Causes of the Caucasian War in the 19th century. Caucasian wars of the 18th - 19th centuries

1. Background of the Caucasian War

The war of the Russian Empire against the Muslim peoples of the North Caucasus was aimed at annexing this region. As a result of the Russian-Turkish (in 1812) and Russian-Iranian (in 1813) wars, the North Caucasus was surrounded by Russian territory. However, the imperial government failed to establish effective control over it for many decades. The mountain peoples of Chechnya and Dagestan have long lived to a large extent by raiding the surrounding flat territories, including Russian Cossack settlements and soldier garrisons. When the highlanders' raids on Russian villages became unbearable, the Russians responded with reprisals. After a series of punitive operations, during which the Russian troops mercilessly burned the "guilty" villages, the emperor in 1813 ordered General Rtishchev to change tactics again, "to try to restore calm on the Caucasian line with friendliness and indulgence."

However, the peculiarities of the mentality of the highlanders prevented a peaceful settlement of the situation. Peacefulness was regarded as a weakness, and the raids on the Russians only intensified. In 1819, almost all the rulers of Dagestan united in an alliance to fight against the Russians. In this regard, the policy of the tsarist government moved to the establishment of direct rule. In the face of General A.P. Yermolov, the Russian government found the right person to implement these ideas: the general held a firm belief that the entire Caucasus should become part of the Russian Empire.

2. Caucasian War 1817-1864

caucasian war

Caucasian War of 1817-64, military actions connected with the annexation of Chechnya, Mountainous Dagestan and the North-Western Caucasus by tsarist Russia. After the annexation of Georgia (1801 10) and Azerbaijan (1803 13), their territories turned out to be separated from Russia by the lands of Chechnya, Mountainous Dagestan (although legally Dagestan was annexed in 1813) and the North-Western 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 hostilities in the area. Appointed in 1816 as commander-in-chief in the Caucasus, General A.P. Yermolov moved from individual punitive expeditions to a systematic advance deep into Chechnya and Mountainous Dagestan by surrounding the mountainous regions with a continuous ring of fortifications, cutting clearings in difficult forests, laying roads and destroying "recalcitrant" auls. This forced the population to either move to the flat (plain) under the supervision of the Russian garrisons, or go into the depths of the mountains. Started the first period of the Caucasian war with the order of May 12, 1818, General Yermolov to cross the Terek. Yermolov 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 resettling loyal tribes there. In 1817 18. the left flank of the Caucasian line was moved from the Terek to the river. Sunzha in the middle course of which was in October 1817. the fortification of Barrier Stan was laid, which was the first step in a systematic advance into the depths of the territories of the mountain peoples and actually laid the foundation for K.V. In 1818. Groznaya fortress was founded in the lower reaches of the Sunzha. The continuation of the Sunzha line were the fortresses Vnepnaya (1819) and Burnaya (1821). In 1819, the Separate Georgian Corps was renamed the Separate Caucasian Corps and reinforced to 50,000 men; Yermolov was also subordinate to the Black Sea Cossack army (up to 40 thousand people) in the North-Western Caucasus. In 1818 a number of Dagestan feudal lords and tribes united in 1819. began a campaign on the Sunzhenskaya line. But in 1819 21. they suffered a series of defeats, after which the possessions of these feudal lords were either transferred to the vassals of Russia with subordination to Russian commandants (the lands of the Kazikumukh Khan to the Kyurinsky Khan, the Avar Khan to the Shamkhal of Tarkovsky), or became dependent on Russia (the lands of the Utsmi Karakaytag), or liquidated with the introduction of Russian administration ( khanate of Mekhtuli, 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 Yermolov's actions was the subjugation of almost all of Dagestan, Chechnya and Trans-Kuban. General I.F., who replaced Yermolov in March 1827. Paskevich abandoned the systematic advance with the consolidation of the occupied territories and returned mainly to the tactics of individual punitive expeditions, although the Lezgin line was created under him (1830). In 1828, in connection with the construction of the Sukhumi military road, the Karachaev region was annexed. The expansion of the colonization of the North Caucasus and the cruelty of the aggressive policy of Russian tsarism caused spontaneous mass uprisings of the highlanders. The first of these took place in Chechnya in July 1825: the highlanders, led by Bei-Bulat, captured the post of Amiradzhiyurt, but their attempts to take Gerzel and Groznaya failed, and in 1826. the uprising was put down. At the end of the 20s. in Chechnya and Dagestan, a movement of highlanders arose under the religious shell of muridism, an integral part of which was the 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 a speech against the oppression of local feudal lords. The reactionary side of the movement was the struggle of the elite of the Muslim clergy for the creation of a feudal-theocratic state of the imamate. This isolated the adherents of Muridism from other peoples, fomented fanatical hatred of non-Muslims, and, most importantly, preserved the backward feudal forms of social organization. The movement of the highlanders under the flag of Muridism was the impetus for the expansion of the scale of K.V., 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, the Kabardians); secondly, the "carrot and stick" policy pursued by tsarism, with the help of which he managed to win over part of the feudal lords and their subjects. These peoples did not oppose Russian domination, but their situation was difficult: they were under the double yoke of tsarism and local feudal lords.

The second period of the Caucasian war- represent a bloody and formidable time of Muridism. At the beginning of 1829, Kazi-Mulla (or Gazi-Magomed) arrived in the Tarkov Shankhalstvo (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-in-arms, he began to go around aul after aul, calling on "sinners to take the righteous path, instruct the lost and crush the criminal authorities of the auls." Gazi-Magomed (Kazi-mullah), proclaimed imam in December 1828. and put forward the idea of uniting the peoples of Chechnya and Dagestan. But some feudal lords (Khan of Avar, Shamkhal of Tarkovsky, etc.), who adhered to the Russian orientation, refused to recognize the authority of the imam. Gazi-Magomed's attempt to capture in February 1830. Khunzakh, the capital of Avaria, was not successful, although the expedition of the tsarist troops in 1830. in Gimry failed and only led to an increase in the influence of the imam. In 1831 the murids took Tarki and Kizlyar, laid siege to Stormy and Sudden; their detachments also operated in Chechnya, near Vladikavkaz and Grozny, and with the support of the rebel Tabasarans, they laid siege to Derbent. Significant territories (Chechnya and most of Dagestan) were under the authority of the imam. However, from the end of 1831. the uprising waned due to the departure of the peasantry from the murids, dissatisfied with the fact that the imam did not fulfill his promise to eliminate class inequality. As a result of large expeditions of Russian troops in Chechnya, undertaken by the appointed in September 1831. commander in chief in the Caucasus, General G.V. Rosen, the detachments of Gazi-Magomed were pushed back to Mountain 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 Mountainous Dagestan to his side, including some of the Avars; however, the ruler of Avaria, Khansha Pahu-bike, refused to oppose Russia. In August 1834 Gamzat-bek captured Khunzakh and exterminated the family of the Avar khans, but as a result of a conspiracy of their supporters, he was killed on September 19, 1834. In the same year, Russian troops, in order to stop relations between the Circassians and Turkey, conducted an expedition to the Trans-Kuban region and laid the fortifications of Abinsk and Nikolaev.

