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PART NINE When Czar Alexander II returned to St. Petersburg from his visit to Caucasia in the summer of 1861, he was pleased with the situation, and was inspired with a vision of future Caucasia. The fact that one hundred and fifty Adiğe representatives approached him in Taman to sue for peace, had convinced him that the war was nearing to its end. It was time to start doing what it may be deemed necessary to attribute the final victory to the Royal Family. To this end Alexander removed Prince Bariatinsky, the Governor General of Caucasia. He appointed his own brother, Grand Duke Michael, to assume the post. The new Governor General was so self-assured that he was not satisfied staying in Tiflis, the seat of his office. He frequently went out on inspection tour of the fronts to see the progress on the spot. He would take a steamer at Redut Kale, Georgia, escorted by a flotilla of warships, would inspect harbors and the quays along the shore one by one. He would disembark at Taman. From there onwards, escorted by the Cossack Cavalry Battalion, he would ride to the east to inspect the chain-work of fortresses along the line. This carefree routine of the Governor General was a matter of common knowledge. A group of Adiğe fighters decided to take him hostage at any cost. His movement was reconnoitered. They hoped to bargain with the Czar against the life of his brother. The Adiğe fighters considered it a worthwhile enterprise. Prince Michail arrived at Fort Anapa in the spring of 1863. His itinerary was not known. The Adiğe fighters took up position in the forests of the Adegum region. They kept the Fort under surveillance from a distance, and dispatched two men to the outer districts of Anapa to collect intelligence. They were about a hundred men in all. They had kept the number of volunteers restricted to that figure to avoid being noticed. Three days later the two men returned from Anapa with the news that the Governor General would be going to the Abın Valley. During the summer of 1860, by the order of General Yevdekmikof, the trails between Anapa and Abın had been widened and stabilized, to render them good for heavy transport, including carriages bearing artillery pieces. In the event of his travel to Abın, the Prince would necessarily pass through this road; the Adiğe fighters calculated. They finalized their plan accordingly, and took up position at narrow passage, with sides covered with dense forests. The Governor General left Anapa, accompanied by the commanding officers of the area, and two battalions of Cossack cavalry. There were more than thirty-thousand troops in the area between the coast and the Abın Stream. All the strategically important points, bridges and passes were strictly guarded. Under the circumstance a risk theoretically was out of question. The Governor General’s party proceeded with confidence. The Governor General was accompanied by officers, who were very well familiar with the route between Anapa and the Abın Stream. They had been in the service of the Right Flank Command for a long time, and had numerous engagements with the Adiges. They were highly experienced in dealing with the Adiğes. Prince Michael was traveling in a covered coach. General Yevdemikof was seated to the left of the Price. Two cavalry colonels rode on the sides of the coach. As the party passed through the plains and entered the rough terrain covered with forests on either side, a young captain approached the colonel riding on right side of the coach; and warned him that the road ahead could be dangerous. The colonel cast a disparaging look at the captain. But the latter insisted in his surmise. “You have circulated the itinerary of the Prince to all the garrisons to alert them for security measures. Are you sure the Circassians didn’t pick up the news?”, the captain stressed. He added, following a pause, - Sir, the Circassians are as shrewd and cunning as the sons of the Satan. We can’t predict when and where we would confront them. Forgive me! I don’t mean to commit indiscipline. I simply mean to alert you. The colonel signaled the driver to halt. He conveyed the anxiety of the captain to the prince and the general. Following a brief argument the prince and the general came out of the coach, and in their place two cavalry men got in to it. The prince and the general mounted on the horses. The coach followed the planned route, escorted by about ten cavalry men; while the contingent, including the prince and the general turned to the north, and making a wide arch, ascended to the bank of the Adegum Stream. The latter planning was the work of the colonel, who wished to prove the captain wrong. The coach, supposed to be carrying the prince, was ambushed as planned. The Adiğe fighters quickly overpowered the Cossack guards. To their dismay they soon discovered they had been hoodwinked. Prince Michael and General Yevdemikof waited in vain for the coach to catch up at the Fort Abın. A search party composed of two infantry companies supported by light artillery was finally sent out. Only then the abortive attempt on the life of the Governor General was confirmed. The captain, to whose vigilance the Prince and the General owed their lives, was awarded with decorations and promotion to a higher rank. O0O The Province of Terek, with Stavrapol as its capital, was constituted subsequent to the capitulation of Imam Şamil. It was composed of administrative divisions of Daghistan, Çeçenistan, Kaberdey and Osetya. In 1862 General Loris Melikov replaced Prince Mirski as the Commander of the Province of Terek. Musa Kunduk, an Asetin by origin, was appointed as the Commander of the Çeçen Region He was later promoted to the rank of General. Musa Kunduk belonged to an aristocratic family, had been educated in the Russian military schools, and had received decorations in recognition of his meritorious services in the campaigns in Hungary and Poland. In the Caucasian war he had been employed in the rear services. While in charge of administrative affairs in the Çeçen Region, Musa Kunduk had endeavored to stabilize peace in the area. Loris Melikov, however, wanted to scratch the scar of old wound. He submitted a highly dangerous scheme to the approval of Prince Michael, seeking deportation of the Çeçens to the north of the river Terek. Musa Kunduk, being subordinate to Loris Melikov, reminded him of the risk involved in the project, and recommended that the scheme be withdrawn. General Melikov, on the other hand, was not contented with the repression the Çeçens had been subjected to, and wished to further penalize them. He responded Musa Kunduk, concealing his real intention.
