134
Warsaw was chosen as the center for the party and its initial activities, and the
militant cadres were composed of the ‘the young intellectuals’ in Prague.
355
Thus,
it is not wrong to say that the Caucasian Mountaineers People Party was a
continuation and the amalgamation of the Union of the Caucasian Mountaineers of
Prague and Caucasian Independence Committee of İstanbul. Most of the leading
figures of both parties like, Ahmet Tsalikhov, Elmurza Bekovich Cherkaskiy,
Barasbi Baytugan, Adil Bek Kulatti, Mirza Bek Kulatti, Aytek Kundukh, Ahmet
Nabi Magoma, Gazihan Bessolt, Cemalettin Kanukati, Kosta Zangi, Ahmet
Canbek, Mehmet Girey Sunch (Sunç), Tavsultan Shakman and Ibrahim Chulik
played a role in this new organization.
From the beginning the Party quickly organized itself among the dispersed
North Caucasian diasporas and making the Middle East, especially Turkey the first
focus of its attention. Because of the policies of existing governments, it was not
possible to establish branch organizations of the party. Therefore, in order to reach
these groups, the first and most effective step was to be the substantial and
enduring publication activities. Thus, the Party initiated its first periodical Vol’nye
Gortsy in Prague, of which possibly 6 issues were published in 1927 and 1928 in
Russian.
356
Later on it was given the name of Gortsy Kavkaza/Kafkasya Dağlıları
and renamed once more in May 1934 as Severnyi Kavkaz/Şimali Kafkasya.
357
355
Said Şamil, 1995. “Said Şamil’den Muhaceretteki Kuzey Kafkasyalıların esir Vatan’ın
Kurtuluşuyla İlgili Mücadelelerine Işık Tutan Tarihi Bir Mektup,” Birleşik Kafkasya, (Eskişehir), 3:
49-50.
356
The first issue of the Vol’nye Gortsy, which was the namesake of an earlier publication that
appeared in Tiflis in 1920, was published on 26 March 1927. Then the second one was published on
3 May 1927, and the third on 28 June 1927. The 4
th
and 5
th
issues were not available for me but the
6
th
and possibly last issue was published on 19 January 1928.
357
Gortsy Kavkaza appeared through 1928 as the North Caucasian National Defense Organ. It was
continued with a Turkish component Gortsy Kavkaza/Kafkasya Dağlıları (1929-1934) and partially
concurrent Severnyi Kavkaz/Şimali Kafkasya (1934-1939).
135
First hand information on the program and party regulation is only possible
by the help of a declaration which was issued by the Party on 23 March 1927 and
published in Vol’nye Gortsy. In this declaration, the party declared that its main
aim was to establish a ‘national-territorial’ state that is a sovereign North Caucasian
Federal Republic, in compliance with the basic principles, which had drawn up by
the Andi Congress of 1917. In addition, everyone would have the right to vote,
without discrimination on grounds of race, sex, and belief. Each and every civil
liberty would also be guaranteed. The economic structure would be liberal in
content. Commercial and industrial sectors will gain the precedence for future
economic development. Therefore, the private sector will be encouraged to make
investments especially in commercial and industrial fields of activities.
358
Within the pages of the periodical the Mountaineers openly declared that
they were against the Russians. Red or white, Russians were not to be trusted and
that the Mountaineers could not wait for new and better policies to be implemented
by the Russians. Primarily, the Bolsheviks were implementing the policies of
Tsarist Russia and thus, within the pages of Vol’nye Gortsy the Mountaineers did
not hesitate to urge the leaders of the new regime: “Communists, repent before it is
too late!”
359
The Party also rejected the proposals, put forward by the newly emerging
Socialist League of East European Nations, to organize plebiscite in the lands that
358
For the text of the declaration see Vol’nye Gortsy, (Prague), 26 March 1927, 1: 1-2.
359
“Otkliki Druzey ‘Vol’nikh Gortsev’,” Vol’nye Gortsy, (Prague), 3 May 1927, 2: 21.
136
were under Soviet rule after the liberation and expressed a will to be
independent.
360
Despite its importance as the first official periodical of the Free Caucasian
Mountaineers People Party, Vol’nye Gortsy never mentioned itself as a Promethean
publication. On the other hand, its successors Gortsy Kavkaza and Severnyi
Kavkaz/Şimali Kafkasya were outwardly Promethean publications and the basis of
the Mountaineers’ struggle in exile took shape within the pages of these
periodicals. Moreover, while they were waiting for the War to re-establish their
state, the North Caucasians started to discuss the structure of the state and the basic
difficulties posed by unification. From the beginning it became clear that the
biggest challenge facing them in unification was the creation of a single nation.
3- Creating a Nation?
The North Caucasian emigres took the issue of creating a ‘North Caucasian
nation’ seriously. Almost all the leading figures believed that the basic handicap to
establishing a unified structure for the struggle for the North Caucasian territory,
was the lack of a single, unique North Caucasian nation. Therefore, as Balo Bilatti
emphasized, in sovereign North Caucasus, there would be no Avar, Kabardian,
Balkar, Osetian, Chechen or Kumuk, but just a North Caucasian.
361
Lack of this
kind of an understanding was the main reason for the captivity of the North
Caucasian peoples.
360
Related with the Socialist League of East European Nations and the position of the Party against
it see Batraz, 3 May 1927. “Liga Sotsialistov Vostoka Evropy i Gortsy Kavkaza,” Vol’nye Gortsy,
(Prague), 2: 18-19 and see the leading article of the No. 6, published on 19 January 1928, 1-5.
361
Balo Bilatti, 1935. “Millet ve Dil,” Severnyi Kavkaz, (Warsaw), 15: 4.
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