In 1817, the Caucasian War began for the Russian Empire, which lasted 50 years. The Caucasus has long been a region into which Russia wanted to expand its influence, and Alexander 1 decided on this war. This war saw three Russian Emperor: Alexander 1, Nikolai 1 and Alexander 2. As a result, Russia emerged victorious.
The Caucasian War of 1817-1864 is a huge event; it is divided into 6 main stages, which are discussed in the table below.
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Main reasons |
Russia's attempts to establish itself in the Caucasus and introduce Russian laws there; It is not the desire of some peoples of the Caucasus to join Russia Russia's desire to protect its borders from raids by mountaineers. |
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The predominance of guerrilla warfare among the highlanders. The beginning of the tough policy of the governor in the Caucasus, General A.P. Ermolov to pacify the mountain peoples through the creation of fortresses and the forcible relocation of the mountain people to the plain under the supervision of Russian garrisons |
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The unification of the rulers of Dagestan against the tsarist troops. The beginning of organized military action on both sides |
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The uprising of B. Taymazov in Chechnya (1824). The emergence of muridism. Separate punitive operations of Russian troops against the highlanders. Replacement of the commander of the Caucasian corps. Instead of General A.P. Ermolov (1816-1827) was appointed General I.F. Paskevich (1827-1831) |
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Creation of a mountain Muslim state - imamate. Gazi-Muhammad is the first imam to successfully fight against Russian troops. In 1829 he declared gazavat to the Russians. Died in 1832 in the battle for his native village of Gimry |
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“Brilliant” era” of Imam Shamil (1799-1871). Military operations with varying success on both sides. Shamil's creation of an imamate, which included the lands of Chechnya and Dagestan. Active fighting between the warring parties. August 25, 1859 - capture of Shamil in the village of Gunib by the troops of General A.I. Baryatinsky |
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The final suppression of the resistance of the mountaineers |
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Results of the war: |
Establishment of Russian power in the Caucasus; Settlement of conquered territories by Slavic peoples; Expanding Russian influence in the East. |
Caucasian War 1817-64, military actions related to the annexation of Chechnya, Mountainous Dagestan and the North-Western Caucasus by Tsarist Russia. After the annexation of Georgia (1801) and Azerbaijan (1803), their territories were separated from Russia by the lands of Chechnya, Mountainous Dagestan (although legally Dagestan was annexed in 1813) and the North-West Caucasus, inhabited by warlike mountain peoples who raided the Caucasian fortified line, interfered with relations with Transcaucasia. After the end of the wars with Napoleonic France, tsarism was able to intensify military operations in this area. General A.P., appointed commander-in-chief in the Caucasus in 1816. Ermolov moved from individual punitive expeditions to a systematic advance into the depths of Chechnya and Mountainous Dagestan by surrounding mountainous areas with a continuous ring of fortifications, cutting clearings in difficult forests, laying roads and destroying “rebellious” villages. This forced the population either to move to the plane (plain) under the supervision of Russian garrisons, or to go into the depths of the mountains. The first period of the Caucasian War began with an order dated May 12, 1818 from General Ermolov to cross the Terek. Ermolov drew up a plan of offensive action, at the forefront of which was the widespread colonization of the region by the Cossacks and the formation of “layers” between hostile tribes by relocating loyal tribes there. In 1817 the left flank of the Caucasian line was moved from the Terek to the river. The Sunzha, in the middle reaches of which the fortification of Pregradny Stan was laid in October 1817, which was the first step in a systematic advance into the territories of the mountain peoples and actually marked the beginning of K.V. In 1818, the Grozny fortress was founded in the lower reaches of the Sunzha. A continuation of the Sunzhenskaya line were the fortresses of Vnezapnaya (1819) and Burnaya (1821). In 1819, the Separate Georgian Corps was renamed the Separate Caucasian Corps and strengthened to 50 thousand people; The Black Sea Cossack army (up to 40 thousand people) in the North-West Caucasus was also subordinated to Ermolov. In 1818, a number of Dagestan feudal lords and tribes united and in 1819 began a campaign against the Sunzha line. But in 1819-21. they suffered a series of defeats, after which the possessions of these feudal lords were either transferred to Russian vassals with subordination to Russian commandants (the lands of the Kazikumukh Khan to the Kyurinsky Khan, the Avar Khan to Shamkhal Tarkovsky), or became dependent on Russia (the lands of Utsmiya Karakaitag), or were liquidated with the introduction of Russian administration ( Mehtuli Khanate, as well as the Azerbaijani Khanates of Sheki, Shirvan and Karabakh). In 1822 26 A number of punitive expeditions were carried out against the Circassians in the Trans-Kuban region.
The result of Ermolov's actions was the subjugation of almost all of Dagestan, Chechnya and Trans-Kubania. General I.F., who replaced Ermolov in March 1827 Paskevich abandoned a systematic advance with the consolidation of occupied territories and returned mainly to the tactics of individual punitive expeditions, although under him the Lezgin Line was created (1830). In 1828, in connection with the construction of the Military-Sukhumi road, the Karachay region was annexed. Expansion of colonization North Caucasus and the cruelty of the aggressive policy of Russian tsarism caused spontaneous mass uprisings of the mountaineers. The first of them occurred in Chechnya in July 1825: the highlanders, led by Bey-Bulat, captured the Amiradzhiyurt post, but their attempts to take Gerzel and Grozny failed, and in 1826 the uprising was suppressed. At the end of the 20s. in Chechnya and Dagestan, a movement of mountaineers arose under the religious cover of muridism, integral part which was ghazavat (Jihad) “holy war” against the “infidels” (i.e. Russians). In this movement, the liberation struggle against the colonial expansion of tsarism was combined with opposition to the oppression of local feudal lords. The reactionary side of the movement was the struggle of the top of the Muslim clergy for the creation of a feudal-theocratic state of the imamate. This isolated supporters of Muridism from other peoples, incited fanatical hatred of non-Muslims, and most importantly, preserved backward feudal forms of social structure. The movement of the highlanders under the flag of Muridism was the impetus for expanding the scale of the KV, although some peoples of the North Caucasus and Dagestan (for example, Kumyks, Ossetians, Ingush, Kabardians, etc.) did not join this movement. This was explained, firstly, by the fact that some of these peoples could not be carried away by the slogan of Muridism due to their Christianization (part of the Ossetians) or the weak development of Islam (for example, Kabardians); secondly, the “carrot and stick” policy pursued by tsarism, with the help of which it managed to attract part of the feudal lords and their subjects to its side. These peoples did not oppose Russian rule, but their situation was difficult: they were under the double oppression of tsarism and local feudal lords.
