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Russo-Circassian War

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The Russian-Circassian War was a military conflict between the Russian Empire and the inhabitants of Circassia, a small nation and a region of Caucasia, which took place from 1763 to May 21, 1864. While the conflict began much earlier, it eventually became part of the larger Caucasian War[2], instigated by Russia, who wished to seize extensive areas of Black Sea coastline.

Russian-Circassian War
Part of The Caucasian Wars
Date1763 to May 21, 1864
Location
Circassia
Result Russian occupation of Circassia
Belligerents
Russian Empire Circassia,
Ottoman Empire
Commanders and leaders
The Russian Tsars during the conflict were:
Alexander I
Nicholas I
Alexander II
The leading Russian commanders were:
Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov (1816-1827)
Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov (1844-1853)
Aleksandr Baryatinskiy (1853-1856)		 Ghazi Mollah
Gamzat-bek
Hadji Murad
Imam Shamil
Casualties and losses
Debated, 300'000 to a maximum of 4 million.[1].

Previous hostilities

The date of the outbreak of the Russian-Circassian War is debated by historians. While some argue that hostilities had lasted over two centuries, historian A. A. Gaspari and others stated in 1904 that it began in 1817 with the arrival of General Yermolov. Most historians, however, agree that the war began in 1763[3]. This stare date is still disputed due to the long standing hostilities between the two nations, with the first invasion by Russia taking place in 985 under Prince Sviatoslav[4], 778 before the earliest disputed date for the outbreak of the Russian-Circassian War.

Hostilities broke out again in 1022, when Prince Mstislav of the Princedom of Tamatarkha invaded Circassian Kasogia. In 1561, Ivan the Terrible, through marriage, brought eastern Circassia territory under his control and constructed a series of Cossack forts, at Tumen, Sunja, and Andreevo, which were completed by 1579. Although Ivan also annexed several other territories, including Siberia, his successor Tsar Feodor I of Russia gave himself the title “The ruler of the Iberian land, Georgian Tsars, Kabarda, Circassians, and mountaineer princes.” illustrating Russian control of Circassia. May 13, 1711 saw Russian invasion of Circassia under the command of Araksin, Governor of Astrakhan, who was in turn under the orders of Tsar Peter Alexeyevich Romanov, or “Peter the Great”. 30,000 Russian soldiers captured towns and pillaged villages for 86 km along the Kuban River in Circassia[5]. Circassian cavalry, 7,000 strong, were defeated by the invasion forces on September 6. This style of conflict continued from 1716 to 1763, with killed 43, 247 Circassians, 39,200 horses, 190,000 cattle, and 227,000 sheep[6] being killed or driven away.

Events of the war

Circassia was a key strategic ___location amidst the power struggle between the emerging Russian Empire, established England and France, and the failing Ottoman Empire. Russia set her sights on expansion along the Black Sea, and England sought to reduce Russia’s ability to take advantage of the declining Ottoman Empire, known as the Eastern Question.

Peter the Great’s plans for expansion into India and the Black Sea, engaging both the Turks and Persia, the latter in particular in order to open trade routes to Syria. To facilitate the fall of Persia, Russia would require shipyards on the Black Sea, which made Circassia, with its coastline, a target. Having taken that coastline, as well as Bosphorus and the Dardanelles, Russia hoped to cripple the Ottoman empire as well as the trading interests of Great Britain.

Tsar Alexander II was told by his advisors that:

The East must belong to us by right. We should not relax our activities in that direction for one moment. Constantinople has no knowledge of our real intentions. Having taken possession of it, we shall acquire the most important point of the world, and these gates to Asia should forever remain in our hands. Britain is the mistress of the seas since time immemorial. Leaning on the might we have achieved on land, we must have the same on the sea. We must take over the Black Sea coast, Bosphorus, and Dardanelles. The Black Sea ought to become the place for our manoeuvres….It is imperative to complete the war with the peoples of the Caucasus, which will still demand substantial expenses and a great perseverance[7].

Occupation of Eastern Circassia

In 1763, Russian forces in the Russian-occupied eastern areas of Circassia (known as Kabardia, and inhabited by a Circassian tribe, the Kabardians), began fortifying towns, to which the inhabitants objected. On August 21, 1765, the citizens of Circassia were instructed by Russian General De-Medem, to accept Russian control or face the Russian army.

