered by Baryatinsky in 1857-59, but offered such stiff resistance that they were granted autonomy. When this was revoked in 1875 they revolted.

The Fallen
It is estimated that up to the 1860s around 130,000 Russian soldiers died, three fourths from disease. The losses of the native peoples cannot be estimated.

The Deportations
The Caucasian War ended with the expulsion of several hundred thousand people into the Turkish Empire, whose descendants now live in Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Egypt and other places. The broad resistance in the Northwest Caucasus and its close ties to the Ottoman Empire led the military administration to doubt that the area could ever be administered securely. Therefore in 1860 Mikhail Loris-Melikov was sent to Constantinople to discuss conditions for the reception of emigrants or deportees. By the end of the year there developed a deportation plan. The Muslim tradition of flight from non-Muslim areas was to be encouraged. In the summer of 1861 Alexander II told a Circassian delegation that after the war the Circassians should immigrate to the Ottoman Empire or be resettled in the hill country south of the Kuban where guerrilla warfare was not practical. This declaration, together with war experiences and regional expulsions led to a mass flight of the Circassians into the Ottoman Empire. The plan was decided at a conference of the main Russian commanders at Vladikavkaz in October 1860 (Baryatinsky, Yedokimov, Filipson, Orbeliani and others), with only Filipson objecting. The original idea came fore Count Dmitry Milyutin in 1860. In the early phase from 1858-60 it was partly a voluntary emigration, but also a voluntary flight from military violence, but from around 1860 with the policy of destroying villages in 1862, especially in the west, it became an organized forced deportation.

Numbers: The number of emigrants is variously estimated, generally between 500,000 and 1,500,000, with the higher numbers likely an exaggeration. The Abkhazian historian Dzidzariya estimated 470,703 from West Caucasia in 1863-4. The Russian historian Volkova estimated 610,000 West Caucasians in 1858-64. Adolf Berge gave 493,194 and Vsevolod Miller 400,000. The army command of the Caucasus registered 418,000 in 1861-64. These figures exclude around 30,000 Nogais, 10,000 Kabardians and a few thousand Chechens, Avars and Dagestanis. These numbers make probable a grand total of 500,000 – 700,000 in the period 1858-64. Higher figures, which run up to two million, do not seem to be based on solid research or include other time periods.

Percent: The percent of the population that emigrated varied greatly from place to place and was consistently higher in the west. For the Circassians and Abkhazians it was over 80%, including all the Ubykhs, for the Karachays and Balkars about 50%, for the east Circassian Kabardians, Chechens and Avars, where there was no mass migration, something over 10% and for the Dagestanis and other Central Caucasian peoples still lower. Of the 70,000 Abkhazians, 20,000 left and then another 30,000 following an uprising in 1877-78. Most of the remaining Circassians, about 90,000, were resettled to the Kuban hill country as planned. The vacated areas went mostly to Russians and Ukrainians, and along the coast, Armenians, Georgians, Greeks and so on.

The Deported
Estimates of those who died during the deportations start at 10,000 and go much higher. They are often speculative. People died while traveling on foot through rough country, at sea and in reception camps in the Ottoman Empire. The main cause was hunger and malnutrition and the resulting diseases such as Typhus. Accidents and robbery took their toll as did storms at sea. Both Russian and Ottoman officials tried to manage this mass migration, without much success given the primitive conditions. For several decades the emigrants formed a distinct social group and social problem, but their descendants have now mostly been absorbed. They may be compared to the Muslims who left the Balkans, Crimea and other places. In Turkey and the Middle East people whose ancestors were driven from the Caucasus are often loosely described as 'Circassians'. There are estimated to be 1 to 2.5 million such people in Turkey, around 40-60,000 in Syria, around 60,000 in Jordan, 3-5,000 in Israel, a few hundred in Egypt and a few tens of thousands in Iraq and other places. In Turkey there are estimated to be 100-300,000 people with a Circassian mother tongue and a few tens of thousands for other Caucasian languages. In Israel and Jordan there are schools that teach in Caucasian languages. The Jordanian parliament reserves two seats for Circassians and one for Chechens.

Russia Literature
The long war in the Caucasus had a marked influence on nineteenth century Russian literature, the best-known writers being Mikhail Lermontov and Leo Tolstoy. Both were eye witnesses and officers during the war. Lermontov wrote romantic-heroic poems on the mountains and mountaineers. Tolstoy's stories, like Haji Murat and The Cossacks are more complex. Pushkin’s Prisoner of the Caucasus and Journey to Erzurum should also be mentioned. The war period was the beginning of scientific investigation to the Caucasus, often financed by the war ministry. Peter von Uslar with his groundbreaking investigation of the Abkhazian and Chechen languages and the five main languages of Dagestan became the father of Russian Caucasiology.