The second period of the Caucasian War represents the bloody and formidable era of Muridism. At the beginning of 1829, Kazi-Mulla (or Gazi-Magomed) arrived in the Tarkov Shankhaldom (a state on the territory of Dagestan in the late 15th - early 19th centuries) with his sermons, while receiving complete freedom of action from the shamkhal. Gathering his comrades, he began to go around village after village, calling on “sinners to stand on righteous path, instruct the lost and crush the criminal leadership of the villages.” Gazi-Magomed (Kazi-mullah), proclaimed imam in December 1828 and put forward the idea of unifying the peoples of Chechnya and Dagestan. But some feudal lords (Avar Khan, Shamkhal Tarkovsky, etc.), who adhered to the Russian orientation, refused to recognize the authority of the imam. Gazi-Magomed's attempt to capture the capital of Avaria, Khunzakh, in February 1830 was unsuccessful, although the expedition of the tsarist troops in 1830 to Gimry failed and only led to the strengthening of the imam's influence. In 1831, the murids took Tarki and Kizlyar, besieged Burnaya and Vnezapnaya; their detachments also operated in Chechnya, near Vladikavkaz and Grozny, and with the support of the rebel Tabasarans they besieged Derbent. Significant territories (Chechnya and most of Dagestan) came under the authority of the imam. However, from the end of 1831 the uprising began to decline due to the desertion of the peasantry from the murids, dissatisfied with the fact that the imam had not fulfilled his promise to eliminate class inequality. As a result of large expeditions of Russian troops in Chechnya, undertaken by the commander-in-chief in the Caucasus, General G.V., appointed in September 1831. Rosen, the detachments of Gazi-Magomed were pushed back to Mountainous Dagestan. The imam with a handful of murids took refuge in Gimry, where he died on October 17, 1832 during the capture of the village by Russian troops. Gamzat-bek was proclaimed the second imam, whose military successes attracted almost all the peoples of Mountain Dagestan, including some of the Avars, to his side; however, the ruler of Avaria, Hansha Pahu-bike, refused to speak out against Russia. In August 1834, Gamzat-bek captured Khunzakh and exterminated the family of Avar khans, but as a result of a conspiracy by their supporters, he was killed on September 19, 1834. In the same year, Russian troops, in order to stop the relations of the Circassians with Turkey, conducted an expedition to the Trans-Kuban region and laid the fortifications of Abinsk and Nikolaevskoe.
Shamil was proclaimed the third imam in 1834. The Russian command sent a large detachment against him, which destroyed the village of Gotsatl (the main residence of the murids) and forced Shamil’s troops to retreat from Avaria. Believing that the movement was largely suppressed, Rosen remained inactive for 2 years. During this time, Shamil, having chosen the village of Akhulgo as his base, subjugated part of the elders and feudal lords of Chechnya and Dagestan, brutally dealing with those feudal lords who did not want to obey him, and won wide support among the masses. In 1837, the detachment of General K.K. Fezi occupied Khunzakh, Untsukul and part of the village of Tilitl, where Shamil’s troops retreated, but due to heavy losses and lack of food, the tsarist troops found themselves in a difficult situation, and on July 3, 1837, Fezi concluded a truce with Shamil. This truce and the withdrawal of the tsarist troops were actually their defeat and strengthened the authority of Shamil. In the North-West Caucasus, Russian troops in 1837 founded the fortifications of the Holy Spirit, Novotroitskoye, Mikhailovskoye. In March 1838, Rosen was replaced by General E.A. Golovin, under whom the fortifications of Navaginskoye, Velyaminovskoye, Tenginskoye and Novorossiysk were created in the North-West Caucasus in 1838. The truce with Shamil turned out to be temporary, and in 1839 hostilities resumed. Detachment of General P.Kh. Grabbe, after an 80-day siege, captured the residence of Shamil Akhulgo on August 22, 1839; The wounded Shamil and his murids broke through to Chechnya. On the Black Sea coast in 1839, the Golovinskoye and Lazarevskoye fortifications were laid and the Black Sea coastline from the mouth of the river was created. Kuban to the borders of Megrelia; in 1840 the Labinsk line was created, but soon the tsarist troops suffered a number of major defeats: the rebel Circassians in February April 1840 captured the fortifications of the Black Sea coastline(Lazarevskoe, Velyaminovskoe, Mikhailovskoe, Nikolaevskoe). In the Eastern Caucasus, the Russian administration's attempt to disarm the Chechens sparked an uprising that spread throughout Chechnya and then spread to Mountainous Dagestan. After stubborn battles in the area of the Gekhin forest and on the river. Valerik (July 11, 1840) Russian troops occupied Chechnya, the Chechens went to Shamil’s troops operating in Northwestern Dagestan. In 1840-43, despite the strengthening of the Caucasian Corps by an infantry division, Shamil won a number of major victories, occupied Avaria and established his power in a large part of Dagestan, expanding the territory of the Imamate by more than doubling and increasing the number of his troops to 20 thousand people. In October 1842, Golovin was replaced by General A.I. Neigardt and 2 more infantry divisions were transferred to the Caucasus, which made it possible to somewhat push back Shamil’s troops. But then Shamil, again seizing the initiative, occupied Gergebil on November 8, 1843 and forced the Russian troops to leave Avaria. In December 1844, Neigardt was replaced by General M.S. Vorontsov, who in 1845 captured and destroyed Shamil’s residence, aul Dargo. However, the highlanders surrounded Vorontsov’s detachment, which barely managed to escape, having lost 1/3 of its personnel, all its guns and convoy. In 1846, Vorontsov returned to Ermolov’s tactics of conquering the Caucasus. Shamil’s attempts to disrupt the enemy’s offensive were unsuccessful (in 1846, the failure of the breakthrough into Kabarda, in 1848, the fall of Gergebil, in 1849, the failure of the assault on Temir-Khan-Shura and the breakthrough in Kakheti); in 1849-52 Shamil managed to occupy Kazikumukh, but by the spring of 1853 his troops were finally driven out of Chechnya to Mountainous Dagestan, where the position of the highlanders also became difficult. In the North-Western Caucasus, the Urup Line was created in 1850, and in 1851 the uprising of Circassian tribes led by