With hostilities growing throughout the period, Russia dispatched several military expeditions, starting in 1779. Kabardia, near the Balka River, was attacked on September 29, 1779, by Russian forces under the command of General Yakobi, and taken with the loss of the Kabardian defenders as well as 2,000 horses, 5,000 cattle, and 5,000 sheep[8]. In 1804, the subjugated Kabardians, as well as the remaining Western Circassians and neighbouring Balkars, Karachays, Abazins, Ossetins, Ingushs, and Chechens, united in a military uprising. The rebels demanded the destruction of the Kislovodsk Russian fort, and of the Cordon line, one of three defensive lines which were built during the whole conflict: the Caucasian Line in 1780. The Chernomorski Cordon Line in 1793, and The Sunja Line in 1817. With the refusal of these demands, and despite threats of bloodshed from Russian commander General Tsitsianov, the rebel forces began threatening the Kislovodsk fort.

 
Construction of the Georgian Military Road through disputed territories was a key factor in the eventual Russian success

Russian forces commanded by of General. Glazenap were pushed back to Georgievsk and then put under siege there. The attacking Kabardian forces were eventually pushed back, and 80 Kabardian villages were torched as a reprisal[9]. In October 1809, rebel forces attached the Caucasian Line. Between 1809 and 1810, Russian reinforcements began arresting Kabardian princes for resisting Colonial rule, which led to some resistance forces abandoning the war, and many of the princes submitting to Russian control. Later in 1810, a Russian army under General Bulgakov destroyed 200 Circassian and Balkar villages and drove away 20,000 cattle[10].

In 1811, petitions were sent to St. Petersburg in Russia, appealing for the rights of Kabardian aristocracy. While many points were agreed, however requests for the return of land occupied by Russian fortresses was deliberated over. Russia encouraged the loyalty of subjugated Kabardian nobles with donations to the Circassian government, and honorary military ranks for the aristocracy. Meanwhile, on the military front, Russian forces in Circassia were united under the Caucasian corps in 1816 under the command of newly arrived General Yermolov. A year later, in May 1818, the village of Tramov was surrounded, burnt, and its inhabitants slaughtered by Russian forces under the command of General Delpotso, who took orders from Yermolov, who then wrote to the rebel forces: ““This time, I am limiting myself on this. In the future, I will have no mercy for the guilty brigands; their villages will be destroyed, properties taken, wives and children will be slaughtered.”[11]. The Russians also constructed several more fortifications during that year.

Forays into western Circassia

Minor Kabardia, or western Circassia, was targeted for a new offensive by General Stal, who was given command of the Caucasian Line in 1819. In September 1820, Stal and his forces began to forcibly resettle inhabitants of western Circassia. Throughout the conflict, Russia had employed a tactic of divide and rule, and following this, Yermolov instructed Stal on July 1, 1821, to encourage the Ingushs, Taugurs, who had previously been subjugated by the Circassians, to rise up and join the Russian efforts. Military forces were sent into Kabardia, slaughtering cattle and displacing large numbers of inhabitants into the mountains. The land these inhabitants had once lived on was acquired for the Cossacks. Throughout that year, Kabardia was subject to further pillaging, with then entirety of Kabardia (eastern Circassia) being declared as property of the Russian government.

 
A Scene from the Caucasian War, by Franz Roubaud

Yermolov accelerated his efforts, with the month of March, 1822 alone seeing fourteen Kabardian villages being displaced[12]. The construction of new defensive lines in Kabardia led to renewed uprisings, which were eventually crushed and as punishment, the rebellious lords had their much needed peasant work forces freed. Circassia was placed under Russian military rule in 1822, with the nobility being forced to carry out the orders of Russian generals, with a Temporary Kabardian Court also being established. In 1827, further petitions were submitted to the Russian government appealing against this.

Yermolov, together with Lieutenant-colonel Kotsarev, Colonel Pobednov, and General Stal, launched a renewed offensive into western Circassia in the spring of 1822, where they “spread a great horror” as Yermolov recorded[13].


Invasion of western Circassia

Kabardia had become a powerless subject of the Russian Empire, and propaganda campaigns had portrayed the remaining lands of Circassia as a land of savages. Russia also engaged in a war with the Turks in order to free Black Sea coastline from Turkish control. Sporadic wars also flared up with other neighbours, including the Chechens.

In western Circassia, a number of tribes were dominant, the Besleneys, Abadzekhs, Ubykhs, Shapsughs, and Natkhuagias. The first of these were particularly involved in raiding Russian outposts in former eastern Circassia, or Kabardia. To counter these raids, the Cossacks developed a new form of scout, known as a plastun. These raids continued for several years, while the Russians continued to fortify their position, which eventually led to them constructing the Labinski Line in 1840. Russian and Circassian forces clashed repeatedly, particularly on the Kuban plains, where cavalry from both sides could manoeuvre freely.

