The Caucasus is the southern border of Europe and Asia; more than 30 nationalities live here. The Greater Caucasus Range divides the region in half: its northern slopes (North Caucasus) are almost entirely part of Russia, while its southern slopes are shared by Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia. For centuries, the Caucasus remained an arena of rivalry between world powers: Byzantium, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire. At the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century, the Caucasus almost entirely became part of the Russian Empire. At the end of the twentieth century, with the collapse of the USSR, the Transcaucasian republics gained independence, and the North Caucasian peoples remained part of Russia.

From the Taman Peninsula along the Black Sea coastline to Sochi, the western part of the Caucasus Range stretches - this is the historical homeland of the Circassians (another name is the Adyghe), a group of related peoples who speak the Adyghe language. After the Crimean War of 1853-1856, in which the Circassian Circassians supported the Turks, most of them fled to the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and the Russians occupied the coast. The Western Circassians, who remained in the mountains and accepted Russian citizenship, began to be called Circassians. Today they live on the territory of Adygea, the westernmost North Caucasian republic, surrounded on all sides like an island by the Krasnodar Territory. To the east of Adygea - on the territory of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic live the Circassians, the eastern part of the Adyghe ethnic group, and even further - the Kabardians, also a people related to the Adygs. Adyghe, Kabardians and Circassians speak languages ​​belonging to the same language family: Abkhaz-Adyghe. Like many North Caucasian peoples, the Circassians, originally pagans, adopted Christianity around the 6th century (almost four centuries before Rus'); there even existed their own episcopal sees, however, with the fall of Byzantium, under the influence of Persian and later Ottoman influence, most of the Circassians converted to Islam by the 15th century, so now the Circassians, Adygeans and Kabardians are Muslims.

To the south of the Circassians and Kabardians live two close Turkic-speaking peoples: the Karachais and the Balkars. Ethnically, the Karachais form a single people with the Balkars, divided purely administratively: the former, together with the ethnically dissimilar Circassians, form Karachay-Cherkessia, the latter, with the Kabardians, form the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic. The reasons for this bizarre administrative division are unclear. Like the Circassians, these peoples once professed Christianity, but, having fallen out of the circle of Byzantine influence, they converted to Islam.

Ossetia is located east of Kabardino-Balkaria. The ancient Christian kingdom of Ossetians (a people of Iranian origin) - Alania - was one of the largest Christian states in the Caucasus. Ossetians still remain the only North Caucasian people who have retained the Orthodox religion. By the time of general Islamization, the Ossetians had managed to become sufficiently strong in their faith to withstand external onslaught and conjuncture, while other peoples, having not completely eliminated pagan beliefs, in fact, never fully becoming Christians, converted to Islam. At one time, the ancient Alanian kingdom included the lands of the Karachais, Circassians, Balkars and Kabardins. There are still surviving communities of Mozdok Kabardians who have retained their Orthodox self-identification. Until the end of the 19th century, Muslim Balkars, who settled many Alanian lands after the fall of medieval Alania, retained “remnants” of Christianity in the form of veneration of churches and the sign of the cross.

Even further east live two related peoples: the Ingush and the Chechens. Only in the early 90s of the twentieth century did these two peoples form two separate republics on the site of the once united Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The overwhelming majority of Ingush and Chechens are Muslims; Christianity is professed only by Chechens living in the Pankisi Gorge in Georgia.

From the eastern border of modern Chechnya to the Caspian Sea is Dagestan, on whose territory more than ten nationalities live, of which the people closest to the Chechens are those belonging to the so-called Nakh-Dagestan language family: Avars, Lezgins, Laks, Dargins, Tabasarans and Aguls. All these peoples live in mountainous areas. On the Caspian coast of Dagestan there are Turkic-speaking Kumyks, and in the northeast there are also Turkic-speaking Nogais. All these peoples profess Islam.

The Caucasus is a historical, ethno-graphic region, very complex in its ethnic composition. The unique geographical position of the Caucasus as a link between Europe and Asia, its proximity to the ancient civilizations of Western Asia played a significant role in the development of culture and in the formation of some of the peoples inhabiting it.

General information. In the relatively small space of the Caucasus, many peoples live, different in number and speaking different languages. There are few areas on the globe with such a diverse population. Along with large nations numbering millions of people, such as Azerbaijanis, Georgians and Armenians, in the Caucasus, especially in Dagestan, there live peoples whose number does not exceed several thousand.

According to anthropological data, the entire population of the Caucasus, with the exception of the Nogais, who have Mongoloid features, belongs to the large Caucasian race. Most residents of the Caucasus are darkly pigmented. Light coloring of hair and eyes is found among some population groups of Western Georgia, in the Greater Caucasus Mountains, and also partially among the Abkhaz and Adyghe peoples.

The modern anthropological composition of the population of the Caucasus developed in distant times - from the end of the Bronze and beginning of the Iron Ages - and testifies to the ancient connections of the Caucasus both with the regions of Western Asia and with the southern regions of Eastern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula.

The most common languages ​​in the Caucasus are the Caucasian or Ibero-Caucasian languages. These languages ​​were formed in ancient times and were more widespread in the past. Science has still not yet resolved the question of whether the Caucasian languages ​​represent a single family of languages ​​or whether they are not related by a common origin. Caucasian languages ​​are divided into three groups: southern, or Kartvelian, northwestern, or Abkhaz-Adyghe, and northeastern, or Nakh-Dagestan.

Kartvelian languages ​​are spoken by Georgians, both eastern and western. Georgians (3,571 thousand) live in the Georgian SSR. Separate groups of them are settled in Azerbaijan, as well as abroad - in Turkey and Iran.

Abkhaz-Adyghe languages ​​are spoken by Abkhazians, Abazins, Adygeis, Circassians and Kabardians. Abkhazians (91 thousand) live in a compact mass in the Abkhaz Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic; Abazins (29 thousand) - in the Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Region; Adygeis (109 thousand) inhabit the Adygei Autonomous Region and some areas of the Krasnodar Territory, in particular Tuapse and Lazarevsky, Circassians (46 thousand) live in the Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Region of the Stavropol Territory and other places in the North Caucasus. Kabardians, Circassians and Adyghe speak the same language - Adyghe.

The Nakh languages ​​include the languages ​​of the Chechens (756 thousand) and Ingush (186 thousand) - the main population of the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, as well as the Kists and Tsova-Tushins or Batsbis - a small people living in the mountains in northern Georgia on the border with the Chechen-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic.

Dagestan languages ​​are spoken by numerous peoples of Dagestan inhabiting its mountainous regions. The largest of them are the Avars (483 thousand), living in the western part of Dagestan; Dargins (287 thousand), inhabiting its central part; next to the Dargins live the Laks, or Lakis (100 thousand); the southern regions are occupied by Lezgins (383 thousand), to the east of which live the Taba-Sarans (75 thousand). Adjacent to the Avars in terms of language and geography are the so-called Ando-Dido or Ando-Tsez peoples: Andians, Botlikhs, Didois, Khvarshins, etc.; to the Dargins - Kubachi and Kaytaki, to the Lezgins - Aguls, Rutuls, Tsakhurs, some of whom live in the regions of Azerbaijan bordering Dagestan.

