Lezgistan

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Lezgistan from map of the Caucasus by Johann Gustav Gaerber (1728)

Lezgistan or Lekia (Lezgian: Леӄи (lek'i)) may refer to the following:

  • a term occasionally applied to describe the present-day Kurdamir, before the Russian Revolution.[1]
  • an irredentist concept by a Sadval separatist organisation which aims to create a unified ethno-political entity in the bordering Lezgin-inhabited areas of the Russian Republic of Dagestan[2] and Azerbaijan.

Historical concept[]

While ancient Greek historians, including Herodotus, Strabo, and Pliny the Elder, referred to Legoi people who inhabited Caucasian Albania, Arab historians of 9-10th centuries mention the kingdom of Lakz in present-day southern Dagestan.[3] Al Masoudi referred to inhabitants of this area as Lakzams (Lezgins),[4] who defended Shirvan against invaders from the north.[5]

Prior to the Russian Revolution, "Lezgin" was a term applied to all ethnic groups inhabiting the present-day Russian Republic of Dagestan.[6]

Political concept[]

The Lezgin National Movement, "Sadval" (Unity) was established in July 1990 in Derbent, Dagestan, Russia (then Soviet Union).[7] They demanded the unification of the Lezgin people (in Azerbaijan and Dagestan) because they had been "denied the opportunity to develop their culture" under Soviet rule.

Sadval did not find support ground in Azerbaijan, moreover, it was cited for the March 19, 1994 bomb attack in Baku subway during which 27 people were killed.[8] There was evidence that Armenian Secret Service had participated in the creation of Sadval, provided funding, training and weapons to its militants.[9]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Лезгистан". Энциклопедический Словарь Ф.А.Брокгауза и И.А.Ефрона. Библиотека «Вѣхи». 1890–1907. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  2. ^ Markedonov, Sergey (2010). Radical Islam in the North Caucasus. Center for Strategic and International Studies. p. 2. ISBN 0892066148.
  3. ^ Haspelmath, Martin (1993). A grammar of Lezgian. Walter de Gruyter. p. 17. ISBN 3110137356.
  4. ^ Yakut, IV, 364. According to al-Masoudi (Murudzh, II, 5)
  5. ^ VFMinorsky. History of Shirvan. M. 1963
  6. ^ Olson, James Stuart; Pappas, Nicholas Charles (1994). An Ethnohistorical dictionary of the Russian and Soviet empires. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 438. ISBN 0313274975.
  7. ^ Minorities at Risk Project, Chronology for Lezgins in Russia, 2004 (accessed 21 September 2011)
  8. ^ "Acts of terrorism in Metro in other countries". Pravda. Archived from the original on 2010-08-14. Retrieved 2010-03-29.
  9. ^ Coene, Frederik (2009). The Caucasus: an introduction. Taylor & Francis. p. 161. ISBN 0415486602.
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