TM Feofilaktova NOGAYS AND WESTERN ADYGES IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE XVIII C The Nogays lived on the Right Bank Kuban, and the Western Adygs lived on the Left Bank. They were called Circassians, or mountaineers. The first were nomadic. The French consul in Crimea M. Peysonel wrote about this:

At the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries, the Kabardino-Adyghe feudal lords continued to wage an internecine struggle, therefore they looked for support and help outside their possessions. The government of Boris Godunov considered the Western Circassians and Abazins to be Russian subjects. In diplomatic documents, among the "newly arrived" to the Russian state named "Cherkasy land and Abaz". However, during the Time of Troubles, the political ties of the Russian state with the North Caucasian peoples weakened.

With the accession of Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov, the situation changed for the better. There is information that about 1614-1615, together with other peoples of the North Caucasus, the Western Circassians swore allegiance to the Moscow Tsar.

The government of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676) sought to fulfill the role of patron in relation to the peoples who voluntarily accepted Russian citizenship. In 1670, for example, it demanded from the Crimean Khan Adil-Girey "the Cherkasy land not to fight."

Despite the volatility of political sympathies and antipathies of the North Caucasian rulers, the Moscow sovereigns in the second half of the 17th century considered the Kuban Circassians as their subjects. It is no coincidence that Aleksey Mikhailovich, Ivan Alekseevich and Peter I were called tsars of the "Kabardian land, Cherkassk and mountain princes."

The historical fate of the peoples of the North Caucasus in the 18th century was significantly influenced by the international situation. The power of Sultan Turkey, which for a long time sought to seize the Caucasus, was on the verge of decline. However, now it was becoming an obedient tool in the policy of the Western European powers, primarily France and England, which showed great interest in the Caucasus.

Russia's policy in this region was determined by the need to combat external danger. The Russian Empire actively moved here in order to protect its southern borders from the constant raids of the warlike inhabitants of the steppes and foothills of the Caucasus.

The Adyghe, or Circassians, were considered subjects of the Crimean Khan. On their territory was the Turkish fortress Kopyl - the residence of the Kuban seraskir (the commander-in-chief of the Turkish troops in the region). However, the addiction was rather fragile. Certain tribes, for example the Temirgoevites, paid tribute to the Crimean rulers with captives and horses. At the same time, they did not agree with the regular nature of such payments and called them gifts. In fact, it was a tribute, shameful and humiliating, draining the strength of the people. Annually 200 girls and 100 youths supplied Adygs to the Crimean khans. In case of refusal to pay tribute, the Crimeans seized it, organizing ruinous raids. In order to finally conquer the Trans-Kuban peoples, the Turks and the Crimean Tatars spread Islam with fire and sword. However, this policy was initially successful only in relation to the feudal nobility. For the most part, the inhabitants of the Northwestern Caucasus remained half-pagans, half-Christians.

Under the influence of the bloody, devastating raids of the Turks and Tatars, some Adyghe tribes in the middle of the 18th century declared their desire to accept Russian citizenship. However, despite the great strategic importance of the Kuban lands, the Russian government refrained from negotiations on the citizenship of the Circassians. It wanted to avoid "an obvious breach of friendship with Porto Ottoman."

The political state of the Adyghe society

Numerous Adyghe tribes occupied the territory beyond the Kuban (hence the Trans-Kuban), from the Laba River to the Black Sea, as well as the mountainous part of the Western Caucasus.

The Adygs were going through a period of feudalization of society. The fastest pace of this process was among the Temirgoevs, Zhaneevs, Khatukais and Bzhedukhs, who lived on the foothill plains. Here princes were the highest feudal stratum. Some of them became related to the Crimean khan's house. Possessing power and land, the princes distributed plots of land between the nobles (warks) and peasants (tfokotls).

The tribes living on the mountain slopes did not have princes. Management was carried out by elective foremen. The Circassians did not yet have a state. This circumstance made it difficult for them to fight external dangers. In addition, the Circassians, both "princely" and "free Circassians" (Abadzekhs, Shapsugs and Natukhais), were weakened by constant internecine wars.

According to the testimony of contemporaries, all the Adyghe peoples in the second half of the 18th century, if necessary, could put 100 thousand soldiers on the battlefield and even more.

The Crimean Khan did not have the right to recruit soldiers from among the Circassians, but when he started the war, he asked the Circassian princes to provide help in people, indicating the number. The satisfaction of such requests entirely depended on the degree of influence and disposition that the Crimean Khan enjoyed among the Adyghe nobility.

Beys and other noble Circassians had the exclusive right to bear arms. The servants subject to them armed themselves only if necessary at their expense. As soon as a noble Circassian became a bey, the first thing he did was stock up on a sufficient amount of weapons. Bey gave it out to his people during the hostilities. After their completion, the weapon was returned to the owner without fail.

The Circassian tribes were in constant enmity among themselves. They organized raids to capture slaves. Moreover, everything captured was considered legal prey, and no one demanded its return. But if the attacker had the misfortune of being caught, all the people who were with him became slaves.

Turkish and Crimean Tatar cities of the Northwest Caucasus

From the past centuries, the Circassians inherited the tradition of not acquiring solid residential buildings (according to the testimony of many sources, a house with strong walls was considered an indicator of cowardice and cowardice of the owner). The main cities of Circassia - Taman, Temryuk, Achu, Agdzhi, Sudzhuk and Kaplu (Kopyl) - were located on the Crimean-Turkish territory and were built by the Turks. For the most part, these were small fortresses, which largely determined the life of their inhabitants.

Taman at that time was a small town on the eastern shore of the Kerch Strait with a population of about six thousand people. There were about a hundred shops in the trading area. The city owned from 18 to 20 merchant ships with a capacity of 500 to 1000 centners.

There was a bathhouse in Taman. The adherents of Islam performed religious rites in twelve mosques. One of the quarters of the town was called "Georgian". Its inhabitants were Georgian slaves who were released. The Turkish sultan kept a small garrison in the Taman fortress, consisting of janissaries, with 50-60 cannons. The official who ruled Taman was subordinate to the Enikal Pasha.

To the northeast of Taman was Temryuk, a fortress built by the Turks in 1519. About two thousand people lived here; the Janissary garrison had 70 - 80 cannons. There were two mosques in the fortress. The trading life was not as active as in Taman: the number of trade shops did not exceed fifteen, and ships could enter the poorly equipped port of Temryuk only in calm weather.

In one of the mouths of the Kuban, according to French sources, 22 leagues north-east of Taman, the Turks built the Achu fort. (Lie is an old French unit of distance measurement. Land - 4444.4 m (arc length 1/25 of a degree of the earth's meridian; 4.16 versts). 300 - 400 people lived in Achu, including garrison janissaries. 26 - 30 cannons, the moats were filled with water The swampy surroundings of the fort made it absolutely inaccessible.

