Heroes of the Chechens of the First World War. General Vladimir Chermoev is a hero of the First World War. Ingush Cavalry Regiment

NATIONAL FORMATIONS OF THE PEOPLES OF THE CAUCASUS IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR (1914-1918)

ARSANUKAEVA Malika Sultanovna

Annotation. The article examines such aspects of the topic as the history of creation, features of recruitment, content and military merits of the national formations of the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division, which took part in the First World War; joint service of representatives of different nationalities, social classes and religions, their relationships.

Annotation. This article investigates aspects such topics as the history of creation, especially acquisition, maintenance and military merit national formations Caucasian Native Cavalry Division, which took part in World War I; joint service of various nationalities, social classes and religions, their relationships.

Key words: First World War, Caucasus, Native Cavalry Division, national regiments, highlanders.

Key words: the First World War, the Caucasus, Aboriginal Cavalry Division, national regiments, the Highlanders.

One of the events that left a deep mark on history is, of course, the First World War, the 150th anniversary of which will be celebrated by the world community in July this year. Called the Great, both in European and Soviet historical science before the outbreak of World War II, it had serious political, economic and humanitarian consequences for all participating countries.

Germany declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914. In the Manifesto of July 20 (August 2, new style), 1914, Nicholas II made a statement about Russia’s entry into the war and called on all subjects to come to the defense of the Russian land1. As a result, representatives of many peoples of Russia ended up on the fronts of the First World War2.

Caucasians have served in the Russian army for a long time, participating in many wars, showing examples of military valor and courage. Adjutant General N.P. Ignatiev, the former Minister of Internal Affairs of Tsarist Russia, believed that the region had enormous potential for recruiting the Russian army. He wrote: “...during the conquest of the eastern Caucasus in 1859

several thousand people in Dagestan and so many in Chechnya asked for military service, saying that they only knew how to feed themselves with a gun.”3

By the beginning of the First World War, national formations already existed in the North Caucasus (in Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabarda, Ingushetia, Chechnya). The decision to create the Chechen regiment was made on December 15, 1910 by the administrations of the Terek region, Grozny and Vedeno districts together with representatives from the Chechen people. Officers were recruited from different cavalry regiments. Preference was given to those who knew local customs and traditions, mainly “natives who served in the Russian army, especially Chechens.” In total, it was planned to recruit 750 horsemen4. The already operating 1st Dagestan Regiment served as a model. A similar order also existed in the Kabardian Cavalry Regiment5. This experience was taken into account when recruiting the volunteer regiments that later formed the Native Division. During the general mobilization, which began on July 18, 1914 (old style), regiments of the 2nd stage were deployed. Caucasian native cavalry regiments included the 2nd Dagestan, Kabardian, Tatar,

1 Year of the war: from July 19, 1914 to July 19, 1915 / preface. A. Oglina. M.: Publishing house. D.Ya. Makhovsky, 1915. P. 4.

2 See: Muskhadzhiev S.-Kh. The First World War in the fate of Russia and the Caucasian Native Division // To the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the First World War: Little-known pages of history, lessons of the past and a call to the future: materials of the international. scientific conf. Baku, May 23-24, 2014. Baku: ANAS, 2014. P. 252260.

3 State Archives of the Russian Federation. F. 678. Op. 1. D. 1657. L. 1.

4th Chechen Regiment // Terskie Vedomosti. 1910. No. 278.

5 See: Arsenyev A.A. Memories of service in Kabardin-

cavalry regiment: website. URL: http://lepassemilitaire.ru/vospo-

tattua-o^1^^e^-kaba^shkot-koppot-ro1ki-okop^ate

Chechen, Circassian, Ingush (in 4 squadrons)6.

Already at the very beginning of the war, the governor in the Caucasus, Adjutant General Count I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov appealed to the General Staff of the Russian Army, headed by Adjutant General Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich,7 with a petition to form five cavalry regiments and one foot squad from representatives of the peoples living in the region for the duration of hostilities. In a “hasty communication” dated August 9, 1914, the Main Directorate of the General Staff informed the Chief of Staff of the Caucasian Military District that a special “Regulation on units formed from natives of the Caucasus for the duration of real military operations” had been developed and submitted for consideration to the Military Council. They provided for the formation of: 1) from Chechens and Ingush - the Chechen Cavalry Regiment; 2) from the Circassian tribe of Adyges and Abkhazians - the Circassian Cavalry Regiment; 3) from the population of Greater and Lesser Kabarda - the Kabardian Cavalry Regiment; 4) from the Tatars of the Baku and Elisabeth provinces - the Tatar Cavalry Regiment; 5) from the Lezgin tribes of Dagestan - 2nd Dagestan Cavalry Regiment; 6) from the Adjarian tribes of the Batumi region - the Adjarian foot battalion. All these regiments were combined into one Caucasian native cavalry division8. Contemporaries were surprised that the descendants of the peoples who had recently participated in the Caucasian War readily responded to the call to join the regiments. Serving in the Kabardian regiment A.A. Arsenyev wrote: “And a strange thing! Faced with the need to submit to Russia and recognize it, people and nations that had hitherto been its enemies ceased to be them.”9

Due to the fact that the new units were formed mainly from residents, mainly volunteers and hunters - people not trained in military affairs and combat training, it was considered necessary to introduce the lower ranks of the Caucasian Cossack troops into their composition. In particular, it was envisaged to have

which: a) in each cavalry regiment - 4 sergeants, 17 senior and 17 junior officers, 1 headquarters trumpeter, 8 trumpeters and 16 clerks and b) in the battalion - 4 sergeants, 17 senior and 32 junior officers, one battalion and 8 hundred buglers, 10 clerks. Front line hunters were appointed by order of the headquarters of the Caucasian Military District10.

