Caucasian War (briefly). Why the Caucasian War became the longest in the history of Russia The result of the Caucasian War was not the development of trade

On the one hand, civil strife, the slave trade, and raids by Persian and Turkish troops stopped, the economic and cultural development of the peoples of the region accelerated, their interaction grew, and the diverse ties of the North Caucasian peoples with Russia expanded.

Russian culture and secular education penetrate into mountain society, mainly into the elite strata. On its basis, the mountain peoples develop social thought and enlightenment (Shora Nogmov, Khan-Girey, Kazi-Atazhukin, K. Khetagurov)

On the other hand, this is a great tragedy that brought troubles and destruction, enormous material and human losses to both local peoples and the Russian Empire. Among the tragic events associated with the end of the war, muhajirism (resettlement) occupies a special place.

After the end of the war, colonization of the region by immigrants from Russia intensified. It was accompanied by a significant change in the ethnic picture of the North Caucasus, the formation of new land relations, changes in ecology, and the further destruction of the traditional economic culture of the region.

Conquest of the highlanders of the North Caucasus and the long Caucasian War of 1817-1864. brought significant human and material losses to Russia. During the war, about 96 thousand soldiers and officers of the Caucasian Corps suffered. The bloodiest period was the period of the struggle against Shamil, during which more than 70 thousand people were killed, wounded and captured. Material costs were also very significant: Yu. Kosenkova, based on data from A.L. Ghisetti, indicates that in the 40s - 50s. XIX century the maintenance of the Caucasian Corps and the conduct of the war cost the state treasury 10 - 15 million rubles. in year.

In general, we can conclude that the successful completion of the war strengthened Russia’s international position and increased its strategic power. In economic and commercial-industrial relations, according to M. Hammer, the conquest of the Caucasus region facilitated trade between Europe and Asia and provided Russian industry with an extensive market for the sale of factory and industrial products.

The Caucasian War had enormous geopolitical consequences. Reliable communications were established between Russia and its Transcaucasian periphery due to the fact that the barrier separating them, which was the territories not controlled by St. Petersburg, disappeared. Russia managed to firmly establish itself in the most vulnerable and strategically very important sector of the Black Sea - on the North-East coast, the same thing happened with the north-western part of the Caspian Sea, where St. Petersburg had not felt entirely confident before. The Caucasus took shape as a single territorial and geopolitical complex within the imperial “supersystem” - a logical result of Russia’s southern expansion. Now it could serve as a secure rear and a real springboard for advancing to the southeast, to Central Asia, which was also of great importance for the development of the imperial periphery. Russia has set a course to conquer this unstable region, open to external influence and international rivalry. In an effort to fill the political vacuum that had formed there, she looked for “natural” borders for herself, from the point of view not only of geography, but also of state pragmatism, which demanded the division of spheres of influence and the establishment of a regional balance of power with another giant - the British Empire. In addition, Russia's penetration into Central Asia gave St. Petersburg a powerful lever of pressure on London in Middle Eastern and European affairs, which it successfully used.

After the end of the war, the situation in the region became much more stable. Raids and riots began to happen less frequently. In many ways, this was a change in the ethnic and demographic situation in the war-torn territories. A significant part of the population was evicted outside the Russian state (the so-called muhajirism). People from the inner provinces of Russia, Cossacks, and foreign mountaineers settled on the abandoned lands.

A very important circumstance that determined changes in the self-awareness of the mountaineers in favor of Russia was the nature of the population management established in the imamate, which turned out to be difficult for tribes not accustomed to obedience. At the same time, those under Shamil’s rule saw that “the life of peaceful villages... under the auspices of the Russians is much calmer and more abundant.” This is what forced them, according to N.A. Dobrolyubov, to make, in the end, the appropriate choice, “with the hope of peace and the convenience of everyday life.”

Thus, the results of the Caucasian War were ambiguous. On the one hand, they allowed Russia to solve its problems, provided markets for raw materials and sales, and 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 to the new Russia. Our country has provided itself with problems for a long time by including “restless”, freedom-loving peoples - echoes of this can be heard to this day.

The complexity of the Chechen problem, all its depth and severity, are primarily caused by the peculiarities of the historical past of the Chechen people.

Chechens are an ancient Caucasian people with firmly established tribal traditions. These tribal traditions, or as they are also called teip traditions, are relationships based on the principles of blood feud and family-clan unity.