The fort was ruled by a Tatar bey appointed by the khan. Fort Sujuk was located to the southeast of Taman in a convenient bay. Its garrison consisted of janissaries, from 36 to 40 cannons were placed on the fortifications. Management was entrusted to the Tatar bey, who was appointed by the Kuban seraskir. Despite the favorable geographical position of the fort, trade did not develop. Everything necessary for the life of the population (about 400 inhabitants) and the garrison was supplied from Taman, with the exception of a small amount of bread purchased in the vicinity.

Twenty leagues from Taman and two leagues from the Kuban River was the city of Kaplu (Kopyl), built by the Turks in 1607 - 1608. It was, as already noted, the residence of the Kuban seraskir, and also served as a storage place. Merchants from Taman, Kafa and other places brought here goods, which were then sold for sale. Circassians and Kuban Nogais brought products of their own production to Kopyl; certain duties were levied on each wagon with goods in favor of the seraskir and the local mirza. Five caravanserais, about 500 shops, many workshops determined the rhythm of life of the four thousand population of the city.

Taman served as the most important transit point in the Azov region. All goods intended for Circassia were stored here, and those that were later exported were loaded. Twelve Taman dyeing establishments consumed about 500 ok (weight unit) indigo (vegetable dye) annually.

The Adyghe population was engaged in agriculture and cattle breeding, in the Trans-Kuban region - in gardening, beekeeping, in the forest belt - beekeeping and hunting. The Circassians had no money circulation, exchange trade was widespread.

Trade development

Goods were brought to Taman, Kopyl, Temryuk and other trading settlements from Turkey (Constantinople, Smyrna, Philippopolis), Crimea (Bakhchisarai, Kafa), Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt (Cairo), Germany, France. The variety of goods was amazing. Expensive silks, women's veils and bathing towels coexisted with simple woolen and chintz fabrics. White and blush were popular among women. Spices and small groceries were also delivered to the Azov region. Especially great demand was for nuts (primarily nutmeg), olives, French coffee and Russian tobacco.

The most important import items were tin, mercury, lead for gun bullets and nets, iron in strips, stirrups from Bakhchisarai and Ak-Mechet (Simferopol), bits, bows, sets of horseshoes with nails, Crimean knives, trimmings of leather for gun cases, small iron and copper goods, as well as finished rifle barrels from Bakhchisarai. Large quantities of gunpowder came from Kafa and Constantinople.

During one season, 30 - 35 thousand braids from Germany were sold here. The inhabitants of the Taman Peninsula were in dire need of firewood and timber. All this was brought to Taman from Sujuk. As an export goods, the peoples of the Kuban region supplied 80-100 thousand centners of wool to the external market annually (approximately equally from the Circassians and Nogays). She went through Taman to Kafa and Constantinople. Coarse woolen fabric was in great demand among the Tatars and Turks.

Other export items included honey, wax, rawhides, marten, fox, wolf, bear and sheep skins (more than 750 thousand pieces per year). Most of them were sheep skins. They were delivered to Taman in raw form and were further processed here. Craftsmen made various household and military items from them.

Boar tusks were also an export commodity. They were supplied up to 200 thousand pairs per year. Tatars made knives and knife handles out of them. For the same purposes 200 thousand pairs of bull's horns were intended.

Arrows constituted a significant part of Circassian exports.

A huge amount of sturgeon and beluga caviar, as well as dry fish were supplied to the market from the vicinity of Achu. Annually, about three thousand centners of caviar and up to two thousand centners of beluga were sent from here to Kafa and Constantinople. From Achu, two to three thousand centners of fish oil were exported annually. The Nogays used it for food, and the Tatars used it to illuminate their homes. Slaves occupied a significant place in the exchange of goods. Crimean merchants went to Circassia to acquire slaves in exchange for imported goods. In the Cafe, they resold them to merchants from other countries. The Crimean Khan also bought many slaves every year. Moreover, he retained the right to choose. Therefore, when a batch of slaves was brought, no one could buy them until the khan did it. From
The Circassians were in the greatest demand for the slaves brought to the Crimea. “The women of this country (Circassia),” wrote Peysonel, “are the most beautiful and captivating of all that there can be in the world.

The charm of their figure and the naturalness of grace delight. The men are also almost all tall and well built. " Circassian horses were highly valued in the markets. They were beautiful, strong, fast and hardy. Eight or more slaves were given for a Circassian horse in the Crimea.

Adygs (or Circassians) is a common name for a single people in Russia and abroad, divided into Kabardians, Circassians, and Adyghes. Self-name - Adyghe (Adyge).

Adygs live on the territory of six subjects: Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Krasnodar Territory, North Ossetia, Stavropol Territory. In three of them, the Adyghe peoples are one of the "titular" nations: the Circassians in Karachay-Cherkessia, the Adyghe in Adygea, the Kabardians in Kabardino-Balkaria.

Adyghe sub-ethnoses include: Adyghe, Kabardin, Circassian (residents of Karachay-Cherkessia), Shapsug, Ubykh, Abadzekh, Bzhedug, Adamey, Beslenei, Egerukaev, Zhaneev, Temirgoev, Mamkhegi, Mahogay, Khatuhayk chebsin, adale.

The total number of Adygs in the Russian Federation according to the 2010 census is 718 727 people, including:.

• Adyghe people: 124 835 people;
• Kabardians: 516,826 people;
• Circassians: 73,184 people;
• Shapsugs: 3,882 people.

Most of the Circassians live outside of Russia. As a rule, there is no exact data on the number of diasporas, indicative data are presented below:

In total, outside Russia, according to various sources, there are from 5 to 7 million Adygs.

Most of the Circassian believers are Sunni Muslims.

The language has two literary dialects - Adyghe and Kabardino-Circassian, which are part of the Abkhaz-Adyg group of the North Caucasian family of languages. Most of the Circassians are bilingual, and in addition to their native language, they speak the state language of the country of residence; in Russia it is Russian, in Turkey it is Turkish, etc.

The writing of the Circassians was based on the common Circassian alphabet based on the Arabic script. In 1925, the Circassian writing was transferred to the Latin graphic basis, and in 1937-1938 an alphabet based on the Cyrillic alphabet was developed.

Settlement area

The ancestors of the Circassians (Zikhs, Kerkets, Meots, etc.) are known in the North-Eastern Black Sea region since the 1st millennium BC. In Russian-language sources they were known under the name of Kasogs. In the XIII century. the Turkic name Circassians is spreading.

