User:Kuban kazak/sb

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Chechen People

The Chechens are one of the Vainakh peoples, who have lived in the highlands of the North Caucasus region since prehistory (there is archeological evidence of historical continuity dating back since 10,000 B.C.). From the 16th century they began settling in the lowlands and the Islamization of the Chechen people began under the influence of bordering nationalities. In the lowlands Chechens have encountered Russian Terek Cossacks who also started settlements to the Terek Valley in the middle of 16th century

This period was followed by the long and difficult Russian expansion into the Caucasus, when the Chechens (later united under the Avar-led Caucasian Imamate) were some of the most bitter resitants of the Russian Empire's conquest efforts. The Chechens were known for their bitter savagery against the Russian military, and civilian population during their raids. Russian Army, led by General Yermolov was forced to adopt an equally brutal set of tactics including scorched earth, forced re-settlement and a set of Cossack defence lines which blocked the Chechen access to the lowland.. This persistance eventually payed off with the capture of Imam Shamil. During, and immediately after the war, large number of Chechens became muhajirs who emigrated or deported to the Ottoman Empire. After the war ended in 1860, the Chechens were left with highland mountainous zones as most of the lowland was kept by the Terek Cossacks.

Nonetheless the attitude of latter Russian Imperial govenment was more than mixed. The Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary described them as:

“ ...an adventurous kind, witty (Frenchmen of the Caucasus), inspring, but have less simpathies than Circassians as result of their suspiciousness, propensity to savagery and harshness, traits that came about during the long war. The bravery, adroitness, endurance and calmness during a fight — all charactericts recognised by all even their enemies. During peaceful times normal activity of Chechens — theft. To steal cattle, women or children, even if it requires a long journey and risk of life — is a favourite activity of Chechens. The most horryfing thing that a Chechen maiden could say to young man: Get out of here, you can't even steal a ram ”

Its thus hardly surprising that Chechens revolted against the Russians during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) and again during the 1905 Russian Revolution. Yet at the same time, made up the elite Savage Division (led by tsar's brother Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia) was formed in the Imperial Russian Army, and even the Tsar's personal bodyguard.

After the February Revolution and the resulting collapse of the Russian Empire the Chechens, united with outher neighbouring peoples in March 1917 the formed the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus led by Tapa Tchermoeff. After the Bolshevik Victory in the Russian Civil War, due to the support expressed by the Chechens against Denikin's Volunteer Army, the resulting Chechen District within the Mountain Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed which was given numerous Terek Cossack territories between the Terek and Sunzha Rivers. This recognised the Chechens as a titular nation and an accredited minority. Afterwards Vladimir Lenin initiated the Korenizatsiya policy, which led to the formation of a Chechen Autonomous Oblast after the Mountain ASSR's diestablishment on 30th November, 1922. . By carrying out extensive ethnographic research, the Chechen writing system and grammar were developed. This raised the population's cultural level by tackling iliteracy rates and allowed for the formation of Chechen intelligentsia.

However in the 1930s the Soviet policy gradually switched away from korenizatsiya, Joseph Stalin saw that economically the small autonomies were lagging behind and in January 1934 the Sunzha Cossack district, city of Grozny, and the Ingush Autonomous Oblast were merged into one Chechen-Ingush A.O. which was elevated into the Chechen-Ingush ASSR on 5th December 1936 . By 1939 Chechens made up 368446 people or 52.9 % of republic's population of 697009. Yet not all Soviet policies were welcomed by Chechens, in particular the collectivisation and industrialization attempts led to little results, and even though Chechens did make up half of the population in the ASSR, most still remained rural. Between 1920 and 1939 a total of 12 large armed uprisings took place by the Chechens against Soviet authorities (numbering between 500 to five thousand people), and more than 50 local ones.

During the Second World War the receptions of Chechens in the army was mixed, on one side many gallantly fought in the Red Army such as the Hero of the Soviet Union Khanpasha Nuradilov, on the other when order for mass mobilization came there were occasions of large desertions. Moreover the Caucasus were never entirely pacified and in 1940 Khasan Israilov, inspired by the Finish success in the Winter War started the insurgency movement, which by February 1943 reached more than 240 groups between 15 and 20 men each, all linked to Israilov's central Special Party of Caucasus Brothers which controlled 20 auls and had 6540 men. The arriving Nazi German forces, though did not reach Chechnya-proper, did drop paratroopers and helped coordinate insurgency raids against Soviet strategic locations.

As a result, in February 1944 all Chechens, together with several other peoples of the Caucasus, were ordered by the USSR State Defense Committee to be deported and re-settled to the Kazakh SSR. Due to the harsh transport conditions and lack of proper housing in the new area, at least a quarter of the deportees perished within the first three years, though a total of 496460 Chechens reached Central Asia. However by the mid-1950s, most of the deportees were able to adapt to the new location, had adequate housing, and were prised by the Kazakh authorities for their hard and honest labour. In course of the De-Stalinization periods, in 1956 the Chechens were rehabilitated and allowed to return to the Cuacasus, and a year later the ChIASSR was restored.

This, however created problems with the Russians living in Grozny Oblast, which led to the 1958 Grozny riots.. The subsequent aftermath of this for the next three decades affected the general development of the region. Most of the Chechens were able to claim their old homes, and by the late 1970s they were a majority in the republic , many actively participated in building the Soviet society, and some even formed the Soviet Nomenklatura. The favour gained out of titular nationality meant that many non-Chechens in the republic would migrate out to other parts of the Union, and by 1989 the last Soviet census registered 734501 Chechens or 57.9 % of the population.