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 did not conduct active operations for 2 years. During this time, Shamil, having chosen the village of Akhulgo as his base, subjugated some of the elders and feudal lords of Chechnya and Dagestan, brutally cracking down on 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 detachments retreated, but due to heavy losses and lack of food, the tsarist troops were 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 in fact their defeat and strengthened Shamil's authority. In the North-Western Caucasus, Russian troops in 1837. laid the fortifications of the Holy Spirit, Novotroitskoye, Mikhailovskoye. March 1838. Rosen was replaced by General E. A. Golovin, under whom in the North-Western Caucasus in 1838. Fortifications Navaginskoye, Velyaminovskoye, Tenginskoye and Novorossiyskoye were created. 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 on August 22, 1839 took possession of the residence of Shamil Akhulgo; wounded Shamil with murids broke into Chechnya. On the Black Sea coast in 1839. fortifications were laid Golovinskoye, Lazarevskoye and the Black Sea coastline was created from the mouth of the river. Kuban to the borders of Megrelia; in 1840 the Labinskaya line was created, but soon the tsarist troops suffered a number of major defeats: the rebellious Circassians in February April 1840. captured the fortifications of the Black Sea coastline (Lazarevskoye, Velyaminovskoye, Mikhailovskoye, Nikolaevskoye). In the Eastern Caucasus, an attempt by the Russian administration to disarm the Chechens sparked an uprising that engulfed all of Chechnya and then spread to Mountainous Dagestan. After stubborn battles in the area of the Gekhinsky forest and on the river. Valerik (July 11, 1840) Russian troops occupied Chechnya, Chechens went to Shamil's troops operating in North-Western 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 significant part of Dagestan, more than doubling the territory of the imamate and bringing the number of his troops to 20 thousand people. In October 1842 Golovin was replaced by General A. I. Neigardt also transferred 2 more infantry divisions to the Caucasus, which made it possible to push back Shamil's troops somewhat. 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. seized and destroyed the residence of Shamil aul Dargo. However, the highlanders surrounded Vorontsov's detachment, who barely managed to escape, having lost 1/3 of the composition, all the guns and the convoy. In 1846, Vorontsov returned to Yermolov's tactics of conquering the Caucasus. Shamil's attempts to disrupt the enemy's offensive were not successful (in 1846, the failure of a breakthrough to Kabarda, in 1848, the fall of Gergebil, in 1849, the failure of the assault on Temir-Khan-Shura and a breakthrough in Kakheti); in 1849-52 Shamil managed to occupy Kazikumukh, but by the spring of 1853. his detachments were finally forced out of Chechnya to Mountainous Dagestan, where the position of the highlanders also became difficult. In the Northwestern Caucasus, the Urup line was created in 1850, and in 1851 an uprising of Circassian tribes led by Shamil's governor, Muhammad-Emin, was suppressed. On the eve of the Crimean War of 1853-56, Shamil, counting on the help of Great Britain and Turkey, stepped up his actions and in August 1853. tried to break through the Lezgi line at Zagatala, but failed. In November 1853, the Turkish troops were defeated at Bashkadyklar, and the attempts of the Circassians to capture the Black Sea and Labinsk lines were repelled. In the summer of 1854, Turkish troops launched an offensive against Tiflis; at the same time, Shamil's detachments, breaking through the Lezgin line, invaded Kakheti, captured Tsinandali, but were detained by the Georgian militia, and then defeated by Russian troops. Defeat in 1854-55. Turkish army finally dispelled Shamil's hopes for outside help. By this time, deepened began in the late 40s. internal crisis of the Imamate. The actual transformation of Shamil's governors, the naibs, into greedy feudal lords, who aroused the indignation of the highlanders with their cruel rule, 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 ruin and heavy casualties in a long unequal struggle in the face of a shortage 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 around the imamate with a strong consolidation of the occupied territories. In April 1859, the residence of Shamil, the village of Vedeno, fell. Shamil fled with 400 murids to the village of Gunib. As a result of the concentric movement of three detachments of Russian troops, Gunib was surrounded and on August 25, 1859. taken by storm; almost all the murids died in battle, and Shamil was forced to surrender. In the North-Western Caucasus, the disunity of the Circassian and Abkhazian tribes facilitated the actions of the tsarist command, which took fertile lands from the highlanders and transferred them to the Cossacks and Russian settlers, carrying out the mass eviction of the mountain peoples. In November 1859 the main forces of the Circassians capitulated (up to 2 thousand people), led by Mohammed-Emin. The lands of the Circassians were cut by the Belorechenskaya line with the Maykop fortress. In 1859 61. clearings, roads and the settlement of lands seized from the highlanders were carried out. In the middle of 1862 resistance to the colonialists intensified. To occupy the territory left by the highlanders with a population of about 200 thousand people. in 1862, up to 60 thousand soldiers were concentrated under the command of General N.I. Evdokimov, who began to advance along the coast and deep into the mountains. In 1863, the tsarist troops occupied the territory between the river. Belaya and Pshish, and by mid-April 1864 the entire coast to Navaginskoye and the territory to the river. Laba (on the northern slope of the Caucasus Range). Only the highlanders of the Akhchipsu society and a small tribe of Khakuches in the valley of the river did not submit. Mzymta. Pushed back to the sea or driven into the mountains, the Circassians and Abkhazians were forced to either move to the plains or, under the influence of the Muslim clergy, emigrate to Turkey. The unpreparedness of the Turkish government to receive, accommodate and feed a mass of people (up to 500 thousand people), the arbitrariness and violence of the local Turkish authorities and difficult living conditions caused a high death rate among the settlers, an insignificant part of whom returned to the Caucasus again. By 1864, Russian administration was introduced in Abkhazia, and on May 21, 1864, the 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 hostilities continued until the end of 1864, and in the 60-70s. anti-colonial uprisings took place in Chechnya and Dagestan.

1. Background of the Caucasian War

2. Caucasian War 1817-1864

caucasian war

3. Results of the Caucasian War

As a result, K.V. Chechnya, Gorny Dagestan and the Northwestern Caucasus were finally annexed to Russia. The accession was carried out by violent military-feudal methods, characteristic of the colonial policy of tsarism. At the same time, the entry of these peoples into Russia, which embarked on the capitalist path, objectively had a progressive significance, since. ultimately contributed to their economic, political and cultural development.

In general, we can conclude that the successful completion of the war strengthened Russia's international position and increased its strategic power. After the end of the war, the situation in the region became much more stable.

But the results of the Caucasian war were mixed. On the one hand, they allowed Russia to solve the set tasks, provided markets for raw materials and sales, a profitable military-strategic springboard for strengthening its geopolitical position. At the same time, the conquest of the freedom-loving peoples of the North Caucasus, despite certain positive aspects for the development of these peoples, left behind a set of unresolved problems that fell to the Soviet Union, and then the new Russia.

Sources and literature

1. http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caucasian_wars

2. http://www.kishar.ru/vov/history_12.php

3. www.studzona.com

4. http://revolution./history/00010358_0.html

5. Dubrovin N.F., Caucasian War in the reign of the imp. Nicholas I and Alexander II (1825 1864), in the book: Review of the Russian wars from Peter the Great to the present day, part 4, book. 2, St. Petersburg, 1896; v. 6, M., 1946.

6. The movement of the highlanders of the North-Eastern Caucasus in 20-50. 19th century, Sat. documents, Makhachkala, 1959.

7. Smirnov N.A. Muridism in the Caucasus, M., 1963; Gisetti A.

Armed struggle of Russia for the annexation of the mountainous territories of the North Caucasus in 1817-1864.

Russian influence in the Caucasus increased in the 16th-18th centuries. In 1801-1813. Russia annexed a number of territories in Transcaucasia (parts of modern Georgia, Dagestan and Azerbaijan) (see Kartli-Kakheti kingdom, Mingrelia, Imereti, Guria, Gulistan peace treaty), but the path there went through the Caucasus, inhabited by warlike tribes, most of them professing Islam . They carried out raids on Russian territories and communications (the Georgian Military Highway, etc.). This caused conflicts between the subjects of Russia and the inhabitants of the mountainous regions (highlanders), primarily in Circassia, Chechnya and Dagestan (some of which formally accepted Russian citizenship). To protect the foothills of the North Caucasus from the XVIII century. the Caucasian line was formed. Based on it, under the leadership of A. Yermolov, Russian troops began a systematic advance into the mountainous regions of the North Caucasus. Recalcitrant areas were surrounded by fortifications, hostile auls were destroyed along with the population. Part of the population was forcibly moved to the plain. In 1818, the Groznaya fortress was founded in Chechnya, designed to control the region. There was an advance to Dagestan. Abkhazia (1824) and Kabarda (1825) were "pacified". The Chechen uprising of 1825-1826 was suppressed. However, as a rule, pacification was not reliable, and outwardly loyal mountaineers could later act against Russian troops and settlers. The advance of Russia to the south contributed to the state-religious consolidation of part of the highlanders. Muridism became widespread.

