United Republics of the North Caucasus | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918[1]–1919[2] | |||||||||
 Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus | |||||||||
| Capital | Temir-Khan-Shura | ||||||||
| Common languages | Russian (official language) (lingua franca)[8] | ||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam (majority and official state religion) Russian Orthodox Church (minority) | ||||||||
| Demonym | North Caucasian | ||||||||
| Government | Confederalparliamentary republic under aprovisional government | ||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||
• 11 May 1918 – December 1918 | Tapa Tchermoeff | ||||||||
• December 1918 – 12 May 1919 | Pshemakho Kotsev | ||||||||
| Establishment | |||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| 6 March 1917 | |||||||||
| 20 October 1917 | |||||||||
• Independence declared | 11 May 1918 | ||||||||
• Replaced byNorth Caucasian Emirate[10] | September 1919 | ||||||||
• Established | 1918[1] | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 1919[2] | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
• Total | 430,874 km2 (166,361 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1919 census | 4,221,860[8] | ||||||||
| Currency | Tumen | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Today part of | Russia Azerbaijan Georgia | ||||||||
TheMountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus (MRNC), also referred to as theUnited Republics of the North Caucasus,Mountain Republic,[a] or theRepublic of the Mountaineers, was a short-lived state inEastern Europe. It encompassed the eastern portion of theNorth Caucasus and emerged during theRussian Civil War and existed from 1918 to 1919. It formed as a consolidation of various North Caucasian ethnic groups, including theAbazins,Circassians,Chechens,Karachays,Ossetians,Balkars,Ingush, andDagestanis.
The MRNC encompassed the former territories ofTerek Oblast andDagestan Oblast within the Russian Empire. These territories now constitute the present-day republics ofChechnya,Ingushetia,North Ossetia–Alania,Kabardino-Balkaria,Dagestan, and a portion ofStavropol Krai in theRussian Federation. Spanning approximately 430,874 square kilometers (166,361 sq mi), the MRNC had a population of approximately 11.2 million. Throughout its existence, the capital of the MRNC relocated fromVladikavkaz toNazran and ultimately settled inTemir-Khan-Shura.
The MRNC broke away from theRussian Empire after theFebruary Revolution. The RussianVolunteer Army captured the state in 1919, and it ceased to exist.[2] However, in September 1919, theNorth Caucasian Emirate was proclaimed as the successor of the Mountain Republic.[10] However, in August 1920, it was captured bySoviet Russia, which led to an uprising.[11] In April 1921, theMountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was established by theBolsheviks within theRSFSR, but the uprising lasted until 1925.[12]
The Union consisted seven "states" distributed on a national basis and united under a confederative principle within the territories:Dagestan,Ingushetia,Chechnya,North Ossetia–Alania,Circassia (includingWest Circassia, although the union had control only overEast Circassia),Karachay-Balkaria, theNogai steppes, and also asserted claims inAbkhazia.[6][13][14]
The Cabinet of Ministers of the Mountain Republic comprised representatives from nearly all regions of the North Caucasus.[citation needed]
The Union of the Peoples of the Northern Caucasus was established in March 1917 and an Executive Committee was elected to oversee its operations.Abdulmajid Tapa Tchermoev was appointed as Chairman of the Executive Committee. In August 1917, the Executive Committee decided to readopt the 1847 constitution ofImam Shamil.[citation needed]
The independent republic was declared on 11 May 1918 at the time of the collapse of theRussian Tsarist empire during theRussian Revolution of 1917. The new republic established a government led by Prime MinisterTchermoev,Rashid Khan Kaplanov, andHaidar Bammate.[15] The capital was initiallyVladikavkaz but was later relocated toTemir-Khan-Shura after being occupied by theRed Army.[15][16] The Republic received support from Said Shamil, the grandson of Imam Shamil, and gained international recognition from various countries, namely theCentral Powers (Austria-Hungary,Germany, theOttoman Empire andBulgaria),Ukraine,Georgia,Armenia,Azerbaijan, theKuban People's Republic, and theUnited Kingdom.[17][8][18] The latter, however, formed an alliance with Russian generalAnton Denikin and made efforts to reinstate Tsarist rule in the region.[16]
During theBrest-Litovsk negotiations, an effort was made to dispatch delegates to represent the Republic underOttoman supervision. However, the Ottomans later declined this association due to an unfavorable response from the Bolsheviks. On 30 May 1918, the Bolshevik government issued a diplomatic note declaring their non-recognition of the MRNC.[16] In March 1919, a delegation led by Tapa Tchermoeff andIbrahim Bey Gaydarov went to Paris to participate in theTreaty of Versailles and sought international recognition of the Republic's independence.[19]
The Dagestan cavalry regiments, units within theCaucasian Native Cavalry Division, pledged their allegiance to the Mountainous Republic and Ottomanpashas ofCircassian descent arrived with their forces to provide assistance. An army was formed and participated in confrontations against GeneralAnton Denikin'sVolunteer Army. With backing from the North Caucasus Army, led byYusuf Izzet Pasha, the Caucasus region was captured from Soviet Russia.[19]
Following the conclusion of World War I and the withdrawal of Turkish troops, the Mountain government underwent reorganization. In late 1918,Pshemaho Kotsev was confirmed as leader of the coalition cabinet in the Mountain Congress held in Temir-Khan-Shura. Hostilities ended in January 1920 with Denikin's army defeat by the11th Red Army. In January 1921, the Red Army occupied the Mountain Republic and established theSoviet Mountain Republic within theRussian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
The "Congress of the Peoples of the North Caucasus", a political organization operating in the 21st century, has invoked the Mountainous Republic to advocate for the cooperation of different Northern Caucasus separatist groups in their struggle against Russia.[20]
![Ibrahim Bey Gaydarov, Minister of Posts and Telegraph,[21] Lezgian. Died in Ankara in 1949.](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aIbrahim_bey_Haydarov.jpg)
History portalOn 11 May 1918 the independence of the Republic of the North Caucasus was declared. The government sought international recognition and when on 8 June 1918 a Treaty of Friendship was signed with Turkey this implied recognition of the new Republic.
The government of Kotsev was not able to defend its territory, and in May 1919 the White Army of Denikin conquered the territory of the Mountain Republic in Chechnya and Daghestan, and the Mountain Republic ceased to exist.
In 1919 Sheikh Uzun Haji, Pshemakho Kotsev and Sheikh Akushinskii called for a fight against the White or Volunteer Army of Denikin and in September 1919 the Emirate of the North Caucasus was proclaimed, comprising the North of Daghestan, Chechnya and part of Ingushetia. To secularist nationalists the Emirate was seen as the successor of the Mountain Republic.
In August 1920 however, the Bolshevik army attacked Chechnya from the north, and the leaders of the emirate called for a jihad, asking the grandson of Imam Shamil, Sait Shamil, to lead the fight. He was one of the two survivors of this fight and later fled to Turkey.
It took the Russians until 1925 to arrest and kill Gotsinskii. The uprising was inter alia successful because the Caucasians obeyed the requests of the Sufi clerics who organized the revolt. In April 1921 a Mountain ASSR, of which Chechen territory was part, was established within the RSFSR. On 20 January 1921 the Daghestan ASSR was declared. On 30 November 1922 a Chechen Autonomous Oblast was created.
![The coat of arms adopted by the first Confederation of Mountain Peoples, May 1917[3][4][5] of Mountain Republic](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCoat_of_arms_of_the_Mountainous_Republic_of_the_Northern_Caucasus.svg)
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