107
the various Mountain peoples could form autonomous local governments. Under
the governor-general a special local governor of native birth would be appointed
for each region, and the administrative organs could be developed as each saw fit
within this framework. In short, the Mountain Republic, as such, did not exist for
the Volunteers, and the compromise offered by Liakhov was the only concession,
which would be made.
293
In response, the Mountaineer government issued a statement of protest
against the profound coercion by the Volunteer Army and ordered the mobilization
of all armed forces to defend the territory against the volunteers. The first group to
face the Volunteers was the Chechen-Ingush.
294
The Whites’ ultimatum to the
Ingush caused bewilderment.. They responded to this ultimatum by appealing to
the North Caucasian government for an explanation of the situation, as they
recognized only this government and acted according to its orders. Nevertheless,
the government in Temir Khan Shura had neither the opportunity nor the time to
come to the aid of the Ingush. As a result, the Volunteer Army under the command
of General Heimann defeated the Ingush after a seven-day fight.
“After this defeat, experienced by the most courageous tribe and the one
most devoted to the idea of independence, which, according to General
Heimann, constituted an ‘iron gate’ to the North Caucasus, there was
nothing to prevent them taking Vladikavkaz and the whole territory
between there and Groznyi.”
295
Kotsev in a last attempt appointed General Khabaev, an Orthodox Osetian,
commander in chief of Chechen troops. However, Khabaev compromised with
293
Brinkley, Allied Intervention, 149-150 and see Takho Godi, 196-7.
294
Kosok, “Revolution and Sovietization II,” 53.
295
Jabagi, “Revolution,” 128.
108
Denikin who appointed him governor (pravitel) of the Osetian region.
296
This
situation caused disputes among the members of the North Caucasians government.
Kotsev was accused of passivity and failure. He was forced to resign from the
government. To ensure his resignation Nuh Bey Tarkovskiy, Reshid Khan
Kaplanov and Vassan Girey Jabagiev resigned from their posts in early March. In
addition, Kotsev got no support from the British and his government collapsed on
20 March 1919.
297
Nevertheless, in spite of strong opposition, Kotsev was once
more given the duty of setting up a new government. This new Kotsev government
included military names like Butayev and Pensulayev. However this second cabinet
of Kotsev resulted in a split between the Mountaineers.
Seeing the split within the members of the Mountaineer government
Denikin himself journeyed to Grozny in April to use the situation to his advantage.
In early May, because of increasing criticisms the second Kotsev government was
resigned and after much discussion, General Mikail Halilov was appointed
President of the Republic and given the duty of setting up a new government.
Halilov was unable to create a cabinet, however.
298
During this general confusion,
without encountering any opposition, the Volunteer Army captured first
Shamilkale (Petrovsk), and later Derbent. The Dagestani section of the Parliament
296
Baytugan, “Kuzey Kafkasya,” 10.
297
Kotsev, “Yeşil Mayıs,” 7. Cabaği, Kafkas-Rus Mücadelesi, 99-100. Mikhail Halilov or Mikhail
Halil Paşa in his reply to Denikin in Gortsy Kavkaza has given this date as 18 May. See Mikhail
Halilov, 1934. “Otvet Generalu Denikinu,” Gortsy Kavkaza, (Warsaw), 50: 16.
298
Jabagi, asserted that the decisive factor in the election of Halilov was the support of the pro-
Denikin group headed by Danyal Apashev, a former tsarist police officer and landowner.
“Revolution,” 131. And Halilov stressed that he did not want to be a President initially. He defined
himself as a military man not politician therefore he said that he was not ready or suit to the
Presidency but despite this reality the North Caucasian Parliament elected him unanimously to the
post of Presidency. See Halilov, “Otvet”, 16.
109
of the Mountain Republic decided to separate from the Mountain Republic ‘for an
indefinite time’ to establish a provisional Dagestan Government under General
Halilov on 23 May 1919. Moreover it authorized him to enter an agreement with
Denikin along the lines suggested by the British. With this decision the peoples of
the North Caucasus lost their ephemeral independence. Denikin appointed native
names as local governors in compliance with his general policy. The last president
of the Republic, Mikail Halilov was appointed as the governor-general of
Dagestan. General Aliyev, General Khabaev, and General Bekovich-Cherkaskiy
were appointed as the governors of Chechen, Osetian, and Kabardian territories
respectively. General Hacı Murat Orozhkhanov was appointed regional commander
of Temir Khan Shura. “The latter tried, on the order of the parliamentary
opposition after some stormy scenes in Parliament, but twelve of them managed to
escape via Baku to Tiflis.” In this way, the independence of the North Caucasus
Republic came to an end.
299
Following the disintegration of the North Caucasian Mountaineer Republic,
the leading political figures of North Caucasians were divided into four distinct
groupings: (1) a group of former Tsarist generals who collaborated with Denikin;
(2) a group of Mountaineers controlled by the religious leaders or sheikhs; (3) the
Bolsheviks and, (4) the group of leading nationalist figures of the Mountaineer
Republic which has to move outside of the North Caucasus.
299
Baytugan, “Kuzey Kafkasya,” 10.
Dostları ilə paylaş: |