In 1827, General I. Paskevich became the commander of the Separate Caucasian Corps (created in 1820). He continued cutting clearings, laying roads, resettling recalcitrant highlanders on the plateau, and building fortifications. In 1829, according to the Adrianople peace treaty, the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus passed to Russia, and the Ottoman Empire abandoned the territories in the North Caucasus. For some time, resistance to the advance of Russia was left without Turkish support. In order to prevent external relations among the highlanders (including the slave trade), from 1834 a line of fortifications began to be erected along the Black Sea beyond the Kuban. Since 1840, the attacks of the Adygs on the fortresses of the coast intensified. In 1828, an imamate in the Caucasus was formed in Chechnya and mountainous Dagestan, which began a gazavat against Russia. In 1834 it was headed by Shamil. He occupied the mountainous regions of Chechnya and almost the entire Avaria. Even the capture of Akhulgo in 1839 did not lead to the death of the imamate. Adyghe tribes also fought, attacking Russian fortifications on the Black Sea. In 1841-1843. Shamil more than doubled the imamate, the highlanders won a number of victories, including in the Battle of Ichkerin in 1842. The new commander M. Vorontsov undertook an expedition to Dargo in 1845, suffered heavy losses and returned to the tactics of compressing the imamate with a ring of fortifications. Shamil invaded Kabarda (1846) and Kakhetia (1849), but was pushed back. The Russian army continued to systematically push Shamil into the mountains. A new round of mountaineer resistance fell on the period of the Crimean War of 1853-1856. Shamil tried to rely on the help of the Ottoman Empire and Great Britain. In 1856, the Russians concentrated a 200,000-strong army in the Caucasus. Their forces became more prepared and mobile, the commanders knew the theater of war well. The population of the North Caucasus was devastated and no longer supported the struggle. The comrades-in-arms, tired of the war, began to leave the imam. With the remnants of his detachments, he retreated to Gunib, where on 26.8.1859 he surrendered to A. Baryatinsky. The forces of the Russian army concentrated in Adygea. On May 21, 1864, her campaign ended with the capitulation of the Ubykhs in the Kbaada tract (now Krasnaya Polyana). Although separate centers of resistance remained until 1884, the conquest of the Caucasus was completed.

Historical sources:

A documentary history of the formation of the multinational state of Russia. Book. 1. Russia and the North Caucasus in the XVI - XIX centuries. M.. 1998.

Caucasian War (briefly)

Brief description of the Caucasian War (with tables):

It is customary for historians to call the Caucasian War a long period of hostilities between the North Caucasian Imamat and the Russian Empire. This confrontation was fought for the complete subjugation of all the mountainous territories of the North Caucasus, and was one of the fiercest in the nineteenth century. The period of the war covers the time from 1817 to 1864.

Close political relations between the peoples of the Caucasus and Russia began immediately after the collapse of Georgia in the fifteenth century. After all, starting from the sixteenth century, many states of the Caucasian ridge were forced to ask for protection from Russia.

As the main reason for the war, historians single out the fact that Georgia was the only Christian power that was regularly attacked by neighboring Muslim countries. More than once, the Georgian rulers asked for Russian patronage. So, in 1801, Georgia was formally included in Russia, but was completely isolated from the Russian Empire by neighboring countries. In this case, there was an urgent need to form the integrity of the Russian territory. This could be realized only under the condition of subjugation of other peoples of the North Caucasus.

Such Caucasian states as Ossetia and Kabarda became part of Russia almost voluntarily. But the rest (Dagestan, Chechnya and Adygea) offered fierce resistance, categorically refusing to submit to the empire.

In 1817, the main stage of the conquest of the Caucasus by Russian troops under the command of General A. Yermolov began. It is interesting that it was after the appointment of Yermolov as the commander of the army that the Caucasian War began. In the past, the Russian government treated the peoples of the North Caucasus rather softly.

The main difficulty in conducting military operations in this period was that at the same time Russia had to participate in the Russian-Iranian and Russian-Turkish war.

The second period of the Caucasian War is associated with the emergence of a common leader in Dagestan and Chechnya - Imam Shamil. He was able to unite the disparate peoples dissatisfied with the empire and start a liberation war against Russia. Shamil managed to quickly form a powerful army and conduct successful military operations against Russia with it for more than thirty years.

After a series of failures in 1859, Shamil was taken prisoner, after which he was exiled with his family to the Kaluga region for a settlement. With his removal from military affairs, Russia managed to win a lot of victories, and by 1864 the entire territory of the North Caucasus became part of the empire.

During the years of the first Chechen war, the author of this book, General Kulikov, was the commander-in-chief of the united group of federal troops in the North Caucasus and the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation. But this book is not just a memoir, more than the personal experience of one of the most knowledgeable participants in the tragedy. This is a complete encyclopedia of all Caucasian wars from the 18th century to the present day. From the campaigns of Peter the Great, the exploits of the "Catherine Eagles" and the voluntary annexation of Georgia to the victories of Yermolov, the surrender of Shamil and the exodus of the Circassians, from the Civil War and Stalin's deportations to both Chechen campaigns, forcing Tbilisi to peace and the latest counter-terrorist operations - you will find in this book not only comprehensive information about the hostilities in the Caucasus, but also a guide to the "Caucasian labyrinth", in which we still wander. It is estimated that since 1722, Russia has fought here for a total of more than a century, so this endless war was not called the “Hundred Years” for nothing. It is not finished to this day. “For 20 years, there has been a “Caucasian syndrome” in the minds of the Russian people. Hundreds of thousands of "refugees" from the once fertile land flooded our cities, "privatized" industrial facilities, retail outlets, markets. It's no secret that today in Russia the vast majority of immigrants from the Caucasus live much better than the Russians themselves, and high in the mountains and remote villages, new generations of people are growing up who are hostile to Russia. The Caucasian labyrinth has not been completed to the end even today. But every maze has a way out. You just need to show intelligence and patience to find it ... "

A series: All Russian wars

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by the LitRes company.

Russia's first war in the Caucasus

Caucasian region at the beginning of the 18th century

The Caucasus, or, as it was customary to call this region in past centuries, the “Caucasian Territory”, in the 18th century, geographically was a space located between the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas. It is crossed diagonally by the Greater Caucasus mountain range starting at the Black Sea and ending at the Caspian Sea. Mountain spurs occupy more than 2/3 of the territory of the Caucasus region. Elbrus (5642 m), Dykh-Tau (Dykhtau - 5203 m) and Kazbek (5033 m) were considered the main peaks of the Caucasus Mountains in the 18th–19th centuries, today another peak, Shkhara, also having a height of 5203 m, has added to their list. Geographically, the Caucasus consists of Ciscaucasia, the Greater Caucasus and Transcaucasia.

Both the nature of the terrain and the climatic conditions within the Caucasian region are extremely diverse. It was these features that most directly affected the formation and ethnographic life of the peoples living in the Caucasus.

The diversity of climate, nature, ethnography and the historical development of the region formed the basis for its division into natural components in the 18th-19th centuries. These are the Transcaucasus, the Northern part of the Caucasian region (Caucasus) and Dagestan.

For a more correct and objective understanding of the events in the Caucasus in past centuries, it is important to represent the characteristic features of the population of this region, the most important of which are: the heterogeneity and diversity of the population; the diversity of ethnographic life, various forms of social organization and socio-cultural development, the diversity of beliefs. There are several reasons for this phenomenon.

One of them was that the Caucasus, located between North-Western Asia and South-Eastern Europe, was geographically located on the routes (two main routes of movement - northern or steppe and southern or Asia Minor) of the movement of peoples from Central Asia (Great Migration of Peoples) .

Another reason is that many states, neighboring the Caucasus, during their heyday tried to spread and assert their dominion in this region. Thus, the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines and Turks acted from the west, Persians, Arabians from the south, Mongols and Russians from the north. As a result, the inhabitants of the plains and accessible parts of the Caucasus Mountains constantly mixed with new peoples and changed their rulers. Recalcitrant tribes retreated to hard-to-reach mountainous regions and defended their independence for centuries. Militant mountain tribes were formed from them. Some of these tribes united with each other due to common interests, while many retained their identity, and finally, some tribes, due to different historical fates, became divided and lost all connection with each other. For this reason, in the mountainous regions it was possible to observe the phenomenon when the inhabitants of the two nearest villages differed significantly both in appearance, and in language, and in manners, and in customs.

The next reason is closely related to this - the tribes, driven into the mountains, settled in isolated gorges and gradually lost their relationship with each other. The division into separate societies was explained by the severity and wildness of nature, its inaccessibility and the isolation of mountain valleys. This seclusion and isolation are obviously one of the main reasons why people from the same tribe live different lives, have different customs and habits, and even speak dialects that are often difficult to understand by neighbors of the same tribe.