- The Çeçens are not satisfied with the size of land allocated to
them. Mindful of their future, I want them be transferred to a more expansive
territory. What is wrong with such a benevolent scheme?
The Czar visited Crimea in 1863 for summer vacation. In the recent years vacationing in the summer resorts had become a fashionable practice among the Russian aristocracy. The beaches of Taman and Crimea were crowded by the vacationers. The Russian Emperor was there for rest and recreation, as well as to monitor the developments in Caucasia from a closer station, such as Crimea. While Musa Kunduk wrestled with Melikov to the best of his ability within the scope of his authority to scrap the deportation scheme; a group of Kaberdey and Oset aristocrats went to Crimea to solicit the Czar. They were received the Russian monarch. The Kaberdey and Oset aristocrats had been adversely effected by the Abolition of Slavery and by the introduction of Land Reforms. Not sufficed with those; lately, the remaining fertile lands in their possession had been appropriated to the Cossacks. The aristocrats, petitioned that they had been condemned to a pitiful condition, and solicited the Czar’s mercy for being relieved of their present plight. The Czar was kind to the Caucasian Prices, who had pledged loyalty to him. The Czar and his cronies were adapt to behave commensurate with the time and context. The Kaberdey and Oset aristocrats were responded accordingly. Kind words were uttered, appeasing them in vague terms, to the effect that their complaints would be redressed. Musa Kunduk was admired for his serene and constructive conduct. He had won the confidence and appreciation of the Çeçens as well as his superiors. At this very juncture he was promoted to the rank of General in recognition of his services for consolidation of peace. General Musa Kunduk had been wary. For the ostensible promise, in fact, was of little value; and those who did the policy making on behalf of the Czar were sitting in Tiflis. They had to be persuaded first. General Kunduk prepared a parallel plan to off-set the one of General Loris Melikov. His report stressed that serious disturbances might occur in the event of deportation of the Çeçens and other highlanders as planned. He took leave of absence from his immediate superior, went to Tiflis, and presented his report to General Kartzev, the Chief of Staff of Prince Michael. In the meantime Loris Melikov’s plan had already been endorsed by the Governor General, and submitted to the Czar and the Cabinet, who readily approved it and ordered its implementation. General Kartzev in clear terms let it be know to General Musa Kunduk that there was nothing that could be done on the case, and added that there was no need to discuss the matter with Prince Michael. It was the moment of making a very difficult decision on the part General Musa Kunduk. He imagined the nature of reaction the Çeçens would manifest in the event of implementation of Melikov’s plan. Such Çeçen leaders as Naib Sadullah and Alajuko Tsug, had already been pent-up. A minor spark could cause a big fire, tantamount to thousands of loss of life and widespread misery. On the premise that the Çeçens would prefer to migrate to the territories of the Caliph rather than being deported beyond Terek, there and then he made a critical decision without consulting anyone. He too had been disenchanted by the Russian rule. He had been virtually a suspect since the beginning of his effort to protect his countrymen. Prickly questions were addressed to him all the time. Musa Kunduk disclosed his views to General Kartzev. - The policy is to cut down Çeçen population. This is the most convenient way to achieve it. If I may be permitted, I would like to go to Istanbul myself, and discuss the issue with the Turkish authorities. The Chief of Staff conveyed Musa Kunduk’s proposition to the Governor General. The response was in affirmative. He was permitted to go to Istanbul on government expense. The formalities were completed in no time. Kunduk was provided with travel documents and a thousand Ruble travel allowance. He went to Istanbul via Trabzon, and settled down at Hotel Orient. First he started with acquiring necessary information, essential to determine how to proceed with his mission. In the meantime he prepared a memorandum to be presented to the Government. There was a sizable Caucasian population in Istanbul. Most of them ha come there at various occasions, many years ago. They had acquired jobs and circle of friends, commensurate with their capability. Some of those who had entered Government service , now occupied executive positions. For instance; Huseyin Paşa, and Hafiz and Ali Paşa brothers were leading personalities in Istanbul society. Musa Kunduk met them; narrated them the object of his visit. Then he called on the Foreign Minister, and subsequently was received by the Prime Minister Fuat Paşa. He submitted his report. He visited the Sublime Porte in the capacity of a well placed General of the Imperial Army of Russia, rather than merely an ordinary Caucasian. He was in his Russian General’s uniform to manifest his status as such. The Prime Minister assured him that personally he was