THE REASONS OF THE ETHNÝC TENSION
BETWEEN KARACHAY-BALKAR AND ADIGE PEOPLES
Dr. Ufuk TAVKUL
Resume
Karachay-Balkar
and Adige (Circassian) who are the indigenous
peoples of the Caucasus live together in the West and Central parts of the Caucasus.
Though they speak in different languages, and according to their languages they seem like
different ethnic groups, they have been mixed ethnically and they share the same Caucasian Culture.
After the Soviet revolution the Soviet Red Army had
occupied the Caucasus and had established different autonomous regions and republics for
the ethnic groups of the Caucasus. In those years the Adige people had been divided into
three parts as Adige, Cherkess and Kabardin peoples. Just the same Karachay-Balkar people
had also been divided into two parts as Karachay and Balkar peoples. This division was a
strategic approach to the ethnic groups of the region. “Divide and Rule” was the main
policy of Soviet government for the peoples of Soviet Union. According to this policy
Adige (Circassian) and Karachay-Balkar peoples had been divided an had been separated from
each other.
In 12th January 1922 Karachay-Cherkess
Autonomous Region had been established.
In 16th January 1922 Kabardin-Balkar
Autonomous Republic had been established.
In 27th January 1922 Adige Autonomous
Region had been established.
In 1936 after the new constitution of Soviet Union
had been accepted, the Caucasus had been divided into four autonomous republics and three
autonomous regions.
Karachay-Chekess autonomous region had been
abolished and had been divided into two parts as Karachay Autonomous Region and Cherkess
Autonomous Region and those regions had been inserted into Stavropol Kray (Province) while
Adige Autonomous Region had been inserted into Krasnodar Kray. For Kabardin and Balkar
people Kabardin-Balkar Autonomous Republic had been established.
Thus in 1936 there were three autonomous regions
and one autonomous republic for Karachay-Balkar and Adige (Circassian) peoples in
Caucasus.
These were:
1-Adige Autonomous Region (in Krasnodar province)
2-Karachay Autonomous Region (in Stavropol
province)
3-Cherkess Autonomous Region (in Stavropol
province)
4-Kabardin-Balkar Autonomous Republic
During the Second
World War Karachay-Balkar people had rebelled against the Soviet government and had allied
with German Army against the Soviet Red Army in Caucasus. Until the middle of 1943 year,
Karachay-Balkar guerrillas had fought bravely against the Soviet Red Army in the mountains
of Karachay-Balkar which is the highest and most steep part of the Caucasus. After a
bloody guerrilla warfare the Soviet Red Army had been driven away from Karachay-Balkar
region and Karachay-Balkar people had established a local government by the help of German
Army. But after the German Army had receded from Caucasus in August of 1943, Soviet Red
Army had occupied Karachay-Balkar region and Soviet government had declared that all
Karachay-Balkar people were the enemies of Soviet government and communist regime.
The Soviet dictator Stalin decided to deport the
Karachay-Balkar people from Caucasus to intimidate the other Caucasian peoples.
In 2nd November 1943 the Karachay
Autonomous Region had been abolished and all Karachay people had been deported from
Caucasus to steppes of Central Asia and Siberia. Karachay was the first people who
deported from Caucasus. In 8th March 1944 Balkar part of Kabardin-Balkar
Autonomous republic had been abolished and all Balkar people had been deported from
Caucasus to Central Asia and Siberia. The Adige (Circassian) peoples had remained in
Caucasus because they had not rebelled against the Soviet government. The lands of
Karachay-Balkar people had been shared among Georgian Soviet Republic, Kabardin Autonomous
Republic and Stavropol Province.
During the deportation more than half of the
Karachay-Balkar people had died. The remaining part of the people had lived in awful
conditions of Central Asia and Siberia for 14 year. After Stalin had died, the new ruler
of Soviet Union, Khrushchev had forgiven the deported peoples from Caucasus and
Karachay-Balkar people had begun to return to their fatherland in Caucasus. But a lot of
social, politic, ethnic and economic problems were waiting for them in Caucasus. Because
their former autonomous regions and autonomous republics had been abolished and
Cherkess-Kabardin, Abazin, Russian and Georgian peoples had been settled on their lands.
After Karachay people had returned to Caucasus, the
Soviet government did not establish the former Karachay Autonomous Region but unified it
with Cherkess Autonomous Region and established a new Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Region
in Stavropol Kray (province). Most of the Karachay lands did not given back to Karachay
people. After Balkar people had returned to Caucasus, the Soviet government had
established the former Kabardin-Balkar Autonomous Republic again. But most of the Balkar
lands did not given back to them.
The Soviet Government did not rehabilitated the
Karachay-Balkar people and did not give their politic and social rights back. In Soviet
official documents the Karachay-Balkar people had been defined as “bandit”,
“rebellious”, “traitor” and it was impossible for a Karachay-Balkar to get a job
or task in Soviet State.
After the Soviet Union had been abolished in 1991,
the Caucasus remained in Russian Federation. The government of Russian Federation formed
new administrative regions in Caucasus and all former autonomous regions and autonomous
republics transformed into republics of Russian Federation.
There are several reasons of the ethnic tension
between Karachay-Balkar and Adige (Circassian) peoples.
Adige people who are known as Circassian by
Europeans and Cherkess by Turks and Russians was been divided into three parts during the
Soviet period which were named as Adige (their national name), Cherkess (their ethnic name
in Russian and in Turkish) and Kabardin (the biggest tribe of Adige people). Though their
population is nearly 500.000 in Caucasus, in diaspora such as Turkey, Syria and Jordan
there are more than 2 million Adige. (According to their estimate there are more than 7
million Adige in diaspora) Adige people live in three different Caucasian republics in
Russian Federation same as Soviet period.
Today Adige people desire to unify the borders of
the separated republics of Adiges to establish a “Great
Adige Republic” in Caucasus which will lie from Kabardin lands to the Black Sea
coast. According to this idea the lands of Karachay-Balkar people will take place in
“Great Adige Republic” but they will have an autonomous region which will be
administered by Adiges. Adige people also desire to unify their borders with Abkhazia
which is an autonomous republic in Georgia.
Karachay-Balkar people who named themselves as “Tavlu” (Mountaineer) or “Alan” (An old Turkic tribe who had lived in
Caucasus) share the same language and same ethnic origin. But they were been divided into
two parts as Karachay and Balkar and they were taken under different administrative units
in Soviet period. As a reaction to “Great Adige Republic” movement Karachay-Balkar
people desire to unify their lands and wish to live as a single people as they do in their
history.
There is demographic handicap for “Great Adige Republic” request of Adige
people. They are minority in Adige and Karachay-Cherkess republics. Their thought to pass
over that handicap is to encourage the Adige people who live in diaspora to emigrate back
to Caucasus. If Adige people living in diaspora such as Turkey, Syria and Jordan emigrate
to their fatherland in Caucasus then they will achieve to establish the “Great Adige
Republic” in Caucasus.
If Adige people will attempt to unify the borders
of the three republics which they still live on, not only Karachay-Balkar people but
Russian Federation and Georgia will try to prevent this movement. Russian Cossacks who are
living in those three republics are also very anxious that the Adige people will establish
the “Great Adige Republic”. Georgia who accepts Abkhazia as a part of her land will
also try to prevent this unification.
It seems that if Adige people insist on
establishing the “Great Adige Republic” which will lie from Kabardin steppes to the
coast of Black Sea, it will not be a surprise to initiate an ethnic civil war in the West of Caucasus.
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