A significant percentage of the population of the Caucasus consists of peoples who speak Turkic languages ​​of the Altai language family. The most numerous of them are the Azerbaijanis (5,477 thousand), living in the Azerbaijan SSR, the Nakhichevan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, as well as in Georgia and Dagestan. Outside the USSR, Azerbaijanis inhabit Iranian Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani language belongs to the Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages ​​and shows the greatest similarity with Turkmen.

To the north of the Azerbaijanis, on the flat part of Dagestan, live the Kumyks (228 thousand), speaking the Turkic language of the Kipchak group. The same group of Turkic languages ​​includes the language of two small, closely related peoples of the North Caucasus - the Balkars (66 thousand) inhabiting the Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and the Karachais (131 thousand) living within the Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Region. The Nogais (60 thousand) are also Turkic-speaking, settling in the steppes of Northern Dagestan, in the Stavropol Territory and other places in the North Caucasus. In the North Caucasus there lives a small group of Trukhmen, or Turkmens, immigrants from Central Asia.

The Caucasus also includes peoples who speak Iranian languages ​​of the Indo-European language family. The largest of them are the Ossetians (542 thousand), inhabiting the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic and the South Ossetian Autonomous Region of the Georgian SSR. In Azerbaijan, Iranian languages ​​are spoken by the Taly-shi in the southern regions of the republic and the Tats, settled mainly on the Absheron Peninsula and other places in Northern Azerbaijan. Some of the Tats who profess Judaism are sometimes called Mountain Jews. They live in Dagestan, as well as in the cities of Azerbaijan and the North Caucasus. The language of the Kurds (116 thousand), living in small groups in different regions of Transcaucasia, also belongs to Iranian.

The language of the Armenians stands apart in the Indo-European family (4151 thousand). More than half of the Armenians of the USSR live in the Armenian SSR. The rest of them live in Georgia, Azerbaijan and other regions of the country. More than a million Armenians are scattered throughout different countries of Asia (mainly Western Asia), Africa and Europe.

In addition to the above-mentioned peoples, the Caucasus is inhabited by Greeks who speak Modern Greek and partly Turkish (Uru-we), Aisors, whose language belongs to the Semitic-Hamitic language family, Gypsies who use one of the Indian languages, Jews of Georgia who speak Georgian, and etc.

After the annexation of the Caucasus to Russia, Russians and other peoples from European Russia began to settle there. Currently, the Caucasus has a significant percentage of Russian and Ukrainian populations.

Before the October Revolution, most languages ​​of the Caucasus were unwritten. Only Armenians and Georgians had their own ancient writing. In the 4th century. n. e. Armenian enlightener Mesrop Mashtots created the Armenian alphabet. Writing was created in the ancient Armenian language (Grabar). Grabar existed as a literary language until the beginning of the 19th century. A rich scientific, artistic and other literature has been created in this language. Currently, the literary language is modern Armenian (Ashkha-Rabar). At the beginning of the century e. Writing in the Georgian language also arose. It was based on the Aramaic script. On the territory of Azerbaijan, during the period of Caucasian Albania, writing existed in one of the local languages. From the 7th century Arabic writing began to spread. Under Soviet rule, writing in the Azerbaijani language was translated into Latin and then into Russian script.

After the October Revolution, many unwritten languages ​​of the peoples of the Caucasus received writing based on Russian graphics. Some small peoples who did not have their own written language, such as, for example, the Aguls, Rutuls, Tsakhurs (in Dagestan) and others, use the Russian literary language.

Ethnogenesis and ethnic history. The Caucasus has been developed by man since ancient times. Remains of Early Paleolithic stone tools - Chelles, Achelles and Mousterian - were discovered there. For the Late Paleolithic, Neolithic and Chalcolithic eras in the Caucasus, one can trace a significant proximity of archaeological cultures, which makes it possible to talk about the historical kinship of the tribes that inhabited it. During the Bronze Age, there were separate cultural centers both in Transcaucasia and in the North Caucasus. But despite the uniqueness of each culture, they still have common features.

Since the 2nd millennium BC. e. The peoples of the Caucasus are mentioned on the pages of written sources - in Assyrian, Urartian, ancient Greek and other written monuments.

The largest Caucasian-speaking people - the Georgians (Kartvelians) - were formed on the territory they currently occupy from ancient local tribes. They also included part of the Chalds (Urartians). The Kartvels were divided into Western and Eastern. The Kartvelian peoples include the Svans, Mingrelians and Laz, or Chans. The majority of the latter live outside of Georgia, in Turkey. In the past, Western Georgians were more numerous and inhabited almost all of Western Georgia.

Georgians began to develop statehood early. At the end of the 2nd millennium BC. e. In the southwestern areas of settlement of Georgian tribes, tribal unions of Diaokhi and Kolkha were formed. In the first half of the 1st millennium BC. e. The unification of Georgian tribes under the name of Saspers is known, which covered a large territory from Colchis to Media. The Saspers played a significant role in the defeat of the Urartian kingdom. During this period, part of the ancient Khalds was assimilated by Georgian tribes.

In the 6th century. BC e. The Colchis kingdom arose in Western Georgia, in which agriculture, crafts, and trade were highly developed. Simultaneously with the Colchis kingdom, the Iberian (Kartli) state existed in Eastern Georgia.

Throughout the Middle Ages, due to feudal fragmentation, the Kartvelian people did not represent a monolithic ethnic mass. It retained separate extraterritorial groups for a long time. Particularly prominent were the Georgian mountaineers living in the north of Georgia in the spurs of the Main Caucasus Range; Svans, Khevsurs, Pshavas, Tushins; The Adjarians, who had been part of Turkey for a long time, became isolated, converted to Islam and were somewhat different in culture from other Georgians.

In the process of development of capitalism in Georgia, the Georgian nation emerged. Under Soviet rule, when Georgians received their statehood and all the conditions for economic, social and national development, the Georgian socialist nation was formed.

The ethnogenesis of the Abkhazians took place from ancient times on the territory of modern Abkhazia and adjacent areas. At the end of the 1st millennium BC. e. Two tribal unions formed here: the Abazgs and the Apsils. From the name of the latter comes the self-name of the Abkhazians - ap-sua. In the 1st millennium BC. e. The ancestors of the Abkhazians experienced the cultural influence of the Hellenic world through the Greek colonies that arose on the Black Sea coast.

During the feudal period, the Abkhazian people took shape. After the October Revolution, the Abkhazians received their statehood and the process of forming the Abkhazian socialist nation began.

