 | This articlemay containoriginal research. Pleaseimprove it byverifying the claims made and addinginline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed.(October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Pan-Caucasianism is a political current supporting the cooperation and integration of some or all peoples of theCaucasus. Pan-Caucasianism has been hindered by the ethnic, religious and cultural diversity of the Caucasus, and frequent regional conflicts. Historically popular during theRussian Civil War[citation needed], pan-Caucasianism has formed a part of the foreign policy ofGeorgia[1][dubious –discuss] and Chechen militants since thedissolution of the Soviet Union.
Historically, attempts to integrate various Caucasus states have proven to be short-lived. TheTranscaucasian Democratic Federative Republic collapsed after Georgia quit because of irreconcilable foreign policy differences with the other parties. Subsequent attempts to integrate Georgia into a similar regional entityled to a major political crisis in the Soviet leadership since Georgian Bolsheviks considered this to be an attempt to limit their independence. In the 1990s, Georgian PresidentZviad Gamsakhurdia favored regional alliance between native peoples of the Caucasus; however, he was soon overthrown, so the "realisation of the idea of Caucasianness...has never gone beyond the declaratory level or imaginative projects..."[2]
The medievalKingdom of Georgia has sometimes been described as a pan-Caucasian empire.[3]
In theNorth Caucasus, pan-Caucasianism has been linked by Abkhaz politician and historianStanislav Lakoba to theCaucasian Imamate and theCaucasian War.[4] The Caucasian Imamate, led byImam Shamil, notably united the disparate ethnic groups of the Northern Caucasus into a singular political formation, which was used to wage a twenty-year guerrilla war against theRussian Empire.
| This section has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
Niko Nikoladze envisaged the creation of a free, decentralized, and self-governing federation of the Caucasian peoples based on the principle of ethnically proportional representation.[5]
The idea of Caucasian federation within the reformed Russian state was voiced by the some ideologues of Georgiansocial democracy.[6]
During thedissolution of the Russian Empire and theRussian Civil War, multiple pan-Caucasian states briefly came into existence, though such states did not coexist for any longer than a few years. The most notable pan-Caucasian projects during the Civil War were theTranscaucasian Democratic Federative Republic and theMountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus.
TheTranscaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was established on 22 April 1918 to effectively respond to the Ottoman invasion of the South Caucasus amid the collapse of the Russian empire. With theFebruary andOctober Revolutions and the subsequent collapse of the central Russian authority in the Caucasus, the region was left in limbo; theTranscaucasian Commissariat was formed by representatives of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia as a provisional self-government. However, it did not declare independence, waiting for resolution of situation in Russia. Nevertheless, during theTrebizond Peace Conference between theOttoman Empire and the Transcaucasian Commissariat, the Ottoman diplomats presented an ultimatum to representatives of Commissariat, saying that they would recognize the authority of the Commissariat only if the Transcaucasia declared independence as a sovereign state under international law. Since the Ottoman forces continued their advance into the Transcaucasian territory, the Commissariat had little option but to declare sovereignty.
On 28 May 1918, Transcaucasian Democratic Federative Republic was dissolved after Georgia declared independence due to irreconcilable foreign policy orientations with other Caucasus states. This was soon followed byArmeno-Georgian War. Within the modern states of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, the TDFR is largely ignored in their respective national historiography, given consideration only as the first stage towards their own independent states.[7] However, Lakoba and Alessandra Russo, a researcher atInstitut d'études politiques de Bordeaux, have both cited the TDFR as a failed attempt at pan-Caucasian cooperation, contrasting it with the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus[4] and Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic,[2] respectively.
After theFebruary Revolution in Russia, the Union of the Peoples of the Northern Caucasus was established in March 1917 and an Executive Committee was elected to oversee its operations. It originated from the consolidation of various ethnic groups in North Caucasus, including theCircassians,Chechens,Karachays,Ossetians,Balkars,Ingush, andDagestanis. In August 1917, the Central Committee decided to readopt the 1847 constitution ofImam Shamil. The independentMountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus (MRNC) was declared on 11 May 1918. BothWhite andRed Armies of Russia claimed the territory, with the Bolshevik government issuing a diplomatic note declaring their non-recognition of the MRNC in May 1918. With the support of theOttoman Empire, the MRNC managed to repelAnton Denikin'sVolunteer Army. However, in January 1921, the Red Army occupied the Mountain Republic and established theSoviet Mountain Republic (MASSR) as anautonomous republic within theRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR). The MASSR lasted only until 1924.
In 1984, the United States Congress passed a resolution marking the 66th anniversary of the declaration of independence of the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus.[4]
 | This sectiondoes notcite anysources. Please helpimprove this section byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged andremoved. Find sources: "Pan-Caucasianism" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(October 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
.svg)
After the Russian Civil War, the South Caucasus was integrated into the Soviet Union and the Transcaucasian federation was recreated as theTranscaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (TSFSR). The TSFSR was one of the four republics to sign the Treaty on the Creation of the USSR establishing the Soviet Union in 1922. The federative republic existed from 1922 to 1936 and consisted of three Soviet Socialist Republics: the Georgian SSR, Azerbaijani SSR and Armenian SSR. The Abkhazian SSR also held a status oftreaty republic within the Georgian SSR from 1921 to 1931.Georgian Bolsheviks notably resisted the creation of the TSFSR and wanted the Georgian SSR to have a full-member status within the Soviet Union. This led toGeorgian affair, which resulted in the defeat of local GeorgianBolshevik leaders. They were accused of being "national deviationists" and repressed during theGreat Purge.
