Caucasia

I

Introduction

Caucasia, region, extreme south-eastern Europe, occupying the isthmus between the Black and Caspian seas, and divided into two parts by the Caucasus Mountains. The total area of Caucasia is about 400,000 sq km (154,441 sq mi) and includes the countries of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan, as well as a portion of far southern Russia. Population 21,074,000 (1989 estimate).

II

Land and Resources

Northern Caucasia is known as the Caucasus (formerly Ciscaucasia), and is characterized physically by gently sloping plains ending in low, marshy steppes. Lying within Russia, it contains the republics of Chechnya, Kabardino-Balkaria, North Ossetia-Alaniya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Karachay-Cherkessia, and Adygea. From the late 1920s until World War II, Karachay-Cherkessia was divided into separate Karachay and Cherkess autonomous regions. The two were combined into one autonomous oblast in 1957. The southern and larger portion of Caucasia, Transcaucasia, is physically characterized by a rugged terrain, with chains of mountains (the Lesser Caucasus or Malyy Kavkaz) running parallel to the central range of the Caucasus Mountains.

Caucasia is traversed by many rivers: the Kura, Aras, Sulak, Terek, and Kuma flow into the Caspian Sea; the Rioni and Enguri flow into the Black Sea; and the Kuban flows into the Sea of Azov. The largest lake of Caucasia is Lake Sevan in Armenia, which feeds the River Hrazdan. The landscape is predominantly mountainous, with coniferous forests covering both the Greater and Lesser Caucasus. The valleys are fertile; principal crops produced in the area are millet, barley, wheat, and maize, while the Black Sea coast is suited for tea, tobacco, and citrus growing. Other fertile farmland lies in the valleys of the Kura and Aras rivers, and sheep- and goat-raising is widespread in the mountainous regions. The other principal industry of the region is mining. Azerbaijan, Dagestan, Chechnya, and Adygea are noted particularly for the production of oil (at Baku, Groznyy, and Maykop, respectively). The region is also rich in manganese, lead, copper, zinc, iron, molybdenum, and coal.

Caucasia’s climate ranges from semi-tropical to temperate. The average temperatures in the North Caucasus are between -5° and -2° C (23° and 28° F) in January, while Transcaucasia is milder, ranging from 1° to 6° C (34° to 43° F). In summer the difference in temperature between the north and south is less extreme, with temperatures ranging from 23° to 29° C (73° to 84° F). Precipitation is heavy on the Black Sea coast, where 1,200 to 1,800 mm (50 to 70 in) fall each year, and, to a lesser extent, on the Caspian Sea, where Lenkoran receives about 1,200 mm (50 in) each year. The valleys of the Kura and Aras rivers are much drier, receiving 200 to 400 mm (8 to 16 in) of precipitation annually, with mild winters and very hot summers.

III

The People of Caucasia

Some anthropologists have maintained that the Caucasus was the cradle of the white race, and so the word Caucasian has come to designate any white person. The people of Caucasia are largely Muslim, with the exception of the Georgians and Armenians. The relative religious homogeneity, however, contrasts with the striking ethnic diversity of Caucasia. With more than 50 distinct peoples and dozens of distinct languages, it is one of the most complex linguistic and ethnic regions in the world. Such diversity has contributed to conflicts such as the current struggle for independence from Russia in Chechnya. The roots of this violent struggle between ethnically unrelated peoples are deep, stemming from Russia's invasion of the area nearly 200 years ago.

IV

History

Caucasia was one of the world’s earliest sites of human settlement, farming, and metallurgy. The region was viewed by ancient and modern empires as a vital transit corridor and a mountain fortress from which to defend against enemy attacks. The first Armenian and Georgian kingdoms were established in the 6th century bc. The Armenian princes survived until the 13th century ad, when they faded under Mongol invasions; a Georgian dynasty lasted until the early 19th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Ottoman, Persian, and Russian empires engaged in a triangular struggle over Caucasia that ended with Russian conquests and annexations of the area early in the 19th century.

The people of Georgia and Armenia, dominantly Christian, accepted Russian control as protection from Turkish persecution, but the Muslim population from the Caucasus bitterly fought it. Russian rule was marked by great severity and the repression of the native peoples. After the collapse of tsarist Russia in World War I, the southern section of Caucasia became independent republics. In 1922 they became the Transcaucasian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (SFSR), one of the four original union republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). They separated again in 1936, however, becoming union republics in their own right. Caucasia was subjected to mass purges and executions under the Soviets; in 1943 almost all the Chechen-Ingush, Karachay, and Balkar peoples were deported to Siberia.

Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan became independent republics after the collapse of the USSR in 1991. They soon encountered claims of independence from territories within their borders. Violent ethnic clashes broke out in the autonomous regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia and in the Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan. The republics of the North Caucasus remained part of Russia, although in 1991 Chechnya declared its intention to become independent. In December 1994 Russian and Chechen military forces began a brutal war for control of Chechnya. Despite a peace accord signed in 1996, fighting resumed in 1999 and by early February 2000 Chechnya was under Russian military occupation and the capital Groznyy had been reduced to ruins.

For further information on Caucasia see the various political units and divisions under separate headings.