The creation of national formations was carried out in accordance with the provisions of the governor in the Caucasus by order of the headquarters of the Caucasian Military District. The officer corps was composed of people who enjoyed the trust of the population, which was supposed to facilitate the process of forming new formations. In total, 363,950 rubles were allocated for benefits to hunters. One-time expenses for the formation of the division amounted to about 600,000 rubles, and permanent expenses for four months amounted to 750 thousand rubles.11

In accordance with the order of Emperor Nicholas II of August 23, 1914 on the creation of the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division, it included three brigades of six regiments (each with four squadrons). The first commander of the division was the emperor's younger brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. February 20th

In 1916 he was replaced by Major General D.P. Bug

The lower ranks in the division regiments, called horsemen, received 25 rubles. per month, were exempt from corporal punishment and had the right to address officers on a first-name basis13. The dietary habits and traditions of Caucasians were taken into account14. Each rider entered the service with his own horse, horse equipment, uniforms and personal edged weapons. If the rider did not have such an opportunity, then he was provided with a state-owned horse. Firearms were issued at the place of service. In addition, each volunteer upon entering service received an allowance from the treasury in the amount of 150 rubles15. A.A. Arsenyev reports that “most of the Kabardian horsemen came to the regiment with their own horses, saddles, swords and daggers. Were government officials

6 Kersnovsky A.A. History of the Russian Army: website. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/h/kersnovsky1/15a.html

7 See: Personalized Highest Decree given to the Governing Senate on July 20, 1914 // Year of the war: from July 19, 1914 to July 19, 1915. P. 8.

8 Russian State Military Historical Archive (hereinafter referred to as RGVIA). F. 1300. Op. 3. D. 1104. L. 1-2.

9 Ingush. Brief history, their participation in Russian wars / A.U. Malsagov. Pyatigorsk: RIA "KMV", 2005. P. 219.

10 RGVIA. F. 1300. Op. 3. D. 1104. Lll. 1 rev. 2.

11 Ibid. L. 4-5.

12 See: Opryshko O.L. Caucasian Cavalry Division. 1914-1917. Return from oblivion. Nalchik: Elbrus, 1999. P. 239.

13 RGVIA. F. 3640. Op. 1. Help.

14 See: Markov A.L. In the Ingush Cavalry Regiment: website. URL: http://coollib.eom/b/218204/read#t1

15 Donogo Hadji Murad. About the formation of the Caucasus mountaineers: website. IN: http://www.gazavat.m/history3.php?mb=7&ш"t=744

only rifles and pikes.” In the second year of the war, burkas were sent to the horsemen from Kabarda16.

“...The horsemen did not need government horses,” writes N.N. Breshko-Breshkovsky. - They came with their own; there was no need for uniforms - they were dressed in their picturesque Circassian coats. All that remained was to sew on the shoulder straps.”17. In the report of the Chief of Staff of the Caucasian Army to Prince I.I. Vorontsov-Dashkov on August 27, 1914 proposed to introduce “uniformity for all regiments, namely: gray Circassian coats, black beshmets, gray or brown hats, but not black.” Individual regiments were provided with their own color of shoulder straps, in particular, red for the Circassian, 2nd Dagestan, Tatar; blue - for the Kabardian, Chechen, Ingush regiments. When going on a campaign, the shoulder straps are gray, khaki.” Lacing of different colors was introduced on regimental shoulder straps: for

2nd Dagestan - 2 Dg, Kabardin - KB, Chechen - Chch, Circassian - Chr, Tatar - Tt, Ingush - Ip.18

Each regiment was served by clergy, mullahs, who monitored the morale of the riders and inspired them before the battle19. “The mullah reads a prayer before the battle, a prayer for the Emperor, for Russia,” the source says. They also performed the funeral ceremony20. “The mullah is all in black, and his hat is wrapped in green,” writes N.N. Berko-Breshkovsky. “Each mullah is in position with his own regiment, and, like everyone else, he has a rifle, a dagger and a saber.”21 For their service they were presented with ranks and military awards22.

In the regiments, in particular the Kabardian regiment, there were trumpeters and zurnachs. In response to the greeting or praise of the chief, the riders said: “Beriket is demonic!”, which meant, translated into Russian, “may the grace of God be with you!”23.

The Chechen cavalry regiment was formed on August 9, 1914. According to the staff, the regiment included 22 officers, three military officials, a regimental mullah and 643 lower ranks.

16 Arsenyev A.A. Decree. Op.

17 Breshko-Breshkovsky N.N. Wild division. M.: Moskovskaya Pravda, 1991. Part I: Under the Three Golden Lions: website. URL: http://militera.lib.ru/prose/russian/breshko1/01.html

18 Donogo Hadji Murad. Decree. Op.

19 Opryshko O.L. Decree. Op. P. 224.

20 Salahly Ch. Native cavalry division: website. URL: http://www. savash-az. com/rasskazi/tkdiv.htm

21 Breshko-Breshkovsky N.N. Decree. Op.

22 Opryshko O.L. Decree. Op. P. 31.

23 Arsenyev A.A. Decree. Op.

The regiment was formed in Grozny mainly from Chechens from the Grozny and Vedeno districts. The registration of hunters was carried out in ten areas by the heads of the indicated districts and their assistants: in Grozny - by Lieutenant Colonel I.D. Japaridze and captain S.A. Tamaev, and in Vedenskoye - by Lieutenant Colonel S.G. Karalov and K.S. G.D. Malsagov. It happened that entire families24 signed up for the regiment, and even their minor sons fought alongside their fathers. For example, 12-year-old Abubakar Dzhurgaev25. In addition to Chechens, representatives of other nations, mainly Muslims of the Caucasus, also served in the Chechen regiment. Thus, Azerbaijanis fought alongside them, many of whom received high awards for their exploits (Magomed Sadykov, Jabrail Shakhtemirov, Ibrahim Saidov, Magomed Aliyev, Iskender Khan of Nakhichevan