In accordance with ethnographic studies carried out by 19th-century scientists Shagren, Shifner, Brosse, Rosen, and others, the population of the Caucasus was divided into three categories. The first included the Indo-European race: Armenians, Georgians, Mingrelians, Gurians, Svanets, Kurds, Ossetians and Talyshians. To the second - the Turkic race: Kumyks, Nogais, Karachays and other mountaineer communities occupying the middle of the northern slope of the Caucasus Range, as well as all the Transcaucasian Tatars. And finally, the third included tribes of unknown races: Adyghe (Circassians), Nakhche (Chechens), Ubykhs, Abkhazians and Lezgins. The Indo-European race made up the majority of the population of Transcaucasia. These were Georgians and Imeretians of the same tribe, Mingrelians, Gurians, as well as Armenians and Tatars. Georgians and Armenians were at a higher level of social development in comparison with other peoples and tribes of the Caucasus. They, despite all the persecution from the neighboring strong Muslim states, were able to preserve their nationality and religion (Christianity), and the Georgians, in addition, their identity. Mountain tribes lived in the mountainous regions of Kakhetia: Svanets, Tushins, Pshavs and Khevsurs.

Khevsurian warriors of the second half of the 19th century.

Transcaucasian Tatars made up the bulk of the population in the khanates subject to Persia. All of them professed the Muslim faith. In addition, Kurtins (Kurds) and Abkhazians lived in Transcaucasia. The first were a militant nomadic tribe, partly occupying the territory bordering with Persia and Turkey. The Abkhazians are a small tribe, representing a separate possession on the Black Sea coast north of Mingrelia and bordering on the Circassian tribes.

The population of the northern part of the Caucasus region had an even wider spectrum. Both slopes of the Main Caucasian Range west of Elbrus were occupied by mountain peoples. The most numerous people were the Circassians (in their language it means - Island) or, as they were commonly called, Circassians. The Circassians were distinguished by their beautiful appearance, good mental abilities and indomitable courage. The social structure of the Circassians, like most other highlanders, can most likely be attributed to democratic forms of coexistence. Although at the heart of Circassian society there were aristocratic elements, but their privileged estates did not enjoy any special rights.

The people of the Circassians (Circassians) were represented by numerous tribes. The most significant of them were the Abadzekhs, who occupied the entire northern slope of the Main Range, between the upper reaches of the Laba and Sups rivers, as well as the Shapsugs and Natukhians. The latter lived to the west, along both slopes of the ridge up to the mouth of the Kuban. The rest of the Circassian tribes, who occupied both the northern slopes and the southern ones, along the eastern coast of the Black Sea were insignificant. Among them were Bzhedukhs, Khamisheevs, Cherchenevs, Khatukhaevs, Temirgoevs, Egerukhavs, Makhoshevs, Barakeis, Besleneevs, Bagovs, Shakhgireevs, Abazins, Karachays, Ubykhs, Vardanes, Dzhigets, and others.

In addition, the Kabardians, who lived east of Elbrus and occupied the foothills of the middle part of the northern slope of the Main Caucasian Range, could also be attributed to the Circassians. In their customs and social structure, they were in many ways similar to the Circassians. But, having made significant progress on the path of civilization, the Kabardians differed from the first in softer morals. It should also be noted that they were the first of the tribes of the northern slope of the Caucasus Range, which entered into friendly relations with Russia.

The territory of Kabarda was geographically divided by the bed of the Ardon River into the Greater and the Lesser. The tribes of the Bezenyevs, Chegemians, Khulams, and Balkars lived in Bolshaya Kabarda. Small Kabarda was inhabited by the Nazran tribes, Karabulakhs and others.

The Circassians, like the Kabardians, professed the Muslim faith, but between them at that time there were still traces of Christianity, and among the Circassians, traces of paganism.

To the east and south of Kabarda lived Ossetians (they called themselves irons). They inhabited the upper ledges of the northern slope of the Caucasus Range, as well as part of the foothills between the Malka and Terek rivers. In addition, part of the Ossetians also lived along the southern slopes of the Caucasus Range, to the west of the direction where the Georgian Military Highway was subsequently laid. This people was few and poor. The main societies of the Ossetians were: Digorians, Alagirs, Kurtatins and Tagaurs. Most of them professed Christianity, although there were those who recognized Islam.

Chechens or Nakhchi lived in the basin of the Sunzha, Argun and upper reaches of the Aksai River, as well as on the northern slopes of the Andi Range. The social structure of this people was quite democratic. Since ancient times, Chechen society has had a teip (teip - tribal-territorial community) and a territorial system of social organization. Such an organization gave it a strict hierarchy and strong internal ties. At the same time, such a social structure determined the peculiarities of relations with other nationalities.

The fundamental function of the teip was the protection of the land, as well as compliance with the rules of land use, this was the most important factor in its consolidation. The land was in the collective use of the teip and was not divided between its members into separate sections. Management was carried out by elected elders on the basis of spiritual laws and ancient customs. Such a social organization of the Chechens largely explained the unparalleled stamina of their long-term struggle against various external enemies, including the Russian Empire.

The Chechens of the plains and foothill regions provided for their needs at the expense of natural resources and agriculture. The highlanders, moreover, were distinguished by their passion for raids with the aim of robbing the lowland farmers and capturing people for their subsequent sale into slavery. They practiced Islam. However, religion has never been assigned a key role in the Chechen population. Chechens traditionally were not distinguished by religious fanaticism; they put freedom and independence at the forefront.

The space to the east of the Chechens between the mouths of the Terek and the Sulak was inhabited by the Kumyks. Kumyks in their appearance and language (Tatar) were very different from the highlanders, but at the same time, in customs, the degree of social development they had much in common. The social structure of the Kumyks was largely determined by their division into eight main classes. The princes were the highest class. The last two estates, Chagars and Kuls, were in full or partial dependence on their owners.

The Kumyks, as well as the Kabardians, were among the first to enter into friendly relations with Russia. They considered themselves submissive to the Russian government from the time of Peter the Great. Just like most of the tribes of the highlanders, they preached the Mohammedan faith.

However, it should be noted that, despite the close proximity of two strong Muslim states, Safavid Persia and the Ottoman Empire, many mountain tribes by the beginning of the 18th century were not Muslims in the strict sense of the word. They, professing Islam, at the same time had various other beliefs, performed rituals, some of which were traces of Christianity, others traces of paganism. This was especially true for the Circassian tribes. In many places, the highlanders worshiped wooden crosses, brought gifts to them, and celebrated the most important Christian holidays. Traces of paganism were expressed among the highlanders by special respect for some reserved groves, in which touching a tree with an ax was considered sacrilege, as well as some special rites observed at weddings and funerals.

In general, the peoples who lived in the northern part of the Caucasus region, constituting the remnants of various peoples who separated from their roots in different historical periods and with very different degrees of social development, in their social structure, and in their customs and customs, were of great diversity. As for their internal and political structure, and above all the mountain peoples, it was an interesting example of the existence of a society without any political and administrative authorities.

However, this did not mean the equality of all classes. Most of the Circassians, Kabardians, Kumyks and Ossetians have long had privileged classes of princes, nobles and free people. Equality of estates to one degree or another existed only among the Chechens and some other less significant tribes. At the same time, the rights of the upper classes extended only to the lower classes. For example, the Circassians have three lower classes: ob (people who depended on the patron), pshiteli (subordinate plowman) and yasyr (slave). At the same time, all public affairs were decided at popular meetings, where all free people had the right to vote. Decisions were implemented through persons elected at the same meetings who were temporarily given power for this purpose.

With all the diversity of life of the Caucasian highlanders, it should be noted that the main foundations for the existence of their societies were: family relations; blood feud (blood feud); ownership; the right of every free person to have and use weapons; respect for elders; hospitality; tribal unions with a mutual obligation to protect each other and responsibility to other tribal unions for the behavior of each.

The father of the family was sovereign over his wife and minor children. Their freedom and life was in his power. But if he killed or sold his wife without guilt, then he was retaliated by her relatives.

The right and duty of revenge was also one of the basic laws in all mountain societies. Not to avenge blood or insult among the highlanders was considered a highly dishonorable matter. Payment was allowed for blood, but only with the consent of the offended party. Payment was allowed in people, livestock, weapons and other property. At the same time, payments could be so significant that one guilty person was not able to give them away, and it was distributed over the entire family.

The right of private property extended to livestock, houses, cultivated fields, etc. Empty fields, pastures and forests did not constitute private property, but were divided between families.

The right to carry and use weapons at will belonged to every free person. The lower classes could use weapons only at the order of their master or for his protection. Respect for elders among the highlanders was developed to such an extent that even an adult could not start a conversation with an old man until he spoke to him, and could not sit down with him without an invitation. The hospitality of the mountain tribes obliged them to give shelter even to the enemy, if he was a guest in the house. The duty of all members of the union was to protect the safety of the guest while he was on their land, not sparing his life.