Shamil's governor Muhammad-Emin was suppressed. The day before Crimean War 1853-56 Shamil, counting on the help of Great Britain and Turkey, intensified his actions and in August 1853 tried to break through the Lezgin line at Zagatala, but failed. In November 1853, Turkish troops were defeated at Bashkadyklar, and Circassian attempts to seize the Black Sea and Labinsk lines were repulsed. In the summer of 1854, Turkish troops launched an offensive against Tiflis; At the same time, Shamil’s troops, breaking through the Lezgi line, invaded Kakheti, captured Tsinandali, but were detained by the Georgian militia, and then defeated by Russian troops. Defeat in 1854-55. The Turkish army finally dispelled Shamil's hopes for outside help. By this time, what had begun in the late 40s had deepened. internal crisis of the Imamate. The actual transformation of Shamil's governors, the naibs, into self-interested feudal lords, whose cruel rule aroused the indignation of the mountaineers, exacerbated social contradictions, and the peasants began to gradually move away from Shamil's movement (in 1858, an uprising against Shamil's power even broke out in Chechnya in the Vedeno region). The weakening of the Imamate was also facilitated by devastation and heavy casualties in a long, unequal struggle in conditions of shortages of ammunition and food. The conclusion of the Paris Peace Treaty of 1856 allowed tsarism to concentrate significant forces against Shamil: the Caucasian Corps was transformed into an army (up to 200 thousand people). The new commanders-in-chief, General N.N. Muravyov (1854 56) and General A.I. Baryatinsky (1856 60) continued to tighten the blockade ring around the Imamate with a strong consolidation of the occupied territories. In April 1859, Shamil's residence, the village of Vedeno, fell. Shamil with 400 murids fled to the village of Gunib. As a result of the concentric movements of three detachments of Russian troops, Gunib was surrounded and taken by storm on August 25, 1859; Almost all the murids died in battle, and Shamil was forced to surrender. In the Northwestern Caucasus, the disunity of the Circassian and Abkhazian tribes facilitated the actions of the tsarist command, which took away fertile lands from the mountaineers and handed them over to the Cossacks and Russian settlers, carrying out the mass eviction of the mountain peoples. In November 1859, the main forces of the Circassians (up to 2 thousand people) led by Muhammad-Emin capitulated. The lands of the Circassians were cut by the Belorechensk line with the Maykop fortress. In 1859 61 the construction of clearings, roads and the settlement of lands seized from the highlanders were carried out. In mid-1862, resistance to the colonialists intensified. To occupy the territory remaining with the mountaineers with a population of about 200 thousand people. in 1862 up to 60 thousand were concentrated. soldiers under the command of General N.I. Evdokimov, who began advancing along the coast and deep into the mountains. In 1863, tsarist troops occupied the territory between the rivers. Belaya and Pshish, and by mid-April 1864 the entire coast to Navaginsky and the territory to the river. Laba (along the northern slope of the Caucasus ridge). Only the mountaineers of the Akhchipsu society and the small tribe of Khakuchi in the valley of the river did not submit. Mzymta. Pushed to the sea or driven into the mountains, the Circassians and Abkhazians were forced either to move to the plain or, under the influence of the Muslim clergy, to emigrate to Turkey. The unpreparedness of the Turkish government to receive, accommodate and feed masses of people (up to 500 thousand people), the arbitrariness and violence of local Turkish authorities and difficult living conditions caused a high mortality rate among the displaced, a small part of whom returned to the Caucasus again. By 1864, Russian control was introduced in Abkhazia, and on May 21, 1864, tsarist troops occupied the last center of resistance of the Circassian Ubykh tribe, the Kbaadu tract (now Krasnaya Polyana). This day is considered the date of the end of K.V., although in fact military operations continued until the end of 1864, and in the 60-70s. Anti-colonial uprisings took place in Chechnya and Dagestan.
The Caucasian War is the longest in Russian history. Officially, it was fought in 1817-1864, but in fact the date of the start of regular hostilities can be pushed back to the beginning of the Russian-Persian War of 1804-1813, the annexation of Georgia in 1800, or to Persian campaign 1796, or even at the beginning Russian-Turkish War 1787-1791. So it wouldn’t be much of an exaggeration to call it “our Centennial”...
Top 10 Russian generals Caucasian War (in chronological order)
1. Pavel Dmitrievich Tsitsianov (Tsitsishvili). A descendant of the Russified Georgian princely family, a general from the infantry, “a chick of Suvorov’s nest” (which they like to remember with regards to famous generals, but with regards to screwed-up ones, they don’t remember), the commander-in-chief in Georgia - the first after its annexation to Russia (in which process he played an important role ). In 1803 he led Russian troops in the war against Persia. He takes Ganja by storm, beats the Persians at Echmiadzin and Kanagir, but cannot take Erivan. Annexes the Ilisu and Shuragel Sultanates, the Ganja, Karabakh, Sheki and Shirvan Khanates to Russia. In 1806 he besieged Baku, but during negotiations for the surrender of the city he was killed by the Persians. During his lifetime, highly valued by his superiors and popular in the army, he is now completely and fatally forgotten by the “patriots of Russia.”
2. Ivan Vasilievich Gudovich. Ukropokhokhol From the Little Russian nobility. A man of “complex character”, especially at the end of his life, when he fell into insanity and, being the governor of Moscow, declared war on... glasses, furiously attacking everyone he saw wearing them (while his unscrupulous relatives, meanwhile, were simply sawing through the treasury). However, before that, Gudovich, awarded the title of count and the rank of field marshal for his victories, distinguished himself in all Turkish wars, repeatedly beating the enemy in the positions of chief of the Caucasian line and commander of the Kuban corps, and in 1791 he accomplished an amazing feat, taking Anapa by storm - an act that much more worthy of tons of gilded PR than the storming of Ishmael. But, however, the Ukrainian “slanders of Pavlov’s cane reaction” are not supposed to be heroes in our history...
