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Russia. In their program, Mountaineers defined Russia as a ‘big mosaic’ and 
demanded autonomy and self-governance for their own territories. This was the 
ultimate ideal for these people for that time. 
The Bolshevik Revolution and the beginning of the ‘Civil War’ in Russian 
territories, however, changed the course of events. As a result of the Turkish 
advance towards the Caucasus, these two North Caucasian independence 
movements, in exile and at home met. During the Trabzon Conference, both of 
these groups for the first time, at least officially, analyzed the issue of North 
Caucasian independence with the Ottoman government, which resulted in the 
declaration of North Caucasian independence in İstanbul on 11 May 1918. 
The independent North Caucasian Mountaineer Republic, nevertheless, 
could establish its authority in the North Caucasus only for a limited time with the 
help of the Ottoman armies, composed primarily of Ottoman Circassians. The 
discords between the Ottomans and the Germans, and at last their complete defeat 
in war and the great power rivalry over the Caucasus, unfortunately caused the 
collapse of the Independent State. In this rivalry although the Ottomans and 
Germans were apparent allies, the Germans interfered with developments in the 
region in pursuit of their own interests, at the expense of the Ottomans and thus the 
Mountaineers. 
During this time, in contrast to the Shamil’s era, the foreign powers openly 
participated in and even directed the course of events. The Turkish advance gave 
the Mountaineers a chance to establish their own Republic, but the collapse of the 
Ottoman Empire halted the activities of the Mountaineers. Then the British, in an 
alliance with Denikin, affected the destiny of the Mountaineers negatively. 

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Moreover, the ideological difference between the Mountaineers personal desires for 
ruling the region and ever-changing alliances between the groups caused 
consolidation of the Bolshevik power and their supremacy in the region. 
 
By 1920 Bolshevik forces controlled the region entirely. The last resistance 
movement of the Mountaineers led by Said Shamil, the great-grandson of Imam 
Shamil and the religious leaders, Uzun Haji and Najmuddin of Hötzo (Gotsinskiy) 
continued until summer 1921. Although, initially, they had achieved some 
successes, with the arrival Red Army in spring 1921, the Bolsheviks managed to 
suppress the movement. In fact the North Caucasian leaders, either Bolshevik, 
nationalist or religious all the time defended the unity of the North Caucasus. They 
just differentiated the method through which this unity was being established. 
On 20 January 1920, however, in compliance with the premises of Soviet 
nationality policy, two separate autonomous republics, Dagestan Autonomous 
Soviet Socialist Republic and Soviet Mountain Republic, which comprised of 
Chechen, Ingush, Osetian, Kabardian, Balkar and Karachay territories were 
established and incorporated into RSFSR. The latter however was short lived. Once 
the Soviet power was firmly established, the regime adopted a policy of dividing 
this region into smaller ethnic territories in 1921 and artificially created six 
autonomous units from 1922 to 1924. Then by using language as a basis, the Soviet 
regime created and provided ethnic homelands for the different peoples of the 
North Caucasus, within which they were entitled to use a variety of ethnic 
institutions. Thus the process of ‘creating nations’ and ‘national territories’ initiated 
by the Soviet Russia. This caused the emergence of atomised social and political 

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structure in the North Caucasus and started the alienation process among the 
peoples of the North Caucasus. The best example of this alienation process was the 
separation of Circassian peoples into three distinct titular nations, i.e. Adyge, 
Cherkess, and Kabardian. 
 
While the Bolsheviks had been suppressing the uprising and taking the 
whole region under their control, the nationalist groups of the Mountaineers were 
forced to leave the North Caucasus. From then on, representatives of the formerly 
independent Caucasian Republics had to shift their struggle for the independence 
outside their homeland, especially to Europe. Paris was the first new centre for the 
struggle followed İstanbul, Prague, and Warsaw. 
These ‘new emigrants’ were directly affected by the political atmosphere of 
the post-War period and, until the late 1920s remained scattered and confused. In 
this early period, the North Caucasians’ first priority was securing their own 
survival. The emergence of the anti-Bolshevik currents in Europe, primarily within 
the new states of Czechoslovakia and Poland, had changed the course of events and 
broken the bewilderment of the exiles. Leaders of these states, such as Pilsudski, 
were the most ardent anti-Bolsheviks. Their financial support made the 
establishment of the émigré organizations for all the nationalities of the former 
Russian Empire possible. Including of course the North Caucasians. 
 
The first formal émigré organization of North Caucasians, the Union of 
Caucasian Mountaineers, was established in Prague. As it is easily understood from 
its name, their main aim was ‘unification’. Following the establishment of the 

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Promethean bloc, their activities became heavily political in content and, in 
contrast to the on going process in the Caucasus, the idea of establishing 
comprehensive Caucasian Confederation gained precedence. 
In that period, the North Caucasian emigrants, despite internal splits, 
willingly supported the idea of Confederation. Their main difference was not on the 
nature of the end, but just on the strategy that would have to be followed. They, 
with a strong belief in the collapse of Bolshevik, or Soviet Russia, continued their 
struggle against Bolshevism as the successor to the chauvinism and imperialism of 
Romanov rule. They hoped that the World War, which was looming, would result 
in the collapse of the Soviet Union. But the problem was who would lead the War 
against the Soviet Union or whom the North Caucasians would support? 
Accordingly, two main currents emerged. While Haydar Bammat and his 
Kavkaz group supported Germany and Italy, i.e. Nationalist Socialism, the 
Prometheans supported the European democracies, i.e, Britain and the other newly 
emerged smaller states. 
Despite ideological differences, both groups thought it essential to make 
necessary preparations for establishing their independent state’s infrastructure. 
Because they believed that the primary reasons behind the failure in 1917-20 were 
the lack of leadership of a cadre and program for a functioning state. Thus, during 
this period, they dealt with the problems and solutions in detail. The problems of 
language, nationality, form of state, relations with the neighbouring states, 
economy, and etc. were all scrutinized in the pages of the North Caucasian émigré 
publications, such as Vol’nye Gortsy, Severnyi Kavkaz, and Kavkaz. 
 

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