By the highest order of August 29, 1914, Lieutenant Colonel A. S. Svyatopolk-Mirsky was appointed the first commander of the Chechen regiment, and Lieutenant A.-M.A. was appointed as the regimental adjutant. Chermoev (Chechen), who previously served in the imperial convoy27. After the death of Colonel A.S. Svyatopolk-Mirsky from February 17, 1915 to May 30, 1917, the regiment was commanded by the Persian prince Feyzullah Mirza Qajar. He was out of action only for a short time after being wounded. The commander was carried out of the battlefield by the lower ranks of the regiment, representatives of different nationalities, who were subsequently presented with the Cross of St. George. He was replaced by Colonel Dzhemalutdin Musalaev (from the Uzdeni of Dagestan)28.

Beginning in the fall of 1914, the regiment took part in six military operations as part of the 2nd Caucasian Cavalry Corps of the 11th Army of the Southwestern Front. On August 15, 1915, it was temporarily assigned to the 12th Cavalry Division. In October of the same year, as part of the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division of the 11th Army Corps of the 9th Army, the regiment

24 Opryshko O.L. Decree. Op. P. 29.

25 Muskhadzhiev S.-Kh. Decree. Op. P. 255.

26 A book has been published about the only national military unit of Azerbaijanis during the First World War: website. URL: http://www.azhistorymuseum.az/index.php?mod=5&id= 1189 ; Khan-Nakhichevan Iskander: website. URL: http://regi-ment.rU/bio/H/65.htm

27 See: Opryshko O.L. Decree. Op. pp. 29, 31.

28 Musalaev Dzhemalutdin: website. URL: http://www.grwar. ru/persons/persons.html?id=5479&PHPSESSID=1444a73b4ddc4288 666f659fc1961c71

participated in combat operations on the Southwestern Front. The regiment's participation as part of the division in the famous Brusilov breakthrough is known. For their services, many riders were awarded high awards. Throughout the subsequent period, the Chechen regiment was alternately transferred to different formations: the 1st Trans-Amur Border Infantry Division, the 33rd Army Corps of the 9th Army, the 3rd Corps, the 32nd Infantry Division of the 4th Army Corps of the 9th Army. , 11th Infantry Division, 9th Army,

3rd Zaamur Border Infantry Division of the 11th Army Corps. In November 1916, the Chechen regiment was transferred to the 3rd Cavalry Corps of the 4th Army of the Romanian Front. In June 1917, together with the 3rd Cavalry Corps, he was transferred to the South-Western

The collection of volunteers from the Ingush was carried out by the senior assistant to the head of the Nazran district, Lieutenant Colonel Edil-Sultan Beymurzaev. From September 11, 1914 to May 25, 1917, the regiment commander was Colonel Georgy Alekseevich Merchule, and from May 25

1917 - Colonel Arslanbek Baytievich Kotiev. Officers and horsemen of famous Ingush families served in the Ingush regiment, and it even happened that representatives of several generations at the same time. Representatives of the aristocracy enlisted in the regiment fought together with the Ingush: Prince Mikhail Nikolaevich Gruzinsky, Prince Napoleon Akhilovich Murat, Valerian Yakovlevich Svetlov, Pyotr Nikolaevich Shabelsky-Bork30.

During the First World War, national regiments took part in the most important battles and with their exploits repeatedly attracted the attention of the command. So, already on November 4, 1914, in the newspaper “Terskie Vedomosti”, the head of the Terek region, Lieutenant General S.N. Fleischer informed the population: “.The Chechen regiment was made happy by the following telegram from the Grand Duke, the head of the division: “I congratulate the Chechen regiment on the holiday of Kurban Bayram; I wish the ranks of the regiment and their close relatives who remained at home complete well-being. Mikhail”31.

In order No. 1615 dated October 17, 1914, the head of the Terek region reported the following: “The August Commander of the Caucasian Native Division, His Highness Prince Mi-

29 RGVIA. F. 3640. Op. 1. Help.

30 See: Markov A.L. Decree. Op.

Khail Alexandrovich telegraphs to me that he received a telegram from His Majesty with the following content: “Tell the representatives of the tribes that formed the regiments of the Caucasian Native Division, My joy at the units going on the campaign, as well as My confidence that the regiments will show military valor in practice.” Nicholas II ""32.

Losses in military operations turned out to be large, therefore, in order to ensure uninterrupted supply of the division’s personnel, spare hundreds were also recruited. Thus, by order of the head of the Terek region, Lieutenant General S.N. Fleisher dated December 2, 1914, captain B.S. is appointed commander of the reserve hundred of the Chechen regiment. Mamyshev33.

All national regiments of the Native Cavalry Division, starting from January 21, 1916, by the highest order, received their own standards. On February 10, the acting division commander, Major General A.V. Gagarin wrote in his telegram to officers and horsemen: “I congratulate the regiments on the Royal Grace and am confident that the given regimental Standards will be covered with unfading

glory"34.