In a tribal union, the duty of each member of the union was that he had to take part in all matters relating to common interests, in a collision with other unions, to appear at a common request or on alarm with a weapon. In turn, the society of the tribal union patronized each of the people belonging to it, protected its own and avenged each.

To resolve disputes and quarrels, both between members of one union and between members of foreign unions, the Circassians used the court of mediators, called the adat court. To do this, the parties elected trusted people, as a rule, from the elderly, who enjoyed special respect among the people. With the spread of Islam, the all-Muslim spiritual court according to Sharia, performed by the mullahs, began to be applied.

As for the well-being of the mountain tribes that lived in the northern part of the Caucasus, it should be noted that the majority of the people had only the means to meet the most necessary needs. The reason was primarily in their manners and customs. An active, tireless warrior in military operations, at the same time, the highlander was reluctant to perform any other work. This was one of the strongest features of their national character. At the same time, in case of emergency, the highlanders were also engaged in righteous work. The arrangement of terraces for crops on rocky, barely accessible mountains, numerous irrigation canals drawn over considerable distances, serve as the best proof of this.

Being satisfied with a little, not giving up work when it is absolutely necessary, willingly indulging in raids and predatory attacks, the highlander usually spent the rest of the time in idleness. Domestic and even field work was predominantly the responsibility of women.

The richest part of the population of the northern part of the Caucasus Range were the inhabitants of Kabarda, some nomadic tribes and inhabitants of the Kumikh possessions. A number of Circassian tribes were not inferior to the above-mentioned peoples in their prosperity. The exception was the tribes of the Black Sea coast, which, with a decrease in human trafficking, were in a materially constrained position. A similar situation was typical for the mountain communities that occupied the rocky upper ledges of the Main Range, as well as the majority of the population of Chechnya.

The militancy of the people's character, which prevented the highlanders from developing their well-being, the passion to seek adventure, lay at the basis of their small raids. Attacks in small parties from 3 to 10 people, as a rule, were not planned in advance. Usually, in their free time, which the highlanders had enough of in their way of life, they gathered at the mosque or in the middle of the village. During the conversation, one of them suggested going on a raid. At the same time, refreshments were required from the initiator of the idea, but for this he was appointed senior and received most of the booty. Larger detachments were usually assembled under the command of well-known riders, and numerous formations were convened by decision of the people's assemblies.

These are, in the most general terms, the ethnogeography, social structure, life and customs of the mountain peoples who lived in the northern part of the Caucasus Range.

Differences in the properties of the terrain of inland (upland) and coastal Dagestan significantly affected the composition and way of life of its population. The main mass of the population of inner Dagestan (the territory located between Chechnya, the Caspian khanates and Georgia) were the Lezgin peoples and Avars. Both of these peoples spoke the same language, both were distinguished by their strong physique. Both were characterized by a gloomy disposition and high resistance to hardship.

At the same time, there was some difference in their social structure and social development. The Avars were famous for their prowess and great military abilities. They have long established a social system in the form of a khanate. The social structure of the Lezgins was predominantly democratic and represented separate free societies. The main ones were: Salatavs, Gumbets (or Bakmols), Adians, Koisubs (or Khindatl), Kazi-Kumykhs, Andalali, Karakh, Antsukhs, Kapucha, Ankratal Union with their societies, Dido, Ilankhevi, Unkratal, Boguls, Technutsal, Karata , buni, and other less significant societies.

Assault on a mountain village

The Caspian territory of Dagestan was inhabited by Kumyks, Tatars and partly by Lezgins and Persians. Their social structure was based on khanates, shamkhalates, umtsy (possessions), founded by conquerors who penetrated here. The northernmost of them was the Tarkov shamkhalate, to the south of it were the possessions of the umtiya Karakaytag, the khanates of Mehtuli, Kumukh, Tabasaran, Derbent, Kyura and Quba.

All free societies consisted of free men and slaves. In possessions and khanates, in addition, there was also a class of nobles, or beks. Free societies, like the Chechen ones, had a democratic structure, but represented closer alliances. Each society had its main aul and was subordinate to a qadi or foreman elected by the people. The circle of power of these persons was not clearly defined and largely depended on personal influence.

Islam has been developing and strengthening in Dagestan since the time of the Arabs and had an incomparably greater influence here than in other Caucasian tribes. The entire population of Dagestan mainly lived in large auls, for the construction of which the places most convenient for defense were usually chosen. Many of the Dagestan auls were surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs and, as a rule, only one narrow path led to the village. Inside the village, the houses formed narrow and crooked streets. The water pipelines used to deliver water to the village and to irrigate the gardens were sometimes laid over long distances and arranged with great skill and labor.

Coastal Dagestan in matters of welfare and improvement, with the exception of Tabasaran and Karakaitakh, was at a higher level of development than its inland regions. The Derbent and Baku khanates were famous for their trade. At the same time, in the mountainous regions of Dagestan, people lived quite poorly.

Thus, the area, social structure, life and customs of the population of Dagestan differed to a large extent from similar issues in the northern part of the Caucasus Range.

Between the territories inhabited by the main peoples of the Caucasus, as if small specks, lands were inserted where small peoples lived. Sometimes they made up the population of one village. Residents of the villages of Kubachi and Rutults and many others can serve as an example. They all spoke their own languages, had their own traditions and customs.

The presented brief review of the life and customs of the Caucasian highlanders shows the inconsistency of the opinions that developed in those years about the "wild" mountain tribes. Of course, none of the mountain societies can be compared with the position and social development of the society of the civilized countries of that historical period. However, provisions such as property rights, attitudes towards elders, forms of government in the form of popular assemblies deserve respect. At the same time, the militancy of character, predatory raids, the law of blood vengeance, unbridled freedom largely formed the idea of \u200b\u200bthe "wild" highlanders.

With the approach of the southern borders of the Russian Empire to the Caucasus region in the 18th century, the diversity of its ethnographic life was not sufficiently studied and was not taken into account when solving military administrative issues, and in some cases was simply ignored. At the same time, the customs and customs of the peoples living in the Caucasus have evolved over the centuries and are the basis of their way of life. Their incorrect interpretation led to the adoption of unreasonable, ill-considered decisions, and actions without taking them into account led to the emergence of conflict situations and unjustified military losses.

The military-administrative bodies of the empire already at the beginning of the 18th century faced problems associated with various forms of social structure of the diverse population of the region. These forms ranged from primitive fiefs to societies without any political or administrative authority. In this regard, all issues, ranging from negotiations of various levels and nature, the solution of the most common everyday issues up to the use of military force, required new, non-traditional approaches. Russia was not quite ready for such a development of events.

The situation was complicated in many respects by large differences in the socio-cultural development of people both within the tribes and in the whole region, the involvement of its population in various religions and beliefs.

In the matter of the geopolitical attitude and influence of the great powers on the Caucasus region, the following should be noted. The geographical position of the Caucasus predetermined the desire of many of them at different historical stages to spread and assert their influence in the political, trade, economic, military and religious spheres of activity. In this regard, they sought to seize the territories of the region, or at least exercise their patronage in various forms, from alliance to protectorate. So, back in the VIII century, the Arabs established themselves in the coastal Dagestan, formed the Avar Khanate here.

After the Arabs, the Mongols, Persians and Turks dominated this territory. The last two peoples, during the two centuries of the 16th and 17th centuries, continuously challenged each other for power over Dagestan and over Transcaucasia. As a result of this confrontation, by the end of the 17th - beginning of the 18th centuries, Turkish possessions spread from the eastern Black Sea coast to the lands of the mountain peoples (Circassians), Abkhazians. In Transcaucasia, the rule of the Turks extended to the provinces of Georgia, and continued almost until the middle of the 18th century. Persian possessions in Transcaucasia extended up to the southern and southeastern borders of Georgia and to the Caspian khanates of Dagestan.

By the beginning of the 18th century, the northern part of the Caucasus region was in the zone of influence of the Crimean Khanate, a vassal of Turkey, as well as numerous nomadic peoples - Nogais, Kalmyks and Karanogays. Russian presence and influence in the Caucasus at that time was minimal. In the northeastern part of the Caucasus region, under Ivan the Terrible, the Terek town was founded, and the free Cossacks (descendants of the Grebensky Cossacks) by decree of Peter the Great were relocated from the Sunzha River to the northern banks of the Terek in five villages: Novogladkovskaya, Shchedrinskaya, Starogladkovskaya, Kudryukovskaya and Chervlenskaya . The Russian Empire was separated from the Caucasus by a vast steppe zone, in which the steppe tribes roamed. The southern borders of the empire were located to the north of these camps and were determined by the borders of the Astrakhan province and the lands of the Don army.