3. Pavel Mikhailovich Karyagin. This, apparently, is the irony of history - the person who accomplished the most amazing feats is most forgotten. On June 24 - July 15, 1805, a detachment of 500 people by Colonel Karyagin, commander of the 17th Jaeger Regiment, found himself on the way of the 40,000-strong Persian army. In three weeks, this handful, which was eventually reduced to a hundred fighters, not only repelled several enemy attacks, but managed to take three fortresses by storm. For such an almost epic feat, the colonel did not become a general and did not receive the Order of St. George (he already had the 4th degree, but they were “greedy” to give the 3rd, defending themselves with an award sword and Vladimir of the 3rd degree). Even more than that, the date of his birth is still unknown, not a single portrait exists (even a posthumous one), the village named after him (Karyagino) is now proudly called the city of Fizuli, and in Russia the name of the colonel is forgotten from the word “to death”...
4. Pyotr Stepanovich Kotlyarevsky. Another “Ukr” (the real “patriots of Russia” should already be ashamed), who from 1804 to 1813 made a brilliant career in Transcaucasia, earning the nicknames “Meteor General” and “Caucasian Suvorov”. He defeated the Persians in an epic (due to the inequality of forces with them) battle at Aslanduz, took Akhalkalaki (receiving the rank of major general for it) and Lankaran (for which he was awarded St. George of the 2nd degree). However, “as always in Russia” - during the storming of Lankaran, Kotlyarevsky was seriously wounded in the face, forced to retire and lived for almost 40 years in “honest modesty” and gradually increasing oblivion. True, in 1826, Nicholas I awarded him the rank of infantry general and appointed him commander of the army in the new war against Persia, but Kotlyarevsky refused the post, citing wounds and fatigue from illnesses and sores. Now forgotten to a degree directly proportional to his lifetime glory.
5. Alexey Petrovich Ermolov. The idol of Russian Nazis and other nationalist rabble - because for the cattle to love in Russia, it was not necessary to defeat the Persians or Turks, but it was necessary to burn and execute “persons of Chechen nationality.” However, infantry general Ermolov earned a reputation as both a capable general and a tough administrator even before his appointment to the Caucasus, in the wars with the Poles and the French. And in general, with all the viciousness of his character and “mercilessness towards the enemies of the Reich,” he understood the Caucasus and the Caucasians much more than his current fonnat from the “rescuers of Russia.” True, he openly missed the start of the war with Persia in 1826 and made a number of failures. But he was removed not for this, but for “political unreliability” - and everyone knows this too.
6. Valerian Grigorievich Madatov-Karabakhsky (Madatyan), aka Rostom Grigoryan (Kyukuits). Well, here everything is clear - why should today’s Russians remember about some “Armenian” from the common people, who with intelligence, courage and “business qualities” achieved the rank of lieutenant general and fame” right hand Ermolov"? All sorts of exploits in the wars with the French, many years of keeping the Azerbaijani princes in a tight grip and the victory over the Persians at Shamkhor - this is all bullshit, "he did not kill the Chechens." Ermolov's resignation led Madatov to an inevitable conflict with Paskevich, which is why in 1828 he transferred to the army operating on the Danube, where he died of illness after various feats.
7. Ivan Fedorovich Paskevich. And again “hokhloukr” (yes, yes, everyone already realized that this is ZOG). One of the many “division commanders of 1812” to whom Fortune gave a lucky receipt - he first became a commander and “military mentor”, and then a favorite of the future Emperor Nicholas I, who immediately upon ascending the throne made him first commander of the army in the war against Persia, then, dumping Ermolov as commander of the Caucasian Corps. The only advantage of Paskevich, a suspicious, tyranny, evil man and “with a pessimistic view of the world,” was his military talent, which allowed him to win resounding victories over the Persians, and then over the Turks in the war of 1828-1829. Subsequently, Paskevich became Count of Erivan, Prince of Warsaw, Field Marshal General, but ended his career rather ingloriously in 1854, having achieved little on the Danube before suffering a severe shell shock at Silistra.
8. Mikhail Semenovich Vorontsov. The owner of an aristocratic surname that gives a misleading impression of his fame. But he is also directly related to ZOG, because he grew up and was educated in London, where his father worked for many years as a plenipotentiary minister (ambassador). That is why he endured heretical and godless convictions that soldiers should not be beaten with sticks, because this makes them serve worse... He fought a lot and fruitfully with the French, being seriously wounded at Borodino, and from 1815 to 1818 commanding the occupation corps in France. In 1844 he was appointed governor of the Caucasus and until 1854 he commanded the corps during the most active battles with Shamil - he took Dargo, Gergebil and Salty, earning the rank of field marshal general. However, many of his orders, especially during the “Suhar Expedition,” are still strongly criticized. The word “absolutely” is unknown to today’s “patriots,” despite the fact of the war against the Chechens. And rightly so - we don’t need agents of the gay-Ropean ZOG as heroes...
9. Nikolai Nikolaevich Muravyov-Karssky. From an equally famous aristocratic family, with the same effect of “deceptive recognition” - today’s “Russians” are more likely to remember the Decembrists Muravyovs, or Muravyov-Amursky. Future general From infantry he began his career during the wars with the French as a quartermaster, that is, as a staff officer. Then fate threw him to the Caucasus, where he spent most life and career. Nikolai Muravyov turned out to be a complex person - harmful, vindictive, proud and bilious (read his “Notes” - you will understand everything), with a long and nasty tongue, he had conflicts with Griboedov, and with Paskevich, and with Baryatinsky, and with many others. But his military abilities led to the fact that in 1854 Muravyov was appointed governor of the Caucasus and commander of the Caucasian Corps. At which posts did the Turks beat a lot during the Eastern (Crimean) War and took Kars for the second time in the history of Russia (becoming Kars). But he fell out with almost all the “Caucasian” military men and resigned in 1856.
