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In early June, the first group appeared to be in a stronger position than the 
others. Having securing Transcaucasus, the British established a demarcation line, 
which left the North Caucasus to Denikin and his collaborators, and issued a 
statement to the population in which they labelled any kind of anti-Denikin 
movement as Bolshevik. This step provoked reaction and hostilities against 
Denikin, and against the British.
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 But, because of the military might of Denikin 
they managed to keep their authority in the region. 
The most popular and powerful group of the other three groups was the 
religious one led by Gotsinskiy and Uzun Haji
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. Following the arrival of the 
Denikin and the collapse of the Mountaineer Republic Uzun Haji continued his 
struggle and declared a theocratic state, the North Caucasian Emirate in Upper 
Chechnya, modelled on Shamil’s state. Although initially he had co-operated with 
Bolshevik forces against Denikin, he in fact hated all Russians indiscriminately, 
and treated them all as enemies. Moreover, because of his co-operation with 
Denikin, he wrote to Mikail Halilov that whoever symphatised with the Cossacks 
would be eternally damned and would fall under the ‘rage of God’.
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 Nevertheless, 
Uzun Haji died in March 1920, and Gotsinskiy took over and developed the 
military might into the strongest of the four factions. 
 
                                                 
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 Denikin, Ocherki, Vol.IV, 135. 
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 Uzun Haji, (1848-1920). He was born in the village of Salty in Dagestan. He took a religious 
education and opened his own religious school in Salty in 1882. Because of his anti-tsarist activities 
and struggle for liberation exiled to the Siberia, to stay in a labour camp in 1892. Then, by the help 
of the Muslim merchants of Astrakhan he retuned and stayed in Astrakhan until the February 
Revolution. 
302
 Takho-Godi, 110-111. 

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The nationalist groups of the time were forced to leave the North Caucasus. 
While some of them were trying to establish contacts and find help in European 
capitals, others stayed in Baku and Tiflis, the nearest place to the North Caucasus, 
and searched for the ways of establishing contact with the other Caucasian 
republics in order to survive the struggle of independence. Nevertheless, they lost 
their ‘authority and power’ over the peoples of the North Caucasus and waiting for 
the initiative of any kind of a rebellious movement. 
Among these four groups, the Bolsheviks used the situation most skilfully 
and agitated the hostility of religious groups against the Volunteer Army. 
Meanwhile, because of Denikin’s supremacy, the leadership cadre was forced to 
leave the region for Baku and organized the North Caucasian ‘socialist group’ 
there. In autumn, this group attempted to set up a comprehensive anti-Denikin 
organization and Celâl Korkmazov established contacts with the ‘nationalist’ 
leaders Haydar Bammat and Ali Khan Kantemir, and managed to conclude an 
agreement, in which the establishment of a ‘North Caucasian Defense Council’
303
 
was proposed. 
The agreement aimed to embrace all components of the North Caucasus 
against Denikin. This Council was given the duty of organizing military activity 
against the occupying forces first and then, after defeating the enemy, would be the 
core of the possible national government. In order to obtain the participation of 
religious groups into the Council, Celâl Korkmazov and Ali Khan Kantemir 
                                                 
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 For the Defense Council see Bammat, “Revolution,” 18-9, Kosok, “Revolution and Sovietization 
II,” 53. Some other names like Ahmet Tsalikhov and Nuri Pasha were also took active parts in this 
Council. 

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travelled to Lavasha, the base of Ali Haji and convinced him to act together with 
the other groups against Denikin. 
Thanks to this umbrella organization, the anti-Denikin front in the region 
was strengthened. Actually almost from the beginning the Bolsheviks dominated 
the Council and exploited this situation successfully. Moreover, in order to control 
the whole region, they established the Bureau for Establishing the Soviet 
Domination in the North Caucasus. This consisted of Ordzhonikidze, Kirov, 
Stopani, Mdivani and Nerimanov, and was directed centrally. As a result of the 
activities of this Council and the increasing Bolshevik military presence, Denikin 
was forced to leave the region in February 1920 and in March the remainder of the 
troops under his command were evacuated to the Crimea with extensive allied 
assistance. The Bolsheviks or the Red Army gained control of the region without 
any difficulty. Revolutionary committees controlled by the Bolsheviks quickly 
spread over the territory, even into villages. “Formed rapidly on the ground, they 
were the initial military, political authorities in the North Caucasus.”
304
 
The next step for the Bolsheviks was the liquidation of the Defence 
Council. At first, Council had moved to Petrovsk and on 11 April 1919, by the vote 
of Bolshevik members, was dissolved itself and turned into the Revolutionary 
Committee of the whole Caucasus. The non-Bolshevik members of the Council 
were dismissed and executed. The troops loyal to the Council were disbanded and 
the Bolshevik policies of divide-and-rule for controlling the region were initiated. 
 
                                                 
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 Blank,15. 

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