The Russian Invasion of the Caucasus, also known as the Caucasian War of 1817–1864, was a series of military actions waged by the Russian Empire against a number of territories and tribal groups in Caucasia including Chechnya, Dagestan and the Adyghe (Circassians) as Russia sought to expand southward.

History

Three Russian Tsars sparked the war: Alexander I, Nicholas I, and Alexander II. The leading Russian commanders were Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov in 1816–1827, Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov in 1844–1853, and Aleksandr Baryatinskiy in 1853–1856. The writers Mikhail Lermontov and Leo Tolstoy took part in the hostilities, and the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin referred to it in his Byronic poem The Prisoner of Caucasus (1821).

The Russian invasion was met with fierce resistance. The first period coincidentally ended with the death of Alexander I and Decembrist Revolt in 1825. It achieved surprisingly little success, especially as compared with the then recent Russian victory over the "Great Army" of Napoleon.

During 1825–183 there was little activity, since Russia was engaged in its wars with Turkey and Persia. After considerable successes in both wars, Russia resumed fighting in the Caucasus. They were again met with resistance, notably led by Ghazi Mollah, Gamzat-bek and Hadji Murad. Imam Shamil followed them. He led the mountaineers from 1834 until his capture by Dmitry Milyutin in 1859. In 1845, Shamil's forces achieved their most dramatic success when they withstood a major Russian offensive led by Prince Vorontsov.

During the Crimean War, the Russians brokered a truce with Shamil but hostilities resumed in 1855. Warfare in the Caucasus finally ended between 1856–1859, when a 250,000 strong army under General Baryatinsky broke down the mountaineers' resistance.

The Caucasian War ended with Russia conquering the North Caucasus and Shamil swearing allegiance to the Tsar and moving to live in Central Russia. The end was declared on June 2 1864 (May 21 O.S.), 1864, by Tsar's manifesto. Among the events after the end of the war, a tragic page in the history of the indigenous peoples of the Caucasus was Muhajirism, or population transfer of the Muslim population into the Ottoman Empire.

See also

• Russian-Circassian War - a conflict between Russia and Circassia, part of the Caucasian War.

Further reading

• Baddeley, John F. The Russian conquest of the Caucasus. London, New York, Bombay, Calcutta: Longmans, Green and Co., 1908. Reprinted Mansfield Centre, Conn.: Martino Pub., 2006. ISBN 1578985765.
• Dubrovin, N. Russian: Дубровин Н.Ф. История войны и владычества русских на Кавказе volumes 4–6. SPb, 1886–88.