10. Alexander Ivanovich Baryatinsky. Well, finally, the thick-dog-purebred Prince Rurikovich. Therefore, apparently, it was simply and honestly forgotten by the “patriots” with a clear conscience. Almost all of my military career spent in the Caucasus, with the exception of 1854-1856, when, due to a quarrel with Muravyov, he left the post of chief of staff of the Caucasian Corps. In 1856 he was appointed governor in the Caucasus and commander of the Caucasian Corps. Brayatinsky had the honor (which had absolutely no impact on today’s unpopularity) to end the Caucasian War - in 1859 Shamil (for which Baryatinsky became a field marshal) and Muhammad Amin surrendered to Russian troops, in 1864 the last of those who resisted - the Circassians - capitulated. Ze var is over...
Ivan Paskevich
Mamia V (VII) Gurieli
Davit I Gurieli
Georgy (Safarbey) Chachba
Dmitry (Omarbey) Chachba
Mikhail (Khamudbey) Chachba
Levan V Dadiani
David I Dadiani
Nicholas I Dadiani
Mehdi II
Sulaiman Pasha Tarkovsky
Abu Muslim Khan Tarkovsky
Shamsutdin-Khan Tarkovsky
Ahmed Khan II
Musa-bek
Daniyal-bek (until 1844)
Gamzat-bek †
Imam Shamil #
Baysangur Benoevsky #†
Hadji Murat †
Muhammad-Amin
Daniyal-bek (from 1844 to 1859)
Tashev-Hadji †
Kyzbech Tuguzhoko †
Beybulat Taimiev
Haji Berzek Kerantukh
Aublaa Akhmat
Shabbat Marshan
Ashsaw Marchand
Sheikh-Mulla Akhtynsky
Agabek Rutulsky
In the book “Unconquered Chechnya,” published in 1997 after the First Chechen War, public and political figure Lema Usmanov called the war of 1817-1864 “ First Russian-Caucasian War» .
Ermolov - Conquest of the Caucasus
But the tasks facing Ermolov in the North Caucasus required precisely his energy and intelligence. The Georgian Military Road divides the Caucasus into two stripes: to the east of it are Chechnya and Dagestan, to the west is Kabarda, extending to the upper reaches of the Kuban, and then the Trans-Kuban lands inhabited by Circassians. Chechnya with Dagestan, Kabarda and finally Circassia constituted the three main theaters of struggle, and special measures were required in relation to each of them.
Background
| History of Dagestan | |
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| Dagestan in the ancient world | |
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| Dagestan in the Middle Ages | |
| Dagestan in modern times | |
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Caucasian War |
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| Dagestan within the USSR | |
| Dagestan after the collapse of the USSR | |
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History of Dagestan Peoples of Dagestan Portal "Dagestan" |
| History of Chechnya | |
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| History of Chechnya in the Middle Ages | |
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| Chechnya and the Russian Empire | |
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Caucasian War |
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| Chechnya in the Civil War | |
| Chechnya in the USSR | |
| Chechnya after the collapse of the USSR | |
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Portal "Chechnya" |
Russo-Persian War (1796)
Georgia was at that time in the most deplorable state. Taking advantage of this, Agha Mohammed Shah Qajar invaded Georgia and on September 11, 1795, took and ravaged Tiflis. King Irakli with a handful of his entourage fled to the mountains. At the end of the same year, Russian troops entered Georgia and. The Dagestan rulers expressed their submission, except for Surkhai Khan II of Kazikumukh, and the Derbent Khan Sheikh Ali. On May 10, 1796, the Derbent fortress was taken despite stubborn resistance. In June Baku was occupied. The commander of the troops, Lieutenant General Count Valerian Zubov, was appointed instead of Gudovich as the chief commander of the Caucasus region; but his activities there were soon put to an end by the death of Empress Catherine. Paul I ordered Zubov to suspend military operations. Gudovich was again appointed commander of the Caucasian Corps. Russian troops were withdrawn from Transcaucasia, except for two battalions left in Tiflis.
Annexation of Georgia (1800-1804)
Russo-Persian War
In the same year, Tsitsianov also subjugated the Shirvan Khanate. He took a number of measures to encourage crafts, agriculture and trade. He founded the Noble School in Tiflis, which was later transformed into a gymnasium, restored the printing house, and sought the right for Georgian youth to receive education in higher educational institutions of Russia.
Uprising in South Ossetia (1810-1811)
Philip Paulucci had to simultaneously wage war against the Turks (from Kars) and against the Persians (in Karabakh) and fight the uprisings. In addition, during the leadership of Paulucci, Alexander I received statements from the Bishop of Gori and the vicar of the Georgian Dosifei, the leader of the Aznauri Georgian feudal group, raising the issue of the illegality of granting the Eristavi princes feudal estates in South Ossetia; The Aznaur group still hoped that, having ousted the Eristavi representatives from South Ossetia, it would divide the vacated possessions among themselves.
But soon, in view of the impending war against Napoleon, he was summoned to St. Petersburg.
In the same year, an uprising broke out in Abkhazia led by Aslanbey Chachba-Shervashidze against the power of his younger brother Safarbeya Chachba-Shervashidze. The Russian battalion and the militia of the ruler of Megrelia, Levan Dadiani, then saved the life and power of the ruler of Abkhazia, Safarbey Chachba.
Events of 1814-1816
Ermolovsky period (-)
In September 1816, Ermolov arrived at the border of the Caucasus province. In October he arrived on the Caucasian Line in the city of Georgievsk. From there he immediately went to Tiflis, where the former Commander-in-Chief, Infantry General Nikolai Rtishchev, was waiting for him. October 12, 1816 by the highest order Rtishchev was expelled from the army.
"Opposite the center of the line lies Kabarda, once populous, whose inhabitants, considered the bravest among the mountaineers, often, due to their large population, desperately resisted the Russians in bloody battles.