At the request of the Kabardian princes, Russian Cossacks began to settle in a number of areas belonging to their possessions, namely flat areas, on the slopes of the Tersky Range and along the Terek, and by the middle of the 16th century they formed independent settlements there. And this step was not taken by the Kabardian princes in vain; they saw in Russia a protector behind whose back they could hide from attacks from the Crimean Tatars and Turks, i.e. Since the time of Ivan the Terrible, these lands have become part of Russian citizenship. In 1559 The first Russian fortress of Tarki was built on the Sunzha River, and Russian troops repeatedly carried out military operations to protect the North Caucasus from invasions by the Turkish Sultan and the Crimean Khan. That is, we can consider that by this period of time, the time of the settlement of Chechnya by the Cossacks and the construction of fortresses, there were no contradictions, no national liberation war was foreseen, on the contrary, cultural and economic ties with Russia. Many even began to move from the mountainous regions to the plains; all migrants became citizens of Russia.

And only by 1775. The rise of the national liberation struggle in the North Caucasus began, caused by the desire of the Chechens, Kabardins, and Dagestanis to form their own state structure, which the Russian Tsar could not give the go-ahead for. This resistance was led by the Chechen Ushurma, who later received the title of Sheikh Mansur. Armed resistance to Russian troops was offered only in the mountainous part of Chechnya, and this resistance was carried out with the active support of the Ottoman Empire, which even then had its own far-reaching plans in this region. But this confrontation was not long and not large-scale. In 1781, Chechen elders voluntarily accepted Russian citizenship, and by the beginning of the 19th century, life was peaceful throughout almost the entire territory of Chechnya.

It is known from history that the Caucasian War began in 1817 and lasted almost fifty years (1817-1864). The Caucasus to Russia and its struggle against Turkish and Iranian expansion in this region. After the transition to Russian citizenship of Georgia (1801-1810) and Azerbaijan (1803-1813), the annexation of the lands that separated them from Russia became the most important military-political task of the Russian government. At the first stage, the Caucasian War coincided with the Russian-Iranian 1826-1828 and Russian-Turkish wars of 1828-1829, which required the diversion of the main forces of Russian troops to fight Iran and Turkey. The movement of mountaineers that arose in Chechnya and Dagestan under the flag of Gazavat (the so-called “Jihad” is a word of Arabic origin, literally means diligence, effort, zeal), the struggle with full dedication for the faith and triumph of Islam, one of the main responsibilities of the Muslim community.

"Jihad" has several meanings:

"Jihad of the heart" (struggle against one's evil inclinations);

"Jihad of the hand" (punishment of criminals);

“Jihad of the sword” (armed struggle against the “infidels”), i.e. “Jihad of the sword” or “ghazavat” is the ideological basis for waging a national liberation war.

It is known from history that at the final stage of 1859-1864. The resistance of the mountaineers was nevertheless broken, and the entire Caucasus was completely annexed to Russia.

Those. From the above mentioned, it can be argued that the Caucasian War of 1817-1864. conditionally divided into three stages and the main reason for this war on the part of Russia is the disobedience of the mountain peoples to the Russian Autocracy, and on the part of the Chechens it is a national liberation war. It is known that the Caucasian peoples are brave, decisive, freedom-loving, they never humiliate themselves before the enemy and do not ask for mercy, and in the education of boys there is always a cult of strength, but at the same time, having studied the experience of the Caucasian War of the 19th century, and even the armed conflicts of 1994-1996. and 1999 to the present, we can conclude that the Chechens are trying to avoid direct clashes; the tactics of the highlanders were determined based primarily on the partisan nature of their actions, i.e. With sudden raids on Cossack patrols and convoys of Russian troops, the Chechens prevented the creation of a system of fortresses and outposts, which Russian troops were building at that time, captured prisoners, and then demanded a ransom for them.

Such decisive actions by the warriors of Islam were prompted by both religion and the Islamic teaching of muridism, which inspired the mountaineers that a Muslim should be a free person. Using the teachings of muridism, the Islamic clergy of the Caucasus called for the already mentioned “gazavat” “holy war” against the “infidels” (Russians) who came to the Caucasus. Any negotiations or calls for reason on the part of Russia, Chechens in the 19th century. and in our time they perceive both the weakness of the state and their greatness, victory: “Russia is such a big state, but ingratiatingly negotiates peaceably with small Chechnya.” Suffice it to recall the signing of the shameful Khasavyurt Lebed-Maskhadov Treaty in 1996, or the negotiations between Chernomyrdin and Basayev in 1995, around the events related to the hostage-taking in Budenovsk.

