The Caucasian War (russian: Кавказская война; ''Kavkazskaya vojna'') or Caucasus War was a 19th century military conflict between the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the Russian conquest of the Caucasus. It consisted of a series of military actions waged by the

Russian Imperial Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian A ...

and Cossack settlers against the native inhabitants such as the Adyghe, Abaza– Abkhaz, Ubykhs,

Chechens The Chechens (; ce, Нохчий, , Old Chechen: Нахчой, ''Naxçoy''), historically also known as ''Kisti'' and '' Durdzuks'', are a Northeast Caucasian ethnic group of the Nakh peoples native to the North Caucasus in Eastern Europe. "E ...

, and Dagestanis as the Tsars sought to expand. Russian control of the Georgian Military Road in the center divided the Caucasian War into the Russo-Circassian War in the west and the conquest of Chechnya and Dagestan in the east. Other territories of the Caucasus (comprising contemporary eastern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

, southern Dagestan,

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ...

and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

) were incorporated into the Russian Empire at various times in the 19th century as a result of Russian wars with

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkme ...

. The remaining part, western Georgia, was taken by the Russians from the Ottomans during the same period.

Causes

History

The war took place during the administrations of three successive Russian Tsars: Alexander I (reigned 1801–1825), Nicholas I (1825–1855), and Alexander II (1855–1881). The leading Russian commanders included Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov in 1816–1827, Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov in 1844–1853, and Aleksandr Baryatinskiy in 1853–1856. The famous Russian writer

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, who gained much of his knowledge and experience of war for his book ''War and Peace'' from these encounters, took part in the hostilities. The Russian poet Alexander Pushkin referred to the war in his Byronic poem "The Prisoner of the Caucasus" (Russian: Кавказский пленник; ''Kavkazskij plennik''), written in 1821. Mikhail Lermontov, often referred to as "the poet of the Caucasus", participated in the battle near the river Valerik which inspired him to write the poem of the same name of the river dedicated to this event. In general, the Russian armies that served in the Caucasian wars were very eclectic; as well as ethnic Russians from various parts of the Russian empire they included Cossacks,

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diaspora ...

, Georgians,

Caucasus Greeks The Caucasus Greeks ( el, Έλληνες του Καυκάσου or more commonly , tr, Kafkas Rum), also known as the Greeks of Transcaucasia and Russian Asia Minor, are the ethnic Greeks of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia in what is n ...

Ossetians The Ossetians or Ossetes (, ; os, ир, ирæттæ / дигорӕ, дигорӕнттӕ, translit= ir, irættæ / digoræ, digorænttæ, label= Ossetic) are an Iranian ethnic group who are indigenous to Ossetia, a region situated across th ...

, and even soldiers of Muslim background like

Tatars The Tatars ()Tatar
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different

Bashkirs , native_name_lang = bak , flag = File:Bashkirs of Baymak rayon.jpg , flag_caption = Bashkirs of Baymak in traditional dress , image = , caption = , population = approx. 2 million , popplace ...

Kazakhs The Kazakhs (also spelled Qazaqs; Kazakh: , , , , , ; the English name is transliterated from Russian; russian: казахи) are a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to northern parts of Central Asia, chiefly Kazakhstan, but also part ...

Uyghurs The Uyghurs; ; ; ; zh, s=, t=, p=Wéiwú'ěr, IPA: ( ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. The Uyghur ...

Turkmen Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to: Peoples Historical ethnonym * Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages Ethnic groups * Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...

and even some Caucasian Muslim tribes who sided with the Russians against fellow Muslims of Caucasus. Muslim soldiers of

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, Romanization of Russian, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the earl ...

had played some parts on religious discussion and wooing allies for Russia against their fellow Muslim brethren in the Caucasus. The Russian invasion encountered fierce resistance. The first period of the invasion ended coincidentally with the death of Alexander I and the

Decembrist Revolt The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Al ...

in 1825. It achieved surprisingly little success, especially compared with the then recent Russian victory over the "Grande Armée" of Napoleon in 1812. Between 1825 and 1833, little military activity took place in the Caucasus against the native North Caucasians as wars with Turkey (1828/1829) and with