Thus, the main rivals of the Russian Empire, Safavid Persia and the Ottoman Empire, seeking to establish themselves in the Caucasus region and thereby solve their interests, were in a more advantageous position by the beginning of the 18th century. At the same time, the attitude towards them on the part of the population of the Caucasus region was by this time mostly negative, and towards Russia more favorable.

Caspian campaign of Peter I

At the beginning of the 18th century, Persia stepped up its activities in the Eastern Caucasus, and soon all the coastal possessions of Dagestan recognized its power over them. Persian ships were full masters in the Caspian Sea and controlled its entire coast. But the arrival of the Persians did not put an end to civil strife between local owners. A fierce massacre was going on in Dagestan, in which Turkey, which was at enmity with Persia, was gradually drawn into.

The events that took place in Dagestan could not but alarm Russia, which through its lands carried on active trade with the East. Trade routes from Persia and India through Dagestan were, in fact, cut off. Merchants suffered huge losses, and the state treasury also suffered.

For the purpose of reconnaissance in 1711, Prince Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky, a native of Kabarda, who knew many eastern languages and customs of the highlanders, was sent to the Caucasus, and Artemy Petrovich Volynsky was sent to reconnoiter the situation in Persia in 1715.

Upon his return in 1719, A.P. Volynsky from Persia, he was appointed governor of Astrakhan with great powers, both military and political. For the next four years, his activities were based on measures to bring Dagestan rulers into Russian citizenship and prepare the campaign of Russian troops in the Caucasus. This activity has been very successful. Already at the beginning of the next year, through Volynsky, Moscow received a petition from the Dagestan shamkhal of Tarkovsky Adil-Girey to accept him into Russian citizenship. This request was met kindly, and the shamkhal himself was granted “as a token of his sovereign grace” with valuable furs worth 3 thousand rubles.

As soon as having emerged victorious from the Northern War, Russia, proclaimed an empire, began to prepare for a campaign in the Caucasus. The reason was the beating and robbery of Russian merchants, organized by the Lezgi owner Daud-bek in Shamakhi. There, on August 7, 1721, crowds of armed Lezgins and Kumyks attacked Russian shops in the Gostiny Dvor, beat and dispersed the clerks who were with them, after which they plundered goods totaling up to half a million rubles.

A.P. Volynsky

Upon learning of this, A.P. Volynsky urgently reported to the emperor: “…according to your intention, it is no longer possible to start more legally than this, and there should be reasons: first, if you please stand up for your own; second, not against the Persians, but against their enemies and their own. In addition, the Persians can be offered (if they would protest) that if they pay your losses, then Your Majesty can give everything he has won. So you can show before the whole world that you deign to have a true reason for this.

In December 1721, Peter wrote to this letter: “I answer your opinion; that this case is not to be missed very much, and we have already ordered a satisfied part of the army to march towards you ... ". In the same year, 1721, the Terek-Grebensk Cossacks were placed under the jurisdiction of the military collegium of Russia and formalized as a military class.

At the beginning of 1722, the Russian emperor became aware that the Persian Shah had been defeated by the Afghans near his capital. The country was in turmoil. There was a threat that, taking advantage of this, the Turks would strike first and appear on the coast of the Caspian Sea before the Russians. Further postponing the trip to the Caucasus became risky.

In the first days of May 1722, the guards were loaded onto ships and sent down the Moscow River, and then along the Volga. Ten days later, Peter set off with Catherine, who decided to accompany her husband on the campaign. Soon the expeditionary corps concentrated in Astrakhan, where Volynsky prepared a good material base for it in advance. On his orders, atamans of the Donets, the commanders of the Volga Tatars and Kalmyks, whose detachments were to take part in the campaign, arrived there to meet with the emperor. The total number of Russian troops intended for the invasion of the Caucasus exceeded 80 thousand people.

In addition, the Kabardian princes were to take part in the campaign: the brother of Alexander Bekovich-Cherkassky Murza Cherkassky and Araslan-bek. With their military detachments, they were supposed to join the Russian army on August 6 on the Sulak River.

On July 18, ships with regular infantry and artillery left Astrakhan for the Caspian Sea. Nine thousand dragoons, twenty thousand Don Cossacks and thirty thousand cavalry Tatars and Kalmyks followed the seashore. Ten days later, Russian ships moored ashore at the mouth of the Terek in the Agrakhan Bay. Peter was the first to set foot on land and determined a place for setting up a camp, where he intended to wait for the cavalry to approach.

The fighting began earlier than expected. On July 23, the detachment of brigadier Veterani, on the way to the village of Enderi in the gorge, was suddenly attacked by the Kumyks. The highlanders, hiding in the rocks and behind the trees, put out 80 soldiers and two officers with well-aimed rifle fire and arrows. But then the Russians, having recovered from the surprise, went on the offensive themselves, defeated the enemy, captured the village and reduced it to ashes. Thus began a military expedition, which later received the name of the Caspian campaign of Peter the Great.

Subsequently, Peter acted very decisively, combining diplomacy with armed force. In early August, his troops moved to Tarki. On the outskirts of the city, they were met by Shamkhal Aldy Giray, who expressed his obedience to the emperor. Peter received him very kindly before the formation of the guard and promised not to repair the ruin of the region.

On August 13, the Russian regiments solemnly entered Tarki, where they were greeted with honor by the shamkhal. Aldy Giray gave Peter a gray argamak in a golden harness. Both of his wives paid a visit to Catherine, presenting her with trays of the best varieties of grapes. The troops received food, wine and fodder.

On August 16, the Russian army set out on a campaign to Derbent. This time the path was not entirely smooth. On the third day, one of the columns was attacked by a large detachment of the Utemish Sultan Mahmud. The soldiers repelled the enemy's blow relatively easily and captured many prisoners. As an edification to all other enemies, Peter ordered the execution of 26 captured military leaders, and the town of Utemish, which consisted of 500 houses, was turned into ashes. Ordinary soldiers were granted freedom under an oath no longer to fight with the Russians.

Highlanders attack

The loyalty of the Russian emperor to the submissive and his cruelty to the resisters soon became known throughout the region. Therefore, Derbent did not resist. On August 23, its ruler, with a group of eminent citizens, met the Russians a mile away from the city, fell on his knees and brought two silver keys to the fortress gates to Peter. Peter affectionately received the delegation and promised not to send troops into the city. He kept his word. The Russians set up a camp near the walls of the city, where they rested for several days, celebrating a bloodless victory. All this time, the emperor and his wife, fleeing from the unbearable heat, spent in a dugout specially built for them, covered with a thick layer of turf. The ruler of Derbent, having learned about this, was very surprised. In a secret message to the Shah, he wrote that the Russian Tsar is so wild that he lives in the land, from which he emerges only at sunset. Nevertheless, giving an assessment of the state of the Russian troops, Naib did not skimp on praise.

After taking possession of Derbent, the Russian camp began to prepare for a campaign against Baku. However, an acute shortage of food and fodder forced Peter to postpone it until the next year. Leaving a small detachment in Dagestan, he returned the main forces to Astrakhan for the winter. On the way back, the troops in the place where the Agrakhan River flows into the Sulak River, the Russians laid the fortress of the Holy Cross.

At the end of September, on the orders of Peter, ataman Krasnoshchekin, with the Don and Kalmyks, launched a series of attacks on the Utemish sultan Mahmud, defeated his troops and ruined everything that had survived from the last pogrom. 350 people were captured and 11 thousand heads of cattle were captured. This was the last victory won in the presence of Peter I in the Caucasus. At the end of September, the imperial couple sailed to Astrakhan, from where they returned to Russia.

After Peter's departure, the command of all Russian troops in the Caucasus was entrusted to Major General M.A. Matyushkin, who enjoyed the special confidence of the emperor.

Turkey was alarmed by the appearance of Russian troops on the Caspian coast. In the spring of 1723, a 20,000-strong Turkish army occupied the space from Erivan to Tabriz, then moved north and occupied Georgia. King Vakhtang took refuge in Imereti, and then moved to the Russian fortress of the Holy Cross. From there, in 1725, he was transferred to St. Petersburg and received by Catherine I. Astrakhan was assigned to him for residence, and the Russian treasury annually allocated 18 thousand rubles for the maintenance of the court. In addition, he was granted lands in various provinces and 3,000 serfs. The exiled Georgian king lived comfortably in Russia for many years.

