Shuaib-Mulla of Tsentara ( Chechen: Shoip-Molloy Tsontoroin;

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 ...

: Шоип-Мулла Цонтороевский) was a Chechen commander and naib of the Caucasian Imamate during the

Caucasian War The Caucasian War (russian: Кавказская война; ''Kavkazskaya vojna'') or Caucasus War was a 19th century military conflict between the Russian Empire and various peoples of the North Caucasus who resisted subjugation during the ...

. He was one of

Imam Shamil Imam Shamil ( av, Шейх Шамил, Şeyx Şamil; ar, الشيخ شامل; russian: Имам Шамиль; 26 June 1797 – 4 February 1871) was the political, military, and spiritual leader of North Caucasian resistance to Imperial Russia in ...

's closest associates and was nicknamed the "Marshal of the Forests" for his skill in guerrilla warfare by Count

Pavel Grabbe Count Pavel Khristoforovich Grabbe (December 2, 1789 - July 15, 1875) was a Russian cavalry general who led Russian armies in the Caucasus.Алексей Петрович Ермолов, бывший при Барклае начальником � ...

Biography

Shuaib was born in the village of Biltaul (modern Tukhchar of the

Novolaksky district Novolaksky District (russian: Новола́кский райо́н; Lak: ) is an administrativeLaw #16 and municipalLaw #6 district (raion), one of the forty-one in the Republic of Dagestan, Russia. It is located in the west of the republic an ...

of Dagestan) in 1804 into the family of the scientist Muhammad-Hadji. Muhammad-mullah was not only a prominent Arabist scientist, educator, but is also reported to have enjoyed great respect and authority among the Chechens, for a long time he headed the Chechen national council (Mekhkan Khel) in Nokhch-Mokhk. In his youth, Shuaib received a good education and showed a great aptitude for science. In addition to his native Chechen, Shuaib is reported to have spoken

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

, Kumyk and Avar. Shuaib's father Muhammad initially wanted his son to study sciences, and at first Shuaib was aimed at deep study of sciences. For some time he worked as a mullah. However, the outbreak of the

changed his plans. At the onset of the Caucasian war, he became one of the most active participants in the active resistance against the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the 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 the Great Northern War. ...

. In 1829 Shuaib became a murid and an active assistant to the first imam of the Caucasian Imamate

Ghazi Muhammad Qazi Mullah ( Russian: Кази-Мулла, ''Kazi-Mulla'', 1793–1832) was an Islamic scholar and ascetic, who was the first Imam of the Caucasian Imamate (from 1828 to 1832). He was a staunch ally of Imam Shamil. He promoted the Sacred Law of Sh ...

. However, after his death, Shuaib retires from active military activities. From 1834 Shuaib served as a mullah in the village of Aku-Yurt for 4 years. The tsarist command did not forgive him for active participation in the military campaigns of Imam Gazi-Muhammad and began taking measures to kill him or win him over by promising all kinds of benefits and positions. Shuaib rejected any proposals from the authorities. To avoid arrest, in 1838 he fled to the mountains of Ichkeria, where he became an associate of Sheikh Tash-Khadzhi. Description of Shuaib-Mullah by a captured Russian soldier:

Shuaib-Mullah Fortress

The "Shuaib-Mullah fortress" ( Chechen:"Shuaiban Ghap") was erected during the early years of the Caucasian Imamate by the Chechen architect and Naib Yusuf-Hazhi Safarov. It was first mentioned in 1840 and was a notorious hard fortress to overtake. Many Russian generals sought to “capture the enemy's fortification of Shuaib-fortress, which the Chechens considered impregnable and which for many years, despite the proximity of many strong detachments, remained untouched”. A. Zisserman described the fortress in detail: N. A. Volkonsky also left a description of the fortress: "This fortification was located behind Michik (

Kurchaloy Kurchaloy ( ce, Курчалой-ГӀала, ''Kurçaloy-Ġala''; russian: Курчалой) is a town in, and the administrative center of Kurchaloyevsky District, Chechnya. Population: Administrative and municipal status Municipally, Kurchal ...

), in the forest. Although it was small, it had a good defense. Shamil considered it a stronghold of greater Chechnya. Troops marched near and around it many times, but did not dare to storm, fearing great losses. In early January 1855, by order of General AE Wrangel , the "Shuaib-Ghap" fortification was taken by the detachment of Baron Nikolai".

Pioneership in the field of forest warfare

{{Quote, text=The Chechens, in the opinion of many researchers, were the first to employ the tactic of creeping troops, brought up exemplary mountain cavalry with such truly immortal examples as Kazbich, Beibulat, Talhig, laid the foundation for horse-mountain artillery and invented "nomadic batteries." They created a "blockage" of the enemy - the prototype of an infantry trench and fortified point, and deeply thought out the theory of an elastic front. All this then arose with Totleben in Sevastopol and Baklanov in Poland, but it was never studied in full. Europe marveled at the Cossacks and studied, forgetting or not knowing that it was not the primary source of the methods of partisan warfare, the researcher writes. - So, for example, the war of dispersion, brilliantly carried out by one of the most talented commanders of the Imamate, Shoip-Molloy Tsontoroin, still remains unexplored. With surprising completeness, it surpassed what the modern theory of small war came to almost a century later., author= Nikolai Alexandrovich Smirnov, title=, source=Muridism in the Caucasus

References

1804 births 1844 deaths Chechen people People of the Caucasian War Warriors from the Russian Empire North Caucasian independence activists