In that Caucasian war, which lasted fifty years, one general aroused respect and fear among the mountaineers - it was the commander of a separate Caucasian corps, General Ermolov Aleksey Petrovich (1777-1861), a Russian military leader, an infantry (infantry) general, a participant in the wars with France in 1805- 1807, during the Patriotic War of 1812. “It was they who initiated the construction of the Sunzha fortified line, which cut off part of the land from the Chechens, where they received large grain harvests, it was he who introduced the system of forest cutting and gradual penetration deep into the Chechen territory, and for work Only Chechens were involved in the cutting; it was under him that the Groznaya fortress was built in 1818, Vnezapnaya in the Kumyk steppes in 1819 and Burnaya in 1821.

Today in Chechnya the myth of cruelty on the part of many Russian military leaders is growing stronger. However, if we look at the facts, another conclusion suggests itself: that the leaders of the highlanders showed much greater cruelty, even towards their fellow tribesmen. Thus, Imam Gamzat-Bek cut off the head of the elderly khansha in Khunzakh, by order of Imam Shamil, 33 Teletlin beks were executed, 11-year-old Bulach-Khan, the heir of the Avar khans, was thrown into a mountain river. Death was punishable for deception, treason, resistance to the murid, and failure to perform five prayers a day. “Shamil,” wrote a contemporary, “was always accompanied by an executioner, and Baryatinsky by a treasurer.”

By the end of the Russian-Turkish War of 1828-1829, the entire territory of Transcaucasia became the possession of Russia, but the Caucasian ridge itself with inaccessible areas remained a state within a state where the laws of the mountains, and not Russian laws, were in effect, and the Muslim population of these areas - Chechens, Adygeis, Dagestanis - were ardent opponents of any government and, as mentioned above, religion played the main role here, and, of course, the mountain mentality.

In connection with such difficulties that arose along the way for the Russian military leaders, it was necessary to attract additional groups of Russian troops under the command of the tsar’s protege in Chechnya, General Rosen, who in 1813 managed to push back the troops of Gazi-Magomed, under whose rule were large areas of mountainous regions, into mountainous Dagestan .

And yet, due to not clearly thought out actions on the part of General Rosen G.V. , and as a result of this, large human and material losses, on July 3, 1837, between the representative of Nicholas I, General Fezi A.M. and Shamil, peace was concluded, a shameful peace. But the truce did not last long, Shamil’s troops again began to make forays into Russian garrisons, kidnap people, enslaving them as hostages, and demanding ransom for them. By order of Commander-in-Chief Golovin E.A., who replaced General G.V. Rosen in this post, General Grabe P.Kh. with his army he led an attack on the mountainous regions of Dagestan.

The goal of the expedition is Accident, or rather the mountain peak Akhulgo, rushing into the sky-high heights, where Shamil set up his residence. The road to Akhulgo was difficult, at every step Russian troops were ambushed and blocked, the enemy fought on his territory, knew it well, he defended his homeland. Grabe and his troops nevertheless went to the fortress, where there were about 10,000 followers of Shamil, he understood that a lightning assault would not give a positive result, that it would lead to huge losses, and Grabe decided to besiege the fortress. A month later, Russian troops storm the fortress, but the first attempt is unsuccessful, followed by a second attempt, Russian troops manage to capture the fortress, the enemy suffered losses during the defense - more than 2,000 people were killed. Shamil himself managed to escape from the fortress, and Shamil’s eight-year-old son, Jamaluddin, was captured by General Grabe. An interesting fact is that Nicholas I became interested in the boy’s fate; on his orders, Jamaluddin was taken to St. Petersburg and assigned to the Alexander Corps in Tsarskoe Selo, and later transferred to the First Cadet Corps, where future officers were trained; he later rose to the rank of lieutenant and was exchanged on Princess Chavchavadze (daughter of the famous Georgian poet) who was captured by Shamil.

After the defeat at Akhulgo, where his wife and youngest son died, and the eldest was captured, Shamil waged a merciless war with Russian troops, recapturing Chechen villages from them one after another and quickly expanding the borders of his imamate.