...The pestilence was our ally against the Kabardians; for, having completely destroyed the entire population of Little Kabarda and wreaked havoc in Big Kabarda, it weakened them so much that they could no longer gather in large forces as before, but made raids in small parties; otherwise our troops, scattered in weak parts over a large area, could be in danger. Quite a few expeditions were undertaken to Kabarda, sometimes they were forced to return or pay for the abductions made."(from the notes of A.P. Ermolov during the administration of Georgia)
«… Downstream of the Terek live the Chechens, the worst of the bandits who attack the line. Their society is very sparsely populated, but has increased enormously in the last few years, for the villains of all other nations who leave their land due to some crime were received in a friendly manner. Here they found accomplices, immediately ready to either avenge them or participate in robberies, and they served as their faithful guides in lands unknown to them. Chechnya can rightly be called the nest of all robbers..." (from the notes of A.P. Ermolov during the administration of Georgia)
« I have seen many peoples, but such rebellious and unyielding people as the Chechens do not exist on earth, and the path to the conquest of the Caucasus lies through the conquest of the Chechens, or rather, through their complete destruction».
« Sovereign!.. The mountain peoples, by example of their independence, give rise to a rebellious spirit and a love of independence in the very subjects of your Imperial Majesty" From the report of A. Ermolov to Emperor Alexander I on February 12, 1819.
In the spring of 1818, Ermolov turned to Chechnya. In 1818, the Grozny fortress was founded in the lower reaches of the river. It was believed that this measure put an end to the uprisings of the Chechens living between Sunzha and Terek, but in fact it was the beginning new war with Chechnya.
Ermolov moved from individual punitive expeditions to a systematic advance deep into Chechnya and Mountainous Dagestan by surrounding mountainous areas with a continuous ring of fortifications, cutting clearings in difficult forests, laying roads and destroying rebellious villages.
The highlanders who threatened Tarkovsky’s Shamkhalate annexed to the empire were pacified. In 1819, the Vnezapnaya fortress was built to keep the mountaineers submissive. An attempt to attack it by the Avar Khan ended in complete failure.
In Chechnya, Russian forces drove detachments of armed Chechens further into the mountains and resettled the population to the plain under the protection of Russian garrisons. A clearing was cut in the dense forest to the village of Germenchuk, which served as one of the main bases of the Chechens.
Map of the Caucasus. 1824.
Central part of the Caucasus. 1824.
Its result was the consolidation of Russian power in Kabarda and the Kumyk lands, in the foothills and plains. The Russians advanced gradually, methodically cutting down the forests in which the mountaineers were hiding.
The beginning of gazavat (-)
The new commander-in-chief of the Caucasian Corps, Adjutant General Paskevich, abandoned a systematic advance with the consolidation of occupied territories and returned mainly to the tactics of individual punitive expeditions. At first he was mainly occupied with wars with Persia and Turkey. Successes in these wars helped maintain external calm, but muridism spread more and more. In December 1828, Kazi-Mulla (Ghazi-Muhammad) was proclaimed imam. He was the first to call for gazavat, seeking to unite the disparate tribes of the Eastern Caucasus into one mass hostile to Russia. Only the Avar Khanate refused to recognize his power, and Kazi-Mulla’s attempt (in 1830) to take control of Khunzakh ended in defeat. After this, the influence of Kazi-Mulla was greatly shaken, and the arrival of new troops sent to the Caucasus after the conclusion of peace with Turkey forced him to flee from the Dagestan village of Gimry to the Belokan Lezgins.
In the Western Caucasus, a detachment of General Velyaminov penetrated to the mouths of the Pshada and Vulana rivers in the summer of 2009 and laid down the Novotroitskoye and Mikhailovskoye fortifications there.
In September of the same 1837, Emperor Nicholas I visited the Caucasus for the first time and was dissatisfied with the fact that, despite many years of efforts and major sacrifices, Russian troops were still far from lasting results in pacifying the region. General Golovin was appointed to replace Baron Rosen.
Meanwhile, hostilities began on the Black Sea coast, where the hastily built Russian forts were in a dilapidated state, and the garrisons were extremely weakened by fevers and other diseases. On February 7, the highlanders captured Fort Lazarev and destroyed all its defenders; On February 29, the same fate befell the Velyaminovskoye fortification; On March 23, after a fierce battle, the highlanders penetrated the Mikhailovskoye fortification, the defenders of which blew themselves up along with the attackers. In addition, the highlanders captured (April 2) the Nikolaev fort; but their enterprises against the Navaginsky fort and the Abinsky fortification were unsuccessful.
On the left flank, the premature attempt to disarm the Chechens caused extreme anger among them. In December 1839 and January 1840, General Pullo conducted punitive expeditions in Chechnya and destroyed several villages. During the second expedition, the Russian command demanded the surrender of one gun from 10 houses, as well as one hostage from each village. Taking advantage of the discontent of the population, Shamil raised the Ichkerinians, Aukhovites and other Chechen societies against the Russian troops. Russian troops under the command of General Galafeev limited themselves to searching in the forests of Chechnya, which cost many people. It was especially bloody on the river. Valerik (July 11). While General Galafeev was walking around Lesser Chechnya, Shamil with Chechen troops subjugated Salatavia to his power and in early August invaded Avaria, where he conquered several villages. With the addition of the elder of the mountain societies in the Andean Koisu, the famous Kibit-Magoma, his strength and enterprise increased enormously. By the fall, all of Chechnya was already on Shamil’s side, and the means of the Caucasian line turned out to be insufficient to successfully fight him. The Chechens began to attack the tsarist troops on the banks of the Terek and almost captured Mozdok.
On the right flank, by the fall, a new fortified line along the Labe was secured by forts Zassovsky, Makhoshevsky and Temirgoevsky. The Velyaminovskoye and Lazarevskoye fortifications were restored on the Black Sea coastline.
The failures of the Russian troops spread in the highest government spheres the conviction that offensive actions were futile and even harmful. This opinion was especially supported by the then Minister of War, Prince. Chernyshev, who visited the Caucasus in the summer of 1842 and witnessed the return of Grabbe’s detachment from the Ichkerin forests. Impressed by this catastrophe, he convinced the tsar to sign a decree prohibiting all expeditions to the city and ordering them to limit themselves to defense.