During the late 1980s, when glastnost and perestroyka came to Chechnya, many took opportunity to show a re-surgence of national traditions and religion, however the collapse of Central Soviet authority also had the effect on the rising crime levels and the notorious Chechen mafia gained a foothold in the republic and in the large number of Chechens in other parts of the Soviet Union As the dissolution of the Soviet Union neared with rising crime, in 1990 the nationalist National Congress of the Chechen People led by Dzhokhar Dudayev seized the republic's adiministration in a violent coup, and proclaimed an independent Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in 1991. Unrecognised by Moscow, the republic fell into anarchy which saw the break-away of Ingushetia in june 1992 and the mass plight of the population including most of the non-Chechens (primarily Russians) and ultimately the First Chechen War in 1994-1996.

Due to the poor organisation of the Russian military, and the well-coordinated attacks by the Chechen militants, Russia suffered a humiliating defeat and in 1996 withdrew leaving Chechnya de facto independent. However the new government of Aslan Maskhadov was unable to retain order or curtail the crime and the rising Islamic extremism, and in 1999 war came again with the Invasion of Dagestan (1999) by Shamil Basayev the result of which was the Second Chechen War, where Russian Army, and loyal Chechens by 2002 re-claimed the repbulic and in 2003 formed a loyal government led by Akhmad Kadyrov subsequently the Chechen Republic was integrated into the Russian Federation. The events of the 1990s left a lasting impact on Chechens, with many refugees and migrants in other parts of Russia, and beyond.

See also: History of Chechnya

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Gladky

Osip Mikhaylovich Gladky (Ukrainian: Осiп Михайлович Гладкий, Russian: Осип Михаилович Гладкий (1789—1866) was a kosh otoman of the Danubian Sich Cossacks who in 1828 led his men to return to Russian Empire and afterwards was the nakazny ataman of the Azov Cossack Host.

Early life

Gladky was born in the village of Melniky Poltava Governorate, Russian Empire (now in Poltava Oblast Ukraine) in 1789 to a family of rich landowners, themselves of Cossack descent. Initially he made a living by working for ex-Zaporozhian Cossack landowners, but in 1820 he left home for Odessa. There he made strong links with merchants, learned several languages including Turkish, Bulgarian and Greek. However after his small business went bust, he left Russian Empire and joint the exiled Danubian Sich which was made of like descendants of Zaporozhian Cossacks who left for the Ottoman Empire after the dissolution of the Zaporizhian Sich in 1775 by the Russian Empress Catherin the II.<refname="Shambarov">Shambarov, Valery (2007). Kazachestvo Istoriya Volnoy Rusi. Algoritm Expo, Moscow. ISBN 987-5-699-20121-1. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid prefix (help).</ref>

Commander of the Danubian Sich

At the time of Gladky joining it, the Sich was in a crises state, the Turkish Sultan demanded that the Cossacks participate against many of the Balkan uprisings, including the Greek War of Independence, most of the Zaporozhian traditions were lost, as the Host did not have any cavalry or fleet. Though the skeletal present kuren organization was kept, much of the administration has changed as there was no longer any host starshynas, and polkovnyks were only temporarily appointed by the head of the Host, the kosh otoman. Whilst the social structure began to fragment as instead of the former equality of all Cossacks, many fishing, tradesmen and landowners became the Rayah.

Faced with the atmosphere of constant intrigue and corruption, Gladky was able to quickly rise through the ranks, first upon his entry in 1822 working as a translator, but in 1824 he is already the head of the Platnirovsky kuren. Among the Danube Cossacks there was a deepening pro-Russian and a pro-Turkish split. The former, admitted they would agree to return to Russia if a pardon was accepted. Learning of this the head (Gradonachalik) of Izmail Sergey Tuchkov in summer of 1827 entered into secret negotiations with the standing Kosh Vasily Nezmayevsky. The conditions were not to allow the whole host to return to Russia. Despite being a Russophile, Nezmayevsky was not ready to accept such a responsibility. After the failed negotiations with Nezmayevsky, Tuchkov approached Gladky, who upon the Kosh elections held on Pokrov (1st October) of 1827 was elected to be the Kosh Ataman of the Danubian Sich.

The defection to Russia

With the outbreak of the new Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829), the Russian Army under command of Field-Marshal Peter Wittgenstein advanced. Threatening to overrun the Sich, the Sultan wished to relocate it from Upper Dunavets (modern Romania) to Adrianopol (modern Edirne, Turkey) and ordered the Kosh to rally the Dunubian Army at Silistra (modern Bulgaria). Gladky selected those that he suspected of having a pro-Turkish allegiance (about two thousand men) and set out for Silistra. After reaching there, he asked to return to the Sich to gather more. Upon returning he instead called for a Cossack Rada and announced to side the whole Sich with Russia. Under the cover of night on 10 May, 1828, Gladky along with 218 Cossacks and 578 Rayah crossed the Georgian mouth of the Danube River on his fishing boats, and landed next to the Russian Army headquarters in Kiliya. By a twist of fate, it turned out that the Russian Emperor Nicholas I was present there, and after seeing the Cossacks who knelt before him seeking pardon was quoted saying:

“ God will forgive you, the Motherland forgives you, and I too forgive ”

The Cossacks were fully pardoned for their past, and managed to win over the Emperor's trust, which is confirmed when the Russian Army Crossed the Danube, Nicholas was in the same Boat that Gladky initially came over in, with Kosh Polkovniks rowing. The tsar let the Danubians continue their Cossack service and formed a new Special Zaporozhian Host (Отдельное Запорожное Войско), with Gladky as the appointed Ataman. The new Host was small with only a five infantry sotnias (~100 men each) that was passed under control of the Danube flotilla. Despite the small number of men, they soon became a prized asset due to their good knowledge of the complicated Danube Delta. They were even given the chance to prove themselves in combat and participated in the storm of Isaccea, 10 of whom were awarded the Cross of St. George.