In 1842, General P.K. Neugarth was appointed commander-in-chief of the Caucasian corps, who managed to stop the highlander detachments for some time, but soon Shamil managed to gather an army of 20,000 horsemen and launch a broad offensive against the Russian troops, thereby capturing most of Dagestan and even knocking out by 1844 Russian troops from Avaria. Secretly, Shamil turned to the Turkish Sultan for help, and weapons began to come to him from Turkey. Soon the Crimean War of 1853-1856 began. and Shamil made an attempt to unite with the Turkish army in Georgia, but this attempt was unsuccessful for him; for active assistance to the Turks in military operations against Russia, Shamil was awarded the title of Generalissimo of Turkey. Defeats in the Crimean War gave additional spiritual and emotional strength to the highlanders, inspired them to exploits in the name of “free” Chechnya, creating additional conditions and reasons for armed resistance, especially since all this was fueled by good material support from Turkey. Russia needed to take brutal measures that could fundamentally change the situation for the better, and such a step was taken. Emperor Nicholas I, who was forced to agree with General Ermolov’s proposal to appoint N.N. as commander-in-chief of a separate Caucasian corps. Muravyova. In 1855, the Turks were able to build on their success in the Crimean theater of military operations. Despite the heroic struggle, the Russian troops were forced to leave Sevastopol, but infantry general N.N. Muravyov, with 40 thousand troops, managed to block the 33 thousand Turkish garrison in Kars and force it to capitulate. Soon, by the end of 1855, hostilities virtually ceased, but Muravyov, in addition to excellent military abilities, was also a good diplomat. After Jamaluddin, Shamil’s son, returned to his father, he stopped active resistance, and peaceful border meetings began between the Russians and the mountaineers. In fact, in 1856, Chechen troops were driven high into the mountains, thereby depriving them of food, and illness and hunger began among the mountaineers. Shamil with a small detachment of mountaineers found his last refuge on a high mountain in the fortified village of Gunib. Assault, August 25, 1859, Russian troops under the command of Prince Baryatinsky A.I. Gunib was captured, and Shamil himself was captured. The final conquest of the Caucasus ended in 1864.

After his capture, Shamil in private conversations expressed his tactics of fighting against disobedient laws of the Imamate: “... To tell the truth, I used cruel measures against the mountaineers, many people were killed on my orders.... I beat the Shatoys, and the Andians, and the Tadburgians, and he beat them not for loyalty to the Russians (you know that they never showed it), but for their bad nature, their tendency to robbery and robbery. Whether I’m telling the truth, you can see for yourself now, because you will now beat them too. for the same inclination that is difficult to leave." Time has confirmed how right Shamil was.

The Chechen people are interesting because they are very fond of honors, titles, and awards. This was used by the Russian government at the end of the Caucasian War: land reform was carried out in Chechnya, while local princes and nobles received lands “granted” to private ownership, and the nobility were ranked among the Russian nobility, having the right to military service in the guard.

1. Not the desire to obey the will of the Russian Tsar, due to the freedom-loving (mountain) mentality of the Chechens.
2. The inclination of the highlanders to a predatory lifestyle, to the slave trade, to raids on neighboring territories and to replenish their wealth due to this.
3. It is not the possibility on Russia’s part of undergoing predatory raids, but Russia’s desire to conquer the entire Caucasus.
4. Incitement by Turkey and Iran of interethnic, interreligious contradictions, allocation of the necessary monetary and other material resources for this.
5. Religion (Islamic teaching of Muridism), calling for war with the infidels.

Late 50s XIX century was marked by a sharp turn in the Caucasian War: the tactics and strategy of the Russian troops changed - in the same relationship with the local residents, a large number of whom, tired of many years of war, went over to the side of Russia or, at least, refused to actively fight. And the Russian army had more strength and better weapons. In a report to the Emperor dated August 22, 1859, the commander-in-chief of the Russian army in the Caucasus, Prince Baryatinsky, wrote: “From the Caspian Sea to the Georgian Military Road, the Caucasus is subjugated by your Power. Forty-eight cannons, all the enemy’s fortresses and fortifications are in your hands.”

Thus, the new, more intensive and strategically sound behavior of Russian troops in the Caucasus brought tangible results and led to the end of the long-term war. Its results were ambiguous.

The conquest of the highlanders of the North Caucasus and the long Caucasian War brought significant human and material losses to Russia. During the war, about 96 thousand soldiers and officers of the Caucasian Corps suffered. The bloodiest period was the period of the struggle against Shamil, during which more than 70 thousand people were killed, wounded and captured. Material costs were also very significant: Yu. Kosenkova, based on data from A.L. Ghisetti points out that in the 40s - 50s. XIX century the maintenance of the Caucasian Corps and the conduct of the war cost the state treasury 10 - 15 million rubles. in year.

Nevertheless, Russia, in our opinion, has achieved its goals, which were outlined in Chapter I:

strengthening the geopolitical position;

strengthening influence on the states of the Near and Middle East through the North Caucasus as a military-strategic springboard.

the acquisition of new markets for raw materials and sales on the outskirts of the country, which was the goal of the colonial policy of the Russian Empire.

In general, we can conclude that the successful completion of the war strengthened Russia’s international position and increased its strategic power. In economic and commercial-industrial relations, according to M. Hammer, the conquest of the Caucasus region facilitated trade between Europe (and Russia) and Asia, and provided Russian industry with an extensive market for the sale of factory and industrial products.