In the XIV-XV centuries, part of the Circassians occupied the lands in the vicinity of Pyatigorye, after the destruction of the Golden Horde by the troops of Timur, another wave of Circassian tribes from the west joined them, becoming the ethnic basis of the Kabardians.

In the 18th century, part of the Kabardians moved to the basin of the Bolshoi Zelenchuk and Maly Zelenchuk rivers, forming the basis of the Circassians of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic.

Thus, the Adygs inhabited most of the territory of the Western Caucasus - Circassia (modern Trans-Kuban and Black Sea parts of the Krasnodar Territory, the southern part of the Stavropol Territory, the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, the Karachay-Cherkess Republic and Adygea). The remaining western Adygs (Kyakhs) began to be called Adyghes. Modern Adygs retain the consciousness of their unity, the common features of the traditional social structure, mythology, folklore, etc.

Origin and history

The process of the formation of the ancient Adyghe community mainly covered the end of the first millennium BC - the middle of the first millennium AD. It was attended by the tribes of Achaeans, Zikhs, Kerkets, Meots (including Torets, Sinds).

In the 8th - 7th centuries BC, the Meotian culture developed. The Meots tribes inhabited the territory from the Azov to the Black Seas. In the IV - III centuries. BC NS. many of the Meots tribes became part of the Bosporus state.

The period from IV to VII century went down in history as the era of the Great Nations Migration. With the invasion of the Huns, the Circassian economy experienced a crisis. The normal process of development of the mountain economy was disrupted, a recession set in, which manifested itself in a reduction in grain crops, impoverishment of crafts, and a weakening of trade.

By the 10th century, a powerful tribal union called Zikhia had formed, which occupied the space from Taman to the Nechepsukhe River, at the mouth of which the city of Nikopsia was located.

In the early Middle Ages, the Adyghe economy was of an agrarian nature, there were crafts associated with the manufacture of metal things and pottery.

The Great Silk Road, laid in the 6th century, contributed to the involvement of the peoples of the Northwestern Caucasus into the orbit of the Chinese and Byzantine trade. Bronze mirrors were brought from China to Zikhia, from Byzantium - rich fabrics, expensive dishes, objects of Christian worship, etc. Salt came from the outskirts of Azov. Close economic relations were established with the countries of the Middle East (Iranian chain mail and helmets, glass vessels). In turn, the zikhs exported livestock and bread, honey and wax, fur and leather, timber and metal, leather goods, wood and metal.

Following the Huns, in the IV-IX centuries, the peoples of the North-Western Caucasus were subjected to aggression from the Avars, Byzantium, Bulgar tribes, and Khazars. In an effort to preserve their political independence, the Adyghe tribes waged a fierce struggle with them.

Starting from the XIII century, during the XIII - XV centuries, the Adygs expanded the borders of their country, which was associated with the development of more advanced forms of management and the attraction of new areas for arable land and pastures. The area of ​​settlement of the Circassians from that time was called Circassia.

In the early 40s of the XIII century, the Adygs had to withstand the invasion of the Tatar-Mongols, the North Caucasian steppes became part of the Golden Horde. The conquest dealt a heavy blow to the region - many people died and the economy suffered great damage.

In the second half of the XIV century, in 1395, the troops of the conqueror Timur invaded Circassia, which also caused serious damage to the region.

In the 15th century, the territory inhabited by the Circassians stretched from west to east from the shores of the Sea of ​​Azov to the basins of the Terek and Sunja rivers. Agriculture remained the leading branch of the economy. Livestock breeding still played an important role. Handicraft production reached some development: iron craftsmen made weapons, tools, household utensils; jewelers - gold and silver items (earrings, rings, buckles); saddlers were engaged in the processing of leather and the production of horse harness. Circassian women enjoyed the fame of skillful embroiderers, they spun sheep and goat wool, weaved cloth, sewed felt cloaks and hats from felt. Domestic trade was poorly developed, but foreign economic relations were actively developing, they were in the nature of barter or were served by foreign coins, since Circassia did not have its own monetary system.

In the second half of the 15th century, Genoa developed an active trade and colonial activity in the Black Sea region. During the years of the Genoese penetration into the Caucasus, the trade of Italians with the mountaineers developed significantly. The export of bread - rye, barley, millet was of great importance; also exported timber, fish, caviar, furs, leather, wine, silver ore. But the offensive of the Turks, who seized Constantinople in 1453 and liquidated Byzantium, led to the decline and complete cessation of Genoa's activities in the North-Western Caucasus.

Turkey and the Crimean Khanate became the main partners in the foreign trade of the Circassians in the 18th - first quarter of the 19th century.

Caucasian war and genocide of the Circassian population

Since the beginning of the 18th century, periodic conflicts between the Adygs and the Russian Empire have arisen, and the Adygs' raids on Russian settlements are replaced by brutal punitive expeditions of the Russian troops. So, in 1711, during the expedition, led by the Kazan governor P.M. Apraksin, the headquarters of the Circassian prince Nureddin Bakhti-Girey - Kopyl was ruined and the army of Bakhti-Girey of 7 thousand Circassians and 4 thousand Cossacks-Nekrasov was defeated. The Russian was recaptured, full of 2 thousand people.

The most tragic event in the entire history of the Adyghe peoples is the Russian-Circassian, or Caucasian war, which lasted 101 years (from 1763 to 1864), which brought the Adyghe peoples to the brink of complete extinction.

The active conquest of the western Adyghe lands by Russia began in 1792 with the creation of a continuous cordon line by the Russian troops along the Kuban River.

After the entry of Eastern Georgia (1801) and Northern Azerbaijan (1803 - 1805) into the Russian Empire, their territories were separated from Russia by the lands of Chechnya, Dagestan and the North-Western Caucasus. The Circassians raided the fortified lines of the Caucasus and hindered the development of ties with the Transcaucasus. In this regard, by the beginning of the 19th century, the annexation of these territories became an important military-political task for Russia.

In 1817, Russia launched a systematic offensive against the highlanders of the North Caucasus. General A.P. Ermolov, who was appointed commander-in-chief of the Caucasian corps this year, began to use the tactics of encircling the mountainous regions of the Caucasus with a continuous ring of cordons, cutting through glades in hard-to-reach forests, ravaging the "recalcitrant" auls and resettling the mountaineers to the plains under the supervision of Russian garrisons.

The liberation movement in the North Caucasus developed under the banner of Muridism, one of the currents of Sufi Islam. Muridism assumed complete submission to the theocratic leader - the imam - and war with the infidels until complete victory. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, a theocratic state - the imamate - was formed in Chechnya and Dagestan. But among the Adyghe tribes of the Western Caucasus, Muridism did not receive significant distribution.