In total, more than seven thousand horsemen served in the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division in 1914-1917. About three and a half thousand of them were awarded St. George's Crosses and medals "For Bravery", and all officers were awarded orders. Only on September 23, 1915, in the Chechen regiment, 201 horsemen were awarded the Crosses of St. George, of which 144 were Chechens, and medals “For Bravery” - 199 people, including 169 Chechens35. Full Knights of St. George were Chechens and Ingush - Shahid Borshchikov, Abu Muslim Borshchikov, Esaki Dzagiev, Iznaur Dubaev, Mamad Islamgireev, Gusein Kostoev, Magoma Alburi, Murat Malsagov, Musa Malsagov, Beksultan Bekmurziev36. Many Ingush officers were awarded high military ranks (Soslanbek Bezbuzarov, Savarbek Malsagov, Elberd Nalgiev, Tont Ukurov, Khasbulat Poshev). Thanks to the efforts of researchers and archivists, new names of war heroes became known37.

33 Opryshko O.L. Decree. Op. P. 118.

34 Ibid. P. 239.

35 Ibid. P. 202.

36 Georgievsky archive: collection. Vol. 2. Ekaterinburg: Ural catalogue, 2002. pp. 66-81, 4, 64-65.

37 See: Dzaurova M.S., Mankieva E.D. Pages of history //

Arch. Vestn. 2013. No. 1. P. 18-25.

All regiments of the cavalry division showed examples of military valor and courage and were repeatedly noted by the command. Before leaving the division, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, appointed by the highest order of February 4, 1916 as commander of the 2nd Cavalry Corps, addressed the message: “Innumerable are all the individual exploits of the Caucasian heroes, representatives of the valiant peoples of the Caucasus, who showed unshakable loyalty with their selfless service To the Tsar and the common Motherland and the young Caucasian regiments, now hardened in bloody battles, who immortalized them with unfading glory. Let the glory of them be sung in the villages of their native Caucasus, let the memory of them live in the hearts of the people, let their merits be written down for posterity in golden letters on the pages of History. Until the end of My days I will be proud of the fact that I was the chief of the mountain eagles of the Caucasus, from now on so close to my heart. Once again I thank you all, my dear comrades-in-arms, for your honest service...”38. The highlanders themselves treated the Grand Duke with great respect. His portrait, as D. de Witt writes, hung in almost every Chechen sakla39.

By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, Infantry General L.G. Kornilov on August 21, 1917, the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division was deployed into the Caucasian Native Cavalry Corps. On September 2, 1917, P.A. was appointed commander of the corps. Polovtsev. The division did not take part in the campaign against Petrograd. On September 17 (30), the chairman of the Union of Highlanders Association T. Chermoev received a telephone message from acting. D. Head of the Political Directorate of the War Ministry, Count Tolstoy: “The native corps is returning to the Caucasus. The Provisional Government is happy to testify that the highlanders, born in freedom, remained faithful to the cause of freedom in these days of past trials, when dark forces tried to deceive them in order to strangle freedom.” On September 25-26, the train arrived in the North Caucasus. The regiments were stationed in the cities where they were formed: Ossetian - in Vladikavkaz, Ingush - in Bazorkino and Nazran, Chechen - in Grozny,

38 Opryshko O.L. Decree. Op. P. 240.

39 See: Officers of the Russian Guard in the White Struggle / comp., scientific. ed., preface and comment. V.S. Volkova. M.: Tsentropoli-graf, 2002. P. 463.

Kabardinsky - in Pyatigorsk, 1st Dagestansky - in Khasav-Yurt, 2nd Dagestansky - in Temir-Khan-Shura, Cherkessky - in Ekaterinodar, and his Abkhazian hundred - in Sukhumi, Tatarsky - in Tiflis, Ossetian foot brigade - in Georgievsk. The corps headquarters was located in Vladikavkaz40.

This is how A.A describes it. Arsenyev honoring the Kabardian cavalry regiment that arrived in their homeland: “November 15, 1917. Kabarda hosted a ceremonial dinner in honor of its regiment. A lot of people gathered, in the hall of the real school building tables were set for officers and honored guests, and around the building in the park, tables were set for horsemen and other guests. The sumptuous dinner lasted until the middle of the night, and before it ended, one of the old men, the guests of honor, made a toast: “To the first chief of the division!” There was a general “hurray” in honor of the Grand Duke, which was picked up from outside, and then the shouts of the horsemen were heard: “Officers! Officers!..” We went out to them and were received by them, they began to “pump” us.”41

In October 1917, all regiments of the corps were transferred to the Caucasian Military District. By January 1918, the Chechen regiment of the corps disintegrated42. Some of the mountaineers joined the Volunteer Army. One of the organizers of new formations in Chechnya was General E. Aliyev43.

Eris Khan Sultan Girey Aliyev (04/30/1855-1920), Chechen, artillery general (from December 6, 1914), is one of the brightest representatives of the Russian officers of that time, who went through the entire First World War. The future general received his initial military education at the 2nd Konstantinovsky Artillery School and at the Mikhailovsky Artillery School (1876). Later he graduated with first class, that is, excellent, from the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy44. He entered service in 1873. He was awarded the rank of officer on August 10, 187645. He took part in the Russian-Turkish (1877-1878) and Russian-

40 See: Muzaev T. Union of Highlanders. The Russian Revolution and the peoples of the North Caucasus, 1917 - March 1918. M.: Patria, 2007. pp. 188-189.

41 Arsenyev A.A. Decree. Op.

42 RGVIA. F. 3640. Op. 1. Help.

43 See: Officers of the Russian Guard in the White Struggle. S. 459467.

44 Who was who in the First World War: biographer. encycl. words / comp. K.L. Zalessky. M.: Publishing house AST; Artel, 2003. P. 18.