This forced inaction of the Russian troops emboldened the enemy, and attacks on the line became more frequent again. On August 31, 1843, Imam Shamil captured the fort at the village. Untsukul, destroying the detachment that was going to the rescue of the besieged. In the following days, several more fortifications fell, and on September 11, Gotsatl was taken, which interrupted communication with Temir Khan-Shura. From August 28 to September 21, the losses of Russian troops amounted to 55 officers, more than 1,500 lower ranks, 12 guns and significant warehouses: the fruits of many years of effort were lost, they were cut off from Russian forces long-submissive mountain societies and the morale of the troops was undermined. On October 28, Shamil surrounded the Gergebil fortification, which he managed to take only on November 8, when only 50 of the defenders remained alive. Detachments of highlanders, scattering in all directions, interrupted almost all communications with Derbent, Kizlyar and the left flank of the line; Russian troops in Temir Khan-Shura withstood the blockade, which lasted from November 8 to December 24.
Battle of Dargo (Chechnya, May 1845)
In May 1845 tsarist army several large detachments invaded the Imamate. At the beginning of the campaign, 5 detachments were created for actions in different directions. Chechen was led by General Liders, Dagestan by Prince Beibutov, Samur by Argutinsky-Dolgorukov, Lezgin by General Schwartz, Nazranov by General Nesterov. The main forces moving towards the capital of the Imamate were headed by the commander-in-chief of the Russian army in the Caucasus, Count M. S. Vorontsov.
Without encountering serious resistance, the 30,000-strong detachment passed through mountainous Dagestan and on June 13 invaded Andia. At the time of leaving Andia for Dargo, the total strength of the detachment was 7940 infantry, 1218 cavalry and 342 artillerymen. The Battle of Dargin lasted from July 8 to July 20. According to official data, in the Battle of Dargin, the tsarist troops lost 4 generals, 168 officers and up to 4,000 soldiers. Many future famous military leaders and politicians took part in the 1845 campaign: governor in the Caucasus in 1856-1862. and Field Marshal Prince A.I. Baryatinsky; Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Military District and main boss civil unit in the Caucasus in 1882-1890. Prince A. M. Dondukov-Korsakov; Acting commander-in-chief in 1854 before arriving in the Caucasus, Count N.N. Muravyov, Prince V.O. Bebutov; famous Caucasian military general, chief of the General Staff in 1866-1875. Count F. L. Heyden; military governor, killed in Kutaisi in 1861, Prince A.I. Gagarin; commander of the Shirvan regiment, Prince S. I. Vasilchikov; adjutant general, diplomat in 1849, 1853-1855, Count K. K. Benckendorff (seriously wounded during the campaign of 1845); Major General E. von Schwarzenberg; Lieutenant General Baron N.I. Delvig; N.P. Beklemishev, an excellent draftsman who left many sketches after his trip to Dargo, also known for his witticisms and puns; Prince E. Wittgenstein; Prince Alexander of Hesse, Major General, and others.
On the Black Sea coastline in the summer of 1845, the highlanders attempted to capture forts Raevsky (May 24) and Golovinsky (July 1), but were repulsed.
From the city on the left flank, actions were carried out aimed at strengthening control over the occupied lands, erecting new fortifications and Cossack villages and preparing further movement deep into the Chechen forests by cutting down wide clearings. Victory of the book Bebutov, who wrested from the hands of Shamil the inaccessible village of Kutish, which he had just occupied (currently included in the Levashinsky district of Dagestan), resulted in a complete calming of the Kumyk plane and the foothills.
On the Black Sea coastline there are up to 6 thousand Ubykhs. On November 28, they launched a new desperate attack on the Golovinsky fort, but were repulsed with great damage.
In the city, Prince Vorontsov besieged Gergebil, but due to the spread of cholera among the troops, he had to retreat. At the end of July, he undertook a siege of the fortified village of Salta, which, despite the significant siege weapons of the advancing troops, held out until September 14, when it was cleared by the highlanders. Both of these enterprises cost the Russian troops about 150 officers and more than 2,500 lower ranks who were out of action.
The troops of Daniel Bek invaded the Jaro-Belokan district, but on May 13 they were completely defeated at the village of Chardakhly.
In mid-November, Dagestan mountaineers invaded Kazikumukh and briefly captured several villages.
An outstanding event in the city was the capture of Gergebil (July 7) by Prince Argutinsky. In general, for a long time there has not been such calm in the Caucasus as this year; Only on the Lezgin line were frequent alarms repeated. In September, Shamil tried to capture the Akhta fortification on Samur, but he failed.
In the city, the siege of the village of Chokha, undertaken by Prince. Argutinsky, cost the Russian troops great losses, but was not successful. From the Lezgin line, General Chilyaev carried out a successful expedition into the mountains, which ended in the defeat of the enemy near the village of Khupro.
In the city, systematic deforestation in Chechnya continued with the same persistence and was accompanied by more or less serious clashes. This course of action forced many hostile societies to declare their unconditional submission.
It was decided to adhere to the same system in the city. On the right flank, an offensive was launched to the Belaya River in order to move the front line there and take away the fertile lands between this river and the hostile Abadzekhs.
The hostilities lasted for almost fifty years - from 1817 to 1864. Many political scientists and historians are still arguing about the methods of conquering the Caucasus and assessing this historical event ambiguous. Someone says that the mountaineers initially had no chance to resist the Russians, waging an unequal struggle with tsarism. Some historians emphasized that the imperial authorities did not set themselves the goal of establishing peaceful relations with the Caucasus, but its total conquest and the desire to subjugate the Russian Empire. It should be noted that for a long time the study of the history of the Russian-Caucasian War was in deep crisis. These facts once again prove how difficult and intractable this war turned out to be for the study of national history.
The beginning of the War and its causes
Relations between Russia and mountain peoples have had a long and difficult historical connection. On the part of the Russians, repeated attempts to impose their customs and traditions only outraged the free highlanders, giving rise to their discontent. On the other hand, the Russian emperor wanted to put an end to the raids and attacks, robberies of the Circassians and Chechens on Russian cities and villages stretching on the border of the empire.
The clash of completely dissimilar cultures gradually grew, strengthening Russia's desire to subjugate the Caucasian people. With strengthening foreign policy, the ruler of the empire, Alexander the First, decided to expand Russian influence over the Caucasian peoples. The purpose of the war from the outside Russian Empire there was annexation of the Caucasian lands, namely Chechnya, Dagestan, part of the Kuban region and the Black Sea coast. Another reason for entering the war was to maintain stability Russian state, since the British, Persians and Turks were looking at the Caucasian lands, this could turn into problems for the Russian people.
