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According to Balkar historian, ethnographer and archaeologistIsmail Miziev [ru] who was a specialist in the field of North Caucasian studies, the theories on the origins of the Karachays and the neighboring Balkars is among "one of the most difficult problems in Caucasian studies,"[6] due to the fact that they are "a Turk-speaking people occupying the most Alpine regions of Central Caucasus, living in an environment of Caucasian and Iranian (Ossetian) languages."[6] Many scientists and historians have made attempts to study the issue, but "the complexity of a problem lead to numerous hypotheses, often contradicting each other." He concluded that "Balkarians and Karachais are among the most ancient nationalities of Caucasus. The roots of their history and culture are intimately intertwined with the history and culture of many Caucasian peoples, as well as numerous Turk nationalities, fromYakutia toTurkey, fromAzerbaijan toTatarstan, from the Kumik and Nogai to the Altai andHakass."[6]
Ankara University's professor Ufuk Tavkul, another specialist, locates that the ethnogenesis of Karachays-Balkars andKumyks inside the Caucasus, not outside;[7] he then succinctly describes the ethnogenesis ofpeoples of the Caucasus, including the Karachays and Balkars, thus:
In the first millennium before Christ diverse groups representing the ancestors of theAbkhaz/Adyghe,Ossetian and Karachay-Balkar people lived in the Caucasus, who contributed to varying degrees to the emergence of these peoples. From the 7th century BCKimmerian,Scythian,Sarmatian,Alan,Hun,Bulghar Turk,Avar,Khazar,Pecheneg,Kipchak, etc. groups invaded the Caucasus and settled there, causing a radical change in the ethnic map of the Central Caucasus. By assimilating the local Caucasian people of Caucasid anthropological features who had brought to life theKoban culture of theBronze Age, the Ossetians of an Iranian tongue and the Turkic-speaking Karachay-Balkars emerged in the Middle Caucasus. The Ossetian and Karachay-Balkar people and cultures were certainly fundamentally influenced by the Caucasian substratum belonging to the Koban culture (Betrozov 2009: 227)
— "About Karachay-Balkar people: Ethnogenesis", in Sipos & Tavkul (2015),Karachay-Balkar folksongs, p. 44.[8]
Other research by Boulygina et al. (2020) shows Karachays' genetic connection to the pre-historicKoban culture.[9] A recent genetic study states the following: "Balkars and Karachays belong to the Caucasian anthropological type. According to the results ofcraniology,somatology,odontology, and dermatoglyphics, the native (Caucasian) origin of the Balkars and Karachays and their kinship with the representatives of neighboring ethnic groups and a minor role of the Central Asian component in their ethnogenesis were concluded."[10]
The state ofAlania was established prior to theMongol invasions and had its capital inMaghas, which some authors locate inArkhyz, the mountains currently inhabited by the Karachay, while others place it in either what is now modernIngushetia orNorth Ossetia. In the 14th century, Alania was destroyed byTimur and the decimated population dispersed into the mountains.
In the nineteenth century Russia took over the area during theRussian conquest of the Caucasus. On October 20, 1828 theBattle of Khasauka took place, in which the Russian troops were under the command of GeneralGeorgy Emanuel. The day after the battle, as Russian troops were approaching theaul of Kart-Dzhurt, the Karachay elders met with the Russian leaders and an agreement was reached for the inclusion of the Karachay into the Russian Empire.[11]
After annexation, the self-government of Karachay was left intact, including its officials and courts. Interactions with neighboringMuslim peoples continued to take place based on both folk customs andSharia law. In Karachay, soldiers were taken from Karachai Amanat, pledged an oath of loyalty, and were assigned arms.[citation needed]
From 1831 to 1860, a large portion of Karachays joined the anti-Russian struggles carried out by theNorth Caucasian peoples.[12] Karachays actively participated in the resistance alongside their neighbors, including theCircassians andAbazins, against Russian colonization. One of the most notable uprisings was theKarachay Uprising of 1855, which was part of a broader North Caucasian rebellion against Russian expansion. During this revolt, Karachay fighters launched attacks on Russian military outposts and played a crucial role in the regional resistance movement.
Between 1861 and 1880, to escape reprisals by the Russian army, some Karachays migrated to theOttoman Empire although most Karachays remained in their ancestral lands.[13][14]
In 1930, theKarachay Uprising broke out as a reaction to Soviet collectivization policies. The forced seizure of land, grain requisitioning, and repression of rural elites sparked armed resistance among Karachay peasants, particularlykulaks and middle peasants. The uprising began in March 1930, with rebels seizing several key towns, including Mikoyan-Shahar (nowKarachayevsk),Kislovodsk, and Batalpashinsk (nowCherkessk). The Soviet government responded swiftly, deploying Red Army forces to crush the rebellion. By April 1930, the uprising was brutally suppressed, with many insurgents executed or imprisoned. This event was part of the broader anti-Soviet resistance in the North Caucasus during Stalin’s early rule.[15]
Map of Karachay during the Karachay Uprising in March 1930
All Karachay officials were purged by early 1938, and the entire nation was administered by NKVD officers, none of whom were Karachay. In addition, the entire intelligentsia, all rural officials and at least 8,000 ordinary farmers were arrested, including 875 women. Most were executed, but many were sent to prison camps throughout the Caucasus.[16]
During theparade of sovereignties and thecollapse of the USSR on November 30, 1990, KCHAO withdrew from the Stavropol Territory and became the Karachay-Cherkess Soviet Socialist Republic (KChSSR) as part of the RSFSR, which was approved by a resolution of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR on July 3, 1991.