45 Officers of the Russian Guard in the White Struggle. P. 774.

Japanese wars (1904-1905). From August 15, 1905, E. Aliyev was at the disposal of the commander-in-chief of the Russian troops in the Far East. From May 16, 1906, he commanded the 5th East Siberian Rifle Division46. On August 14, 1908, he was appointed commander of the 2nd Siberian Army Corps47 (Irkutsk Military District, headquarters in the city of Chi-te)48. He held the rank of infantry general from December 6, 1913. By the beginning of 1914, General E. Aliyev had already established himself as a brave military officer and a talented commander. For his services in the military field he received the following awards: Order of St. Anne III degree with swords and bow, St. Stanislav III degree with swords and bow, St. Stanislav I degree with swords, St. George IV degree, St. Anne I degree with swords and golden weapons with the inscription “For bravery”49.

On February 5, 1914, General E. Aliev wrote a report on his transfer to the European part of Russia, motivating his request by difficult service conditions and the unusual climate of Transbaikalia. Otherwise, as he admitted, he had no choice but to “pack up his belongings and quit his favorite business, to which he devoted his life and all his strength”50. The request was granted, and on February 8, 1914, E. Aliyev was appointed commander of the 4th Army Corps, with which he went through the entire First World War. The appointment occurred at the request of the commander of the Vilna Military District. By the time of his appointment, the general was 58% old51. On April 12, 1914, he telegraphed to the emperor that he had taken command of the corps52.

The 4th Army Corps included the 30th (commander - Lieutenant General E.A. Kolyanovsky) and 40th (commander - Lieutenant General N.N. Korotkevich) infantry divisions. Later the 2nd Infantry Division was transferred to him. Upon mobilization, the corps became part of the 1st Army of General P.K. Rennenkamp-fa. At the end of September he was transferred to the 2nd Army of General S.M. Scheidemann. In battles west of Warsaw, troops under the command of artillery general E. Aliyev managed to push back

46 RGVIA. F. 400. Op. 10. D. 1825. L. 25 vol.

47 Who was who. P. 19.

48 RGVIA. F. 400. Op. 10. D. 1825. L. 1, 25.

49 Ibid. L. 25 rev.

50 Ibid. L. 1-1ob.

51 Ibid. L. 25.

52 Ibid. L. 34.

enemy, making it easier for the 2nd Army to go on the offensive. For this operation, on October 20, 1915, he was awarded the Order of St. George, III degree. The corps also participated in most of the most important military operations: Eastern

Prussia and Lodz, the battles of Putlusk and Narva, as well as in the retreat from Romania53. Descriptions of the actions of the 30th division and its commander, General E. Aliyev, during the Gumbinen operation of 1914 have been preserved54. “The IV Army Corps, which was commanded by General Aliyev throughout the war, took part in the most difficult battles of the German front (East Prussia, Lodz, Pultusk and the withdrawal from the Narev) and then withstood the retreat from Romania on its shoulders. - writes A.A Kersnovsky. “This applies to its two indigenous divisions - the 30th and 40th - and to the 2nd Infantry Division attached to the corps.”55 For his services in the First World War, E. Aliyev received the Order of St. Alexander Nevsky with swords and the White Eagle with me-

In May 1917, E. Aliyev took part in the First Mountain Congress, held in Vladikavkaz. In May 1918, he left Petrograd, where he was at the disposal of the commander-in-chief, for Chechnya. Having offered his services to the government of the Caucasian mountaineers and having been refused, in November 1918 he was placed at the disposal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army. On March 13, 1919, after the occupation of Chechnya by units of General V.P. Lyakhov, arrived in Grozny. At the suggestion of General A.I. Denikin On April 11, at the congress of the Chechen people, E. Aliyev was elected Supreme Ruler of Chechnya. During his reign, Chechen villages that did not recognize the power of the Volunteer Army were destroyed. In protest against the cruelty and violence against the highlanders by General I.G. Erdeli, who commanded the troops in the North Caucasus, as well as condemnation of the retaliatory actions of the mountaineers, E. Aliyev announced his resignation. After the retreat of the Volunteer Army from the Terek region, he was arrested by the Bolsheviks and imprisoned in Grozny. Presumably, according to the verdict

53 Who was who. P. 19.

54 See: Radus-Zenkovich L.A. Essay on an oncoming battle. Based on the experience of the Gumbinen operation of 1914: A critical-historical study. M., 1920: website. IRL: http://www.grwar.ru/library/ Radus-Gumbinnen7RG_I_12.html

55 Kersnovsky A.A. Decree. Op.

56 See: White Russia. Aliyev Eris Khan Sultan Giray: website. IRL: http://belrussia.ru/page-id-1558.html

revolutionary tribunal, executed in 192057. According to other sources, he managed to evacuate along with the white troops to Georgia, and then went to Turkey58. It should be noted that a tragic fate befell many other officers who fought on the fronts of the First World War as part of the national regiments of the Caucasian Native Cavalry Division.

Representatives of the Caucasian peoples took an active part in the war also as part of other formations. The Caucasian Native Cavalry Division itself went through the entire First World War with honor. This became possible thanks to the skillful command of the national regiments, taking into account the character characteristics of the representatives of the Caucasian peoples, the traditions and religious feelings of each of them. In the article “Aly e bashlyki” journalist I.L. Tolstoy,

the son of a famous writer,59 noted: “.Caucasus<...>sent his best representatives to us in order to join us in defending the independence of not only our homeland, but thereby the whole of Europe from the destructive invasion of new barbarians...”60.

At the same time, it should be noted that the history of the national regiments of the peoples of the Caucasus, which is not only of great scientific and educational interest, but also of great educational importance, unfortunately, is still poorly studied. Despite the fact that in the recent period more scientific works have been published on this topic than ever before, many pages of the military path of the Caucasian native cavalry division are unknown. The current situation poses new challenges for researchers.