Circassia and Turkey united in resisting the Russians during the Russo-Turkish, particularly as the Russian forces began to capture positions in western Circassia, with Turkish commanders fleeing under the protection of Circassian forces, such as on April 29, 1807, where the fortress of Anapa fell to Russian forces and the Turkish Pasha fled with Circassian forces. However, on September 2, 1829, the Russians and the Turks signed the Treaty of Adrianople, and with Turkish influence was removed from western Circassia, the Russian occupation went on unhindered.

However, trade could not be prevented, and both the Turkish and the English supplied Circassia with firearms and ammunition with which to fight the Russians. England supplied several advisors, while Turkey attempted to persuade Circassia to start a Holy War, which would draw support for them from other nations[14]. Examples of this intervention are shown by the 1836 capture by the Russians of an English merchant ship supplying ammunition to the Circassians. This aid helped inspire the remaining free Circassians to resist the Russian occupation.

At this time, the current Russian Tsar, Nicholas I, ordered the construction of the Line, by building fortresses at every point on the captured Black Sea coastline that was able to accommodate Russian Naval vessels. Cape Adler was one of these locations. On June 3, 1837, Russian naval forces under the command Rear-Admiral Esmont, with troops commanded by General Volkhovskiin, began to head towards Cape Adler, arriving on June 6. A Russian commander, Baron Rozen, sent a scout ship to locate a place for landing, but it was driven back by Circassian defenders.

On June 7 1837, General Volkhovski landed at Cape Adler and entered a nearby forest, through which Circassian defenders had retreated after being bombarded by the Russian ships. In the dense forest, the Circassian defenders quietly approached the Russian positions and attacked. They were driven back, however the pursuing Russian forces ran into Circassian defenders, and messenger sent back for instructions were found by Circassian parties and killed. The Russians were then engaged in hand to hand combat by their enemy, and only the late arrival of reinforcements managed to push the Circassians back and secure Cape Alder. Later that year, Nicholas I visiting the area to see the situation for himself.

On April 13, 1838, Russian forces engaged the Circassian army in the estuary of River Sochi, and on May 12 the Russians landed at Tuapse. The majority of engagements during this part of the conflict took place in the form of either amphibious landings on coastal towns in accordance with the directive laid out by the Tsar to secure possible ports, or by routing out Circassian forces entrenched in mountain strongholds. At Taupse, it was not until 5:00 in the afternoon that the Circassians were beaten back from their strongholds, the landing having begun at 10:00 that morning. On the following day, May 13, when arriving to request permission to remove their dead from the battlefield, the Circassians were lectured on the benefits of staying under Russian control by the Russian commanders, one Colonel Olshevski, Lieutenant Colonel Baron Grach and Lieutenant Colonel Baron Grach.

In 1839, Russian forces landed at Subash and began construction of a fort, where they faced charges by Ubykh forces, who were eventually driven back by shellfire from the Russian navy that had delivered the landing forces. Over 1000[15] soldiers then charged the Russian positions, however they were outflanked and overrun as they attempted to retreat. This pattern of attack by the Russian forces went on for several years.

On February 7 1840, Circassian forces surrounded the Russian fort of Lazarev, stormed it and massacred the defenders. This victory was inspirational to them, and they went on to capture the Veliaminovski fortress and then attack the Mikhailovski fortress with an army of 11'000 men. At this bastion, Russian Staff Captain Liko, Lieutenant Kraumzgold and Ensign Gaevski commanded a handful of companies as a defence force. Liko, upon learning of the fall of the other two fortresses, and knowing the size of the attack force he faced, divided his fortress in half and set about defending the one half that he suspected would be attacked. Staff Captain Liko was badly wounded and other officers killed at the break of dawn when the attack came. Command fell to an officer cadet named Miroslavski. With the Mikhailovski fortress ablaze and under the control of the Circassians, a Russian soldier ran with a blazing torch into the ammunition cellar, destroying the fort, the surviving defenders, and a significant portion of the Circassian army. Liko, another second lieutenant, an Russian Orthodox Chaplain, and 80 other soldiers were taken prisoner[16]. The remaining Circassian forces attacked the fort of Golovinski, but were beaten back by the Russian defenders there.