The Adyghe peoples (the self-name of all three peoples is Adyghe) in the past lived in a compact mass in the area of ​​the lower reaches of the river. Kuban, its tributaries Belaya and Laba, on the Taman Peninsula and along the Black Sea coast. Archaeological research carried out in this area shows that the ancestors of the Adyghe peoples inhabited this area from ancient times. Adyghe tribes, starting from the 1st millennium BC. e. perceived the cultural influence of the ancient world through the Bosporan kingdom. In the 13th - 14th centuries. part of the Circassians, whose cattle breeding, especially horse breeding, had developed significantly, moved east, to the Terek, in search of free pastures, and later began to be called Kabardians. These lands were previously occupied by the Alans, who were partly exterminated during the Mongol-Tatar invasion, partly pushed south into the mountains. Some groups of Alans were assimilated by the Kabardians. Kabardians who moved at the beginning of the 19th century. in the upper reaches of the Kuban, they were called Circassians. The Adyghe tribes that remained in the old places made up the Adyghe people.

The ethnic history of the Adyghe peoples, like other highlanders of the North Caucasus and Dagestan, had its own characteristics. Feudal relations in the North Caucasus developed at a slower pace than in Transcaucasia, and were intertwined with patriarchal-communal relations. By the time of the annexation of the North Caucasus to Russia (mid-19th century), the mountain peoples stood at different levels of feudal development. The Kabardians advanced further than others along the path of developing feudal relations, who had a great influence on the social development of other highlanders of the North Caucasus.

The unevenness of socio-economic development was also reflected in the level of ethnic consolidation of these peoples. Most of them retained traces of tribal division, on the basis of which ethno-territorial communities were formed, developing along the line of integration into the nationality. The Kabardians completed this process earlier than others.

Chechens (Nakhcho) and Ingush (Galga) are closely related peoples, formed from tribes related by origin, language and culture, who represented the ancient population of the northeastern spurs of the Main Caucasus Range.

The peoples of Dagestan are also descendants of the ancient Caucasian-speaking population of this region. Dagestan is the most ethnically diverse region of the Caucasus, in which until the recent past there were about thirty small nations. The main reason for such a diversity of peoples and languages ​​in a relatively small area was geographical isolation: difficult mountain ranges contributed to the isolation of individual ethnic groups and the preservation of distinctive features in their language and culture.

During the Middle Ages, early feudal state formations arose among a number of the largest peoples of Dagestan, but they did not lead to the consolidation of extraterritorial groupings into a single nation. For example, one of the largest peoples of Dagestan - the Avars - arose the Avar Khanate with its center in the village of Khunzakh. At the same time, there existed the so-called “free”, but dependent on the khan, Avar societies that occupied separate gorges in the mountains, ethnically representing separate groups - “community communities”. The Avars did not have a single ethnic identity, but their fellow countrymen were clearly evident.

With the penetration of capitalist relations into Dagestan and the growth of otkhodnichestvo, the former isolation of individual peoples and their groups began to disappear. Under Soviet rule, ethnic processes in Dagestan took a completely different direction. Here there is a consolidation of larger peoples into the nationality with the simultaneous consolidation of small related ethnic groups within them - for example, Ando-Dido peoples related to them in origin and language are united into the Avar nationality along with the Avars.

Turkic-speaking Kumyks (Kumuk) live on the flat part of Dagestan. Both local Caucasian-speaking components and alien Turks participated in their ethnogenesis: Bulgars, Khazars and especially Kipchaks.

Balkars (Taulu) and Karachais (Karachayls) speak the same language, but are separated geographically - Balkars live in the Terek basin, and Karachais live in the Kuban basin, and between them is the Elbrus mountain system, which is difficult to access. Both of these peoples were formed from a mixture of the local Caucasian-speaking population, Iranian-speaking Alans and nomadic Turkic tribes, mainly Bulgars and Kipchaks. The language of the Balkars and Karachais belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic languages.

The Turkic-speaking Nogais (no-gai) living in the far north of Dagestan and beyond are descendants of the population of the Golden Horde ulus, which was headed at the end of the 13th century. temnik Nogai, from whose name their name comes. Ethnically, it was a mixed population that included Mongols and various groups of Turks, especially the Kipchaks, who passed on their language to the Nogais. After the collapse of the Golden Horde, part of the Nogais, who made up the large Nogai horde, in the mid-16th century. accepted Russian citizenship. Later, other Nogais, who roamed the steppes between the Caspian and Black Seas, also became part of Russia.

The ethnogenesis of the Ossetians took place in the mountainous regions of the North Caucasus. Their language belongs to the Iranian languages, but it occupies a special place among them, revealing a close connection with the Caucasian languages ​​both in vocabulary and phonetics. In anthropological and cultural terms, Ossetians form a single whole with the peoples of the Caucasus. According to most researchers, the basis of the Ossetian people were the aboriginal Caucasian tribes, who mixed with the Iranian-speaking Alans who were pushed into the mountains.

The further ethnic history of the Ossetians has many similarities with other peoples of the North Caucasus. Existed among the Ossetians until the mid-19th century. socio-economic relations with elements of feudalism did not lead to the formation of the Ossetian people. The isolated groups of Ossetians were separate community associations, named after the gorges they occupied in the Main Caucasus Range. In the pre-revolutionary period, part of the Ossetians descended to the plane in the Mozdok area, forming a group of Mozdok Ossetians.

After the October Revolution, Ossetians received national autonomy. On the territory of settlement of the North Caucasian Ossetians, the North Ossetian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was formed. A relatively small group of Transcaucasian Ossetians received regional autonomy within the Georgian SSR.

Under Soviet power, the majority of North Ossetians were resettled from the inconvenient mountain gorges to the plain, which violated the compatriotic isolation and led to the mixing of individual groups, which, in the conditions of socialist development of the economy, social relations and culture, put the Ossetians on the path to forming a socialist nation.

The process of ethnogenesis of Azerbaijanis took place in difficult historical conditions. On the territory of Azerbaijan, as in other regions of Transcaucasia, various tribal associations and state entities began to emerge early. In the 6th century. BC e. the southern regions of Azerbaijan were part of the powerful Median state. In the 4th century. BC e. in Southern Azerbaijan, the independent state of Lesser Media or Atropatene rose (the word “Azerbaijan” itself comes from “Atropatene” distorted by the Arabs). In this state there was a process of rapprochement between various peoples (Mannaeans, Cadusians, Caspians, part of the Medes, etc.), who spoke mainly Iranian languages. The most common language among them was a language close to Talysh.

During this period (4th century BC), an Albanian tribal union arose in the north of Azerbaijan, and then at the beginning of the century. e. The state of Albania was created, the borders of which in the south reached the river. Araks, in the north it included Southern Dagestan. In this state there were more than twenty peoples who spoke Caucasian languages, the main role among which belonged to the language of the Uti or Udin.

In the 3rd -4th centuries. Atropatene and Albania were included in Sasanian Iran. The Sassanids, in order to strengthen their dominance in the conquered territory, resettled the population there from Iran, in particular the Tats, who settled in the northern regions of Azerbaijan.

By 4th - 5th centuries. refers to the beginning of the penetration of various groups of Turks into Azerbaijan (Huns, Bulgarians, Khazars, etc.).

In the 11th century Azerbaijan was invaded by the Seljuk Turks. Subsequently, the influx of the Turkic population into Azerbaijan continued, especially during the period of the Mongol-Tatar conquest. The Turkic language became increasingly widespread in Azerbaijan and became dominant by the 15th century. Since that time, the modern Azerbaijani language, belonging to the Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages, began to form.