59 Another son of the writer is warrant officer M.L. Tolstoy -

During the First World War he served in the 2nd Dagestan Regiment.

60 Tolstoy I. Scarlet hoods // Wild Division: collection. math

57 Officers of the Russian Guard in the White Struggle. P. 774. rials / comp. and comment. V.L. Telitsyn. M.: Taus, 2006. P. 65-

58 Who was who. P. 19. 66.

We need to write about this. Not to walk around proudly, saying this is what we are like. The fateful exploits of our Chechens are an excellent example for us to strive for. This is a testament to determination. You need to look up to them, strive, and achieve success.
Many times our Chechens have represented and are presenting themselves in the most decisive manner on the world stage. When the fate of life and death of the entire Soviet people was being decided, when the survival of representatives of Europe, North Africa and other parts of the world was at stake, it was the Chechens who began to show themselves selflessly for the benefit of humanity. As in many epoch-making events, the Chechens show the world the wonders of heroism! Yes! Exactly miracles! Because only this can explain the unanimous decision of the leadership of the Soviet Union to set the exploits of the Chechen Khampashi Nuradilov as an example to all Soviet wars. And indeed, about a thousand single-handedly destroyed enemy and dozens of prisoners - this is an action that has never happened.
Much has been said about the heroic deeds of the defenders of the Brest Fortress. A significant number of documentaries and feature films dedicated to this significant event have been shot in cinema and television. Each of them reflects the events that took place “in its own way.” However, there were not many people with the determination to tell the truth. Of this number, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin: Not many people know that approximately one third of the defenders of the Brest Fortress consisted of Chechens. “This recognition was a revelation not only for domestic journalists, but also for foreign guests who took part in the forum. (//New news. 07/01/05. Forum “Russia at the turn of the century: hopes and realities”. President of the country Vladimir Putin.)
Ingratitude is often shown towards the Chechen people. During the Soviet period, entire people were deported. They were considered accomplices of the German fascists; they did not speak differently about the Chechens. And among them there were 146 Heroes of the Soviet Union. (I.P. Rybkin. Towards security - through consent and trust. 1997. Moscow, Old Square. December 11, 1996)
However, in difficult times, all arrogance goes away. Marginalized people and their hidden games become too obvious and unnecessary at a time like this. The time has come for people of action.
Examples of Chechens serving for the common good are replete with courage and dedication. The actions of the sons of the Chechen people in the Second World War also became significant. Chechen Heroes fought against 20th century fascism ON EARTH, IN THE SKIES AND AT THE SEA.
Elbe, Wittenberg Schwedt, Hammelyppring, Rheinsberg (Germany) Kirdanami (Ukraine). Movladi Visaitov.
On the Elbe, the first Soviet soldier turned out to be the Hero of the Soviet Union, regiment commander Movladi Visaitov, for which he was awarded the American Order of the Legion of Honor. (//Russian newspaper. - Central issue No. 4062 of May 10, 2006 Timofey Borisov. Memory is more important than the parade.) Commander 28 1st Chechen Guards Cavalry Regiment of the 6th Guards Cavalry Division of the Guard, Lieutenant Colonel of the Red Army, Hero of the Soviet Union, Movladi Visaitov, was a brave son of the Chechen people. He fought with his regiment in the hottest spots of hostilities, both in Soviet Ukraine and on the fields of Europe. The “wild division” of Movladi Visaitov consisted of 80% Chechens and 20% Ingush.
Movladi Visaitov is the only representative of the Soviet Union to be awarded the highest US award, the Order of the US Legion of Honor - the Purple Heart. Soviet Chechen officer Movladi Visaitov was awarded the highest American order - the “Legion of Honor” by US President Harry Truman.
M. Visaitov was the first with his regiment to meet with the Anglo-American Allied forces on the Elbe on April 25, 1945. Movladi Visaitov was the first to shake hands with the famous Eisenhower. In May 1945, Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky signed the nomination of officer M. Visaitov for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. However, the colonel’s presentation to the Golden Star simply did not take place, as in the cases of hundreds of other Chechen Heroes. Lavrenty Beria imposed his ban. The title of Hero was awarded only on May 5, 1990 posthumously.
Among Movladi Visaitov's awards: the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner, Suvorov 3rd degree, the Red Star, medals: “For Military Merit”, “For the Defense of Stalingrad”, “For Victory over Germany”, as well as the Order of the Legion of Honor (the highest award in the United States) 1945.
Italy. Magomet Yusupov.
In the Italian Resistance movement, in the ranks of the 5th shock brigade named after Arturo Capettini, from May 1, 1944 until the end of the war, Chechen Magomet Yusupov fought against the German invaders.
French Alps. France. Italy. Alavdi Ustarkhanov.
A Chechen, Alavdi Ustarkhanov, a Soviet officer, fought in the ranks of the French resistance, the first holder of the Legion of Honor from the Soviet Union - the highest award of France. He knew the famous French general, French President Charles de Gaulle. He received the award personally from General de Gaulle. Alavdi Ustarkhanov also fought in the ranks of the Italian partisans, then in the French Resistance movement in 1943-1945. In the French Resistance he was given the name Andre - Commander Andre. He knew both German and French perfectly.
Alavdi Ustarkhanov’s experience of serving in the special unit SMERSH (deciphering the abbreviation: Death to Spies), which was personally subordinate to Stalin, is a good help. According to the stories of those in the know, in addition to other special skills, the unit’s fighters mastered the art of “Makedonian shooting,” i.e. shooting at targets with both hands at the same time.
