Terek Cossacks: history and modernity

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:40

Cossacks have inhabited the territory of the Caucasus for the last five centuries. The Terek people skillfully own a saber and dzhigitovka, wear gazyri and dance the traditional lezginka. It retains its identity and culture. However, how many people know about the origin of the Terek Cossacks?

History of occurrence

The Russians opened the way to the Caucasus back in the time of Ivan the Terrible, after the Astrakhan kingdom was annexed to the territories of Russia. Three years after the annexation of the governor, Pleshcheev, along with his shooters, ended up on the Terek River. Immediately after that, the Volga Cossacks also arrived there, who always disturbed the territories of the Nogai steppe (today it is the western Caspian region).

After that, the Russians decided to build the city of Terek in the Caucasus, which they then had to leave because of the pressure of the Turkish state. Later, it is settled by the Cossacks, who are forced to leave their homes due to repression by Ivan Murashnik. This event can be considered the beginning of history. At that time, the coat of arms of the Terek Cossacks appeared. The people began to settle in.

After the settlement of the lands, the Cossacks approved their seniority on the Terek. It was here that the well-known Ilya Muromets began to gather the first forces.

The times of the Caucasian war

The Terek Cossacks got their fame at this time. It was then that they showed all the skills and abilities of warriors. For the exploits shown in the war, some representatives of this people were even sent to protect the emperor himself. A year later, the Terek Cossacks were recognized as part of the Russian army.

Thanks to this, the people received the rights to land, forests and fisheries. At the same time, the first ataman of the Terek Cossacks was appointed - Lieutenant General Pyotr Verzilin. Many representatives of this army received decorations for their heroic deeds.

After the end of the war, there were approximately 10,000 Cossacks in the Russian army. To simplify management, the commander-in-chief of the Caucasus troops decided to create a separate Terek Cossack army.

Russian-Turkish and civil wars

During these battles, the Terek Cossacks also showed themselves, but not from the heroic side. During this period, in the territory of their residence, there were already about 250,000 people who lived in 70 villages.

In the war they opposed the Red Army, and in 1920, when it ended, the Terek troops left Russia.

The tragedy of 1921

Around the beginning of 1921, Chechen leaders demanded the eviction of the Cossacks from the Terek lands. Hard ultimatumforced the people to obey. As a result, on March 27, 1921, 70,000 Terek Cossacks left their homes within a day. Half of them were shot on the way to the railway stations by Chechen troops. The pages were burned.

All Cossacks at that time were divided into three groups:

White. The males of this group were immediately shot, while the women and children were allowed to escape.
Reds. Everyone was evicted, but not killed.
Communists. They were allowed to run and take all moving property with them.

Even Stalin himself, who advocated repression against the Cossacks, said that the cruel actions carried out by the Chechens (execution, etc.) were superfluous.

Then Ordzhonikidze said that the reason for the eviction of the Terek people was the famine. He himself said: "Because of the land hunger, it was decided to evict 18 Cossack villages (70,000 people), whose lands had already come close to the mountain lands. Such actions were supposed to save the mountain people from hunger and eliminate the striped strips." Despite the fact that the eviction of the Cossacks was recognized as an erroneous decision, the Terek lands were already occupied by 20,000 Chechens.

In the same 1921, the Mountainous Republic received a resolution "On the introduction of Sharia legal proceedings in the Mountainous ASSR." The escaped Cossacks also asked the Russian government to allow them to return to the Terek, but these requests were ignored.

Giving liberties to the highlanders, Stalin said: "Having provided you with autonomy,Russia is giving you the rights that the bloodsucking tsars and generals have taken from you. This means that now you can live according to your old customs, mores and traditions, if, of course, they do not overstep the framework of the Constitution of Russia"

Resistance and emigration

After the Terek Cossacks were forced to leave their lands, they began to collectively write letters saying that the Russian people were unarmed towards them. The auls, on the contrary, were literally overflowing with weapons. According to the Cossacks, even 12-year-old children often carried a revolver or rifle. Despite these appeals, the repression did not stop.

When the former residents of the Terek realized that they were unlikely to receive an answer to their letters, they decided to create several bandit detachments, which in total included about 1,300 people. They were engaged in the defeat of the villages where the Chechens lived. It is worth noting that such groups included not only Terek Cossacks, but also Kabardians and Ossetians. However, the Chechens gave a harsh rebuff, and the members of the detachments began to surrender.

Most of the emigrant Cossacks settled in the territories of Bulgaria. The rest were scattered across the lands of the Balkans. Later they moved to Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and the USA. Surprisingly, the Cossacks were received rather warmly in their new places of residence.

For example, in France, the former residents of Terek were given a large farm, and in Peru, the president was so surprised by the disciplinary upbringing of the Cossacks that he increased the budget for their emigration.

Terek Cossacks today

On March 23, 1990, a council dedicated to the revival of the nationality was established. 500 delegates representing the Terek Cossacks took part in it. Their number at the time of the council was 500,000 people.

In 1991, ethnic cleansing began in Chechnya. This negatively affected the position of the Terek Cossacks. The beginning of the first Chechen war worsened the condition of the people even more. A series of catastrophic events led to the frequent change of chieftains of the Cossacks. First it was Konyakhin, then Starodubtsev, who was later replaced by Sizov.

In 2005, the Terek people began to rapidly revive. This was especially noticeable in the lands of North Ossetia and the Stavropol Territory. In 2006, a new ataman was chosen - V. P. Bondarev. A few years later, the Terek Cossack army was created, which was part of the Union of Cossacks of Russia.

The dialects of the Terek Cossacks have changed several times throughout history. At first it was the Scythian language, then - Old Slavonic, Tatar, Russian. Today you can hear these words:

Anada - not so long ago.

A-would - if only.

Sure - of course, yes.

A testicle is my dear.

A-yay - my dear.

A-yu! - interjection call.

Aichka - response interjection.

Womanizer - a type of female hairstyle.

Baglai - lazy, couch potato.

Baydik - a shepherd's or old man's staff, a stick for support.

Bayrak is a ravine.

The bed is the side edge of the sled.

Bed bed - headboard.

Sigh - raise.

Zen is earth.

Zoy - scream.

Important dates

It is also worth considering the dates that played an important role in the development of the Terek Cossacks:

1712 - the first villages were created: Chervlenaya, Shchedrinskaya, Novogladkovskaya, Starogladkovskaya and Kurdyukovskaya.
1776 - Terek regiments were accepted into the Astrakhan Cossack army.
1786 - the Terek army left the Astrakhan army and began to call itself the "Caucasian line of Cossacks".
1856 - the line army received the St. George banner.
1864 - The term of service in the armies was reduced from 25 to 22 years.
1870 - the abolition of the universal service.
1870 - some lands of mountain districts became part of the Terek region.
1881 - the number of people of the Terek Cossacks reached 130,000 people.

This people has such an unusual story.