The Azerbaijani nation began to take shape in feudal Azerbaijan. As capitalist relations developed, it took the path of becoming a bourgeois nation.

During the Soviet period in Azerbaijan, along with the consolidation of the Azerbaijani socialist nation, there was a gradual merger with the Azerbaijanis of small ethnic groups speaking both Iranian and Caucasian languages.

One of the largest peoples of the Caucasus is the Armenians. They have an ancient culture and eventful history. The self-name of Armenians is hai. The area where the process of formation of the Armenian people took place lies outside of Soviet Armenia. There are two main stages in the ethnogenesis of Armenians. The beginning of the first stage dates back to the 2nd millennium BC. e. The main role at this stage was played by the Hayev and Armin tribes. The Hayi, who probably spoke languages ​​close to the Caucasian ones, in the 2nd millennium BC. e. created a tribal union in the east of Asia Minor. During this period, the Indo-Europeans, the Armins, who penetrated here from the Balkan Peninsula, mixed with the Hays. The second stage of the ethnogenesis of the Armenians took place on the territory of the state of Urartu in the 1st millennium BC. e., when the Khalds, or Urartians, took part in the formation of the Armenians. During this period, the political association of the ancestors of the Armenians Arme-Shupriya arose. After the defeat of the Urartian state in the 4th century. BC e. Armenians entered the historical arena. It is believed that the Armenians also included Iranian-speaking Cimmerians and Scythians, who penetrated during the 1st millennium BC. e. from the steppes of the North Caucasus to Transcaucasia and Western Asia.

Due to the prevailing historical situation, due to the conquests of the Arabs, Seljuks, then the Mongols, Iran, and Turkey, many Armenians left their homeland and moved to other countries. Before the First World War, a significant part of Armenians lived in Turkey (more than 2 million). After the Armenian massacre of 1915, inspired by the Turkish government, when many Armenians were killed, the survivors moved to Russia, the countries of Western Asia, Western Europe and America. Now in Turkey the percentage of the rural Armenian population is insignificant.

The formation of Soviet Armenia was a great event in the life of the long-suffering Armenian people. It became the true free homeland of the Armenians.

Farming. The Caucasus, as a special historical and ethnographic region, is distinguished by great originality in the occupations, life, material and spiritual culture of the peoples inhabiting it.

In the Caucasus, agriculture and cattle breeding have developed since ancient times. The beginning of agriculture in the Caucasus dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. e. Previously, it spread to Transcaucasia, and then to the North Caucasus. The oldest grain crops were millet, wheat, barley, gomi, rye, rice, from the 18th century. began to grow corn. Different cultures predominated in different areas. For example, the Abkhaz-Adyghe peoples preferred millet; thick millet porridge with spicy gravy was their favorite dish. Wheat was sown in many areas of the Caucasus, but especially in the Northern Caucasus and Eastern Georgia. In Western Georgia, corn predominated. Rice was grown in the humid regions of Southern Azerbaijan.

Viticulture has been known in Transcaucasia since the 2nd millennium BC. e. The peoples of the Caucasus have developed many different varieties of grapes. Along with viticulture, gardening also developed early, especially in Transcaucasia.

Since ancient times, the land has been cultivated with a variety of wooden arable tools with iron tips. They were light and heavy. Light ones were used for shallow plowing, on soft soils, mainly in the mountains, where the fields were small. Sometimes the mountaineers created artificial arable land: they brought earth in baskets to terraces along the mountain slopes. Heavy plows, harnessed to several pairs of oxen, were used for deep plowing, mainly in flat areas.

Crops were harvested everywhere with sickles. The grain was threshed using threshing boards with stone liners on the underside. This method of threshing dates back to the Bronze Age.

Cattle breeding appeared in the Caucasus in the 3rd millennium BC. e. In the 2nd millennium BC. e. it became widespread in connection with the development of mountain pastures. During this period, a unique type of transhumance cattle breeding developed in the Caucasus, which exists to this day. In summer, cattle were grazed in the mountains, and in winter they were driven to the plains. Transhumance cattle breeding developed into nomadic breeding only in some areas of Eastern Transcaucasia. There, cattle were kept to graze all year round, driven from place to place along certain routes.

Beekeeping and sericulture also have an ancient history in the Caucasus.

Caucasian handicraft production and trade developed early. Some crafts date back hundreds of years. The most widespread were carpet weaving, jewelry making, weapon making, production of pottery and metal utensils, buroks, weaving, embroidery, etc. The products of Caucasian craftsmen were known far beyond the borders of the Caucasus.

After joining Russia, the Caucasus was included in the all-Russian market, which made significant changes in the development of its economy. In the post-reform period, agriculture and cattle breeding began to develop along the capitalist path. The expansion of trade caused the decline of handicraft production, as handicraft products could not withstand the competition of cheaper factory goods.

After the establishment of Soviet power in the Caucasus, its economy began to rapidly grow. The oil, oil refining, mining, mechanical engineering, construction materials, machine tool, chemical, various branches of light industry, etc. began to develop, power plants, roads, etc. were built.

The creation of collective farms made it possible to significantly change the nature and direction of agriculture. The favorable natural conditions of the Caucasus make it possible to grow heat-loving crops that do not grow elsewhere in the USSR. In subtropical areas, the focus is on tea and citrus crops. The area under vineyards and orchards is growing. Farming is carried out using the latest technology. Much attention is paid to irrigation of dry lands.

Cattle breeding has also stepped forward. Collective farms are assigned permanent winter and summer pastures. Much work is being done to improve livestock breeds.

Material culture. When characterizing the culture of the peoples of the Caucasus, one should distinguish between the Northern Caucasus, including Dagestan and Transcaucasia. Within these large areas, there are also cultural features of large nations or groups of small nations. In the North Caucasus, great cultural unity can be traced between all the Adyghe peoples, Ossetians, Balkars and Karachais. The population of Dagestan is connected with them, but still the Dagestanis have a lot of original culture, which makes it possible to distinguish Dagestan into a special region, to which Chechnya and Ingushetia adjoin. In Transcaucasia, special regions are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Eastern and Western Georgia.

In the pre-revolutionary period, the bulk of the population of the Caucasus were rural residents. There were few large cities in the Caucasus, of which Tbilisi (Tiflis) and Baku were the most important.

The types of settlements and dwellings that existed in the Caucasus were closely related to natural conditions. This dependence can be traced to some extent even today.

Most villages in mountainous areas were characterized by significant crowded buildings: buildings were closely adjacent to one another. On the plane, villages were located more freely; each house had a yard, and often a small plot of land

For a long time, all the peoples of the Caucasus maintained a custom according to which relatives settled together, forming a separate quarter. With the weakening of family ties, the local unity of kinship groups began to disappear.

In the mountainous regions of the North Caucasus, Dagestan and Northern Georgia, a typical dwelling was a quadrangular stone building, one- or two-story with a flat roof.

The houses of the inhabitants of the flat regions of the North Caucasus and Dagestan were significantly different from the mountain dwellings. The walls of the buildings were erected from adobe or wattle. Turluchnye (wattle) structures with a gable or hipped roof were typical for the Adyghe peoples and for the inhabitants of some regions of lowland Dagestan.