The idea of united North Caucasus continued to exist in émigré communities.Sultan Klych-Girey led pan-Caucasian anti-communist groups in exile, and duringWorld War II various pan-Caucasian forces (including Klych-Girey)fought on the side of Germany.[8]
Also during the World War II, the pan-Caucasianism was promoted by the Georgian emigres in Germany, who exerted a substantial influence.Alexander Nikuradse, a Georgian adviser toAlfred Rosenberg, argued for a German-aligned and Georgian-led independent Caucasian confederation, based on theKarl Haushofer's theories of "large spaces". According to Nikuradse, Georgia had the same role to the Caucasus that Germany had to Europe: geographically centrally located, racially the purest, politically the most endowed with a mission of leadership. Rosenberg accepted this concept. He envisioned Georgia to be the core and a leader of the Caucasian confederation, withTiflis as its capital and a "Berlin-Tiflis Axis".[9] However, eventually the independent Caucasian confederation was replaced by Rosenberg with theCaucasus Reich Commissariat for the immediate future.[10]
Since thedissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, pan-Caucasianism has reappeared in regional politics, in particular in Chechnya and Georgia. In Georgia, pan-Caucasian sentiments manifested themselves most strongly under PresidentZviad Gamsakhurdia, who sought a political, military, and economic alliance betweenGeorgians,Chechens,Abkhazians, andCircassians based on the idea of sharedIbero-Caucasian languages and common identity among autochthonous Caucasian nations.[11] According toStephen F. Jones, a historian and specialist on Russian and Eurasian studies, Georgian President Zviad Gamsakhurdia promoted the concept of a "Caucasian Home", which included a regional parliament for the Caucasus ("Caucasian Forum"), a "Coordinating Council", a common economic zone and an alliance against foreign interference.[11][2] Jones also notes that in the early 1990s, Georgian political establishment had several "cultural visions" of the country's identity:Christian identity, the concept of "Europeanness", pan-Caucasianism, and opposition to Russia. The pan-Caucasianist tendencies in the Gamsakhurdia government strengthened as the relationship with the Western countries worsened over time.[11][1] However, President Gamsakhurdia was soon overthrown by amilitary coup, so the "realisation of the idea of Caucasianness and the Caucasian House has never gone beyond the declaratory level or imaginative projects...", with some locals viewing this conception of the region as a "failed space (given its conflict-proneness)".[2]
Georgian PresidentEduard Shevardnadze advocated for regional cooperation between Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia in a more diminished form of a "Peaceful Caucasus Initiative".[2] Jones notes that under Shevardnadze the emphasis was placed on common interests rather than ethno-cultural connections.[11]
Chechen PresidentDzhokhar Dudayev also shared pan-Caucasian views with Zviad Gamsakhurdia, and this allegiance formed a pivotal basis for the concept of a "Caucasian Home".[11] However, in Chechnya, pan-Caucasianism has primarily manifested as a political idea amongjihadist militant groups, particularly during and after theSecond Chechen War. Among the earliest Chechen pan-Caucasian groups was a group of militants led byShamil Basayev, which called for the independence and unity of all Caucasian peoples in the late 1990s. This group, succeeding President Dzhokhar Dudayev's secular brand ofChechen nationalism, later morphed into an Islamist faction led by Basayev,Anzor Astemirov, andMovladi Udugov.[12] In 2007, theCaucasus Emirate was established by a group of Chechen jihadists and led aninsurgency against Russia until 2017 with the support ofIslamic State.
Former Georgian PresidentMikheil Saakashvili have stated that he wishes to see the three Transcaucasian countries in the future “as Baltic states”.[13]
Outside Georgia and Chechnya, pan-Caucasianism has become the political ideology of other groups in the region. Most notably is theConfederation of Mountain Peoples of the Caucasus (CMPC), a paramilitary group led by Kabardian politicianMusa Shanibov. The CMPC, which emerged before the Soviet Union had dissolved, espoused North Caucasian confederalism and fought against Georgia during theWar in Abkhazia and for Ichkeria during theFirst Chechen War. Later, Shanibov faded into obscurity after his arrest in Russia, and the CMPC became inactive after the assassination of its leaderYusup Soslambekov [ru] in 2000.[14] The CMPC is controversial for its involvement in war crimes in Abkhazia, includingethnic cleansing of local Georgians in Abkhazia.
In Armenia and Azerbaijan, pan-Caucasianism is not as prominent[vague] as in Georgia.[citation needed] Armenians often see themselves as outside the Caucasus due to their historical homeland in theArmenian Highlands, which are located outside the Greater Caucasus mountain range.
(...) he courageously fought off countless enemies as he reinforced Georgian unity and assembled a pan-Caucasian empire, hence his sobriquet Aġmašenebeli (the builder) (...) The height of the pan-Caucasian rule of the Georgian Bagratids and of the transregional Georgian monastic network is habitually described as Georgia's Golden Age. (...) Internal and external tensions mounted, and the pan-Caucasian empire of the Georgian Bagratids shrank under T'amar's children Giorgi IV Laša (r. 1213–23 C.E.) and Rusudan (r. 1223–45 C.E.).