(1826–1828) occupied the Russians. After considerable successes in both wars, Russia resumed fighting in the Caucasus against the various rebelling native ethnic groups in the North Caucasus, and that was the start of the Caucasian genocide committed by Russians, most of the terminated people were from the Circassian nation. Russian units again met resistance, notably led by Ghazi Mollah, Gamzat-bek, and Hadji Murad. Imam Shamil followed them. He led the mountaineers from 1834 until his capture by

Dmitry Milyutin Count Dmitry Alekseyevich Milyutin ( rus, Граф Дми́трий Алексе́евич Милю́тин, tr. ; 28 June 1816, Moscow – 25 January 1912, Simeiz near Yalta) was Minister of War (1861–81) and the last Field Marshal of ...

in 1859. In 1843, Shamil launched a sweeping offensive aimed at the Russian outposts in Avaria. On 28 August 1843, 10,000 men converged, from three different directions, on a Russian column in

Untsukul Untsukul (russian: Унцукуль, av, Унсоколо) is a rural locality (a selo) and the administrative center of Untsukulsky District of the Republic of Dagestan, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of tra ...

, killing 486 men. In the next four weeks,

Shamil Shamil (Arabic: شَامِل ''shāmil'') is a lesser common masculine Arabic name. The name is usually from the adjective which have several correlated meanings from the Arabic "complete, comprehensive, universal" but could also mean "embodying, pr ...

captured every Russian outpost in Avaria except one, exacting over 2,000 casualties on the Russian defenders. He feigned an invasion north to capture a key chokepoint at the convergence of the Avar and Kazi-Kumukh rivers. In 1845, Shamil's forces achieved their most dramatic success when they withstood a major Russian offensive led by Prince Vorontsov. During the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included t ...

of 1853–1856, the Russians brokered a truce with Shamil, but hostilities resumed in 1855. Warfare in the Caucasus finally ended between 1856 and 1859, when a 250,000 strong army under General Baryatinsky broke the mountaineers' resistance. The war in the Eastern part of the North Caucasus ended in 1859; the Russians captured Shamil, forced him to surrender, to swear allegiance to the Tsar, and then exiled him to Central Russia. However, the war in the Western part of the North Caucasus resumed with the Circassians (i.e. Adyghe, but the term is often used to include their Abkhaz–Abaza kin as well) resuming the fight. A manifesto of Tsar Alexander II declared hostilities at an end on June 2 (May 21 OS), 1864. Among post-war events, a tragic page in the history of the

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

s of the North Caucasus (especially the Circassians), was Muhajirism, or population transfer of the Muslim population to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Aftermath

Many Circassians were forced to emigrate and leave their home to the Ottoman Empire and to a lesser degree Persia. The genocide of Terek Cossacks during the Civil war was a continuation of the genocide of Circassians, former allies of the Russian Empire who supported the Communists. Most of the historical Circassian territories were historically distributed amongst the allies of the Russian Empire, such as certain Vainakh and Turkic families. However, many of those new settlers were exiled by Stalin in 1944, and some of those lands was redistributed, this time, to Georgians and Ossetians. Though many of the exiled people have returned, many lands, granted to them by the Russian empire, are still inhabited by Ossetians. The Georgians left all the lands given to them as they did not consider it theirs since the land was not within Georgia itself, but in neighbouring Russia. This still generates tensions ( East Prigorodny Conflict) in the former war theaters of the Caucasian war. Today, there are three titular Circassian republics in Russia: Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, and Karachayevo-Cherkessia. Other historical Circassian territories such as Krasnodar Krai, Stavropol Krai, and southwestern Rostov Oblast have much smaller communities of Circassians. The diaspora in Syria is repatriating to Russia. Circassians from

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Eur ...

also returned to Russia after the civil war in Kosovo. According to one source, the population in Greater and Lesser Kabarda decreased from 350,000, before the war, to 50,000 by 1818. According to another version, in 1790 the population was 200,000 people and in 1830 30,000 people. As a percentage of the total population of the North Caucasus, the number of the remaining Circassians was 40% (1795), 30% (1835) and 25% (1858). Similarly: Chechens 9%, 10% and 8.5%; Avars 11%, 7% and 2%; Dargins 9.5%, 7.3% and 5.8%; Lezghins 4.4%, 3.6% and 3.9% .Кабузан В.М. Население Северного Кавказа в XIX - XX веках. - СПб., 1996. С.145.