The dwellings of the peoples of Transcaucasia had their own characteristics. In some regions of Armenia, South-Eastern Georgia and Western Azerbaijan, there were unique buildings that were structures made of stone, sometimes somewhat recessed into the ground; the roof was a wooden stepped ceiling, which was covered with earth from the outside. This type of dwelling is one of the oldest in Transcaucasia and, in its origin, is closely related to the underground dwelling of the ancient settled population of Western Asia.

In other places in Eastern Georgia, the dwelling was built of stone with a flat or gable roof, one or two stories. In the humid subtropical places of Western Georgia and Abkhazia, houses were built of wood, on pillars, with gable or hipped roofs. The floor of such a house was raised high above the ground to protect the home from dampness.

In East Azerbaijan, adobe, clay-coated, one-story dwellings with a flat roof, facing the street with blank walls, were typical.

During the years of Soviet power, the housing of the peoples of the Caucasus underwent significant changes and repeatedly took on new forms until the types that are widely used today were developed. Now there is no such variety of housing as existed before the revolution. In all mountainous regions of the Caucasus, stone remains the main building material. In these places, two-story houses with flat, gable or hipped roofs predominate. In the plains, adobe brick is used as a building material. What is common in the development of housing among all the peoples of the Caucasus is the tendency to increase its size and more careful decoration.

The appearance of collective farm villages has changed compared to the past. In the mountains, many villages have been moved from inconvenient places to more convenient ones. Azerbaijanis and other peoples began to build houses with windows facing the street, and the high, blank fences separating the courtyard from the street are disappearing. The amenities of the villages and water supply have improved. Many villages have water pipes, and the planting of fruit and ornamental plants is increasing. Most large settlements do not differ in their amenities from urban settlements.

There was great diversity in the clothing of the peoples of the Caucasus in the pre-revolutionary period. It reflected ethnic characteristics, economic and cultural ties between peoples.

All Adyghe peoples, Ossetians, Karachais, Balkars and Abkhazians had a lot in common in clothing. The men's costume of these peoples became widespread throughout the Caucasus. The main elements of this costume: a beshmet (kaftan), narrow trousers tucked into soft boots, a papakha and a burka, as well as a narrow belt with silver decorations, on which a saber, a dagger, and a cross were worn. The upper classes wore a circassian coat (outer, swinging, fitted clothing) with gazyrs for storing cartridges.

Women's clothing consisted of a shirt, long pants, a swinging dress at the waist, high headdresses and bedspreads. The dress was tightly tied at the waist with a belt. Among the Adyghe peoples and Abkhazians, a thin waist and flat chest were considered a sign of a girl’s beauty, so before marriage girls wore hard, tight corsets that tightened their waist and chest. The suit clearly showed the social status of its owner. The costumes of the feudal nobility, especially women's, were rich and luxurious.

The men's costume of the peoples of Dagestan was in many ways reminiscent of the clothing of the Circassians. Women's attire varied slightly among the different peoples of Dagestan, but in its main features it was the same. It was a wide tunic-like shirt, belted with a belt, long trousers that were visible from under the shirt, and a bag-like headdress in which the hair was hidden. Dagestani women wore a variety of heavy silver jewelry (waist, chest, temple) mainly made in Kubachi.

Shoes for both men and women were thick woolen socks and footwear, made from a whole piece of leather that covered the foot. Soft boots for men were festive. Such shoes were typical for the population of all mountainous regions of the Caucasus.

The clothing of the peoples of Transcaucasia was significantly different from the clothing of the inhabitants of the North Caucasus and Dagestan. There were many parallels with the clothing of the peoples of Western Asia, especially the clothing of Armenians and Azerbaijanis.

The men's costume of the entire Transcaucasus was generally characterized by shirts, wide or narrow trousers tucked into boots or socks, and short, swinging outerwear, belted with a belt. Before the revolution, the Adyghe men's costume, especially the Circassian costume, was widespread among Georgians and Azerbaijanis. The clothing of Georgian women was similar in type to the clothing of women of the North Caucasus. It was a long shirt, over which was worn a long, swinging, fitted dress, tied with a belt. On their heads, women wore a cloth-covered hoop, to which a thin long blanket, called lechaki, was attached.

Armenian women dressed in bright shirts (yellow in western Armenia, red in eastern Armenia) and equally bright pants. The shirt was worn with a lined garment at the waist, with sleeves shorter than those of the shirt. Armenian women wore small hard caps on their heads, which were tied with several scarves. It was customary to cover the lower part of the face with a scarf.

Azerbaijani women, in addition to shirts and pants, also wore short sweaters and wide skirts. Under the influence of the Muslim religion, Azerbaijani women, especially in cities, covered their faces with veils when they went out into the street.

It was typical for women of all peoples of the Caucasus to wear a variety of jewelry, made primarily from silver by local craftsmen. Belts were especially richly decorated.

After the revolution, the traditional clothing of the peoples of the Caucasus, both men's and women's, began to quickly disappear. Currently, the male Adyghe costume is preserved as clothing for members of artistic ensembles, which has become widespread throughout almost the entire Caucasus. Traditional elements of women's clothing can still be seen on older women in many regions of the Caucasus.

Social and family life. All the peoples of the Caucasus, especially the North Caucasian highlanders and Dagestanis, more or less preserved traces of the patriarchal way of life in their social life and everyday life; family ties were strictly maintained, especially clearly manifested in patronymic relations. Throughout the Caucasus there were neighboring communities, which were especially strong among the Western Circassians, Ossetians, as well as in Dagestan and Georgia.

In many regions of the Caucasus in the 19th century. Large patriarchal families continued to exist. The main type of family during this period were small families, the way of which was distinguished by the same patriarchy. The dominant form of marriage was monogamy. Polygyny was rare, mainly among the privileged sections of the Muslim population, especially in Azerbaijan. Among many peoples of the Caucasus, bride price was common. The patriarchal nature of family life had a hard impact on the position of women, especially among Muslims.

Under Soviet power, family life and the position of women among the peoples of the Caucasus radically changed. Soviet laws equalized women's rights with men. She got the opportunity to actively participate in work activities, social and cultural life.

Religious Beliefs. According to religion, the entire population of the Caucasus was divided into two groups: Christians and Muslims. Christianity began to penetrate the Caucasus in the first centuries of the new era. Initially, it established itself among the Armenians, who in 301 had their own church, called “Armenian-Gregorian” after its founder, Archbishop Gregory the Illuminator. At first, the Armenian Church adhered to the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine orientation, but from the beginning of the 6th century. became independent, joining the Monophysite teaching, which recognized only one “divine nature” of Christ. From Armenia, Christianity began to penetrate into Southern Dagestan, Northern Azerbaijan and Albania (6th century). During this period, Zoroastrianism was widespread in Southern Azerbaijan, in which fire-worshipping cults occupied a large place.

In Georgia, Christianity became the dominant religion by the 4th century. (337). From Georgia and Byzantium, Christianity came to the Abkhazians and Adyghe tribes (6th - 7th centuries), to the Chechens (8th century), Ingush, Ossetians and other peoples.

