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54 
 
Efendi was appointed the naib. Nevertheless both naibs, failed to inspire 
enthusiasm or lead the resistance. The most important and effective name, which 
spread the Shamil’s authority to the region, was Muhammed Emin
125
, who was 
appointed  naib in 1848. Through him the authority of Shamil spread among the 
Circassian tribes, primarily the Abadzekhs and Temirgoys. Within a short period of 
time, Muhammed Emin proved to be a competent leader. He learned the local 
language and integrated himself to the peoples by making a marriage with a 
daughter of princely family. “Several times before and during the Crimean War the 
imam and his naib intended to join their forces in a concerted attack, but none of 
these plans were carried out.”
126
 Nevertheless, due to the lack of communication 
and coordination between Shamil and Muhammed Emin, as well as the absence of 
a deep-rooted Naqshbandi brotherhood in the Circassian lands hampered the 
establishment of the stable authority of Shamil in this region. The nominal 
authority of Shamil over his naib continued, but never turned into a unified front 
against the Russian forces. Instead, Muhammed Emin had taken the region under 
his control in 1851 and established his domain similar to that of Shamil. Despite 
the existence of local noble opposition, he ruled over the Circassian lands until 
Shamil was surrender. 
 
By the early 1850s Shamil’s power in the North Caucasus began to decline. 
Behind this decline were two main reasons. First, the Russians, in order to combat 
                                                                                                                                        
124
 Zelkina, God and Freedom, 207. 
125
 Muhammed Emin was born in the Koysubu jama’at and had accepted the Naqshbandi tariqat 
directly from Shamil. See, A. Canbek Havjoko, 1965. “İmam  Şamil’in Sadık Naibi, Şimali 
Kafkasyalı Büyük Devlet Adamı: Muhammed Emin,” Birleşik Kafkasya, (İstanbul), 4: 19-25. 
126
 Gammer, Muslim Resistance, 249. 

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the threat of the enduring and unified North Caucasian State, decided to make more 
persistent and permanent advances in the region. To achieve this end the Tsar 
appointed Prince Mikhail Vorontsov
127
 the viceroy of the Caucasus with unlimited 
plenary powers in 1845. 
With the appointment of Vorontsov as viceroy, the status of the Caucasus 
was dramatically changed. Until that time, the North Caucasian territory had been 
ruled by a high commissinoer or literally an ‘administrator in chief’ 
(glavnoupravlia iuschchii), who had usually also been the Territory’s commander 
in chief (glavnokomand uiuschchii). But with the appointment of Vorontsov the 
region gained higher status with a ruler who directly responsible to the Tsar and 
would take the place of the Emperor himself.
128
 
Vorontsov’s suggestion was the ‘siege policy’ which reminded the policy of 
Yermolov, with some modifications.
129
 In 1846, in compliance with this policy, 
Russians transferred a considerable amount of military force to stop all gaps in the 
Russian defence line. They started to reinforce the existing fortresses and to 
construct new ones. They build military roads and repaired older ones. They also 
established communication lines. All these were accompanied by a campaign of 
cutting down the Chechen forests to stop the ‘guerilla warfare’ tactics of the 
Mountaineers and clean the lowland areas of all the Chechen population.
130
 
Second, Shamil faced some serious internal problems. The lack of new 
military achievements, and thus the revenues, caused some disturbances among the 
                                                 
127
 For a deatiled accounts on Vorontsov see Anthony L. H. Rhinelander, 1990. Prince Michael 
Vorontsov: Viceroy to the Tsar, McGill-Queen’s Un. Press. 
128
 Rhinelander, 123-184. 
129
 See Baddeley, 446 and Gammer, Muslim Resistance, 175. 

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population. Moreover, Shamil’s new policies, especially his fiscal reforms caused 
the emergence of estrangement among the peoples. The population that still had a 
‘tribal mentality’ and did not readily accept the taxation system. Moreover, because 
of war-weariness and deprivations, Shamil started to lose the support of the 
ordinary people in the Imamate. Thus, his base and authority began to deteriorate. 
The other important point that caused the Shamil’s failure was the 
emergence of ‘power struggle’ between the Imam and his naibs. By the early 
1850s, the first defections among his naibs began. The first in the line of defections 
was Haji Murad. After a number of conflicts between him and Shamil, Haji Murad 
defected to the Russians in 1851. The basic reason behind his defection was the 
proclamation of Ghazi Muhammed, Shamil’s son, as the successor of his father in 
March 1848. Haji Murad refused to accept this proclamation and publicly 
announced that he might claim the title of Imam for himself after Shamil’s death. 
Later in 1851, because of raising charges against him, Shamil tried to depose Haji 
Murad from his office and ordered the confiscation of his property. Defended by 
his murids, he resisted.
131
 Later on he defected to Russians. Following him, Bata 
and the some other naibs also defected. 
 
Nevertheless, the Crimean War and his strong will and military genius 
helped him to survive for a time. Shamil greeted the War as the last and the biggest 
                                                                                                                                        
130
 Suzanne Goldenberg, 1994. Pride of Small Nations: The Caucasus and Post-Soviet Disorder, 
New Jersey: Zed Books, 21. Zelkina, God and Freedom, 226. 
131
 Not being able to face life in the Russian camp and shamil’s refusal to allow his family to join 
him, he once again tried to escape into the mountains but was killed by Russian soldiers. Zelkina, 
God and Freedom, 228. For the literary account of Haji Murad’s life and adventures see Leo 
Tolstoy, 1977 ‘Hadji Murad’ in Master and Man and Other Stories, trans. Paul Foote, London: 
Penguin Books. 

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