After the defeat of Turkey in the Russian-Turkish war of 1828 - 1829. the eastern coast of the Black Sea from the mouth of the Kuban to the bay of St. Nicholas was assigned to Russia. It should be noted that the territories inhabited by the Adygs were not part of the Ottoman Empire - Turkey simply renounced its claims to these lands and recognized them for Russia. The Adygs refused to submit to Russia.

By 1839, during the construction of the Black Sea coastal defensive line, the Circassians were driven into the mountains, from where they continued to raid Russian settlements.

In February - March 1840, numerous Circassian troops stormed a number of Russian coastal fortifications. The main reason for this was the famine created by the Russians during the blockade of the coast.

In the 1840-1850s. Russian troops advanced into the Trans-Kuban region in the area from the Laba River to Gelendzhik, consolidating themselves with the help of fortresses and Cossack villages.

During the Crimean War, the Russian fortifications on the Black Sea coast were abandoned, since it was believed that it was impossible to defend and supply them on condition that the fleets of England and France dominated the sea. At the end of the war, Russian troops resumed their offensive into the Circassian territories.

By 1861, most of the Northwestern Caucasus came under Russian control.

In 1862, Russia completely took possession of the lands of the Circassians in the mountains.

The Russian-Circassian war was extremely fierce.

Circassian historian Samir Hotko writes: "The long period of confrontation ended in a kind of Holocaust of 1856-1864, when Circassia was destroyed by the huge military machine of the Russian Empire. The entire Western Caucasus was one huge Circassian fortress, which could only be captured by the gradual, gradual destruction of its separate bastions. After 1856-" of the year, having mobilized huge military resources, the Russian army began to cut off narrow strips of land from Circassia, immediately destroying all the Adyghe villages and occupying the occupied territory with fortresses, forts, Cossack villages. began to experience a severe food crisis: hundreds of thousands of refugees have accumulated in the still independent valleys ".

These facts are confirmed by the testimonies of non-Kerkess historians. "The Circassian auls were burned by hundreds, their crops were exterminated or trampled by horses, and the inhabitants, who expressed obedience, were resettled to the plains under the control of the bailiffs, the recalcitrant ones went to the seashore for resettlement in Turkey."(E. D. Felitsyn).

After the bloody war and the mass deportation of the Circassians to the Ottoman Empire, the number of those who remained in their homeland amounted to a little more than 50 thousand people. In the course of the chaotic evictions, tens of thousands of people died on the way from diseases, from the overloading of Turkish floating facilities and the poor-quality conditions created by the Ottomans to receive the exiles. The expulsion of the Circassians to Turkey turned out to be a true national tragedy for them. In the centuries-old history of the Circassians, ethno-territorial groups that are quite significant in terms of the scale of resettlement are observed. But never did such migrations affect the entire mass of the Adyghe peoples and did not turn out to be such grave consequences for them.

In 1864, Russia completely took control of the territory inhabited by the Circassians. Part of the Adyghe nobility by this time had passed into the service of the Russian Empire. In 1864, Russia established control over the last not annexed territory of Circassia - the mountainous strip of Trans-Kuban and the North-Eastern Black Sea region (Sochi, Tuapse, and the mountainous parts of the Absheron, Seversky and Abinsky regions of the modern Krasnodar Territory). Most of the surviving population (about 1.5 million people) of Adygo-Cherkessia moved to Turkey.

The Ottoman Sultan Abdul-Hamid II supported the settlement of the Circassians on the territory of his empire, and they settled on the desert border of Syria and other desolate border regions to stop the Bedouin raids.

In Soviet times, the lands inhabited by the Adygs were divided into one autonomous union republic, two autonomous regions and one national region: the Kabardian ASSR, the Adyghe and Circassian autonomous regions and the Shapsugsky national region, abolished in 1945.

The search for the national identity of the Circassians

The collapse of the USSR and the proclamation of the democratization of public life created incentives for national revival and the search for national roots among many peoples of the former USSR. The Circassians did not stand aside either.

In 1991, the International Circassian Association was created - an organization with the goal of contributing to the cultural revival of the Adyghe people, strengthening ties with compatriots abroad and their repatriation to their historical homeland.

At the same time, the question arose about the legal qualification of the events of the Russian-Caucasian war.

On February 7, 1992, the Supreme Council of the Kabardino-Balkarian SSR adopted a resolution "On condemning the genocide of the Circassians (Circassians) during the Russian-Caucasian war", which declared the death of the Circassians in 1760-1864. "genocide" and proclaimed May 21 "Day of Remembrance of the Circassians (Circassians) - victims of the Russian-Caucasian War."

In 1994, the first president of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, said that "resistance to the tsarist troops was justified," but he did not admit "the guilt of the tsarist government for the genocide."

On May 12, 1994, a resolution was adopted by the Parliament of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic on an appeal to the State Duma of the Russian Federation with the issue of recognizing the genocide of the Circassians. On April 29, 1996, a similar resolution was adopted by the State Council - Khase of the Republic of Adygea.

April 29, 1996 was followed by an Appeal of the President of the Republic of Adygea to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly on April 29, 1996 (about an appeal to the State Duma with the issue of recognizing the Circassian genocide).

On June 25, 2005, the Adyghe Republican Public Movement (ARD) "Circassian Congress" adopted an Appeal to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on the need to recognize the genocide of the Circassian people.

October 23, 2005 was followed by the Appeal of the AROD "Circassian Congress" to the Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation Gryzlov, and on October 28, 2005 - the Appeal of the AROD "Circassian Congress" to the President of the Russian Federation V.V. Putin. On January 17, 2006, there was a response from the State Duma of the Russian Federation, in which parliamentarians commented on the events of the 20th century, which had nothing to do with the events of the 18th-19th centuries indicated in the appeal of the AROD "Circassian Congress".

In October 2006, 20 Adyghe public organizations from Russia, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Syria, USA, Belgium, Canada and Germany appealed to the European Parliament with a request "to recognize the genocide of the Adyghe people during and after the Russian-Caucasian war of the 18th-19th centuries" ... In an appeal to the European Parliament, it was said that "Russia set the goal not only to seize territory, but also to completely destroy or evict the indigenous people from its historical lands. Otherwise, one cannot explain the reasons for the inhuman cruelty shown by Russian troops in the North-West Caucasus." A month later, public associations of Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to recognize the genocide of the Circassians.

In 2010, the Circassian delegates appealed to Georgia with a request to recognize the genocide of the Circassians by the tsarist government. On May 20, 2011, the Georgian parliament adopted a resolution recognizing the genocide of the Circassians by the Russian Empire during the Caucasian War.

On July 26, 2011, the International Association of Genocide Researchers began to study the issue of the Circassian genocide.

An additional aggravation of the Circassian issue is associated with the holding of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014.