Fulfilling the will of the emperor, in July 1723 Matyushkin with four regiments made a sea crossing from Astrakhan and after a short battle occupied Baku. 700 Persian soldiers and 80 cannons were captured in the city. For this operation, the detachment commander was promoted to lieutenant general.

The alarm was sounded in Isfahan. The internal situation in Persia did not allow the Shah to engage in Caucasian affairs. I had to negotiate with Russia. Ambassadors were urgently sent to St. Petersburg with a proposal of an alliance in the war with Turkey and with a request for help to the Shah in the fight against his internal enemies. Peter decided to focus on the second part of the proposals. On September 12, 1723, an agreement was signed on favorable terms for Russia. It stated: “The Shakhovo Majesty cedes to His Imperial Majesty the All-Russian in the eternal possession of the city of Derbent, Baku with all the lands and places that belong to them and along the Caspian Sea, also the provinces: Gilan, Mazanderan and Astrabad, in order to keep the army that His The Imperial Majesty will send his Shakhov Majesty against his rebels to help, without demanding money for that.

View of Derbent from the sea

In the autumn of 1723, the Persian province of Gilan was under the threat of occupation by the Afghans, who entered into a secret agreement with Turkey. The governor of the province, in turn, turned to the Russians for help. M.A. Matyushkin decided not to miss such a rare opportunity and preempt the enemy. Within a short time, 14 ships were prepared for sailing, which were boarded by two battalions of soldiers with artillery. The squadron of ships was commanded by Captain-Lieutenant Soimanov, and the infantry detachment was commanded by Colonel Shipov.

On November 4, the squadron left Astrakhan and a month later it began to raid at Anzeli. Having landed a small landing, Shipov occupied the city of Rasht without a fight. In the spring of the following year, reinforcements were sent to Gilyan from Astrakhan - two thousand infantry with 24 guns, commanded by Major General A.N. Levashov. By combined efforts, Russian troops occupied the province and established control over the southern coast of the Caspian Sea. Their individual detachments seeped into the depths of the Caucasus, frightening the vassals of Persia, the Sheki and Shirvan khans.

The Persian campaign was generally completed successfully. True, having captured vast territories on the coast of the Caspian Sea, Russian troops lost 41,172 people, of which only 267 died in battle, 46 drowned, 220 deserted, and the rest died of wounds and diseases. The campaign, on the one hand, showed the weakness of the rulers of the Eastern Caucasus to the resistance, on the other hand, the unpreparedness of the Russian army for operations in the southern latitudes, the shortcomings of its medical support, supplies, and much more.

Peter highly praised the military merits of his soldiers. All officers were awarded special gold, and the lower ranks - silver medals with the image of the emperor, which were worn on the ribbon of the first Russian Order of St. Andrew the First-Called. This medal was the first of a large number of awards established for military operations in the Caucasus.

Thus, Peter the Great, proceeding primarily from the trade and economic interests of Russia, was the first of its rulers to set the task of joining the Caspian coast of the Caucasus at the forefront of the empire's policy. He personally organized a military expedition to the Eastern Caucasus with the aim of conquering it and achieved some success. However, the appearance of Russian troops in the Caucasus intensified the aggressive activity of this region also from Persia and Turkey. Military operations in the Caucasus by Russia were in the nature of expeditions, the purpose of which was not so much to defeat the main forces of the opposing enemy, but to seize territory. The population of the occupied lands was taxed with an indemnity, which was mainly used to maintain the occupation administration and troops. During the expeditions, it was widely practiced to bring local rulers into Russian citizenship by means of an oath.

A bargaining chip of palace intrigues

Empress Catherine I tried to continue her husband's policy, but she did not succeed well. The war with Persia did not stop with the signing of the Treaty of Petersburg, which many of the Shah's subjects refused to recognize. Their detachments now and then made attacks on the Russian garrisons, whose forces were gradually dwindling. Some Dagestan rulers were still aggressive. As a result, the interest of the St. Petersburg court in the Caucasus began to noticeably decline. In April 1725, the Senate met on the Persian question. After a long debate, it was decided to send Matyushkin a decree to temporarily stop the conquest of new territories. The general was required to gain a foothold in the previously captured areas and, above all, on the coast of the Caspian Sea and on the Kura River, after which he should concentrate his main efforts on restoring order in the rear of the Russian troops, where the aggressiveness of some Dagestan rulers was indicated. The reason for this decision was that the commander of the Salyan detachment, Colonel Zimbulatov, and a group of his officers were treacherously killed during lunch at the local ruler. While the investigation was going on in this case, Shamkhal of Tarkov Aldy Giray also betrayed his alliance with Russia and, having gathered a large detachment, attacked the fortress of the Holy Cross. It was repulsed with heavy losses for the highlanders. But since then, any movement of Russians in the vicinity of the fortress has become practically impossible.

Highlanders ambush on the road

Putting things in order Matyushkin decided to start with Shamkhal Tarkovsky. By his order, in October 1725, Major Generals Kropotov and Sheremetev made a punitive expedition to the lands of the traitor. Aldy Giray, having three thousand troops, did not dare to resist the superior forces of the Russians and left Tarok for the mountains along with the Turkish envoy who was with him. His possessions were devastated. Twenty villages perished in the fire, including the capital of Shamkhalate, which consisted of a thousand households. But this was the end of the active operations of the Russian troops in the Caucasus. Matyushkin was recalled from the Caucasus by order of Menshikov.

The Turks immediately took advantage of the weakening of the Russian positions. Putting pressure on the shah, they achieved the signing of a treaty in 1725, according to which the Kazikums and part of Shirvan were recognized as territories subject to the sultan. By that time, the ruler of Shirvan, Duda-bek, had somehow managed to offend his Turkish patrons; he was summoned to Constantinople and killed. Power in Shirvan passed to his long-time rival Chelok-Surkhay with his confirmation in the rank of khan.

Gathering their strength with difficulty, in 1726 the Russians continued to “pacify” Shamkhalism, threatening to turn it into a deserted desert. Finally, Aldy Giray decided to stop resisting and surrendered to Sheremetev on May 20. He was sent to the fortress of the Holy Cross and taken into custody. But this did not solve the problem of the edge. In the absence of a high command among the Russian generals, there was no unity of ideas and actions. It became more and more difficult to keep the occupied territories in such conditions.

Frequent disagreements between the generals prompted the Russian government to appoint an experienced commander to the Caucasus, entrusting him with full military and administrative power in the region. The choice fell on Prince Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgoruky.

Arriving in the Caucasus, the new commander was struck by the deplorable state of the Russian troops stationed there. In August 1726, he wrote to the Empress: “... The generals of the local corps, headquarters and chief officers cannot feed themselves without an increase in salary due to the local high cost; the officers have fallen into extreme poverty, unbearable, that already one major and three captains have gone crazy, already many of their signs and scarves are pawning ... ".

Official Petersburg remained deaf to Dolgoruky's words. Then the general, at his own peril and risk, made requisitions among the local population and gave salaries to the troops. In addition, with his power, he eliminated the material inequality between the Cossacks and the mercenaries. “In the Russian army,” he wrote to the Empress, “there are two foreign companies - Armenian and Georgian, each of which receives state support; Russian Cossacks are not given anything, but meanwhile they serve more and the enemy is more terrible. I also assigned money to them, because, in my opinion, it is better to pay your own than strangers. True, the Armenians and Georgians serve pretty well, but the Cossacks act much more courageously.” Not surprisingly, with this approach, the morale of the troops increased significantly. This allowed the commander to continue the work begun by his predecessors.

In 1727, Vasily Vladimirovich, with a small detachment, traveled along the entire coast of the sea, demanding that the local rulers confirm their oath of allegiance to Russia. Upon his return to Derbent, he wrote to the Empress: “... on his journey, he brought the provinces lying along the coast of the Caspian Sea, namely: Kergerut, Astara, Lenkoran, Kyzyl-Agat, Ujarut, Salyan, into citizenship to Your Imperial Majesty; steppes: Muran, Shegoeven, Mazarig, from which there will be an annual income of about one hundred thousand rubles. According to his calculations, these funds should have been enough to maintain a detachment of only 10-12 thousand people, which could not ensure the firm power of Russia in the lands it occupied. Dolgoruky proposed either to increase the cost of the treasury for the maintenance of the corps, or to impose special tribute on local rulers, or to reduce the number of troops and the area of \u200b\u200bthe territories controlled by them. However, none of his proposals found understanding and support in St. Petersburg. The heirs of Peter the Great saw no prospects for Russia in the Caucasus and did not want to waste their time, energy and money on it.

