 A proposed flag of the Cherkesogai, used unofficially | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 100,000 - 350,000 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Armavir (Krasnodar Krai),Maykop (Adygea) | |
| Languages | |
| Armenian,Adyghe,Kabardian,Russian | |
| Religion | |
| Predominantly:Christianity (Armenian Apostolic Church) Minority:Islam (Sunni) | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| otherArmenians,Armenians in Russia |
Cherkesogai (Russian:Черкесогаи), orCircassian Armenians (Armenian:չերքեզահայերcherk'ezahayer;[1]Circassian: Адыгэ-ермэлы,Adyge-ermely; Russian:черкесские армяне,romanized: cherkesskiye armyane); sometimes referred to asErmeli (Circassian: Ермэлы),Mountainous Armenians (Russian:горские армяне,romanized: gorskiye armyane) orTranskuban Armenians (закубанские армяне,zakubanskiye armyane),[2] are ethnicArmenians who have inhabitedRussia'sKrasnodar Krai andRepublic of Adyghea since the end of the 15th century and spoke theAdyghe language (currently, most of them speakRussian as their first language), in contrast to other Armenians living in the region. They reside mostly in the cities ofArmavir andMaykop. The total number of Cherkosogai is about 50,000 people (2008 estimate).[citation needed] According to theRussian 2002 Census, 230 Armenians speakLowland Adyghe and 222 speakKabardian Adyghe natively.[3]
Notable Cherkesogai include the firstSovietmillionaireArtyom Mikhailovich Tarasov,Prix Goncourt-winning writerHenri Troyat (né Lev Aslanovich Tarasov),[4] merchantNikita Pavlovich Bogarsukov and ballerinaOlga Aslanovna Tarasova.[5]
Since the early medieval period, many Armenians have lived asdiaspora, due to foreign invasions of Armenia, national and religious persecution, genocide and wars. Most of the present-day Armenian diaspora in theNorth Caucasus arrived in the 17th and 18th centuries, though the firstHemshin Armenians arrived in the 8th century.[6]: 71
The migrations of Armenians to theKuban took place in a series of waves. The first took place from the late 1780s to the 1860s, when around 3,000 Armenians came from the Russian towns ofAstrakhan,Kizlyar andMozdok, as well as around 300Persian Armenians. During this period, the first Armenian settlements in the Kuban were founded, includingArmavir, founded in 1839, considered to be the first. Armenians also established communities in larger towns such asNovorossiysk,Anapa andEkaterinodar.[6]: 72
A second wave of migrants came during the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, when around 30,000 mostly Turkish Hemshin Armenians arrived in the region, along with a few fromPersia andTranscaucasia. Some came for economic reasons and were attracted by Russian government, while others were forced to leave due to oppression andgenocide by the Ottoman government. Migration peaked from the late 1870s to the late 1910s, coinciding with theRusso-Turkish War of 1877–1878,pogroms against Armenians in Turkey andBaku and the 1915–1920 mass persecution of the Armenian population in Turkey.[6]: 72
A third wave of migration took place during the 1950s and comprised less than 300 ethnic Armenians ofGeorgia (Akhalkalaki Armenians) who mostly settled inAnapsky District, mainly inGaikodzor.[6]: 72
The fourth wave took place in the 1970s and consisted mainly of ethnic Armenians ofAzerbaijan (Karabakh Armenians) andCentral Asia, such as theUzbek,Kazakh andKirghiz SSRs. They primarily came to Krasnodar Krai for economic reasons and numbered from 5,000 to 7,000 people.[6]: 73
From the end of the 1980s to the mid-1990s, around 300,000 more migrants arrived in the Kuban region as a result of theethnic conflicts across the former Soviet Union, such as thosein Azerbaijan and Armenia. Some later came as a result of poor economic conditions in the newly formed republics, from Armenia, Georgia and Central Asia.[6]: 73
{{cite journal}}:Cite journal requires|journal= (help)Род Тарасовых происходил из черкесогаев. [The Tarasov family originated from the Cherkesogai.]
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| Historic areas of Armenian settlement | ||
| Caucasus | ||
| Former Soviet Union | ||
| Americas | ||
| Europe | ||
| Middle East | ||
| Asia | ||
| Africa | ||
| Oceania | ||