The Caucasian War had enormous geopolitical consequences. Reliable communications were established between Russia and its Transcaucasian periphery due to the fact that the barrier separating them, which was the territories not controlled by St. Petersburg, disappeared. Russia has finally managed to firmly establish itself in the most vulnerable and strategically very important sector of the Black Sea - on the North-East coast. The same applies to the northwestern part of the Caspian Sea, where St. Petersburg previously did not feel entirely confident. The Caucasus took shape as a single territorial and geopolitical complex within the imperial “supersystem” - a logical result of Russia’s southern expansion. Now it could serve as a secure rear and a real springboard for advancing to the southeast, to Central Asia, which was also of great importance for the development of the imperial periphery. Russia has set a course to conquer this unstable region, open to external influence and international rivalry. In an effort to fill the political vacuum that had formed there, she looked for “natural” borders for herself, from the point of view of not only geography, but also state pragmatism, which required the division of spheres of influence and the establishment of a regional balance of power with another giant - the British Empire. In addition, Russia's penetration into Central Asia gave St. Petersburg a powerful lever of pressure on London in Middle Eastern and European affairs, which it successfully used.

After the end of the war, the situation in the region became much more stable. Dial, riots began to happen less frequently. In many ways, this was a change in the ethno-demographic situation in the war-torn territories. A significant part of the population was evicted outside the Russian state (the so-called muhajirism). People from the inner provinces of Russia, Cossacks, and foreign mountaineers settled on the abandoned lands.

However, Russia provided itself with problems for a long time by including “restless”, freedom-loving peoples - echoes of this can be heard to this day. According to M. Feigin, the current problems in the North Caucasus, which he proposes to call the “second Caucasian War,” originate in a complex of unresolved problems of the Caucasian War of the 19th century. We must also not forget that the result of the war for the North Caucasus was also casualties among the population, many dozens of destroyed villages, the loss of national independence, and the deterioration of the situation of the local rural population as a result of the colonial oppression of the tsarist administration. But displaying the results of the Caucasian War only from the perspective of the vanquished and keeping silent about the same fate of Cossack villages and Russian villages, as G. Kokiev, Kh. Oshaev and some other authors did, does not at all correspond to the commandments of objectivity.

It is important to note the role of Russia's victory over the North Caucasus in ending or at least significantly reducing the volume of slave trade in the Black Sea.

war mountaineer Caucasian

In 1817, the Caucasian War began for the Russian Empire, which lasted for almost 50 years. The Caucasus has long been a region into which Russia wanted to expand its influence, and Alexander 1, against the backdrop of successes in foreign policy, decided on this war. It was assumed that success could be achieved in a few years, but the Caucasus has become a big problem for Russia for almost 50 years. The interesting thing is that this war was fought by three Russian emperors: Alexander 1, Nicholas 1 and Alexander 2. As a result, Russia emerged victorious, however, the victory was achieved with great effort. The article offers an overview of the Caucasian War of 1817-1864, its causes, course of events and consequences for Russia and the peoples of the Caucasus.

Causes of the war

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Russian Empire actively directed efforts to seize lands in the Caucasus. In 1810, the Kartli-Kakheti kingdom became part of it. In 1813, the Russian Empire annexed the Transcaucasian (Azerbaijani) khanates. Despite the announcement of submission by the ruling elites and consent to annexation, the regions of the Caucasus, inhabited by peoples mainly professing Islam, declare the beginning of the struggle for liberation. Two main regions are being formed in which there is a sense of readiness for disobedience and armed struggle for independence: Western (Circassia and Abkhazia) and North-Eastern (Chechnya and Dagestan). It was these territories that became the main arena of hostilities in 1817-1864.

Historians identify the following main reasons for the Caucasian War:

The desire of the Russian Empire to gain a foothold in the Caucasus. And not just to include the territory into its composition, but to fully integrate it, including by extending its legislation.
The reluctance of some peoples of the Caucasus, in particular the Circassians, Kabardians, Chechens and Dagestanis, to join the Russian Empire, and most importantly, the readiness to conduct armed resistance to the invader.
Alexander 1 wanted to rid his country of the endless raids of the peoples of the Caucasus on their lands. The fact is that since the beginning of the 19th century, numerous attacks by individual detachments of Chechens and Circassians on Russian territories for the purpose of robbery have been recorded, which created big problems for border settlements.

Progress and main stages

The Caucasian War of 1817-1864 is a vast event, but it can be divided into 6 key stages. Let's look at each of these stages next.