The beginning of the end

Later that year, the Russian Tsesarevich visited his forces. The fall of Gunib and capture of Imam Shamil, a rebel religious leader, by Dmitry Milyutin in 1859, marked the conquest of the eastern Circassia lands. Between 1856 and 1859, two defensive lines were built to contain the remaining hostile tribes, the Adagumski Line and the Belorechenski Line. In May 1859, elders from the Bjedughs negotiated a peace with the Russia and submitted to the Tsar. At assembly points beyond the Kuban River, the oath of loyalty to the Tsar was taken. Many of the remaining tribes soon followed the example and submitted to the Russians. On November 20 the Abadzekhs also took the loyalty oath.

The Natkhuagias also swore loyalty to the Tsar after they were defeated in January 1860 in battle against Colonel Babich, and after the death of their leader. In 1861, the remaining tribes formed a new government, “The Mejlis of Free Circassia”[17]. Though this did not succeed in bringing British aid, it did result in the defection of exiled Poles to the Circassian cause.

At this time, due to the pacification of Dahgestan and Chechnia in the wider theatres of what was now the Caucasian War, fresh Russian troops were available and were sent into western Circassia, and the remaining Ubykhs were killed or forced to flee into the Ottoman Empire. With the capture and later loyalty oath by Iman Shamil, the Caucasian War, which the Russian-Circassian War grew to be a part of, ended on June 2 (May 21 (O.S.)), 1864, as declared by the Tsar's manifesto. Great Prince Michail, overall commander of Russian forces in the region, recognized the “conquest of the Western Caucasus and the end of the Caucasian War.”[18].

Genocide?

main article: Circassian ethnic cleansing

Towards the end of the conflict, Russian General Yevdokimov was tasked with forcing the remaining Circassian inhabitants to relocate outside of the region, primarily in the Ottoman Empire. This policy was enforced by mobile columns of Russian riflemen and Cossack cavalry, and Ottoman Empire figured show nearly 1.75 million migrants entering their land by 1879. Other sources show that as many as 3 million Circassians were forced to flee in total[19].

This forced migration, along with the actions of the Russian military in burning villages and the killing of Circassian civilians[20], has brought about questions of genocide regarding the Russian-Circassian War. Karl Friedrich Neumann, professor at Munich University in 1839, estimated the Circassian casualties to be around 1.5 million[21], with other sources stating that hundreds of thousands of others died during the exodus[22].

A Russian Historian, Sulujiyen, stated that “We wouldn’t abandon our cause just because Mountaineers are not surrendering. Half of them needed to be crashed in order to take their weapons. Many tribes were totally annihilated during the bloody war.” while another historian, Zaharyan, observed: “Circassians do not like us. We exiled them from their free meadowlands. We destroyed their houses and many tribes were totally destructed.”[23]. Other Russian sources stated that "Half of those who left to go to Ottoman Empire died before they reached there"[24]. Circassian casualty figures lie near the 4 million mark, while official Russian figures are near 300'000. If Neumann's estimations were correct, it would make it the largest genocide of the 19th century[25].

See Also

References and notes

  1. ^ Circassian figures cite 4 million total deaths, Russian figures stand at 300'000, while independent research from the University of Munich stand at 1.5 million
  2. ^ The Caucasian War is the name given to the overall conflict which arose from Russias attempts to expand into the entire region, this article deals specifically with the conflict between Circassia and the Russian Empire, a conflict which began before the Caucasian War, but became a part of it in 1817
  3. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  4. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  5. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  6. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  7. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  8. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  9. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  10. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  11. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  12. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  13. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  14. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  15. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  16. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  17. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  18. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/russo_circassian_war.html
  19. ^ Ottoman population 1830-1914 Kemal H. Karpat(Madison 1985)
  20. ^ The Circassians: A Forgotten Genocide? Stephen D. Shenfield
  21. ^ Russland und die Tscherkessen Karl Friedrich Neumann
  22. ^ The Circassians: A Forgotten Genocide? Stephen D. Shenfield
  23. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/reports.html
  24. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/reports.html
  25. ^ http://www.circassianworld.com/circassiangenocide.html

Bibliography

  • The North Caucasus Barrier: The Russian Advance Towards The Muslim World, Paul B. Henze, London, Husrt and Co., 1992
  • Materials for New History of the Caucasus 1722-1803 P.G. Butkov, 1869.
  • The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus, Baddeley John F London, 1908.
  • Ottoman population 1830-1914 Kemal H. Karpat(Madison 1985)
  • The Circassians: A Forgotten Genocide? Stephen D. Shenfield
  • Russland und die Tscherkessen Karl Friedrich Neumann, 1840
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