Almir Abregov: “I Think About the Country of Circassia”

150 years ago, it was clearly marked on all maps of the world. Moreover, it appeared in many documents, including diplomatic ones, as well as in European periodicals. Issues concerning Circassia were discussed by state and public figures of various countries, including in parliaments. Circassia and the Circassians became a kind of personification of the struggle for independence and freedom. Volunteers even appeared in the country, taking part in the war on the side of the Circassians. Its main borders, according to all foreign and Russian sources, were: in the northwest, the mouth of the Kuban River; and in the southeast, the Bzyb River or Gagra. Those who doubt this can check these cartographic data and see for themselves that it perfectly corresponded to reality.

However, in the 19th century, the name “Circassia” began to be mentioned only occasionally in Russian sources: reports, dispatches, and on Russian maps, and then disappeared altogether. Instead, a faceless, amorphous geographical name that did not correspond to the historical realities of the time appeared — the “Western Caucasus.”

It is also noteworthy that while Russian military awards after the end of the war in the North-Eastern Caucasus in 1859 were designated as “For the Conquest of Chechnya and Dagestan,” similar medals and orders awarded to soldiers and officers after May 21, 1864, bore the absurd, ridiculous, and non-committal name — “For the Conquest of the Western Caucasus.”

I believe that a special study of this phenomenon is necessary because, with the elimination of the name “Circassia,” the military history of an entire people — the Adyghe (Circassians) — and their country began to disappear. In this format, it is impossible to detail the causes and effects of this phenomenon, but one thing is clear: it did not happen without the participation of Russian diplomacy and generals. They were mobilized to provide an ideological justification for the “Kulturträger” (culturalizing) mission of the Russian army, which supposedly introduced civilization to the “wild tribes” of the Western Caucasus. In addition, another goal was pursued — to stem the tide of admiration and moral support that prevailed in the public consciousness of Europe.

And finally, the elimination of the name “Circassia” — a country that had become the subject of struggle among great powers — and its replacement with the “Western Caucasus” were intended to confuse all participants in international relations, in order to convince them of the absence of the very subject of this dispute.