First stage (1817-1819)

This is the period of the first partisan actions in Abkhazia and Chechnya. The relationship between Russia and the peoples of the Caucasus was finally complicated by General Ermolov, who began to build fortified fortresses to control the local peoples, and also ordered the resettlement of the highlanders to the plains around the mountains, for stricter supervision over them. This caused a wave of protest, which further intensified the guerrilla war and further escalated the conflict.

Map of the Caucasian War 1817 1864

Second stage (1819-1824)

This stage is characterized by agreements between the local ruling elites of Dagestan regarding joint military operations against Russia. One of the main reasons for the unification was that the Black Sea Cossack Corps was relocated to the Caucasus, which caused mass discontent in the Caucasus. In addition, during this period, fighting took place in Abkhazia between the army of Major General Gorchakov and local rebels, who were defeated.

Third stage (1824-1828)

This stage begins with the uprising of Taymazov (Beibulat Taymiev) in Chechnya. His troops tried to capture the Grozny fortress, but near the village of Kalinovskaya the rebel leader was captured. In 1825, the Russian army also won a number of victories over the Kabardians, which led to the so-called pacification of Greater Kabarda. The center of resistance completely moved to the northeast, to the territory of the Chechens and Dagestanis. It was at this stage that the current of “muridism” emerged in Islam. Its basis is the duty of gazavat - holy war. For the mountaineers, war with Russia becomes an obligation and part of their religious belief. The stage ends in 1827-1828, when a new commander of the Caucasian corps, I. Paskevich, was appointed.

Muridism is an Islamic teaching about the path to salvation through an associated war - ghazavat. The basis of Murism is the obligatory participation in the war against the “infidels”.
Historical reference

Fourth stage (1828-1833)

In 1828, a serious complication occurred in relations between the highlanders and the Russian army. Local tribes create the first independent mountain state during the war years - the Imamate. The first imam is Ghazi-Muhamed, the founder of muridism. He was the first to declare gazavat to Russia, but in 1832 he died during one of the battles.

Fifth stage (1833-1859)

The longest period of the war. It lasted from 1834 to 1859. During this period, the local leader Shamil declares himself an imam and also declares the gazavat of Russia. His army establishes control over Chechnya and Dagestan. For several years, Russia completely loses this territory, especially during participation in the Crimean War, when all military forces were sent to participate in it. As for the hostilities themselves, they were carried out for a long time with varying degrees of success.

The turning point came only in 1859, after Shamil was captured near the village of Gunib. This was a turning point in the Caucasian War. After his capture, Shamil was taken around the central cities of the Russian Empire (Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv), arranging meetings with the top officials of the empire and veteran generals of the Caucasian War. By the way, in 1869 he was released on a pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, where he died in 1871.

Sixth stage (1859-1864)

After the defeat of the Shamil Imamate from 1859 to 1864, the final period of the war occurs. These were small local resistances that could be eliminated very quickly. In 1864, they managed to completely break the resistance of the highlanders. Russia ended a difficult and problematic war with victory.

Main results

The Caucasian War of 1817-1864 ended in victory for Russia, as a result of which several problems were solved:

The final seizure of the Caucasus and the spread of its administrative structure and legal system there.
Increasing influence in the region. After the capture of the Caucasus, this region becomes an important geopolitical point for increasing influence in the East.
The beginning of the settlement of this region by Slavic peoples.

But despite the successful conclusion of the war, Russia acquired a complex and turbulent region that required increased resources to maintain order, as well as additional protection measures due to Turkish interests in this area. This was the Caucasian War for the Russian Empire.

The conquest of the highlanders of the North Caucasus and the long Caucasian War brought significant human and material losses to Russia. During the war, about 96 thousand soldiers and officers of the Caucasian Corps suffered. The bloodiest period was the period of the struggle against Shamil, during which more than 70 thousand people were killed, wounded and captured. Material costs were also very significant: Yu. Kosenkova, based on data from A.L. Ghisetti, indicates that in the 40s - 50s. XIX century the maintenance of the Caucasian Corps and the conduct of the war cost the state treasury 10 - 15 million rubles. in year.

Nevertheless, Russia achieved its goals:

1) strengthening the geopolitical position;

2) strengthening influence on the states of the Near and Middle East through the North Caucasus as a military-strategic springboard.

3) the acquisition of new markets for raw materials and sales on the outskirts of the country, which was the goal of the colonial policy of the Russian Empire.

In general, we can conclude that the successful completion of the war strengthened Russia’s international position and increased its strategic power. In economic and commercial-industrial relations, according to M. Hammer, the conquest of the Caucasus region facilitated trade between Europe (and Russia) and Asia and provided Russian industry with an extensive market for the sale of factory and industrial products.