Having received such great honors, Alavdi Ustarkhanov did not stay in Europe, but returned home. However, envious and ungrateful representatives of the Soviet state turned the famous hero into an “enemy of the people.” The international exploits of Alavdi Ustarkhanov were assessed in their own way, sentenced to ten years as a traitor to the Motherland and exiled to Magadan. However, even there, in difficult conditions, Alavdi showed himself to be highly respectable, rising to the rank of brigade chief. At the end of his term, Alavdi returned to his homeland in Chechnya.
Charles de Gaulle helped shed light on yet another hushing up of the exploits of the Chechens when he asked during a meeting with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev: How is our commander Andre doing. And then things started to spin. As in a fairy tale, the dilapidated home began to turn into a worthy mansion. French comrades of Alavdi Ustarkhanov came to the Republic and brought him a motorcycle as a gift, the same one on which Commander Andre broke into small settlements captured by the Nazis.
The surname of Alavdi Ustarkhanov was one of the first recorded on the monument to veterans of the French resistance.
Reichstag, Berlin (Germany). Abdul-Khakim Ismailov
In 2006, celebrations took place in Khasavyurt to celebrate the 90th anniversary of veteran Abdulkhakim Ismailov. During the Great Patriotic War, the Chechen, together with his compatriots, fought as part of the 83rd separate reconnaissance company. It was he who hoisted the Victory Banner. This fact became known thanks to a photograph by front-line correspondent Evgeniy Khaldei, where the hero of the day, together with his comrades in arms - Kyivian resident Alexei Kovalev and Minsk resident Leonid Gorychev - was captured on the roof of the Reichstag. Moreover, in 1996, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the holder of the Order of Military Glory, III degree, was awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
For many years, Soviet propaganda hid the name of the Chechen Abdul-Khakim Ismailov, who was the first to hoist the World Famous Victory Banner on the Reichstag. The command was afraid to report this to Stalin. The Chechens by that time were considered enemies of the people. Instead, to please the great Stalin, they recorded Kantaria and Egorova, who hung up the banner after the end of hostilities and who were filmed. The filming clearly shows that no fighting takes place.
As Abdul-Khakim Ismailov recalls:
On April 28, our 83rd Guards Reconnaissance Company of the 82nd Guards Rifle Division goes to the Reichstag. The density of troops is enormous, the shelling is merciless, but for the Germans the Reichstag is a shrine and a symbol, and they resist a thousand times more stubbornly than usual. Four times on this day troops storm the Reichstag. With huge losses and without success. Being in the immediate vicinity of the Palace of the German Parliament, we cannot move a meter. The commander of our reconnaissance company, Shevchenko, receives an order to send reconnaissance and, in turn, entrusts this task to three intelligence officers - me and two of my friends: Ukrainian Alexey Kovalev and Belarusian Alexey Goryachev. We approached the palace. We passed through the first floor of the building, full of Germans, mad and drunk. We went up to the second one. I almost died there. Accident saved me. Pausing at the threshold of the huge hall in which the fascists were lying down as they were firing, I saw in the large palace mirror two German machine gunners hiding behind the door. Killed them. He ran on, doing his reconnaissance work. In the end, the three of us and our comrades ended up on the roof. There was a battle below. Shootout. The roar of artillery. We were not given such a task - to hoist the flag. But everyone who stormed the Reichstag had a flag with them, just in case. We had one too. So we installed it."
In order for the Pravda newspaper to capture the triumph of the winners, the division commander first called the reconnaissance company commander to see him, after which the three reconnaissance officers, now accompanied by photographer Khaldei, who had flown in from Moscow, had to repeat the ascent to the Reichstag.
Photo of Khaldei, depicting the installation of the Soviet flag of victory over the Reichstag by Abdul-Hakim Ismailov in 1945. Pravda didn’t publish it. Abdul-Khakim Ismailov told many in his circle the truth of the epoch-making event. But not many accepted what was stated, despite the fact that all the facts, as is known, are recorded in wartime, especially the details of an event of this magnitude. In addition, there were a large number of witnesses to this. Abdul-Khakim Ismailov himself did not have that very evidence - a photograph of Khaldei.
However, justice prevailed. Thanks to the professionalism and accuracy of Evgeniy Khaldei, who carefully preserved not only the photographs, but also the names of the soldiers depicted on them. Television also helped matters. In 1995, Alexey Kovalev, who took part in the program in connection with the 50th anniversary of the Victory and climbed with Ismailov to the Reichstag tower in May 1945, not only told the whole story, not forgetting the photographer Khaldei, but also directly named from the screen those with who is depicted in the photograph. And then everyone realized Ismailov’s historical feat. In 1996, Abdul-Khakim Ismailov became a Hero of Russia.
Poland. Brothers V. T. and A. T. Akhtaev.
The brothers V.T. and A.T. Akhtaev also showed heroism at the front. Commanding the regiment, Lieutenant Colonel A.T. Akhtaev in the summer of 1944 participated in breaking through enemy defenses near the city of Krasno (Poland). When the combat mission, on which the success of the advance of the Soviet troops forward depended, was completed, Abdul Tokazovich was seriously wounded. Dying in the arms of his military friend, the famous war hero General Kh. Mamsurov, he said: “I honestly fulfilled my duty to the Motherland!”