The fact is that on May 21, 1864, in the Krasnaya Polyana tract (near Sochi), where a particularly revered place of prayer among the Circassians was located, four detachments of Russian troops joined together, advancing into the Western Caucasus from four different directions. The day of this meeting was declared the day of the end of the Caucasian War. It was in Krasnaya Polyana that Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, the king's brother, officially proclaimed the end of the Caucasian War. These events became, according to a number of Adyghe activists, a historical symbol of the Circassian tragedy, the destruction of people during the war and the beginning of the expulsion of the people from their land.

At present, Krasnaya Polyana is a famous ski resort, one of the main objects of the 2014 Olympics.

The question is further accentuated by the fact that the Olympics are scheduled for 2014, which also marks the 150th anniversary of the parade of Russian troops in Krasnaya Polyana with the proclamation of the end of the Caucasian War.

December 25, 2011 115 representatives of the Circassian people living in Syria, sent an appeal to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev , as well as the authorities and the public of Adygea with an appeal for help. On December 28, 2011, another 57 Syrian Circassians appealed to the leadership of the Russian Federation and Adygea with a request to assist in resettlement to Russia. January 3, addressed to the governments of Russia, Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia was sent new appeal from 76 Circassians in Syria.

On January 14, 2012, an expanded meeting of the International Circassian Association (ICA) was held in Nalchik, at which an appeal was made to the Russian leadership with a request to facilitate the return of 115 Circassians living in Syria to their historical homeland.

Culture and traditional way of life

Folklore

In folklore, the main place is occupied by Nart legends, heroic and historical songs, songs-laments about heroes. The Nart epic is multinational and widespread from Abkhazia to Dagestan - among the Ossetians, Adygs (Kabardians, Circassians and Adyghes), Abkhazians, Chechens, Ingush, which testifies to the common culture of the ancestors of many peoples of the Western and Northern Caucasus. Researchers believe that the Adyghe version stands out from the general Nart epic as a complete and independent version. It consists of many cycles dedicated to various characters. Each cycle includes narrative (mostly explanatory) and poetic legends (pshinatle). But the most remarkable thing is that the Adyghe version is a sung epic. Traditional plots of the Nart epic of the Circassians with their song versions are cyclically grouped around their main characters: Sausoruko (Sosruko), Pataraz (Bataraz), Ashamez, Sha-batnuko (Badinoko), etc. Folklore includes itself, in addition to the Nart epic, various songs - heroic, historical, ritual, love-lyric, everyday, funeral, wedding, dance, etc .; fairy tales and legends; proverbs; riddles and allegories; ditties; Tongue Twisters.

Traditional clothing

By the 18th - 20th centuries, the main complexes of traditional clothing of the peoples of the North Caucasus had already taken shape. The archaeological material makes it possible to confirm with sufficient reliability the thesis about the local origin of the main structural details of the male and female suits. Clothes of the common North Caucasian type: for men - undershirt, beshmet, Circassian coat, belt belt with a silver set, pants, felt cloak, hat, hood, narrow felt or leather leggings (weapons were an integral part of the national costume); women - harem pants, undershirt, a tight caftan, a long swing dress with a silver belt and long arm blades-pendants, a high cap trimmed with silver or gold lace, a scarf. The main costume complexes of the Circassians differ in purpose, in accordance with the main functions: everyday, military, industrial, festive, ritual.

Farm

The traditional occupations of the Circassians are arable farming (millet, barley, since the 19th century the main crops are corn and wheat), gardening, viticulture, cattle breeding (cattle and small cattle, horse breeding). Among the traditionally Adyghe household crafts, the greatest development was achieved by weaving, weaving, drilled, leather and arms production, stone and wood carving, gold and silver embroidery. The traditional dwelling consisted of a single-chamber tourist room, to which additional isolated rooms with a separate entrance for married sons were added. The fence was made of wattle fence.

Adyg cuisine

The main dish of the Adyghe table is steeply boiled porridge (pasta) along with sour milk (shkhyu). Among the most popular dishes: shchips (sauce made from chicken broth with corn porridge), dishes from Adyghe cheese (fried cheese with red pepper; dumplings with cheese, served with porridge and frying; from baked goods - puff guubat (in the lane of broken heart) dough and Adyghe cheese). Meat dishes are most often prepared from lamb, beef, chicken, turkey. Halva is prepared with special care (flour fried in butter, sugar, in water). Apparently refers to the ritual dishes of the Adygeyan cuisine. Kalmyk tea - a drink made from horse sorrel - is a dark brown broth, to which milk and spices are added, possesses high nutritional qualities.

Notes:

1. National composition of the Russian Federation // All-Russian population census - 2010. Final results.
2. Terrorism in the Caucasus: there were many Jordanians, a native of Israel was caught for the first time // IzRus, 10.04.2009.
3. A.A. Kamrakov Features of the development of the Circassian diaspora in the Middle East "// Publishing house" Medina ", 20.05.2009.
4. Influence of Arab revolutions on the Circassian world // Blog of Sufyan Zhemukhov on the site "Echo of Moscow", 05.09.2011.
5. Heirs of kings, guard of kings // Arguments of the week, no. 8 (249).
6. Fund of Circassian Culture "Adyga" named after Yu.Kh. Kalmykov.
7. Adygs // Chronos.
8. Shakhnazaryan N. Adygi of the Krasnodar Territory. Collection of informational and methodological materials. Krasnodar: YURRTs, 2008.
9. Resolution of the Supreme Soviet of the KBSSR of 07.02.1992 N 977-XII-B "On the condemnation of the genocide of the Circassians during the Russian-Caucasian war."
10. Adygs seek recognition of their genocide // Kommersant, №192 (3523), 13.10.2006.
11. Circassians complained to Putin about the tsar // Lenta.ru, 20.11.2006.
12. Georgia recognized the genocide of the Circassians in Tsarist Russia // Lenta.ru, 05/20/2011.
13. The Circassian genocide was discussed in Argentina // Voice of America, 26.07.2011.
14. Shumov S.A., Andreev A.R. Greater Sochi. History of the Caucasus. M .: Algorithm, 2008; Kruglyakova M., Burygin S. Sochi: Olympic Riviera of Russia. M .: Veche, 2009.

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Adygi(or Circassians) - the common name of a single people in Russia and abroad, divided into Kabardians, Cherkesians, Ubykhs, Adygeis and Shapsugs.

Self-name - Adyghe.

Population and diaspora

According to the 2002 census, the total number of Circassians in the Russian Federation is 712 thousand people, they live on the territory of six subjects: Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Karachay-Cherkessia, Krasnodar Territory, North Ossetia, Stavropol Territory. In three of them, the Adyghe peoples are one of the "titular" nations, the Circassians in Karachay-Cherkessia, the Adyghe in Adygea, the Kabardians in Kabardino-Balkaria.