The Caucasian War had enormous geopolitical consequences. Reliable communications were established between Russia (heartland) and its Transcaucasian periphery (rimland) due to the fact that the barrier separating them, which was the territories not controlled by St. Petersburg, disappeared. Russia has finally managed to firmly establish itself in the most vulnerable and strategically very important sector of the Black Sea - on the North-East coast. The same applies to the northwestern part of the Caspian Sea, where St. Petersburg previously did not feel entirely confident. The Caucasus took shape as a single territorial and geopolitical complex within the imperial “supersystem” - a logical result of Russia’s southern expansion. Now it could serve as a secure rear and a real springboard for advancing to the southeast, to Central Asia, which was also of great importance for the development of the imperial periphery. Russia has set a course to conquer this unstable region, open to external influence and international rivalry. In an effort to fill the political vacuum that had formed there, she looked for “natural” borders for herself, from the point of view of not only geography, but also state pragmatism, which demanded the division of spheres of influence and the establishment of a regional balance of power with another giant - the British Empire. In addition, Russia's penetration into Central Asia gave St. Petersburg a powerful lever of pressure on London in Middle Eastern and European affairs, which it successfully used.

However, Russia provided itself with problems for a long time by including “restless”, freedom-loving peoples in its composition - echoes of this can be heard to this day. According to M. Feigin, the current problems in the North Caucasus, which he proposes to call the “second Caucasian War,” originate in a complex of unresolved problems of the Caucasian War of the 19th century. We must also not forget that the result of the war for the North Caucasus was also casualties among the population, many dozens of destroyed villages, the loss of national independence, and the deterioration of the situation of the local rural population as a result of the colonial oppression of the tsarist administration. But displaying the results of the Caucasian War only from the perspective of the vanquished and keeping silent about the same fate of Cossack villages and Russian villages, as G. Kokiev, Kh. Oshaev and some other authors did, does not at all correspond to the commandments of objectivity.

It is important to note the role of Russia's victory over the North Caucasus in ending or at least significantly reducing the volume of slave trade in the Black Sea. Back on October 15, 1858, in one of his letters from Istanbul, the famous representative of Russian science P. A. Chikhachev reported that after Russia lost its fleet on the Black Sea (as a result of the Crimean War), Turkey “openly patronizes the vile trade in slaves.” Consul A. N. Moshnin from Trebizond notified the ambassador of the Russian Empire to this country several times in 1860 about the mass sale of slaves, including many Russian subjects. With the introduction of widespread Russian administration in the Caucasus after its complete inclusion in the empire, trade in living goods in the region completely ceased.

According to V.N. Ratushnyak, the positive aspects of the annexation of the North Caucasus should also be noted: its peoples, together with the Cossacks and newcomer peasants of Russia, achieved significant success in the economic development of the region, mutually enriching their production skills and skills, their culture. Peaceful development to many mountaineers after decades of war seemed preferable to the harsh discipline of the Imamate. It is not without reason that after the victory of Russia, the role of Sharia everywhere began to be replaced by traditional law - adats.

A very important circumstance that determined changes in the self-awareness of the mountaineers in favor of Russia was the nature of the population management established in the imamate, which turned out to be difficult for tribes not accustomed to obedience. At the same time, those under Shamil’s rule saw that “the life of peaceful villages... under the auspices of the Russians is much calmer and more abundant.” This is what forced them, according to N.A. Dobrolyubov, to finally make the appropriate choice, “with the hope of peace and the convenience of everyday life.”

The peaceful settlement was also facilitated by certain measures taken by the government to strengthen Russia’s authority in the North Caucasus. A number of large and beautiful mosques were built in Chechen and other villages with money allocated from the personal funds of the “main culprits” of the conquest, for example, A.P. Ermolov. The authority of the Russian army was also increased by the facts of the rescue of mountaineer children in battles, to whom Russian officers were obliged to deduct a certain percentage of their salaries until they reached adulthood, not to mention large one-time donations and special shelters created at the expense of the treasury, “military orphan departments” for young children. troublemakers and traitors among the mountain peoples." Naturally, raising these children was not only an act of mercy, but also corresponded to the strategic goals of the Russian government. It has already been told how Shamil was amazed that his hostage son grew up to be an exemplary Russian officer. The “half-breed” sons of A.P. Ermolov became military officers: Victor (Bakhtiyar), Sever (Allahiyar) and Claudius (Omar).