prepared to help him; but needed time to consider the practical aspects of the matter in consultation with relevant authorities. He advised Musa Kunduk to give him some time. The Istanbul Government was strained in systematically rehabilitating the incoming Caucasian immigrants, who crowded the harbors. About fifteen days later Musa Kunduk was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ali Paşa informed Kunduk that the Ottoman Government had acceded to his request on condition that the refugees arrived Turkey in groups no more than five thousand families each. A disorderly mass exodus would cause trouble both to the Government and the refugees themselves, the Foreign Ministry warned. It took forty-five days for Musa Kunduk before he could finalize his mission in Istanbul. He bade good-bye to his acquaintance individually. Ali Paşa and his brother Hafiz Paşa, both of Ubih extraction, were wary of the projected mass exodus. They were aware of the difficulties experienced by those who had arrived earlier. They particularly advised Musa Kunduk not to rush. Ali Paşa stressed, - A serious tension is building up between France and Russia. The world political situation might change for the better. Please wait a little while, if you could. General Musa Kunduk sailed on board of SS Konstantin to Odessa, where his son and a nephew were studying. He intended to pay them a visit on his way home. On the way he pondered for long hours over the suggestion of Hafiz and Ali brothers. He said by himself, “ How long the Çeçens could wait? When Loris Melikov attempts to deport the Çeçens, what Naib Sadullah would do? He would take up arms, there would be a lot of bloodshed. He doubted the Ottoman Paşas had any idea about the situation in Caucasia?” These and similar words kept on ringing in his ears at nights. The refugees would return to Caucasia, victorious at the next major war, Musa Kunduk illumined. The Caucasians had been at war for a hundred years now. They had gotten used to misery and distress. They were people of great endurance. No matter if they depart their homeland now; they would surely return home when the time came. To gain fresh blood and renewed hope, there was need for a change. To know the world and to produce new policies the Caucasians needed to migrate. So Kunduk consoled himself. By the time he disembarked in Odessa there was no trace of doubt and hesitation in his mind as to the necessity of the projected migration of the Çeçens to Turkey 1. O0O Lapinski had departed from Caucasia late in 1859, assuming that the resistance had come to an end. Nevertheless the Caucasian patriots did not yield against all odds. The Polish veteran soldier overjoyed as word about it reached him. He was been incessantly engaged in publicity in support of the Caucasian cause, and tried to collect material assistance for the struggle. The Polish patriots, cognizant of the common destiny of their own homeland and Caucasia, both victims of Russian aggression; did whatever they could to save Adigey from being overrun. Another Polish veteran, Capt. Kozeradski, came to Caucasian in September of 1862. About a year later he was followed by Col. Klamens. Captain Magnan’s ingenious seamanship helped Col. Klemens to elude the Russian blockade, and land at Vardar, with four artillery guns, an assortment of ammunition and light weapons and forty trained soldiers. He intended reinforce the Caucasian resistance by organizing a disciplined regular combat unit. The rank and file of the resistance in the Ubih region was still intact and united when the Polish ex-colonel arrived there. Col. Klemens had reckoned Kazanuko Ismail Bey, an Ubih leader, as a consistent and reasonable person. He cultivated him with his ideas, confided him, and won him over in implementing is plans. In compliance with the advice of Col. Kelemens, Ismail Bey set up a national governemnt with Tuaps as its seat, and set to work to organize a regular national army. The communiqués he issued were generally welcomed. Soon fighting men rallied around him. All the aliens, mainly the Turks, Poles, British and French nationals, gathered at his headquarters. Russian deserters, men and officers, also joined them. The French and British nationals, who happened to be there to help the Caucasians, carried no official status whatsoever. They belonged to the adventure seeking volunteers category. Unfortunately it was too late now. For the Şapsığs, who formed the backbone of the resistance, had been cut apart by the corridor that the Russian army had pierced through. As a result the Ubihs were encircled on the land side. Thus the independent government declared by Ismail Bey was cornered within the confines of a small area, surrounded by sea on one side and the Russian troops on the other. They hoped, however, to receive reinforcement and then counter attack; but as the encirclement tightened, the hope of receiving reinforcement, hence possibility of a counter-attack, fizzled out. They had no alternative but assume a defensive position. Russian military authorities continually monitored the activities of the Poles, who “infiltrated” Caucasia through Istanbul and Trabzon. The Russian Government, on the basis of intelligence from Caucasia, brought diplomatic pressure to bear upon the Ottoman Government as to the activities of the Polish veterans. the Ottoman Government for violating the terms of the Paris Peace Treaty. The Ottoman Statesmen were in embarrassing position. On the other hand the situation in the Turkish port cities were out of control due to the influx of refugees. The were more than a hundred-thousand displaced persons to be rehabilitated. The Russian diplomatic pressure added insult to injury. Consequently, the Ottoman Government prohibited foreign nationals to travel to Caucacia through Ottoman territories, and issued a stern warning to trespassers, and tightened security control at the ports of exit. The winter of 1863-64 proved disastrous for Adigey. The dreaded end had finally arrived.. The Russian High Command, having fully brought the eastern part of Caucasia and Georgia, shifted all available troops there to the Şapsığ and Abzeh regions. They no more were prepared to consider any offer to make peace. Their intent was to displace the Adiğes from their land at any cost. By the spring of 1864 all centers of resistance collapsed, except for certain elements in the hinterland of the Şapsığ region who still sustained defiance of Russian authority. The last of the resistance forces formed a defense line in the Hodz Valley, to the south of Maykop. They were based at the Akşıp village. They fortified the narrow valley, which was packed with displaced people. Over three thousand women and children, who happened to have accumulated in the area, tagged along behind the fighters, were sheltered in the forest camps. The Şapsığ, Abzeh and Ubih tribes, highly self-respect peoples, had obstinately resisted the Russian aggression for many years. They bravest among had laid their lives at the battles . The surviving handful of warriors would fight not to win the war, but to salvage their dignity and pride. On the Adiğe side there were a few war veterans of Polish, French and Turkish nationality. The assisted the Adiğe forces in positioning the few artillery guns and appropriate places. The infantry elements carrying rifles and swords were arranged in left and right flanks. The terrain being rough and hilly, the cavalry men dismounted their horses and took their place along with the infantry. The young females stayed ready in reserve immediately behind the front line, to enter the engagement if and we needed. The aged men and women, and the children clustered not far from the fortifications, suggesting they intended to pay their part. The Russian infantry and cavalry moved forward on either side of the Hodz Valley, with their horse driven artillery pieces at the rear. First there were exchange of gun fire. Then followed a close fight, a bloody one, hand to hand. As men fell, young women and girls replaced them immediately. The Russian side deployed at the Hodz front as many as thirty-thousand regular troops, plus then-thousand militia. They received reinforcement as the battle progressed. All had been equipped with fire arms. The bloody engagement lasted for several hours. The Adiğe warriors fought to the last man. The aged, the women and children then dived amidst the Russian soldiers, who were creaming, overwhelmed with the euphoria of victory. Whereas their sons, husbands, brothers and sisters existed no more; their own survivial was meaningless. The debacle presented a most horrible scene. Hundreds of women and children were bayoneted or sworded down. During the early the morning hours of that day the Hodz Valley was lively. Thousands of hearts beat in excitement. By the sunset, however, the dark shroud of death had covered all over the place. The stream that flowed through the middle of the valley was filled with dead bodies. The water had been colored in red. The scene was extremely horrible indeed. The commanding officers could not enjoy their victory at the sight of the balance sheet. They were horrified. A similar encounter took place in the south of the Ubih region, in the neighborhood of Vaye ( or Vardan). The Russians had conceded to an autonomous status for Abhazya. The last Abhaz king had been forced to abdicate and depart his kingdom a year ago, on charge of collaboration with the resistance. The people, therefore, had been at agitated since then. The Ubihs too were disenchanted. They were insistent on independence, and dismissed the idea of migration. The Şapsığs and Abzehs, who had crossed the Caucasus mountains and descended to the coast, actually intended to migrate to the Ottoman territories. When they became aware of the determination of the Abhaz and Ubih tribes to sustain resistance, they changed their mind. The males, after having settled their females and children in safer upstream valleys, joined the resistance. The Russian fort commanders and the navy had been closely watching the attempts by the Adiğe forces to regroup. Reinforcements were dispatched to Vaye from the garrisons in Şapsın and Gelincik in the north, followed by landing of marine units and artillery batteries.
Though either side believed to have carried out its troop movements under
cover; in effect the dispositions of one side had been discovered
by the other day to day.
The Combined Caucasian Army preempted the Russians, attacked the garrison in Vaye. The Russian warships neared the shore as close as possible, and bombarded the Caucasian forces assaulting Vaye. In no time Russian troops approached the engagement line both from the north and the south to relieve their garrison in Vaye. The Combined Caucasian Army was thus encircled on three sides. After three hours of fierce fighting it was forced to retreat in the direction of the mountains. The Caucasian fighters though were able to halt the Russians in the forests, they had suffered heavy losses both at the in the coast as well as in the forests. The Caucasians by now realized that the situation was hopeless. On the next day they proposed cease-fire, and let it be known that they were prepared to yield to make peace. The foreigners, who had come to Caucasia to help the resistance too were convinced by then that the resistance had no chance. They mixed up with the refugees, and moved out to Anatolia. The battles for Hodz and Vaye both had been directed not by the established leaders, but by the lesser leaders, who had actually borne the brunt of the fight with the Russians that far. They could take any risk to save the national dignity. The courage they manifested at the Hodz Valley and in the neighborhood of Vaye was unparalleled. The entire Adiğe people was blamed on that account. The Russian General Staff, summing up the status of security in Caucasia, reported to the Czar and the Government: “So long as a single Circassian remains in the highlands, the country can not be claimed fully secure!” O0O During 1850s telegraphy had been extended Crimea and Caucasia. The Czar and the Government in St. Petersburg received daily reports on the developments. The Governor General, Grande Duke Michael, at his headquarters in Tiflis used to review the up-to-date reports from his field commanders in Taman and other centers, and forwarded the same along with his own comments telegraphically to St. Petersburg. Being a brother of Czar Alexander II, he was all the more strictly guarded. OHRANO, the secret police organization of the time, continually alerted him of the threat against his life posed by the Nihilists2 ; because the members of the royal family had been the primary targets of terrorist group. The Nihilists had organized been underground throughout Russian. They had infiltrated Caucasia too. They had recruited like minded persons from every nationality. The Governor General, therefore, could not freely travel or move around as freely as he used to do before the advent of the Nihilists, who sought destruction of the Czarist regime. His movement was guarded under strict secrecy. He was overjoyed at the news of the fall of Hodz, the last bastion of the Caucasian resistance, freely letting the blood of the patriots. He wished to see with his own eyes the proud Caucasians trampled under the Russian boots. His advisors dissuaded him on the premise that yet there was a total chaos there, and the situation was fraught with danger. The area reports suggested that although large scale resistance had ended, but local and sporadic unrest continued. Incidents of sabotage, ambush and assassination of Russian officers, including senior ones, were rampant. By the end of May of 1864 Grand Duke Michael arrived at the conclusion that the Russian victory in Caucasia was final and irreversible. He sent the following telegraph to the Czar: “ This is to report the end of the Caucasian campaign full of heroism. On this occasion I earnestly congratulate Your Majesty. As of this date there is no single clan or village not subdued. The proud Circassians are ready to kiss Your Majesty’s feet!” The Czar and his government rejoiced over the event more than their predecessors did on the occasion of the rout of Napoleon’s armies. He ordered Provincial Governors to publicly celebrate the occasion for three days and three nights. Throughout the Russian Empire the church bells rung, public entertainment was organized, and the wine and liqueur cellars were wide open free for all in honor of the occasion. The bars of Petersburg and Moscow were full of drunks. The Czar and his cronies were justified on one point. The proud Caucasian people had been subdued at the cost of nearly ten million Russian soldiers. Intoxicated by the victory, the Czar issued an Edict addressed to the people of Caucasia, in which the “Circassians” were ordered to come out from their hideouts in the highland, and surrender their arms; that they would be either rehabilitated in areas to be specified by the Russian Garrison Command along the river Kuban, or would be deported abroad within a short time, depending on their own choice. The Edict was translated in all the dialects then spoken in Caucasia, and was circulated by the military throughout the land. It was verbally delivered by the commanding officer at the farthest end to the leading local individuals. . The exodus had actually commenced two years ago. The latest Edict of the Czar, however, left no doubt in the minds of the ones yet undecided. Then began the ruinous mass migration. O0O The Sultan and his Government favorably received , in principle, the idea of rehabilitation of the Caucasian displaced persons in the Ottoman Empire.. To handle the upcoming refugees issue, the Ottoman Government had instituted the Immigration Authority3 in Istanbul way back in 1960, with branch offices in all the ports of embarkation all along the black Sea coast, from Tranbzon to Vardar or Vaye. In agreement with the Russian authorities, Ottoman representatives had been dispatched to Caucasia to organize an orderly flow of the refugees. In the meantime the Caucasia Relief Committee in Britain experienced little difficulty in activating the British Government; thanks to the efforts of Earl Russell, the then Foreign Secretary and an old member of the Friends of Caucasia Society. The Foreign Secretary alerted the British Ambassador in Istanbul, Sir H. Bulworth, to do the needful with respect to the Caucasian exodus. The British Ministry of Commerce had been equally responsive to the issue. British vessels navigating in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea were instructed to take part in the transportation of the refugees. The French Government also took a series of decisions. The French Embassy in Istanbul was instructed to be involved in efforts relevant to the refugees. Each of the parties concerned had a specific interest of its own in pursuing the refugees issue. The Ottoman Government was interested in rehabilitating the brave and industrious Caucasian refugees in the frontier regions; along the River Danube in the west, and in the provinces of Kars and Erzurum in the east. The British and French were interested in utilizing the Caucasian refugees as a source of amenable manpower to be employed in their respective colonial possessions. The genuine friends of the Caucasians, such as David Urquhart and James Longworth, were restless. They were wary of the probable dispersion of the Caucasians to distant parts of the world, and their eventual assimilation by the local societies. The friends wanted to see the Adiğes rehabilitated in practical concentration at given areas; so that they could preserve their distinct cultural identity. Hence they advocated that it would be unwise to rehabilitate them in places far away from Caucasia. Russia did not tolerate an Adiğe population in Caucasia, large enough to form a potential threat in the future. so they planned reducing the population of the “recalcitrant people” through imposing or encouraging the exodus. The calculation of none of the parties materialized in the final analysis. Hundreds of thousands of Caucasians were displaced, and set out from their home. Within a matter of couple of weeks the harbors on the Black Sea coast were all packed up with refugees. A long but narrow strip of land along the shore assumed the scene of Doomsday. Now it was impossible to check or control the masses in flux. What motivated them was neither the intimidation of the Czar nor the invitation of the Sultan. It was the dictate of his/her pride, which overrode all other considerations. Be he/she a Muslim or a Christian, it did not matter. The Russian military authorities attempted to retain the Christian groups; but the refugee turned down the offer. The Ubihs and Abazas, who professed Christianity, too hit the road out of Caucasia, holding the holy cross in their hand,. The Caucasian has been fighting against the Russian aggression for the last one hundred years. The relations between the Caucasian and the Russian had assumed one of blood feud, irrespective of religious affiliation. They could not co-exist. anymore. Whatever the consequences be, they must get out, “ just not to see the stannic face of the enemy”. The Caucasian mass migration was jointly organized by the Ottoman and Russian governments. But neither of the governments expected it to assume such a great dimension. They were stunned and helpless at the sight of the unexpected large masses crowding the harbors both in the north and the south. Hundreds of vessels from different countries entered the Black Sea, like pirates, hoping to grab a piece or two from the loot. The life and property of the Caucasian were treated as items of commerce. The parties concerned, in total disregard of moral values and the rules of decency, were intent to help themselves freely in this free for all international market.. In the meantime Tsemez, an outgrown military base, developed to a major city wit markets and thriving commerce. Its population rapidly increased with continual influx of Russian colonists. The plain terrain behind the Bay of Tsemez was filled with buildings. The Russians called it “Novorossiysk”. Greater part of the refugees, displaced from the highlands, valleys and villages; gathered outside Novorossiysk. The natives of the coast, the Şapsığs and Abzehs lined up in the beach for exit. During the years after termination of hostilities several clans from various tribes had surrendered their weapons and had agreed to be rehabilitated at places to be determined by the Russian authorities. Members of the Bjeduğ, Besleney, Kumguy and Şapsığ tribes, and partly the Abzehs, who traditionally inhabited in the plains, were directed to migrate to the basins of the rivers Kuban and Laba. They were not sure of the future. So they set up temporary camps there. As the hostilities ended, and as the question of leaving Caucasia permanently came on the agenda; a part of the above conglomeration of the tribal people opted to “migrate to the land of the Caliph of Islam”. The valleys and forests beyond the Bay of Tsemez, now called Novorossiysk, were occupied by the masses of prospective immigrants. The inhabitants of the villages in the vicinity of the shore also had packed up in anticipation of the ships, which they imagined would come and carry them away. There was a virtual flood of human being flowing from the hinterland down to the coast. By now over a hundred-thousand persons had accumulated there. The inhabitants of the coast could not obviously provide all the refugees with food and shelter. Everybody had to look after himself. Thousands of huts and barracks were improvised, and hundreds of tents were pitched. Those groups sailing out, were immediately replaced by ones moving in from the rear. The refugees had herded to the coast their domestic animals too. Russian and Armenian dealers in livestock were busy in the camps, in bargaining for the animals. The Adiğe refugees needed cash for their onward journey. They were trying to sell their animals and valuables, at any rate, and butchered and ate the disabled or older animals. They had no other alternative. The junior military personnel at the Russian base also were stealthy involved in the profitable transaction of buying whatever attractive objects the refugees offered. They resorted to traps and enticements of all kinds seeking a better bargain. The refugees were offered precedence in boarding the vessel or in getting space to pitch their tents closer to the harbor against handsome bribes. Similarly the seamen involved in the evacuation also were engaged in fleecing them. Most of the Ottoman and Russian vessels made available for evacuation of the refugees were cargo ships. The refugees were boarded to the maximum capacity of the ships. The Adiğe of the hinterland, who had no idea of the sea and passage by ship under normal conditions, did not mind the poor condition in the cargo vessel. He took it for granted that it was the usual practice. In the process of evacuation, the Caucasian refugees suffered the worst in the hands the captains and crew of the pirate vessels. They coveted the entire material possession of the refugees. They spared no malice in robbing the helpless asylum seekers. They planned selling in to slavery the young girls and women, whom they hoped to seduce to board their vessel. With that malicious intention they went round the refugee camps to select the appropriate groups. In no time, however, they were bitterly frustrated. They paid with their life for the cost of under-estimating the Caucasians. The younger women and girls suffered most both at the camps and on board the ships. It was trying indeed to observe the rigid rules of Adiğe tradition under the extreme adverse conditions. In the presence of her male elders, the Adiğe tradition required the woman to keep standing; she was not supposed to eat or drink; nor she could love her children. Thousands of women refugees suffered observing the rules, notwithstanding the fatigue and hunger they had to endure. As a result their health condition was impaired, and many collapsed to death on foot. The Kutak village was surrounded by refugee camps. The Basti Osman’s quarter, and its approaches were full of miserable men and women. Osman’s will to migrate or not, was immaterial. For he was like an object caught up in a deluge that swept away anything on its way. Daily he would go down to the harbor and watch the ships full of refugees sailing out. He would return home in the evening with a sullen look. Everyone in the Basti quarters had already packed up in anticipation of a signal from Bastiko Osman to move out. Skurun, Osman’s wife, had overcome the initial bewilderment months ago; and had accepted the “migration phenomenon” as an accomplished fact. She had been disconcerted over the idea of migration. “I grew up in this courtyard. I got married and raised my children here. How could I abandon my sweet home and go away?” she had said then. She was a child when her father drowned in the icy waters of Kuban on his way back from an attack on the enemy. After the episode being narrated to her later, she had mourned for her father for many years. When her elder brother Hacımet was wounded at the battle outside the Fort Şasi, she was at an age when she could reason things. Later on, she remembered, several boys from the district had gone to fight and perished. In the course of the last one year she had recollected those persons and events one by one. Her sisters and the other women present then in the courtyard had joined her in shedding tears over the sorrowful events of the past. Nevertheless, now her eyes sparkled. The refugees from the hinterland, who had come down to the coast leaving their sweet home behind, had narrated her the catastrophe there. They had warned her. She was indeed aware of the misery caused by the unending bloodshed. Her elders had told the stories of it time and again. Now she experienced the horror herself. She now was witnessing the masses, including women and children, whose villages had been destroyed and who were forced to leave their home. She was horrified at the magnitude of the upheaval. Her spirit was in revolt. Her husband had been a peace-loving person since his early youth. He had managed to come to terms with the enemy upon the occupation of Tsemez. As a result the residents of Kutak had relatively easier time during the worst period of the war. Skurun did not blame her husband’s attitude. Nevertheless it was hard for her to tolerate to see him remain cool in the face of the disaster. She could not understand why he still seemed undecided, while every week scores of ships, filled to the brim with refugees, left the harbor. She avoided looking at her husband’s face; thereby she tried to convey her disapproval of his attitude. Some times she uttered words that would offend him. “I seems you are waiting for the Ambassador of the Sultan to come and invite you to his realm!” she once told him. She said, - It is over a year since people have been sailing out from the harbor. Why ? Just for entertainment? For sure you know what force them to make the painful decision! Their dignity and their right to exist are threatened. They could not stand it. They hit the roads; for it was the only way to salvage their own dignity, their pride! Skurun breathed a deep breath, shook her head and continued, - One day you might find yourself all alone on the coast! We will see how your Russian friends would treat you then! On such occasion, when Skurun lost her patience, Osman would gaze at his wife and painfully smile. He sensed that what had been tormenting him for so many years had at last overwhelmed her too. What she said did not annoy him. He advised her patience, and tried to appease her by candidly speaking out his mind. He was afraid lest frustration plague the whole of the Basti quarters. The Russian military authorities had devised certain arrangements to formalize the migration. Offices were set up at all points of exit to check and document departures. The offices were authorized to identify and keep an account of the out going refugees; and were also supposed to determine the mode and destination of the migration. They cooperated with the Ottoman authorities to the extent possible under the circumstances. By virtue of the good relation he had been maintaining with the Russian garrison in Tsemez, Osman enjoyed a certain degree of facility in keeping abreast with what had been going on there recently. He had the means of being informed of the situation on the Ottoman side as well. The information available to him suggested that things had been far from satisfactory on the shores of Anatolia too. The refugees, to the tune of hundreds of thousands, dumped at the harbors of Istanbul, Trabzon and Sinop, were in miserable condition. Each day hundreds of them perished out of starvation and disease. Being totally stranger to the environment, the refugees did not know where and how to go. They waited in the open or in the improvised shelters, for some one to lead them out. What worried Osman most was the fate of his brother Ahmet and his kin in the Psıfabe Valley. He received no word about either of them. Bastiko Osman hoped that in case they decide to move out of Caucasia, they would turn up in Tsemez. He wanted to wait to the last moment to allow time for his brother and the Bastis in Psıfabe Valley to reach Tsemez. That explained why he did not rush to move out. It was almost one year since he lost track of Ahmet. In the face of growing Russian pressure in the coastal region, Bastiko Ahmet and Zanıko Karabatır, along with their families, had retreated to the hinterland. When Osman heard about Ahmet the last time, the latter was in the Şapsığ region, which then fell to the Russians. Ahmet had two sons and one daughter. The boys were in their early youth. Osman worried about Hangoş, his sister-in-law, and his nephews. He was concerned about the fate of Ahmet’s family in the event of his brothers accidental demise. O0O The British Government had been maintaining Consulates in Varna, Odessa and Trabzon since long. A British Consulate was opened in Abhazya as soon as Russian predominance there was confirmed. British Foreign Secretary Earl Russell, being a long-standing friend of the Caucasians, took special interest in the migration issue. He instructed the British Ambassador in Istanbul, Sir H.Bulworth, to take a certain set of measures on the matter. Ambassador Bulworth was in constant communication with the British Consuls in Trabzon, Odessa and Sokhum; Steven, Murey and Dickson respectively. He received a monthly report from each of them. In the meantime he did what he could to ensure that British commercial vessels carried the Caucasian refugees on favorable terms. Mr.Stewens, the British Consul in Trabzon, having witnessed the miserable condition of the refugees, approached Emin Paşa, the Governor of Trabzon, to invite his attention if something could be done to improve their condition. The Governor assured him that the government had been doing all within their means, and informed him that the authorities were anguish by their helplessness in the face of the colossal problem. Ambassador Bulworth, ostensibly due to humanitarian concern, pressured the Ottoman Government, and continually demanded Sadık Paşa, the Chairman of the emigration Commission, to provide him with information on the refugees. The Ottoman officials were experienced in dealing with the problem of refugees. For there had been incessant migrations from the Caucasus, Crimea and the Balkans to Anatolia during the past one hundred years. In the process, displaced families, in hundreds of thousands, had been rehabilitated by the Ottoman Government. The earlier mass migration in question occurred in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Crimea. Thousands of Tatars, displaced from the Peninsula and the Taman Region, sought asylum in Istanbul by sea, and a lot many descended to the plains of Romania and Bulgaria, then provinces of the Ottoman Empire, by the land route. The next wave of migration to Turkey occurred in the aftermath of the Crimean War, when a large number of Tatars, accused of collaboration with the Allied Powers, were deported from their home. It was a recent episode. A greater part of the Tatar refugees in later instance had been rehabilitated in the empty areas in between Bulgar villages in the southern basin of the river Danube. A good number of Caucasians included the Tatars migrating from Crimea and its neighborhood. Since time immemorial the Adiğes had been living on the islands in the Strait of Kerç and in the Taman Region. They generally belonged to the Şapsığ, Hatkoy, Bjeduğ, Jane and Natuhay tribes. They formed small communities engaged in commerce and fishing. When both shores of the Strait of Kerç were invaded by the Russians, a part of them moved to the south of the river Kuban; while another part migrated, along with the Tatars, to Anatolia and the Balkans. While the Ottoman Government, in the process, gained experience in the rehabilitation of the displaced asylum seekers, The Russians equally improved their expertise in uprooting and deporting the indigenous population of the territories they grabbed by brute force. The Russian Ambassador in Istanbul, Novikov, was busy in orienting the migration process according to his Government’s preferences. He alerted his government, personally inspected the Russian vessels involved in the process, and reported to his authorities on the developments relevant to the migration. Russia pursued a definite demographic policy both in the Caucasus and the Balkans. Years ago, at the time of the rehabilitation of the Tatars in between to Bulgar villages, Russia had tried in vain to oppose it. This time Russia was particularly insistent on the rehabilitation of the Caucasian refugees in Anatolia, rather than in the Balkans. This time too their attempt went in vain. While the Russian vessels disembarked their human load on the Anatolian coast, the Ottoman ships disembarked the refugee they carried to the Ottoman territories in the Balkans. O0O 1Subsequently
General Musa Kunduk migrated to Turkey overland at the head of a
group of three thousand Asetin and Çeçen refugees. He was admitted
to the Turkish Armed Forces with the rank of Paşa.
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