The emergence of Islam in the Caucasus is associated with the conquests of the Arabs (7th - 8th centuries). But Islam did not take deep roots under the Arabs. It began to truly establish itself only after the Mongol-Tatar invasion. This primarily applies to the peoples of Azerbaijan and Dagestan. Islam began to spread in Abkhazia in the 15th century. after the Turkish conquest.

Among the peoples of the North Caucasus (Adygs, Circassians, Kabardins, Karachais and Balkars), Islam was implanted by the Turkish sultans and Crimean khans in the 15th - 17th centuries.

It reached the Ossetians in the 17th - 18th centuries. from Kabarda and was accepted mainly only by the upper classes. In the 16th century Islam began to spread from Dagestan to Chechnya. The Ingush adopted this faith from the Chechens in the 19th century. The influence of Islam especially strengthened in Dagestan and Checheno-Ingushetia during the movement of the mountaineers under the leadership of Shamil.

However, neither Christianity nor Islam replaced the ancient local beliefs. Many of them became part of Christian and Muslim rituals.

During the years of Soviet power, a lot of anti-religious propaganda and mass work was carried out among the peoples of the Caucasus. The majority of the population has abandoned religion, and only a few, mainly older people, remain believers.

Folklore. The oral poetry of the peoples of the Caucasus is rich and varied. It has centuries-old traditions and reflects the complex historical destinies of the peoples of the Caucasus, their struggle for independence, the class struggle of the masses against the oppressors, and many aspects of national life. The oral creativity of the Caucasian peoples is characterized by a variety of subjects and genres. Many famous poets and writers, both local (Nizami Gandzhevi, Muhammad Fuzuli, etc.) and Russian (Pushkin, Lermontov, Leo Tolstoy, etc.), borrowed stories from Caucasian life and folklore for their works.

Epic tales occupy a significant place in the poetic creativity of the peoples of the Caucasus. Georgians know the epic about the hero Amirani, who fought with the ancient gods and was chained to a rock for this, the romantic epic “Esteriani”, which tells about the tragic love of Prince Abesalom and the shepherdess Eteri. Among the Armenians, the medieval epic “The Heroes of Sasun”, or “David of Sasun”, is widespread, reflecting the heroic struggle of the Armenian people against their enslavers.

In the North Caucasus, among the Ossetians, Kabardians, Circassians, Adygeis, Karachais, Balkars, and also Abkhazians, there is the Nart epic, tales of the Nart heroic heroes.

The peoples of the Caucasus have a variety of fairy tales, fables, legends, proverbs, sayings, riddles, which reflect all aspects of folk life. Musical folklore is especially rich in the Caucasus. The song creativity of the Georgians has reached great perfection; Polyphony is common among them.

Traveling folk singers - gusans (among Armenians), mestvires (among Georgians), ashugs (among Azerbaijanis, Dagestanis) - were the representatives of the people's aspirations, guardians of the rich treasury of musical art and performers of folk songs. Their repertoire was very diverse. They performed their songs to the accompaniment of musical instruments. Particularly popular was the folk singer Sayang-Nova (18th century), who sang in Armenian, Georgian and Azerbaijani.

Oral poetic and musical folk art continues to develop today. It has been enriched with new content. The life of the Soviet country is widely reflected in songs, fairy tales and other types of folk art. Many songs are dedicated to the heroic work of Soviet people, friendship of peoples, and exploits in the Great Patriotic War. Amateur artistic ensembles are widely popular among all the peoples of the Caucasus.

Many cities of the Caucasus, especially Baku, Yerevan, Tbilisi, Makhachkala, have now turned into large cultural centers, where a variety of scientific work is carried out not only of all-Union, but often of global importance.

The Caucasus is the southern border separating Europe and Asia. About thirty different nationalities live here.

Its part, the North Caucasus, is almost all part of Russia, and the southern part is divided between such republics as Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

The peoples of the North Caucasus live in the most complex region of our country in many respects, which includes many territorial entities formed according to the national type. This densely populated and multi-ethnic region with its different traditions, languages, and beliefs is considered to be Russia in miniature.

Due to its unique geopolitical and geocultural position, the relatively small North Caucasus has long been considered a contact zone and at the same time a barrier separating the civilizations of the Mediterranean, Eastern Europe and This is what determines many of the processes occurring in this region.

For the most part, the peoples of the North Caucasus are identical in appearance: as a rule, they are dark-eyed, light-skinned and dark-haired, they have sharp facial features and narrow lips. Highlanders are usually taller than lowlanders.

They are distinguished by multi-ethnicity, religious syncretism, and unique ethnic codes, in which certain features predominate due to their ancient occupations, such as terrace farming, alpine cattle breeding, and equestrianism.

According to their linguistic classification, the peoples of the North Caucasus belong to three groups: the Adyghe-Abkhazian group (this language is spoken by the Adyghes, Abkhazians, Circassians and Kabardians), the Vainakh group - Chechens, Ingush, and the Kartvelian group, native to the Svans, Adjars and Mingrelians.

The history of the North Caucasus is largely intertwined with Russia, which has always had big plans for this region. Since the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, he began to establish intensive contacts with local peoples, especially with the Circassians and Kabardians, helping them in the fight against

The peoples of the North Caucasus, suffering from the aggression of Turkey and the Shah's Iran, have always seen the Russians as real allies who will help them remain independent. The eighteenth century marked a new stage in these relations. After the successful outcome, Peter I took many areas under his sovereignty, as a result of which his relations with Turkey sharply worsened.

The problems of the North Caucasus have always been at the forefront of Russia's foreign policy objectives. This was explained by the importance of this region in the struggle for access to the Black Sea, which was strategically important for the Russians. That is why, in order to consolidate its position, the tsarist government generously gifted the mountain princes who came over to its side with fertile lands.

The discontent of Ottoman Turkey led to the Russo-Turkish War, in which Russia managed to conquer large territories.

However, the final factor for the final entry of this entire region into Russia was the Caucasian War.

And today, in the North Caucasus region, the borders of which were determined in the nineteenth century, there are seven autonomous republics of the Russian Federation: Karachay-Cherkessia, Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria, Alania, Ingushetia, Dagestan and the Chechen Republic.

The area where they are located is less than one percent of the entire territory of our country.

About a hundred nationalities and nationalities live in Russia, and almost half of them are the peoples of the North Caucasus. Moreover, according to demographic statistics, their numbers are constantly increasing, and today this figure exceeds sixteen million people.

According to the 2010 population census, 142 people live in the North Caucasus (Dagestan, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria and Stavropol Territory). Of these, only 36 are indigenous, that is, they have lived in this territory for centuries. The rest are newcomers.

In this regard, by the way, the question arises: how long do you need to live in a certain area to become an “indigenous people”? And is it possible, for example, to include Jews who have lived in the North Caucasus for millennia under this definition? Or, say, the Karaites, who are considered to have come from the Hittite kingdom? There are few of them, but they are also represented in the region.