Children who grew up in “military orphan units”, as a rule, also became officers loyal to Russia, and by the end of the Caucasian War in the Caucasian Corps, a significant part of the officer corps were “natives” by blood. From the point of view of the most conservative mountaineers, these young people, of course, were traitors, but, on the other hand, their example for sober-minded fellow tribesmen contributed to the strengthening of relations between Russia and the North Caucasus.

Let's turn to another important aspect. As is known, after the completion of the last major military operations, which predetermined the final outcome of the entire campaign, a special control system was established for the indigenous peoples of the region, adapted mainly to their political traditions, which was called the military-people's system. It was based on the preservation of the existing social system while providing the population with the opportunity to decide their internal affairs according to folk customs (adat). Legal proceedings and the usual methods of resolving legal problems, including according to the canons of the professed Muslim religion (Sharia), which at first were most alien in spirit to Russian rule, were also preserved unchanged. And this was not some kind of forced exception. According to the existing laws of the Russian Empire, “censure of other churches was prohibited.”

To perform administrative functions in the lower echelons of the administrative apparatus, each people elected officials (foremen and judges) from among themselves, who only after that were confirmed in positions by their superiors.

Of course, the Russian administration maintained external order by using military force in critical situations. However, as an imam, Shamil ruled the mountaineers much more harshly, believing that this only required an “iron hand.” He mercilessly punished any wrongdoing and subsequently viewed the previous cruelty as a “sad necessity” for maintaining socio-political stability. The Russian government maintained continuity in this, but took into account the peculiarities of the psychological make-up of local peoples, who were not inclined to submit to strict state power, and, apparently, was still somewhat softer. Measures of firmness, it was assumed, would “give time and means” so that keeping the mountaineers in submission by military force would be replaced by dominion based on “moral strength.”

However, maintaining external state order under such circumstances required maintaining excessively numerous administrative staff and military units on the North Caucasian outskirts, which led to the formation of a very significant layer of officials and military personnel. In this regard, the costs of the administrative apparatus were significant, reaching 61% of the total, and considerable costs were imposed on the Russian budget to cover them, only partially reimbursed by tax collections from the subject population.

But, according to V. Matveev, it was precisely the powerful state presence in a complex multi-ethnic region, the lot of which was previously essentially non-stop bloody mutually destructive clashes, provoked, among other things, by raids, that forced even the discerning Western European press after the inclusion of the region into Russia , that for the first time in many centuries she “brought peace here,” laying the foundation for “peaceful prosperity.”

True, there is a certain amount of exaggeration in these estimates. Complete peace in the region was not achieved at that time. From time to time, although on a much smaller scale, it was more than once illuminated by the flames of interethnic conflicts. However, the size of the annexed population began to increase steadily. It is not possible to calculate this trend in detail due to statistical gaps, but its presence is obvious based on the available data. This indicates the beneficial and stabilizing value of Russian government restrictions. Population growth, as established quite authoritatively at the beginning of the 20th century. Austrian school of nationality, is the most important indicator of ethnic development. According to the calculations of F.P. Troino, only from 1868 to 1898 it reached 162% in the northwestern part, and 212% in the northeastern part. This growth was higher than the national average for the same period, and for certain ethnic groups the increase in numbers even doubled. Local peoples, after joining it, retained a continuous territory and traditional economic structure.

The presence of advantages in approaches to management in the Russian outskirts compared to the same Western European standards was at one time recognized abroad. In the policies of the two largest empires in the East, Otto von Bissmarck established the following differences: “The British behave in Asia less civilized than the Russians; they are too contemptuous of the indigenous population and keep their distance from them... The Russians, on the contrary, attract the peoples that they include in the empire, get acquainted with their life and merge with them.”

The English traveler Father Harold Baxon, who visited the Caucasus in 1914, noted: “The Russians have done in Georgia over the last century... a thing of enormous scale. Thanks to the peace and order that they introduced into the country, the population multiplied, culture developed, and rich cities and villages grew. Russian officials never show the same arrogance and contempt towards the natives that are characteristic of British officials in our colonies; Russian natural kindness and cordiality give them the opportunity to be on a completely equal footing with the Georgians, which not only does not diminish, but, on the contrary, increases the prestige of the Russian government...”

The systemic combination of Russian state restrictions in military-people's governance with guarantees of non-interference in internal affairs indicates that final stabilization was achieved not through suppression, as is commonly thought, but through a political compromise offered to all mountaineers, despite the military defeat of the adamant followers of the theocratic doctrine and all sorts of orientations within its mainstream. As part of the compromise, official recognition of the mountaineers was ensured (regardless of the previous circumstances of entry, however, with differentiation for the transition period in the trust of the authorities) as compatriots and it was assumed that the majority of the mountaineers would eventually recognize Russia as their fatherland.