Prince Vasily Vladimirovich Dolgoruky

The death of Catherine I, which happened in 1727, and the struggle for power that followed, diverted the attention of the Russian government from the Caucasus for some time. Peter II on the day of the coronation, February 25, 1728, produced V.V. Dolgoruky to Field Marshal General and recalled to St. Petersburg. When leaving the Caucasus, Vasily Vladimirovich divided the territory under his jurisdiction into two parts, appointing a separate chief in each. Lieutenant General A.N. remained in Gilan. Levashov, and in Dagestan, Lieutenant General A.I. took command of the troops. Rumyantsev is the father of the great commander.

At the beginning of the reign of Anna Ioannovna, another attempt was made to strengthen the position of the Russian Empire in the Caucasus. To do this, it was necessary to achieve significant political concessions from Persia and official recognition for Russia of the territories captured by it in the Caspian region. The complexity of the problem lay in the fact that it also affected the interests of Turkey and local rulers, some of whom did not want Russia's presence in the Caucasus. To resolve this issue, not so much experienced military leaders were required as diplomats.

Unraveling the "Persian knot" was entrusted to the commander of the Caspian Corps, Alexei Nikolaevich Levashov, who was promoted to General-in-Chief and endowed with special powers. He was a fairly experienced military leader, but an extremely weak diplomat.

Vice-Chancellor Baron Pyotr Pavlovich Shafirov was sent to help Levashov to conduct diplomatic negotiations with the Persians. They were instructed "to try as soon as possible to conclude an agreement beneficial for Russia with the Persian Shah and use all means to deviate him from the agreement with Porto."

Negotiations began in the summer of 1730 and were unsuccessful. But Levashov and Shafirov searched in vain for the causes of failures on the spot - they lurked in St. Petersburg, where the favorite of the Empress Ernst Johann Biron took matters into his own hands. His palace was secretly visited not only by the Persians, but also by the Austrians. The Persians promised the Russians support in the war with Turkey on the condition that all the Caspian territories would be returned to the shah free of charge. The Austrians also tried in every possible way to push Russia against Turkey in their own interests. Biron himself, having become a mediator in these negotiations, did not think about the benefits of Russia, but only about his own interests. Therefore, in St. Petersburg, bargaining over the Caucasus was much more active than in the negotiations between Levashov and Shafirov.

In June, the Austrian envoy Count Wrotislav presented Biron with a diploma for the county of the Holy Roman Empire, a portrait of the emperor, showered with diamonds and 200 thousand thalers, with which the favorite bought an estate in Silesia. After that, he began to stubbornly recommend to the Empress "the most optimal way to solve the Caucasian problem."

In the spring of 1731, Levashov and Shafirov received new instructions from the government. They said the following: “the empress does not want to leave any of the Persian provinces behind her and orders first to clear all the lands along the Kura River, when the shah orders to conclude an agreement on the restoration of neighboring friendship and ratifies it; and the other provinces from the Kura River will be ceded when the Shah drives the Turks out of his state.

Thus, having made concessions to the Shah, Russia put itself on the brink of war with Turkey, which, gradually ousting the Persians, continued the policy of conquering the entire Caucasus. Their emissaries flooded the Caspian khanates, planting anti-Russian sentiments there, which often fell on favorable ground and gave bloody shoots.

In 1732, Biron's henchman Lieutenant-General Ludwig Wilhelm Prince of Hesse-Homburg took command of the Russian troops in Dagestan. At that time, the prince was only 28 years old. He had neither military nor diplomatic experience behind him, but passionately desired to curry favor.

The new commander set to work with enthusiasm and undertook a number of private expeditions. This caused a backlash, and already in the autumn of 1732, cases of highlanders attacks on Russian troops became more frequent. So, in October, they defeated a 1,500-strong detachment of Colonel P. Koch. As a result of the surprise attack, the Russians lost 200 people killed and the same number captured. Aboriginal attacks on Russian military detachments and posts took place in the next two years.

At this time, the Turkish sultan sent a 25,000-strong horde of Crimean Tatars to Persia, the path of which ran through the territory of Dagestan controlled by Russian troops. Prince Ludwig decided to put up a barrier in the path of the enemy. With difficulty, a detachment of four thousand people was assembled, which blocked two mountain passes in the area of \u200b\u200bthe village of Goraichi.

The Russians met the Tatars with friendly rifle and artillery fire and repulsed all their attacks. The enemy retreated, leaving over a thousand people killed and wounded on the battlefield, as well as 12 banners. The latter were brought to Petersburg and cast down at the feet of the Empress. The losses of the Russians themselves amounted to 400 people.

The prince was unable to enjoy the fruits of his victory. Not believing in the steadfastness of his subordinate troops, without conducting reconnaissance of the enemy, he withdrew units at night across the Sulak River, and then to the fortress of the Holy Cross. Taking advantage of this, the Tatars broke into Dagestan, plundering everything in their path.

Delighted by the victories in Dagestan, in 1733 the Sultan sent troops to Persia, but they were defeated near Baghdad. After that, the Turks were forced to cede to the Persians all the lands previously conquered from them, including in Dagestan. However, the ruler of Dagestan, Surkhay Khan, did not submit to the Shah. In response to this, in 1734, Persian troops invaded Shemakha and defeated Surkhay Khan, who, with the remnants of his troops, began to retreat to the north. Pursuing him, Nadir Shah occupied Kazikum and several other provinces.

The Russian commander-in-chief, Prince of Hesse-Homburg, had no influence on the events unfolding in the Caucasus, and in fact lost power over the rulers of Dagestan. In 1734 he was recalled to Russia.

The command of the troops in Dagestan was again entrusted to General A.N. Levashov, who at that time was on vacation in his estates in Russia. While he was about to leave for the Caucasus, the situation there deteriorated sharply. Resolute measures were required to improve the situation, primarily forces and means. General A.N. Levashov repeatedly appealed to St. Petersburg with a request to send reinforcements and improve the material support of the troops of the Grassroots (Astrakhan) Corps, promising in this case to restore order in the controlled area in a short time. But Biron stubbornly rejected the requests and suggestions of the commander. At the same time, he strongly recommended to Empress Anna Ioannovna to withdraw troops from the Caucasus. And the efforts of the favorite were not in vain.

According to the Ganji Treaty of March 10, 1735, Russia stopped hostilities in the Caucasus, returned to Persia all the lands along the western coast of the Caspian Sea, liquidated the fortress of the Holy Cross and confirmed the outline of the border along the Terek River.

To strengthen the line of the new border, in 1735 a new fortress of Kizlyar was founded, which for many years became an outpost of Russia on the coast of the Caspian Sea. This was the last case of General A.N. Levashov in the Caucasus. Soon he was assigned to Moscow and left the mountainous region forever.

In 1736, a war began between Russia and Turkey, the purpose of which was the destruction of the Prut Treaty, which was humiliating for Russia. In the spring, the corps of Field Marshal P.P. was moved to Azov. Lassi, who on July 20 captured this fortress. Russia again had a foothold on the coast of the Sea of Azov, from where some of their detachments began to seep to the south, and, above all, to Kabarda. There, the Russians quickly found a common language with some princes who had long sought an alliance with Russia. As a result of the Belgrade Peace Treaty, signed in September 1739, Russia retained Azov, but made concessions to the Turks regarding Kabarda. Big and Small Kabarda were declared a kind of buffer zone between the possessions of Russia and the Ottoman Empire in the Caucasus. Russian troops left these lands.

The signing of the Ganji and Belgrade treaties was essentially a betrayal of the Caucasian policy of Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great. Russian troops gratuitously left strategically important areas that ensured control over the Caspian Sea and land communications with Persia, and through it - with the Near and Middle East, China and India. At the same time, not having the strength to hold on and develop new lands, the Russian Empire annually suffered losses that exceeded profits dozens of times. This became the main trump card in the political game of Biron, who was able to bring it to the end with profit for himself.

Thus, as a result of political games, Russia in the Caucasus received nothing but huge human and material losses. So her first attempt to establish herself in this region ended unsuccessfully, which, according to the most rough estimates, cost more than 100 thousand human lives. At the same time, Russia has not found new friends, but it has more enemies.

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The following excerpt from the book All Caucasian wars of Russia. The most complete encyclopedia (V. A. Runov, 2013) provided by our book partner -

Portal for the student. Self-training

Caucasian War (briefly)

Brief description of the Caucasian War (with tables):

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