Cherkesogai (russian: link=no, Черкесогаи), or Circassian Armenians ( hy, չերքեզահայեր ''cherk'ezahayer''; Circassian: Адыгэ-ермэлы; russian: черкесские армяне, link=no; sometimes referred to as Ermeli ( Circassian: Ермэлы), Mountainous Armenians (russian: link=no, горские армяне) or Transkuban Armenians (russian: link=no, закубанские армяне)), are ethnic

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 ...

who have inhabited Russia's

Krasnodar Krai Krasnodar Krai (russian: Краснода́рский край, r=Krasnodarsky kray, p=krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and administratively a part of t ...

and Republic of Adyghea since the end of 15th century and spoke the

Adyghe language Adyghe ( or ; ady, Адыгабзэ, Adygabzə, ), also known as West Circassian ( ady, link=no, кӏахыбзэ, khaxybzə), is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken by the western subgroups of Circassians. It is spoken mainly in Russia, a ...

(currently, most of them speak

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

as their first language), in contrast to other Armenians living in the region. They reside mostly in the cities of Armavir and

Maykop Maykop (russian: Майкоп, p=mɐjˈkop Help:IPA/Russian, mɐj'kop); ady, Мыекъуапэ, Mıéquapə ) is the capital city of the Republic of Adygea in Russia, located on the right bank of the Belaya River (Kuban), Belaya River (a tribut ...

. The total number of Cherkosogai is about 50,000 people (2008 estimate). According to the Russian 2002 Census, 230 Armenians speak

Lowland Adyghe Adyghe ( or ; ady, Адыгабзэ, Adygabzə, ), also known as West Circassian ( ady, link=no, кӏахыбзэ, khaxybzə), is a Northwest Caucasian language spoken by the western subgroups of Circassians. It is spoken mainly in Russia, ...

and 222 speak Kabardian Adyghe natively. Notable Cherkesogai include the first

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

millionaire A millionaire is an individual whose net worth or wealth is equal to or exceeds one million units of currency. Depending on the currency, a certain level of prestige is associated with being a millionaire. In countries that use the short scal ...

Artyom Mikhailovich Tarasov,

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

-winning writer

Henri Troyat Henri Troyat (born Lev Aslanovich Tarasov; – 2 March 2007) was a Russian-born French author, biographer, historian and novelist. Early life Lev Aslanovich Tarasov (russian: link=no, Лев Асланович Тарасов, ''Lev Aslanovich ...

(né Lev Aslanovich Tarasov), merchant Nikita Pavlovich Bogarsukov and ballerina Olga Aslanovna Tarasova.

History

Since the early Medieval period, many Armenians have lived as

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

, due to foreign invasions of Armenia, national and religious persecution, genocide and wars. Most of the present-day Armenian diaspora in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...

arrived in the 17th and 18th centuries, though the first Hemshin Armenians arrived in the 8th century. The migrations of Armenians to the

Kuban Kuban (Russian language, Russian and Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Кубань; ady, Пшызэ) is a historical and geographical region of Southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Pontic–Caspian steppe, ...

took place in a series of waves. The first took place from the late 1780s to the 1860s, when around 3,000 Armenians came from the Russian towns of

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

Kizlyar Kizlyar (russian: Кизля́р; av, Гъизляр; kum, Къызлар, ''Qızlar'') is a town in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia, located on the border with the Chechen Republic in the delta of the Terek River northwest of Makhachkala, ...

and

Mozdok Mozdok (russian: Моздо́к; os, Мæздæг, ''Mæzdæg''; Kabardian: Мэздэгу) is a town and the administrative center of Mozdoksky District of North Ossetia – Alania, Russia, located on the left shore of the Terek River, n ...

, as well as around 300

Persian Armenians Iranian-Armenians ( hy, իրանահայեր ''iranahayer''), also known as Persian-Armenians ( hy, պարսկահայեր ''parskahayer''), are Iranians of Armenian ethnicity who may speak Armenian as their first language. Estimates of thei ...

. During this period, the first Armenian settlements in the Kuban were founded, including Armavir, founded in 1839, considered to be the first. Armenians also established communities in larger towns such as

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

Anapa Anapa (russian: Ана́па, ) is a town in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, located on the northern coast of the Black Sea near the Sea of Azov. Population: History The area around Anapa was settled in antiquity. It was originally a major seaport ( ...

and

Ekaterinodar Krasnodar (; rus, Краснода́р, p=krəsnɐˈdar; ady, Краснодар), formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern ...

. A second wave of migrants came during the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, when around 30,000 mostly Turkish Hemshin Armenians arrived in the region, along with a few from

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 Turkmeni ...

and

Transcaucasia The South Caucasus, also known as Transcaucasia or the Transcaucasus, is a geographical region on the border of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, straddling the southern Caucasus Mountains. The South Caucasus roughly corresponds to modern Arme ...

. Some came for economic reasons and were attracted by Russian government, while others were forced to leave due to oppression and genocide by the Ottoman government. Migration peaked from the late 1870s to the late 1910s, coinciding with the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, pogroms against Armenians in Turkey and

Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world a ...

and the 1915–1920 mass persecution of the Armenian population in Turkey. A third wave of migration took place during the 1950s and comprised less than 300 ethnic Armenians of

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 the ...

(

Akhalkalaki Akhalkalaki ( ka, ახალქალაქი, tr; hy, Ախալքալաք / Նոր-Քաղաք, translit=Axalk’alak’ / Nor-K’aġak’) is a town in Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe–Javakheti and the administrative centre of the Ak ...

Armenians) who mostly settled in

Anapsky District Anapsky District (russian: Ана́пский райо́н) is an administrative district (raion), one of the thirty-eight in Krasnodar Krai, Russia.Reference Information #34.01-707/13-03 It is located in the west of the krai. Its administrative c ...

, mainly in Gaikodzor. The fourth wave took place in the 1970s and consisted mainly of ethnic Armenians of

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 ...

(

Karabakh Karabakh ( az, Qarabağ ; hy, Ղարաբաղ, Ġarabaġ ) is a geographic region in present-day southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura (Caspia ...

Armenians) and

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

, such as the Uzbek, Kazakh and Kirghiz SSRs. They primarily came to Krasnodar Krai for economic reasons and numbered from 5,000 to 7,000 people. From the end of the 1980s to the mid-1990s, around 300,000 more migrants arrived in the Kuban region as a result of the ethnic conflicts across the former Soviet Union, such as those in Azerbaijan and Armenia. Some later came as a result of poor economic conditions in the newly formed republics, from Armenia, Georgia and Central Asia.

Notable Cherkesogai

* Artyom Mikhailovich Tarasov (born 1950), the first

(né Lev Aslanovich Tarasov; 1911–2007),

-winning writer and historian, member of the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

* Nikita Pavlovich Bogarsukov (1834–1913), philanthropist, merchant and diplomat * Olga Aslanovna Tarasova (1902–1982), ballerina

References

Черкесогаи Северо-Западного Кавказа в XIX в.

Армяне Краснодарского края

History

Notable Cherkesogai

References

See also