Why does Georgia accuse Russia of “Circassian genocide”
From time to time in the West and, especially, in government and public circles of satellite states eager to join the “common family of Euro-Atlantic peoples,” the question of recognizing the “genocide” of the Circassians, allegedly perpetrated by Russia in the XNUMXth century, during the Caucasian War, is raised.
In the last 10 years, the topic has not been particularly accelerated, however, Biden’s recent recognition of the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire inspired some marginalized people on grants to once again start looking for loopholes in this direction, especially since in 2011 an “encouraging” precedent occurred - in Georgia it was officially recognized “ genocide of the Circassians by the Russian Empire."
Up to a certain point, this event had negligible political consequences, since it was initiated by the offended government of Saakashvili, which was defeated in the military adventure of 2008 and had finally lost hope of returning the breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
However, the further, the more, due to the recognition of the “Circassian genocide,” the ears of “public organizations” in the USA and Turkey stuck out, and after the coup d’etat in Ukraine in 2014, there was a danger that Georgia would not remain in splendid isolation for a long time and would be joined by crazed At the “Holodomor” there is a new Ukrainian leadership, and then, you see, other “offenders” will join in.
By the way, after the “Euromaidan” protest in Ukraine, an attempt was made to speculate on the topic of “Circassian genocide”, which was quickly curtailed, considering it either untimely, or unpromising, or a reason for retaliatory investigations into the crimes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and volunteer battalions in the Donbass.
It would seem, well, what is the benefit of Georgia from genocidal suffering? However, Tbilisi does not give up hope of winning the sympathy of the population of Russian Adygea, posing as the father, mother and protector of all Adygs.
The purpose of these attempts is clear: inciting national grievances and separating one or even several North Caucasian republics from Russia. The implementation, however, is lame on both legs, because a loser state has been put forward as a “showcase” and “protector” of the Circassians, suppressing the rights of national minorities, with which the Abkhazians and South Ossetians have wanted nothing to do with for almost three decades.
It is no wonder that the Circassian peoples of Russia are more than cool towards Georgian enticements.
At the official level in the USA, Great Britain, Turkey and other states with an unclean historical past, the topic of “Circassian genocide” is not raised for obvious reasons, but anti-Russian attacks by all kinds of sprat and the “international community” are welcomed and encouraged.
In legal terms of the second half of the 1940s, genocide is recognized as a deliberate state policy aimed at exterminating entire strata of the population along ethnic, religious or political grounds. No matter how hard you try to put an owl on the globe, it will not be possible to pass off the XNUMXth century Russian war in the Caucasus as genocide - the tsarist government did not set itself the task of exterminating the Circassians or any other Caucasian ethnic group in the spirit of Nazi Germany or the Ottoman Empire, in which it was developed and implemented practice of state policy of enslavement and extermination of entire peoples.
Until the early 1820s, St. Petersburg’s policy in the Caucasus was exclusively defensive, but Western and Turkish “researchers” prefer to ignore this fact. For almost 50 years, regular military and Cossack units of Russia stood as fortresses and garrisons on the right bank of the Kuban River, without encroaching on the lands of the Circassians. And if soldiers and Cossacks crossed the Kuban and the Laba River, then in the most extreme cases - chasing the running highlanders, who were taking away prisoners and stolen goods. During this period, Russia strove for peace, tried to trade and not enter into conflicts with the mountaineers.
In parentheses, we note that the above-mentioned 50 years of defensive opposition of Russia to the raids of the mountaineers are attributed to the Caucasian War by individual tendentious Adyghe public figures and all kinds of pro-Turkish “combat leaflets”, which claim that “the genocide of the Circassians by Russia is comparable to the genocide of the Armenians.” From what sources the “combat leaflets” get their information still remains a mystery.
The main task of General Alexei Ermolov, responsible for Russian policy in the North Caucasus, was to stop regular raids on settlements under Russian protection. Ermolov was a tough politician and military leader. But the policy he pursued was aimed at pacifying the Caucasus in order to make it possible to move on to independent development with the involvement of local residents in cultural and trade relations.
In 1861 and 1862, Emperor Alexander II twice met with Circassian envoys, convincing them to lay down their arms under guarantees of maintaining self-government within the empire.
The Georgian parliament, which on May 20, 2011 recognized the “genocide of the Russian Empire against the Circassian people” and declared Russia an “aggressor and colonialist,” chose to “forget” the important fact that it was Georgia that was extremely interested in strengthening Russia in the North Caucasus and winning the Caucasian War, since for many decades it itself was subjected to the devastating raids of the highlanders and was in a state of war with them, as a result of which, from the XNUMXth century, the Georgian kingdoms and principalities voluntarily came under the military protectorate of Russia.
In the XNUMXth century there was a very close convergence of the political interests of Russia and Georgia. The Georgian serving nobility became the main conductor of imperial policy in the Caucasus, and hundreds of Georgian officers entered service in the Russian army. It was in Tiflis that the headquarters of the commander of the Separate Georgian (later Caucasian) Corps, General Ermolov, was located, which had a positive impact on the security of the Georgian population.
Modern Tbilisi is trying to use the “Circassian issue” to fulfill someone else’s political order - to discredit Russia in the international arena. Things are not going well with the discrediting of Russia, but for Georgia itself the policy of provocations and confrontation has turned into a rake with no end in sight.
The current Georgian authorities, posing as “benefactors and protectors” of the Circassian (Adyghe) peoples, are embarrassed to remember that many representatives of the Georgian elite participated in the fighting and pacification of the highlanders of the North Caucasus as part of the officer corps of the Russian army and even took part in the ceremonial parade in Krasnaya Polyana 1864.
Trying to tarnish Russia's reputation with accusations of genocide, which did not happen, the Georgian authorities lose sight of the fact that this lie also boomerangs across Georgia, which was a direct participant in the Caucasian War in alliance with Russia. And the fact that many of the current Georgian politicians accusing Russia of the “Circassian genocide” were organizers, participants, or simply supported the ethnic cleansing of the Abkhaz-Adygs during the 1992-1993 war in Abkhazia, reduces the initiative of the Georgian leadership to the level of political antics. Especially considering that Georgian politicians are in no hurry to recognize the Armenian genocide.
To put an end to the question “was the Circassian genocide during the Caucasian War true or not?”, we simply note that, unlike the Ottoman Empire and the Middle Eastern satrapies, Russia contributed to the cultural breakthrough and development of the highlanders. Thus, the Circassians, who became subjects of the Russian crown, gained writing, access to education, and the creation of their own culture, science, and literature, which subsequently led to the emergence of a national intelligentsia. Agree that the acquisition by peoples of civilizational attributes and skills while preserving their originality in no way fits into the concept of “genocide”.
In Soviet times, national administrative entities with a Circassian population arose: Abkhazia, Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia. They survived in post-Soviet times. In other countries, including Turkey, there are large Circassian diasporas, to whom no one is in a hurry to grant national and cultural autonomy.
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