Abroad, the largest Diaspora of the Circassians in Turkey, according to some estimates, the Turkish diaspora numbers from 2.5 to 3 million Circassians. The Israeli diaspora of the Circassians is 4 thousand people. There is the Syrian diaspora, the Libyan diaspora, the Egyptian diaspora, the Jordanian diaspora of the Circassians, they also live in Europe, the United States and some other countries of the Middle East, but the statistics of most of these countries do not provide accurate data on their number of Adyghe diasporas. The estimated number of Adygs (Circassians) in Syria is 80 thousand people.

There are some in other CIS countries, in particular in Kazakhstan.

Modern languages ​​of the Circassians

At present, the Adyghe language has retained two literary dialects, namely Adyghe and Kabardino-Circassian, which are part of the Abkhaz-Adyg group of the North Caucasian family of languages.

Since the 13th century, all these names have been supplanted by an exoethnonym - Circassians.

Modern ethnonymy

Currently, in addition to the general self-name, in relation to the Adyghe sub-ethnoses, the following names are used:

• Adyghe people, which include the following sub-ethnonyms: Abadzekhs, Adamis, Besleneis, Bzhedugs, Yegerukais, Mamkhegs, Makhoshevtsy, Temirgoevtsy (KIemguy), Natukhais, Shapsugs (including Khakuchi), Hatukais, Chegeins (Zhanets), Zhane ), adale.

Ethnogenesis

Zikhs - so called in languages: common Greek and Latin, Tatars and Turks, called Circassians, call themselves - “ adiga».

History

Main article: The history of the Circassians

Struggle against the Crimean Khanate

Regular Moscow-Circassian ties began to be established back in the period of Genoese trade in the Northern Black Sea region, which took place in the cities of Matrega (now Taman), Kopa (now Slavyansk-on-Kuban) and Kaffa (modern Feodosia), etc., in which significant part of the population was made up of the Circassians. At the end of the 15th century, caravans of Russian merchants constantly came along the Don Route to these Genoese cities, where Russian merchants made trade deals not only with the Genoese, but with the highlanders of the North Caucasus who lived in these cities.

Moscow expansion to the south I could not develop without the support of ethnic groups who considered the Black Sea and Azov Sea basin their ethnosphere. These were primarily the Cossacks, Don and Zaporozhye, whose religious and cultural tradition - Orthodoxy - brought them closer to the Russians. This rapprochement was carried out when it was beneficial to the Cossacks, especially since the prospect of plundering the Crimean and Ottoman possessions as Moscow's allies corresponded to their ethnocentric goals. On the side of the Russians, part of the Nogai, who had sworn allegiance to the Moscow state, could act. But, of course, the Russians were primarily interested in supporting the most powerful and powerful West Caucasian ethnic group, the Adygs.

During the formation of the Moscow principality, the Crimean Khanate delivered the same troubles to the Russians and the Adygs. For example, there was a Crimean campaign against Moscow (1521), as a result of which the Khan's troops burned Moscow and captured more than 100 thousand Russians in captivity, for sale into slavery. The Khan's troops left Moscow only when Tsar Vasily officially confirmed that he was a tributary of the Khan and would continue to pay tribute.

Russian-Adyghe ties were not interrupted. Moreover, they took the form of joint combat cooperation. So, in 1552 the Circassians, together with the Russians, Cossacks, Mordovians, and others, took part in the capture of Kazan. The participation of the Circassians in this operation is quite natural, if we take into account the tendencies that manifested themselves by the middle of the 16th century among some of the Circassians towards rapprochement with the young Russian ethnos, which was actively expanding its ethnosphere.

Therefore, the arrival in Moscow in November 1552 of the first embassy from some Adyghe subethnos it was just as opportune for Ivan the Terrible, whose plans were in the direction of the advance of the Russians along the Volga to its mouth, to the Caspian Sea. Union with the most powerful ethnic group S.-Z. Moscow needed K. in its struggle against the Crimean Khanate.

In total, in the 1550s, three embassies visited Moscow from S.-Z. K., in 1552, 1555 and 1557. They consisted of representatives of the Western Adygs (Zhaneevites, Besleneevites, etc.), Eastern Adygs (Kabardians) and Abaza, who turned to Ivan IV with a request for protection. They needed patronage primarily to fight the Crimean Khanate. Delegations with S.-Z. K. met with a favorable reception and secured the patronage of the Russian tsar. From now on, they could count on military and diplomatic assistance from Moscow, while they themselves were obliged to appear in the service of the Grand Duke Tsar.

Also, under Ivan the Terrible, he had a second Crimean campaign against Moscow (1571), as a result of which the Khan's troops defeated the Russian troops and again burned Moscow and captured more than 60 thousand Russians (for sale into slavery).

Main article: Crimean campaign to Moscow (1572)

The third Crimean campaign to Moscow in 1572, with the financial and military support of the Ottoman Empire and the Commonwealth, as a result of the Molodino battle, ended with the complete physical destruction of the Tatar-Turkish army and the defeat of the Crimean Khanate http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Molodyakh

In the 70s, despite the unsuccessful Astrakhan expedition, the Crimeans and Ottomans managed to restore their influence in the region. Russians were supplanted from it for more than 100 years. True, they continued to consider the West Caucasian highlanders, Adygs and Abazins, as their subjects, but this did not change the essence of the matter. The highlanders had no idea about this, just as at one time the Asian nomads did not suspect that China considered them its subjects.

The Russians left the North Caucasus, but settled in the Volga region.

Caucasian war

Patriotic War

List of Circassians (Circassians) - Heroes of the Soviet Union

The issue of the genocide of the Circassians

New time

The official registration of most of the modern Adyghe auls dates back to the 2nd half of the 19th century, that is, after the end of the Caucasian War. To improve control of the territories, the new authorities were forced to resettle the Circassians, who founded 12 villages in new places, and in the 20s of the XX century - 5.

Religions of the Circassians

Culture

Adyg girl

The Adyg culture is a poorly studied phenomenon, the result of a long period of time in the life of the people, during which the culture experienced various internal and external influences, including long-term contacts with the Greeks, Genoese and other peoples, long feudal civil strife, wars, mahajirism, social, political and cultural upheaval. The culture, while changing, has basically survived, and still demonstrates its openness to renewal and development. Doctor of Philosophy S. A. Razdolskiy, define it as “millennial worldview socially significant experience of the Adyghe ethnos”, which has its own empirical knowledge about the world around it and transfers this knowledge at the level of interpersonal communication in the form of the most significant values.

Moral and ethical code called Adygage, acts as a cultural core or the main value of the Adyghe culture; it includes humanity, reverence, intelligence, courage, and honor.