Gallery

Image:Karte_des_Kaukasischen_Isthmus_-_Entworfen_und_gezeichnet_von_J-Grassl_-_1856.jpg, ''Map of the Caucasus isthmus''. Created and drawn by J. Grassl, 1856. Image:Georgianroad.jpg, Construction of the Georgian Military Road through disputed territories was a key factor in the eventual Russian success File:Sturm aul Gimry 1891.jpg, ''Assault of Gimry'', by Franz Alekseyevich Roubaud File:Штурм аула Салта.jpg, Caucasian tribesmen fight against the Cossacks, 1847 File:Storm of the fortress of Akhty 1848.jpg, Storm of the fortress of Akhty in 1848 File:Theodor Horschelt Tscherkessen.jpg, Circassians by

Theodor Horschelt Theodor Horschelt (16 March 1829, Munich – 3 April 1871, Munich) was a German painter who specialized in scenes from the Caucasian Wars. Biography Theodor Horschelt was the son of ballet master, Friedrich Horschelt. His older brother, Fried ...

File:Imam Shamil surrendered to Count Baryatinsky on August 25, 1859 by Kivshenko, Alexei Danilovich.jpg, Imam Shamil surrendered to Count Baryatinsky on August 25, 1859 Image:Pyotr Nikolayevich Gruzinsky - The mountaineers leave the aul.jpg, ''Mountaineers leave the aul'', by

Pyotr Gruzinsky Prince Pyotr Nikolayevich Gruzinsky ( ka, პეტრე ნიკოლოზის ძე გრუზინსკი; russian: Пётр Николаевич Грузинский; literally "Peter of Georgia"; 1837–1892) was a Georgian ...

Image:Russian medal for subjugation of Western Caucasus 1859-1864.PNG, Russian medal for subjugation of Western Caucasus 1859–1864 File:Мюрид с наибским знаменем.jpg, Murid with the naib banner, by

1858—1861. File:Feldwebel_Vasily_Ivanov.jpg, ''Officer of the Separate Caucasian сorps'' File:Артиллерист фейервейкер Отдельного кавказского корпуса.jpg, ''Artillery fireworker of the Separate Caucasian сorps'' File:Oskar Schmerling. Caucasian Soldier Riding at a Gallop.jpg, Caucasian horseman warrior, by Oskar Schmerling 1893. File:Бой_с_Чеченцами_под_Акбулат-Юртом.jpg, Fight with the сhechens under Akbulat-Urt, by D. Koenig (1849) File:Наибы Шамиля.jpg, Naibs of Imam Shamil, by Giorgio Corradini 19th century. File:Черкес_стреляет_из_винтовки_с_коня_на_скаку.jpg, Circassian warrior, by Alfred Kowalski, 1895. File:Caucasian rider in fight with russian soldier (1892).jpg, Caucasian rider in fight with Russian soldier, by Roubaud. F. (1892) File:Виллевальде, Богдан Павлович. Охотники Ширванского полка на Гунибе.jpg, Soldiers of the Shirvan regiment on Gunib, by Bogdan Willewalde (1870). File:Pyotr Nikolayevich Gruzinsky. Assault of Gunib.jpg, Assault of Gunib, by

1862. File:Теодор_Горшельт._Штурм_укреплений_Гуниба._1867.jpg, Battle of Ghunib, by

1867. File:Horschelt. Surrender of Shamil. 1863.jpg, ''Capture of Shamil'', painting by Theodor Horschelt 1859.

Causes

History

Aftermath

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading