Circassian Majlis
The Circassian Majlis Шъхьафитныгъэ Хасэ Şhafitnığə Xasə | |
|---|---|
| 1st Parliament of Circassia | |
 The Circassian flag variant used by the Majlis | |
 The Circassian hammer-cross | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 13 June 1860 |
| Disbanded | 21 May 1864 |
| Succeeded by |  Qbaada last stand |
| Leadership | |
Majlis Elder | |
Important Members | Qarabatir Zanuqo (son of Sefer Bey Zanuqo)[1] |
Ismail Braqiy[1] | |
Hasan Effendi | |
Ibrahim Effendi | |
Khusht Muhammad[1] | |
| Motto | |
| Псэм ипэ напэ Psəm yipə napə "Honor before life" | |
| Meeting place | |
| Ş̂açə (Modern-day Sochi) (1861-1862) | |
| Mutıxwa (Modern-day Plastunki) (1862-1864) | |
| Qbaada (Modern-day Krasnaya Polyana) (1864) | |
The Circassian Majlis[2] (Adyghe: Адыгэ Хасэ, romanized: Adıgə Xasə; also called the Majlis of Independence Adyghe: Шъхьафитныгъэ Хасэ, romanized: Şhafitnığə Xasə)[2] was the legislature of Circassia and a political resistance council formed in 1860 after a meeting in Sochi between the leaders of the Circassian regions, most notably the Shapsug, the Natukhaj, and the Ubykh.[3][4][5][6][7]
The Majlis consisted of the leaders of the tribal confederations with the intention to defend the Western part of Circassia from Russian invasion,[8] and to liberate the occupied Eastern Circassia from the Russian Empire and their Cossack troops during the Russian-Circassian War.[9] It also sent delegates abroad to gain support for the Circassian struggle internationally.[5]
History[]
Being a political resistance council and the legislature of Circassia,[5][6][7] the Majlis was established in the capital city of Sochi (Adyghe: Шъачэ, romanized: Ş̂açə) on June 13, 1860 and Qerandiqo Berzeg was elected as the head of the Majlis.[10]
Although the Shapsug, Natukhaj, and Ubykh were the main founders, volunteers from the fallen Hatuqwai, Abdzakh, Bzhedug, Kabardian and Chemguy regions were also present. Abkhazians and Abazins also took part in the construction of the Majlis building.
Nobles, elders and commanders of all social backgrounds gathered to discuss the immediate need to collaborate and work together regardless of their ideological, ethnic, religious or social divisions for the sake of survival.
In an effort to raise awareness, the council formally drafted and declared the independent state of Circassia and immediately sought to have the Circassian nation recognized, as well as redouble efforts to secure arms and material support to finance their self-defense campaigns. They discussed tactics, planned alliances and made efforts to prepare for a last stand (see Qbaada last stand).
The first decisions[]
The decisions taken by the Majlis were the following:
- Elect a leader (Qerandiqo Berzeg was elected)
- Officially unite the all of Circassia (as opposed to the previous system where the tribal regions banded together as allies, but were not one unified state) and declare the "Independent Republic of Circassia"
- Unify under the name "Circassian" and completely remove tribal divisions
- Open the way for mandatory service of all males and able females over 15 in the army
- Establish proper contact with the Circassian communities in Constantinople and London
- Divide the state into 12 states and appoint a scholar, judge and governor to each of them
- Make new tax laws, primarily in order to create a defense fund
- Unify military command
- Prepare military plans for organized attacks on the Russian military outposts on the coast
Negotiations with Russia[]
The Majlis government negotiated with the Russian Tsar Alexander II in September 1861 to establish peace, expressing their readiness to accept Russian citizenship.
These lands belong to us.
Our intention is to rule our country with strict justice, without inflicting injustice on anyone.
A people with good intentions like us should have inspired such a powerful country like yours.
We do our best to manage our country fairly, we want to treat our compatriots fairly and respect the life and property of foreigners who come to us.
What is the task of such a powerful nation such as your country, claiming to be honorable: to destroy a people?
Be fair to us and do not destroy our property and our mosques, it is shameful for a powerful state to take a person's life unnecessarily.
You are misleading the whole world by spreading rumors that we are a savage people; yet we are human beings just like you are.
Do not seek to spill our blood, let us live here.
However, the annexation of Circassia was not enough for Russia, the tsarist government sought to evict the Circassians from the ethnic territory. The tsar consistently continued the policy of his father, Nicholas I, and rejected the Circassian compromise proposals.[2]
The Russian tsar declared that Circassia will not only be annexed to Russia unconditionally, but the Circassians will leave, and if the Circassian people do not accept forcefully migrating to Turkey, the Russian generals saw no problem in killing all Circassians. He gave the Circassian representatives a month to decide.[10]
Delegations to major powers[]
The Majlis did not accept leaving their lands and sent delegations to the Ottoman Empire and the United Kingdom to gain support from both countries, arguing that they are being massacred and they would be forced into exile soon.
In England, supporters of the Circassians organized rallies, even appealed to the queen with a request to support the Circassians. However, the British government did not respond.[2]
In Turkey, a special committee on Circassian affairs was created, and received donations from the local Muslim folk, and allegedly even from the sultan himself, secretly. However, the economically and politically weakened Ottoman Empire could not contribute in protecting the Circassians.[2]
Before any result was achieved, in 1862, as a result of the fall of Sochi, the Majlis was dissolved and almost all of its leaders eliminated, and the resistance moved to the Caucasus mountains, new Majlis meetings started to be held in Mutikhwa (Мутыхуа, now in the village of "Plastunki"), the last meeting was held in Qbaada before the Majlis took its last decision, which was to not surrender, and the Battle of Qbaada was fought. The area fell, all insurgents were massacred by the Russian army, which announced its victory on 21 May 1864.[11]
See also[]
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d 2. Российский государственный военно-исторический архив (далее – РГВИА). Ф. 38. Оп. 7. Д. 422.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "А.Д. Панеш: "Меджлис вольности черкесской" »". natpressru.info. Retrieved 2021-04-25.
- ^ Владимировна, Чунтыжева Рима (2014). "Сочинский меджлис: опыт общественно-политического творчества адыгов в XIX веке". Вестник Майкопского государственного технологического университета (4): 15–19. ISSN 2078-1024.
- ^ Трагические последствия Кавказской войны для адыгов (вторая половина XIX – начало XX в.). – Нальчик., 2000.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Фадеев А.В. Указ. соч.
- ^ Jump up to: a b Фадеев А.В. Убыхи в освободительном движении на Западном Кавказе //Исторический сборник. – М.; Л., 1935. – № 4.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c Блиев М.М., Дегоев В.В. Кавказская война. – М., 1994.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-11-29. Retrieved 2010-10-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Via UNPO
- ^ English RUVR - Archived 2012-03-18 at the Wayback Machine via the Voice of Russia
- ^ Jump up to: a b Ruslan, Yemij (August 2011). Soçi Meclisi ve Çar II. Aleksandr ile Buluşma.
- ^ Anzor, Nıbe. Çerkes Meclisi'nin 150. Kuruluşu.
Further reading[]
- Richmond, Walter. The Circassian Genocide, Rutgers University Press, 2013. ISBN 9780813560694
- Circassians
- Peoples of the Caucasus
- 1860 establishments in the Russian Empire