Adyghe etiquette occupies a special place in culture, as a system of connections (or a channel of information flows), embodied in a symbolic form, through which the Circassians enter into relations with each other, store and transmit the experience of their culture. Moreover, the Circassians developed etiquette forms of behavior that helped to exist in the mountainous and foothill landscape.

Respectfulness has the status of a separate value, it is a borderline value of moral self-awareness and, as such, it manifests itself as the essence of true self-worth.

Folklore

Per 85 years earlier, in 1711, Abri de la Motre (French agent of the Swedish king Charles XII) visited the Caucasus, Asia and Africa.

According to his official reports (reports), long before his travel, that is, before 1711, in Circassia they mastered the skills of mass vaccination of smallpox.

Abri de la Motre left a detailed description of the smallpox vaccination procedure among the Circassians in the village of Degliad:

The girl was taken to a little boy of three years old who was sick with this disease and whose pockmarks and pimples began to fester. The old woman performed the operation, since the oldest members of this sex have a reputation for being the most intelligent and knowledgeable, and they practice medicine just as the oldest of the other sex practice the priesthood. This woman took three needles tied together, with which she, firstly, injected a little girl in the spoon, secondly, into the left breast against the heart, thirdly, into the navel, fourthly, into the right palm, fifthly, into the ankle of her left leg, until blood began to flow, with which she mixed the pus extracted from the patient's pock marks. Then she applied dry barn leaves to the pricked and bleeding places, tying two skins of newborn lambs to the drill, after which the mother wrapped her in one of the leather covers, of which, as already mentioned above, the Circassian bed consists, and thus she carried her wrapped to yourself. I was told that she had to be kept warm, fed only with porridge made from caraway meal, with two-thirds of water and one-third of sheep's milk, she was not allowed to drink anything except a cool decoction made from ox tongue (Plant), some licorice and a cowshed (plant), three things quite common in the country.

Traditional surgery and bone-setting

N.I. Pirogov wrote about Caucasian surgeons and bone-setters in 1849:

“Asian doctors in the Caucasus healed absolutely such external injuries (mainly the consequences of gunshot wounds), which, in the opinion of our doctors, required the removal of members (amputation), this is a fact confirmed by many observations; it is also known throughout the Caucasus that the removal of limbs, the excision of shattered bones is never undertaken by Asian doctors; of the bloody operations they carry out for the treatment of external injuries, only the cutting of bullets is known. "

Circassian crafts

Blacksmithing among the Circassians

Professor, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Gadlo A.V., about the history of the Circassians in the 1st millennium AD. NS. wrote -

The Adyg blacksmiths in the early Middle Ages, apparently, had not yet broken their ties with the community and did not stand out from it, however, within the community they already constituted a separate professional group ... Blacksmith production during this period was focused mainly on meeting the economic needs of the community ( plowshares, scythes, sickles, axes, knives, overhead chains, skewers, sheep scissors, etc.) and its military organization (horse equipment - bits, stirrups, horseshoes, girth buckles; offensive weapons - spears, battle axes, swords, daggers, arrowheads; protective weapons - helmets, chain mail, shield parts, etc.). What was the raw material base of this production, it is still difficult to determine, but, not excluding the presence of our own smelting of metal from local ores, we will point out two iron ore regions, from where metallurgical raw materials (semi-finished products, krytsy) could come to the Adyg blacksmiths. This is, firstly, the Kerch Peninsula and, secondly, the upper reaches of the Kuban, Zelenchuk and Urup, where clear traces of the ancient raw iron smelting.

Jewelcrafting among the Circassians

“Adyg jewelers mastered the skills of casting non-ferrous metals, soldering, stamping, making wire, engraving, etc. Unlike blacksmithing, their production did not require bulky equipment and large, difficult-to-transport stocks of raw materials. As shown by the burial of the jeweler in the burial ground on the river. Dyurso, metallurgists-jewelers could use not only ingots obtained from ore as raw materials, but also scrap metal. Together with their tools and raw materials, they freely moved from village to village, increasingly breaking away from their community and turning into artisans-migrants. "

Weaponry

Blacksmiths are very numerous in the country. They are almost everywhere weapons and silversmiths and are very skilled in their profession. It is almost incomprehensible how they, with their few and inadequate tools, can craft superior weapons. Gold and silver jewelry, which is admired by European gun lovers, is crafted with great patience and labor with scarce tools. Weaponsmiths are highly respected and well paid, of course, rarely in cash, but almost always in kind. A large number of families are exclusively engaged in the manufacture of gunpowder and receive significant profits from this. Gunpowder is the most expensive and most essential commodity, which no one can do without. Gunpowder is not particularly good and is inferior even to ordinary cannon powder. It is made in a crude and primitive way, therefore it is of low quality. There is no shortage of saltpeter, since saltpeter plants grow in large quantities in the country; on the contrary, there is little sulfur, which is mostly obtained from outside (from Turkey).

Agriculture among the Circassians, in the 1st millennium AD

The materials obtained in the study of the Adyghe settlements and burial grounds of the second half of the 1st millennium characterize the Circassians as sedentary farmers who have not lost their Meotian times plow farming skills. The main agricultural crops cultivated by the Circassians were soft wheat, barley, millet, rye, oats, from industrial crops - hemp and, possibly, flax. Numerous grain pits - storage facilities of the early medieval era - cut through the strata of early cultural strata on the settlements of the Kuban region, and large red-clay pithos - vessels intended mainly for storing grain - constitute the main type of ceramic products that existed in the settlements of the Black Sea coast. In almost all settlements there are fragments of round rotary millstones or whole millstones used for crushing and grinding grain. Fragments of stone stupas and pushers were found. There are known finds of sickles (Sopino, Dyurso), which could be used both for harvesting grain and for mowing forage grasses for livestock.

Livestock raising among the Circassians, in the 1st millennium AD

Undoubtedly, cattle breeding also played a prominent role in the economy of the Circassians. Adygs bred cattle, sheep, goats, pigs. The burials of war horses or parts of horse equipment repeatedly found in burial grounds of this era indicate that horse breeding was the most important branch of their economy. The struggle for herds of cattle, herds of horses and fat flat pastures is a constant motive of heroic deeds in Adyghe folklore.