The conquest of the mountain people became a pressing problem for the emperor. It was planned to close the military issue with a resolution in their favor within several years. However, the Caucasus stood against the interests of Alexander the First and two subsequent rulers for half a century.
Progress and stages of the war
Many historical sources telling about the course of the war indicate its key stages
Stage 1. Partisan movement (1817 – 1819)
Commander-in-Chief Russian army General Ermolov led a rather fierce struggle against disobedience Caucasian people, relocating him to the plains among the mountains for total control. Such actions provoked violent discontent among Caucasians, increasing partisan movement. Guerrilla warfare began in the mountainous regions of Chechnya and Abkhazia.
In the first years of the war, the Russian Empire used only a small part of its fighting forces to subjugate the Caucasian population, as it was simultaneously waging war with Persia and Turkey. Despite this, with the help of Yermolov's military literacy, the Russian army gradually ousted the Chechen fighters and conquered their lands.
Stage 2. The emergence of muridism. Unification of the ruling elite of Dagestan (1819-1828)
This stage was characterized by some agreements among the current elites of the Dagestan people. A union was organized in the fight against the Russian army. A little later, a new religious movement appears against the backdrop of an ongoing war.
The confession, called Muridism, was one of the branches of Sufism. In a way, Muridism was a national liberation movement of representatives of the Caucasian people with strict adherence to the rules prescribed by religion. The Muridians declared war on the Russians and their supporters, which only intensified the fierce struggle among the Russians and Caucasians. At the end of 1824, the organized Chechen uprising began. Russian troops were subject to frequent raids by the mountaineers. In 1825, the Russian army won a number of victories over the Chechens and Dagestanis.
Stage 3. Creation of the Imamate (1829 – 1859)
It was during this period that a new state was created, spreading across the territories of Chechnya and Dagestan. The founder of a separate state was the future monarch of the highlanders - Shamil. The creation of the Imamate was caused by the need for independence. The Imamate defended the territory not captured by the Russian army, built its own ideology and centralized system, and created its own political postulates. Soon, under the leadership of Shamil, the progressive state became serious opponent Russian Empire.
For a long period of time, hostilities were carried out with varying success for the warring parties. During all kinds of battles, Shamil showed himself to be a worthy commander and adversary. For a long time, Shamil raided Russian villages and fortresses.
The situation was changed by the tactics of General Vorontsov, who, instead of continuing the campaign to the mountain villages, sent soldiers to cut down clearings in difficult forests, erecting fortifications there and creating Cossack villages. Thus, the territory of the Imamate was soon surrounded. For some time, the troops under the command of Shamil gave a worthy rebuff to the Russian soldiers, but the confrontation lasted until 1859. In the summer of that year, Shamil, along with his associates, was besieged by the Russian army and captured. This moment became a turning point in the Russian-Caucasian War.
It is worth noting that the period of the struggle against Shamil was the bloodiest. This period, like the war as a whole, suffered a huge amount of human and material losses.
Stage 4. End of the war (1859-1864)
The defeat of the Imamate and the enslavement of Shamil were followed by the end of military operations in the Caucasus. In 1864, the Russian army broke the long resistance of the Caucasians. The tedious war between the Russian Empire and the Circassian peoples ended.
Significant figures of the war
To conquer the mountaineers, uncompromising, experienced and outstanding military commanders were needed. Together with Emperor Alexander the First, General Ermolov Alexey Petrovich boldly entered the war. Already by the beginning of the war, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the troops of the Russian population on the territory of Georgia and the second Caucasian line.
Ermolov considered Dagestan and Chechnya the central place for the conquest of the highlanders, establishing a military-economic blockade mountainous Chechnya. The general believed that the task could be completed in a couple of years, but Chechnya turned out to be too active militarily. The commander-in-chief’s cunning, and at the same time, simple plan was to conquer individual combat points, setting up garrisons there. He took away the most fertile pieces of land from the mountain dwellers in order to subjugate or exterminate the enemy. However, with his authoritarian disposition towards foreigners, in the post-war period Ermolov, using small sums allocated from the Russian treasury, improved railway, established medical institutions, facilitating the influx of Russians into the mountains.
Raevsky Nikolai Nikolaevich was no less valiant warrior of that time. With the rank of “cavalry general,” he skillfully mastered combat tactics and honored military traditions. It was noted that Raevsky’s regiment always showed the best qualities in battle, always maintaining strict discipline and order in the battle formation.
Another of the commanders-in-chief, General Alexander Ivanovich Baryatinsky, was distinguished by his military skill and competent tactics in commanding the army. Alexander Ivanovich brilliantly demonstrated his skill in command and military training in the battles near the village of Gergebil, Kyuryuk-Dara. For services to the empire, the general was rewarded with the Order of St. George the Victorious and St. Andrew the First-Called, and by the end of the war he received the rank of field marshal general.
The last of the Russian commanders, who bore the honorary title of Field Marshal General, Dmitry Alekseevich Milyutin, left his mark in the fight against Shamil. Even after being wounded by a flying bullet, the commander remained to serve in the Caucasus, taking part in many battles with the highlanders. He was awarded with orders Saint Stanislav and Saint Vladimir.
Results of the Russian-Caucasian War
Thus, the Russian Empire, as a result of a long struggle with the mountaineers, was able to establish its own legal system in the Caucasus. Since 1864 it began to spread administrative structure empire, strengthening its geopolitical position. For Caucasians a special politic system while preserving their traditions, cultural heritage and religion.
Gradually, the anger of the mountaineers subsided towards the Russians, which led to the strengthening of the authority of the empire. Fabulous sums were allocated for beautification mountain region, construction of transport links, construction of cultural heritage, construction educational institutions, mosques, shelters, military orphanages for residents of the Caucasus.
The Caucasian battle was so long that it had rather contradictory assessments and results. Internecine invasions and periodic raids by the Persians and Turks stopped, human trafficking was eradicated, and the economic rise of the Caucasus and its modernization began. It should be noted that any war brought with it devastating losses both for the Caucasian people and for the Russian Empire. Even after so many years, this page of history still requires study.
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