Indigenous peoples

The indigenous peoples of the Caucasus prefer to live on their lands. The Abazins settle in Karachay-Cherkessia, where their number exceeds 36 thousand. Abkhazians live there or in the Stavropol Territory. But most of all in this republic are Karachais (194,324 people) and Circassians (56,446). There are also 15,654 Nogais living in Karachay-Cherkessia.

In Dagestan live 850,011 Avars, 490,384 Dargins, 385,240 Lezgins, 118,848 Tabasarans, 40,407 Nogais, 27,849 Rutuls (southern Dagestan), almost 30 thousand Aguls and a little more than 3 thousand Tatars.

Ossetians (459,688 people) settle on their lands in North Ossetia. About 10 thousand Ossetians live in Kabardino-Balkaria, a little more than three thousand in Karachay-Cherkessia and only 585 people in Chechnya.

The majority of Chechens live in Chechnya itself - 1,206,551 people. Moreover, almost 100 thousand know only their native language. About 100 thousand more Chechens live in Dagestan, and about 12 thousand in the Stavropol region. About 3 thousand Nogais, approximately 5 thousand Avars, almost one and a half thousand Tatars, and the same number of Turks and Tabasarans live in Chechnya. 12,221 Kumyks live there. There are 24,382 Russians left in Chechnya, 305 Cossacks.

Balkars (108,587) inhabit Kabardino-Balkaria and almost never settle in other places in the North Caucasus. In addition to them, half a million Kabardians and about 14 thousand Turks live in the republic. Among the large national diasporas we can distinguish Koreans, Ossetians, Tatars, Circassians and Gypsies. By the way, the latter are most numerous in the Stavropol Territory, there are over 30 thousand of them there. And about 3 thousand more live in Kabardino-Balkaria. There are few gypsies in other republics.

Ingush numbering 385,537 people live in their native Ingushetia. In addition to them, 18,765 Chechens, 3,215 Russians, and 732 Turks live there. Among the rare nationalities there are Yezidis, Karelians, Chinese, Estonians and Itelmens.

The Russian population is concentrated mainly on the arable lands of Stavropol - 223,153 people. Another 193,155 people live in Kabardino-Balkaria, about 3 thousand in Ingushetia, a little more than 150 thousand in Karachay-Cherkessia and 104,020 in Dagestan. There are 147,090 Russians living in North Ossetia.

Alien peoples

Among the alien peoples, several groups can be distinguished. These are people from the Middle East and Central Asia, for example, Pakistanis, Afghans, Persians, Turks, Uzbeks, Turkmen, Uighurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, Arabs, Assyrians, Kurds.

The second group is people from various regions of Russia: Mansi, Khanty, Mari, Mordovians and even Mordovian-Moksha, Nenets, Tatars, Crimean Tatars, Krymchaks, Tuvans, Buryats, Kalmyks, Karelians, Komi, Komi-Permyaks, Chuvash, Shors , Evenks and Evenki-Lamuts, Yakuts (the most of them are in the Stavropol region - 43 people, and none at all in Ingushetia), Aleuts, Kamchadals, Yukaghirs, Koryaks (9 people live in the Stavropol region and one in Dagestan), Sekulpi (a rare northern people ), Kereks and one representative of the Ket people from the banks of the Yenisei.

There is a fairly large German diaspora in the Stavropol region - 5,288 people. Germans also live in Dagestan, Ossetia and Chechnya.

Among the population of the North Caucasus there are also those who came from the CIS countries. The largest number of Ukrainians is in the Stavropol Territory – 30,373 people. Of all the republics, the largest diaspora is in North Ossetia - there were just over three thousand Ukrainians here in 2010. By the way, in connection with recent events, their number there may significantly increase.

Azerbaijanis settled throughout the region. Most of them are in Dagestan - 130,919, in Stavropol - 17,800, in Ossetia - 2,857, in Chechnya - 696, in Kabardino-Balkaria - 2,063, in Karachay-Cherkessia - 976 people.

Armenians also spread throughout the North Caucasus. In the Stavropol region there are 161,324 people, in North Ossetia - 16,235 people, in Kabardino-Balkaria - 5,002 people and in Dagestan - 4,997 people.

Moldovans also live in the North Caucasus, a total of about one and a half thousand people.

Guests from distant countries are also represented in the North Caucasus. These are Serbs and Croats, Slovenes and Slovaks, Romanians, Finns, French, British, Americans, Spaniards, Italians, Indians, Cubans, Japanese, Vietnamese, Chinese and even Mongols. But, of course, there are few of them - only a few people.

PEOPLES

PEOPLES OF THE CAUCASUS

The Caucasus is a mighty mountain range stretching from west to east from the Sea of ​​Azov to the Caspian Sea. Georgia and Azerbaijan are located in the southern spurs and valleys, in the western part its slopes descend to the Black Sea coast of Russia. The peoples discussed in this article live in the mountains and foothills of the northern slopes. Administratively, the territory of the North Caucasus is divided between seven republics: Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia-Alania, Ingushetia, Chechnya and Dagestan.

The appearance of many indigenous inhabitants of the Caucasus is homogeneous. These are light-skinned, predominantly dark-eyed and dark-haired people with sharp facial features, a large (“humpbacked”) nose, and narrow lips. Highlanders are usually taller than lowlanders. Adyghe people often have blond hair and eyes (possibly as a result of mixing with the peoples of Eastern Europe), and in the inhabitants of the coastal regions of Dagestan and Azerbaijan there is an admixture of, on the one hand, Iranian blood (narrow faces), and on the other - Central Asian (small noses) ).

It is not for nothing that the Caucasus is called Babylon - almost 40 languages ​​are “mixed” here. Scientists distinguish Western, Eastern and South Caucasian languages. West Caucasian, or Abkhaz-Adyghe, is spoken by Abkhazians, Abazins, Shapsugs (who live north-west of Sochi), Adygheians, Circassians, Kabardians. East Caucasian languages ​​include Nakh and Dagestan. Nakh languages ​​include Ingush and Chechen, while Dagestan languages ​​are divided into several subgroups. The largest of them is Avaro-an-do-tsezskaya. However, Avar is not only the language of the Avars themselves. There are 15 small peoples living in Northern Dagestan, each of which inhabits only a few neighboring villages located in isolated high-mountain valleys. These peoples speak different languages, and Avar for them is the language of interethnic communication; it is studied in schools. Lezgin languages ​​are spoken in Southern Dagestan. Lezgins live not only in Dagestan, but also in the regions of Azerbaijan neighboring this republic. While the Soviet Union was a single state, such division was not very noticeable, but now, when the state border has passed between close relatives, friends, acquaintances, the people are experiencing it painfully. Lezgin languages ​​are spoken by Tabasarans, Aguls, Rutulians, Tsakhurs and some others. In Central Dagestan, the dominant languages ​​are Dargin (it is spoken, in particular, in the famous village of Kubachi) and Lak languages.

Turkic peoples also live in the North Caucasus - Kumyks, Nogais, Balkars and Karachais. There are mountain Jews - Tats (in Dagestan, Azerbaijan, Kabardino-Balkaria). Their language, Tat, belongs to the Iranian group of the Indo-European family. Ossetian also belongs to the Iranian group.