Livestock in the 19th century

Theophilus Lapinsky, who visited the lands of the Circassians in 1857, wrote the following in his work "The Highlanders of the Caucasus and their liberation struggle against the Russians":

Goats are numerically the most abundant pet in the country. The milk and meat of the goats, due to the excellent pastures, are very good; goat meat, which in some countries is considered almost inedible, tastes better here than lamb. Adygs keep numerous herds of goats, many families have several thousand of them, and it can be considered that there are over one and a half million of these useful animals in the country. The goat is only under a roof in winter, but even then it is driven out into the forest during the day and finds itself in the snow some food. There are many buffaloes and cows in the eastern plains of the country, donkeys and mules are found only in the southern mountains. Pigs used to be kept in large numbers, but since the introduction of Mohammedanism, the pig as a pet has disappeared. Of the birds, chickens, ducks and geese are kept, especially a lot of turkeys are bred, but the Adyg very rarely takes the trouble to take care of poultry, which feeds and reproduces at random.

Horse breeding

In the 19th century, about horse breeding of the Circassians (Kabardians, Circassians), Senator Phillipson, Grigory Ivanovich reported:

The highlanders of the western half of the Caucasus then had famous horse farms: Sholok, Tram, Yeseni, Loo, Bechkan. The horses did not have all the beauty of pure breeds, but they were extremely hardy, faithful in their legs, they were never shod, because their hooves, in the words of the Cossacks, were as strong as a bone. Some horses, like their riders, had great fame in the mountains. So for example the white horse of the plant Tram was almost as famous among the highlanders as his master, Mohammed-Ash-Atadzhukin, a fugitive Kabardian and a famous predator.

Theophilus Lapinsky, who visited the lands of the Circassians in 1857, wrote the following in his work "The Highlanders of the Caucasus and their liberation struggle against the Russians":

Previously, there were many herds of horses in the possession of wealthy residents in the Labe and Malaya Kuban, now there are few families that have more than 12 - 15 horses. But on the other hand, there are few who do not have horses at all. In general, we can assume that on average there are 4 horses per yard, which will amount to about 200,000 heads for the whole country. On the plain, the number of horses is twice as much as in the mountains.

Dwellings and settlements of the Circassians in the 1st millennium AD

Numerous settlements, settlements and burial grounds found both on the coast and in the lowland-foothill part of the Trans-Kuban region testify to the intensive settlement of the indigenous Adyghe territory throughout the second half of the 1st millennium. The Adygs who lived on the coast, as a rule, settled in unfortified villages located on elevated plateaus and mountain slopes far from the coast in the upper reaches of rivers and streams flowing into the sea. The settlements-marketplaces that appeared on the seashore in the early Middle Ages did not lose their significance in the early Middle Ages, and some of them even turned into cities protected by fortresses (for example, Nikopsis at the mouth of the Nechepsukho River near the village of Novo-Mikhailovsky). The Adygs, who lived in the Trans-Kuban region, as a rule, settled on elevated capes overhanging the floodplain valley, at the mouths of rivers flowing into the Kuban from the south or at the mouths of their tributaries. Until the beginning of the VIII century. fortified settlements predominated here, consisting of a citadel-fortified settlement and an adjoining settlement, sometimes also fenced off from the floor by a moat. Most of these settlements were located on the sites of old Meotian settlements abandoned in the 3rd or 4th century. (for example, at the village of Krasny, at the villages of Gatlukai, Takhtamukai, Novo-Vochepshiy, at the village of Yastrebovsky, at the village of Krasny, etc.). At the beginning of the VIII century. The Kuban Adygs also begin to settle in unfortified open settlements, similar to the settlements of the Adygs on the coast.

The main occupations of the Circassians

Theophilus Lapinsky, in 1857, wrote the following:

The main occupation of the Circassians is agriculture, which gives him and his family the means of livelihood. Agricultural implements are still in a primitive state and, since iron is rare, are very expensive. The plow is heavy and awkward, but this is not only a peculiarity of the Caucasus; I remember seeing equally awkward agricultural implements in Silesia, which, however, belongs to the German Union; six to eight bulls are harnessed to the plow. The harrow is replaced by several tufts of sturdy thorns that somehow serve the same purpose. Their axes and hoes are pretty good. On the plains and on the less high mountains, large two-wheeled carts are used to transport hay and grain. In such a cart you will not find a nail or a piece of iron, but nevertheless they last a long time and can carry from eight to ten centners. On the plain, there is a cart for every two families; in the mountainous part, for every five families; in the high mountains, it is no longer found. All teams use only bulls, not horses.

Adyg literature, languages ​​and writing

The modern Adyghe language belongs to the Caucasian languages ​​of the western group of the Abkhaz-Adyg subgroup, Russian - to the Indo-European languages ​​of the Slavic group of the eastern subgroup. Despite the different language systems, the influence of Russian on Adyghe is manifested in a fairly large number of borrowed vocabulary.

• 1855 - Adyghe (Abadzekh) educator, linguist, scientist, writer, poet - fabulist, Bersei Umar Khapkhalovich - made a significant contribution to the formation of the Adyghe literature and writing, compiling and publishing the first Circassian language primer(in the Arabic script), this day is considered the "Birthday of the modern Adyghe writing" served as the impetus for the Adyghe enlightenment.

• 1918 - the year of the creation of the Adyghe writing based on Arabic graphics.
• 1927 - the Adyghe writing is translated into the Latin alphabet.
• 1938 - Adyghe writing is translated into Cyrillic.

Main article: Kabardino-Circassian writing

Links

see also

Notes (edit)

1. A. A. Maksidov
2. Türkiyedeki Kürtlerin Sayısı! (Turkish), Milliyet(June 6, 2008). Retrieved June 7, 2008.
3. National composition of the population // Population census of Russia 2002
4. Izrail site IzRus
5. Independent English Studies
6. Russian Caucasus. A book for politicians / Ed. V. A. Tishkova. - M .: FGNU "Rosinformagrotech", 2007. c. 241
7. A. A. Kamrakov. Features of the development of the Circassian diaspora in the Middle East // Medina Publishing House.
8. Art. Adygs, Meots in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia
9. Skilak Kariandsky, Perippus of the Inhabited Sea, Translation and Commentary by F.V. Shelova-Kovedyaeva // Bulletin of ancient history. 1988, No. 1. P. 262; No. 2. P. 260-261)
10. J. Interiano Life and the country of zikhs called Circassians. Interesting storytelling
11. K. Yu.Nebezhev ADYGH-GENUEZ PRINCE ZAKHARIA DE GIZOLFI - OWNER OF THE CITY OF MATREGA IN THE XV CENTURY
12. Vladimir Gudakov. Russian way to the South (myths and reality
13. Hrono.ru
14. DECISION of the Supreme Council of the KBSSR of 07.02.1992 N 977-XII-B "ON CONDEMNING THE ADYGES (CHERKESOV) GENOCIDE IN THE YEARS OF THE RUSSIAN-CAUCASIAN WAR (Russian), RUSOUTH.info.
15. Diana b-Dadasheva... Adygs seek recognition of their genocide (Russian), Kommersant newspaper (13.10.2006).