Karachay sword fighters (folklore ensemble)
In 1989–1997, the Karachay national movements appealed to the leadership of the RSFSR with a request to restore a separate autonomy of Karachay.[17]
Karachay men in the 19th century
On November 18, 1990, at the congress of Karachay deputies of all levels, the Karachay Soviet Socialist Republic (since October 17, 1991 — the Karachay Republic)[18][19] was proclaimed as part of the RSFSR, which was not recognized by the leadership of the RSFSR. On March 28, 1992, a referendum was held in which, according to the official results, the majority of the population of Karachay-Cherkessia opposed the division. The division was not legalized, and a single Karachay-Cherkessia remained.
Partition of Karachay and Balkar territories after the deportation
In 1942 the Germans permitted the establishment of a Karachay National Committee to administer their "autonomous region"; the Karachays were also allowed to form their own police force and establish a brigade that was to fight with the Wehrmacht.[20] This relationship withNazi Germany resulted, when the Russians regained control of the region in November 1943, with the Karachays being charged with collaboration with Nazi Germany and deported.[21] Originally restricted only to family members of rebel bandits during World War II, the deportation was later expanded to include the entire Karachay ethnic group. The Soviet government refused to acknowledge that 20,000 Karachays served in theRed Army, greatly outnumbering the 3,000 estimated to have collaborated with the German soldiers.[16] Karachays were forcibly deported and resettled in Central Asia, mostly inKazakhstan andKirghizia.[22] In the first two years of the deportations, disease and famine caused the death of 35% of the population; of 28,000 children, 78%, or almost 22,000 perished.[23]
The Karachay nation, along with the Balkars occupy the valleys and foothills of the Central Caucasus in the river valleys of theKuban, Big Zelenchuk River,Malka,Baksan,Cherek, and others.
The Karachays are very proud of the symbol of their nation,Mount Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, with an altitude of 5,642 meters.
Like other peoples in the mountainousCaucasus, the relative isolation of the Karachay allowed them to develop their particular cultural practices, despite general accommodation with surrounding groups.[25]
Karachay people live in communities that are divided into families and clans (tukums). Atukum is based on a family's lineage and there are roughly thirty-two Karachaytukums. Prominenttukums include: Abayhan, Aci, Batcha (Batca), Baychora, Bayrimuk (Bayramuk), Bostan, Catto (Jatto), Cosar (Çese), Duda, Hubey (Hubi), Karabash, Kochkar, Laypan, Lepshoq, Ozden (Uzden), Silpagar, Tebu, Teke, Toturkul, Urus.[citation needed]
The majority of the Karachay are followers of Islam.[26] Some Karachays began adopting Islam in the 17th and 18th centuries due to contact with the Nogais, the Crimean Tatars, and most significantly, theCircassians.[27][28] The SufiQadiriya order has a presence in the region.[28]
^Толстов В. (1900).История Хопёрского полка, Кубанского казачьего войска. 1696—1896. В 2-х частях. Т. 1.Тифлис. pp. 205–209.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Norman Rich: Hitler's War Aims. The Establishment of the New Order, page 391.
^In general, seePohl, J. Otto (1999).Ethnic Cleansing in the USSR, 1937–1949. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press.ISBN978-0-313-30921-2.
^Pohl lists 69,267 as being deported (Pohl 1999, p. 77); whileTishkov says 68,327 citing Bugai, Nikoli F. (1994)Repressirovannie narody Rossii: Chechentsy i Ingushy citingBeria, (Tishkov, Valery (2004).Chechnya: Life in a War-Torn Society. University of California Press. p. 25.); and Kreindler says 73,737 (Kreindler, Isabelle (1986). "The Soviet Deported Nationalities: A summary and an update".Soviet Studies.38 (3):387–405.doi:10.1080/09668138608411648.).
^Grannes, Alf (1991). "The Soviet deportation in 1943 of the Karachays: a Turkic Muslim people of North Caucasus".Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs.12 (1):55–68.doi:10.1080/02666959108716187.
^Richmond, Walter (2008).The Northwest Caucasus: Past, Present, Future. Central Asian studies series, 12. London: Routledge. p. 20.ISBN978-0-415-77615-8.
1 Central Asian (i.e.Turkmeni,Afghani andIranian)Turkmens, distinct from Levantine (i.e.Iraqi andSyrian) Turkmen/Turkoman minorities, who mostly adhere to an Ottoman-Turkish heritage and identity.2 In traditional areas of Turkish settlement (i.e. formerOttoman territories).
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