Until October 1917 almost all the languages ​​of the North Caucasus were unwritten. In the 20s for the languages ​​of most Caucasian peoples, except for the smallest ones, they developed alphabets on a Latin basis; A large number of books, newspapers and magazines were published. In the 30s The Latin alphabet was replaced by alphabets based on Russian, but they turned out to be less suitable for transmitting the sounds of speech of Caucasians. Nowadays, books, newspapers, and magazines are published in local languages, but literature in Russian is still read by a larger number of people.

In total, in the Caucasus, not counting the settlers (Slavs, Germans, Greeks, etc.), there are more than 50 large and small indigenous peoples. Russians also live here, mainly in cities, but partly in villages and Cossack villages: in Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia this is 10-15% of the total population, in Ossetia and Kabardino-Balkaria - up to 30%, in Karachay-Cherkessia and Adygea - up to 40-50%.

By religion, the majority of the indigenous peoples of the Caucasus are Muslims. However, Ossetians are mostly Orthodox, and Mountain Jews profess Judaism. For a long time, traditional Islam coexisted with home-Muslim, pagan traditions and customs. At the end of the 20th century. In some regions of the Caucasus, mainly in Chechnya and Dagestan, the ideas of Wahhabism became popular. This movement, which arose on the Arabian Peninsula, demands strict adherence to Islamic standards of life, rejection of music and dancing, and opposes the participation of women in public life.

CAUCASIAN TREAT

The traditional occupations of the peoples of the Caucasus are arable farming and transhumance. Many Karachay, Ossetian, Ingush, and Dagestan villages specialize in growing certain types of vegetables - cabbage, tomatoes, onions, garlic, carrots, etc. In the mountainous regions of Karachay-Cherkessia and Kabardino-Balkaria, transhumance sheep and goat breeding predominate; Sweaters, hats, shawls, etc. are knitted from the wool and down of sheep and goats.

The diet of different peoples of the Caucasus is very similar. Its basis is grains, dairy products, meat. The latter is 90% lamb, only Ossetians eat pork. Cattle are rarely slaughtered. True, everywhere, especially on the plains, a lot of poultry is bred - chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese. Adyghe and Kabardians know how to cook poultry well and in a variety of ways. The famous Caucasian kebabs are not cooked very often - lamb is either boiled or stewed. The sheep are slaughtered and butchered according to strict rules. While the meat is fresh, different types of boiled sausage are made from the intestines, stomach, and offal, which cannot be stored for a long time. Some of the meat is dried and cured for storage in reserve.

Vegetable dishes are atypical for North Caucasian cuisine, but vegetables are eaten all the time - fresh, pickled and pickled; they are also used as a filling for pies. In the Caucasus, they love hot dairy dishes - they dilute cheese crumbles and flour in melted sour cream, and drink a chilled fermented milk product - ayran. The well-known kefir is an invention of the Caucasian highlanders; it is fermented with special fungi in wineskins. The Karachays call this dairy product “gypy-ayran”.

In a traditional feast, bread is often replaced with other types of flour and cereal dishes. First of all, these are a variety of cereals. In the Western Caucasus, for example, with any dish they eat thick millet or corn porridge much more often than bread. In the Eastern Caucasus (Chechnya, Dagestan), the most popular flour dish is khinkal (pieces of dough are boiled in meat broth or simply in water, and eaten with sauce). Both porridge and khinkal require less fuel for cooking than baking bread, and therefore are common where firewood is in short supply. In the highlands, among shepherds, where there is very little fuel, the main food is oatmeal - wholemeal fried until brown, which is mixed with meat broth, syrup, butter, milk, or, in extreme cases, just water. Balls are made from the resulting dough and eaten with tea, broth, and ayran. All kinds of pies - with meat, with potatoes, with beet tops and, of course, with cheese - have great everyday and ritual significance in Caucasian cuisine. Ossetians, for example, call this pie “fydiin”. There must be three “ualibahs” (cheese pies) on the festive table, and they are placed so that they are visible from the sky to St. George, whom Ossetians especially reverence.

In the fall, housewives prepare jams, juices, and syrups. Previously, sugar was replaced with honey, molasses or boiled grape juice when making sweets. Traditional Caucasian sweet - halva. It is made from toasted flour or cereal balls fried in oil, adding butter and honey (or sugar syrup). In Dagestan they prepare a kind of liquid halva - urbech. Roasted hemp, flax, sunflower seeds or apricot kernels are ground with vegetable oil diluted in honey or sugar syrup.

In the North Caucasus they make excellent grape wine. Ossetians have been brewing barley beer for a long time; among the Adygeis, Kabardians, Circassians and Turkic peoples it is replaced by buza, or makhsyma, a type of light beer made from millet. A stronger buza is obtained by adding honey.

Unlike their Christian neighbors - Russians, Georgians, Armenians, Greeks - the mountain peoples of the Caucasus do not eat mushrooms, but they collect wild berries, wild pears, and nuts. Hunting, a favorite pastime of the mountaineers, has now lost its importance, since large areas of the mountains are occupied by nature reserves, and many animals, such as bison, are included in the International Red Book. There are a lot of wild boars in the forests, but they are rarely hunted, because Muslims do not eat pork.

CAUCASIAN VILLAGES

Since ancient times, residents of many villages have been engaged in crafts in addition to agriculture. The Balkars were famous as skilled masons; Laks made and repaired metal products, and at fairs - unique centers of public life - residents of the village of Tsovkra (Dagestan) often performed, who mastered the art of circus tightrope walkers. The folk crafts of the North Caucasus are known far beyond its borders: painted ceramics and patterned carpets from the Lak village of Balkhar, wooden products with metal incisions from the Avar village of Untsukul, silver jewelry from the village of Kubachi. In many villages, from Karachay-in-Cherkessia to Northern Dagestan, they are engaged in felting wool - they make burkas and felt carpets. Burka is a necessary part of mountain and Cossack cavalry equipment. It protects from bad weather not only while driving - under a good burka you can hide from bad weather, like in a small tent; it is absolutely indispensable for shepherds. In the villages of Southern Dagestan, especially among the Lezgins, magnificent pile carpets are made, highly valued throughout the world.

Ancient Caucasian villages are extremely picturesque. Stone houses with flat roofs and open galleries with carved pillars are built close to each other along the narrow streets. Often such a house is surrounded by defensive walls, and next to it rises a tower with narrow loopholes - the whole family used to hide in such towers during enemy raids. Nowadays the towers are abandoned as unnecessary and are gradually being destroyed, so that the picturesqueness little by little disappears, and new houses are built of concrete or brick, with glazed verandas, often two or even three floors high.

These houses are not so original, but they are comfortable, and their furnishings are sometimes no different from those in the city - a modern kitchen, running water, heating (though the toilet and even the washbasin are often located in the yard). New houses are often used only for entertaining guests, and the family lives either on the ground floor or in an old house converted into a kind of living kitchen. In some places you can still see the ruins of ancient fortresses, walls and fortifications. In a number of places there are cemeteries with ancient, well-preserved grave crypts.