Imperial Policy of Resettlement in the North Caucasus and Muhajirism of the Highlanders in the second half of the 19th century: Main Stages and Consequences for the Region

Abstract

Resettlement of North Caucasian highlanders in the second half of the 19th century still remains one of the conflict-generating narratives of historical memory. The policy of the Russian Empire during this period was determined by geopolitical processes, the continued colonization of the region, opposition to the influence of the Ottoman Empire, as well as the desire of North Caucasian Muslims to move to Dar al-Islam. Its inconsistency is due to the difficult task of sociocultural integration of the highlanders in the conditions of colonization and resettlement of Russian peasants and Cossacks to their original places of residence. Administrative, territorial, legal, national and religious issues were often resolved using methods that forced resettlement. Since the 1830s, processes have been observed in the movement of highlanders from their original places of residence, either to the internal lowland regions of the Caucasus, or to the Ottoman Empire. Cossacks and colonists settled on the lands liberated in this way, who were supposed to help ensure border security and reduce the possibility of resistance of part of the mountain population to the colonization of the region. At the last stage of the Caucasian War, the Russian authorities encouraged the departure of mountaineers abroad. The policy of the Ottoman Empire, aimed at supporting and agitating anti-Russian and resettlement sentiments, significantly increased the scale of muhajirism. At the end of the Caucasian War and the pacification of the North Caucasus, the emigration of highlanders begins to be limited, and later prohibited. At the end of the 1850s - beginning of the 1860s. accounts for the most massive stage of resettlement and emigration of highlanders. The second significant stage of mountain emigration occurred in the second half of the 60s - early 70s. XIX century. At this time, three waves of resettlement of highlanders can be distinguished. The third stage of active external and internal migration occurred in the 1880s - 1890s. By the end of the 19th century, the emigration of highlanders basically stopped. The resettlement process at all stages was accompanied by disasters and hardships and led to negative demographic dynamics. It changed the ethnic areas and ethnic composition of the population of the North Caucasus.