Abdula's younger brother V.T. Akhtaev was the commander of a separate reconnaissance cavalry squadron of the formation. He was also distinguished by his courage, bravery and resourcefulness in battle. He died a heroic death in the summer of 1944 near the Polish city of Brody. There, in Poland, two brave commanders, glorious sons of the Chechen people, the Akhtaev brothers, were buried almost simultaneously, who honestly and completely fulfilled their military and filial duty to the country, to its people. (V. Solovyov. Vainakhs in the Great Patriotic War. www. .vsoloviev.ru)
Leningrad. Akhmat Magomadov, N. Khanbekov, Y. Samkhadov, A. Shaipov, A. Magomadov, M. Ochaev and hundreds of others.
The name of the legendary defender of Leningrad, 19-year-old sniper Akhmat Magomadov, is significant. Together with the defenders of Leningrad, N. Khanbekov, Yu. Samkhanov, A. Shaipov, A. Magomadov, M. Ochaev and hundreds of others bravely fought against the enemy.
The heroic defenders of Leningrad wrote to Grozny about the sniper Akhmat Magomadov: “We met Akhmat Magomadov while defending the city of Lenin, falling in love with him for his courage, heroism and fearlessness. He is only 19 years old, but in part he is called a veteran. He killed 87 fascists with his sniper rifle. He prepared and taught sniper work to eleven fighters, who killed 165 fascists. (V. Soloviev. Vainakhs in the Great Patriotic War. www.vsoloviev.ru)
Battles for Melitopol (Ukraine). Yahya Alisultanov, Irbaikhan Beybulatov, Magomed Beybulatov, Makhmud Beybulatov, Beysolt Beybulatov and many other Chechens who fought desperately together.
“The faithful son of the Chechen people, Yahya Alisultanov, bravely and selflessly fights the fascist invaders... More than once he was in heated battles in Ukraine. For exemplary performance of combat missions, Alisultanov was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The glorious warrior Alisultanov enjoys universal respect in the unit. His heroism and courage serve as an example for the fighters...”, wrote the party organizer of the military unit in the newspaper “Grozny Rabochiy”. (V. Soloviev. Vainakhs in the Great Patriotic War. www.vsoloviev.ru)
Vivid examples of courage in the battles for the city of Melitopol were shown by Irbaikhan Beybulatov and his brothers Magomet, Mahmud and Beisalt. On June 22, 1941, the teacher of the village of Osman-Yurt, Irbaikhan Beybulatov, and his brothers Magomed, Makhmud and Beisalt were drafted into the army. Saying goodbye to his mother, Irbaikhan said: “Mother, there will be no man left in our house, we are all going to war... But do I have the right to stay with you? Look into my eyes, mother, and tell me: will you love a son who, in the hour of such danger, will put the home above the happiness of the people? I know you, mother, I know that you would rather see me dead on the battlefield than alive, hiding from the battle...”
And the mother, whose heart was breaking from separation from her beloved sons, said: “You are going to war, leaving me with pride, but not tears...”.
Irbaikhan Beybulatov showed himself to be a brave and determined warrior from the very beginning. Commanding a rifle battalion in the battles for the city of Melitopol, I. Beibulatov showed extraordinary ability as a tactician in difficult conditions of street combat. Fearlessly led his soldiers to storm enemy positions. The battalion under his command repelled 19 enemy counterattacks and destroyed 7 tanks and more than 1,000 Nazis. Irbaikhan Beybulatov himself destroyed one tank and 18 enemy soldiers. In these battles, the glorious son of the Chechen people died.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated November 1, 1943, Irbaikhan Beibulatov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (V. Solovyov. Vainakhs in the Great Patriotic War. www.vsoloviev.ru). One of the streets is named after the Chechen regiment commander Irbaikhan Beybulatov, who died a hero’s death in the battle for Melitopol. (//Russian newspaper. - Central issue No. 4062 dated May 10, 2006 Timofey Borisov. Memory is more important than the parade.)
Fights near Moscow. Abukhaji Idrisov, Lechi Bisultanov, Duki Mezhidov, Khasan Shaipov and many others.
In the battles near Moscow in the fall of 1941 - early 1942, hundreds of soldiers from Checheno-Ingushetia distinguished themselves. Among them are Lechi Bisultanov. Duki Mezhidov, Khasan Shaipov and others. Heroic feats in the battles for Moscow were performed by the Chechen sniper Abukhadzhi Idrisov (V. Solovyov. Vainakhs in the Great Patriotic War. www.vsoloviev.ru), who served in the 1232nd regiment of the 125th Infantry Division. The newspaper “Evening Moscow” wrote about him on April 22, 1943: “309 fascists were defeated by the son of free Chechnya - Communist Idrisov. He beats them both in defense and on the offensive, day and night. He does not give respite to the enemy.”
The defender of Moscow is the sniper Abukhadzhi Idrisov, the only one who has killed more than 350 fascists. To destroy the legend of the Red Army, on the orders of Hitler, the best sniper in Germany, instructor Horwald, came to Stalingrad.
Stalingrad. Khanpashi Nuradilov.
In the battles for Stalingrad, more than a thousand soldiers from Checheno-Ingushetia performed immortal feats. The name of Hero of the Soviet Union, commander of a machine gun platoon of the 5th Guards Cavalry Division, Khanpashi Nuradilov, became known throughout the country. Using his machine gun, he destroyed 920 fascist soldiers, captured 7 enemy machine guns, and captured 12 Nazis. One of the first Chechens, Red Army soldier Nuradilov, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. About the national hero of the Chechen people, who died a brave death in the battle for the Volga, the Izvestia newspaper wrote on October 31, 1942: “and years will pass. Our life will shine with new bright colors.... And the happy youth of Checheno-Ingushetia, the girls of the Don, the boys of Ukraine, will sing songs about senior guard sergeant Khanpash Nuradilov.” Posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the USSR.
Khanpasha was a simple fighter, like everyone else. Modest, he did not like to talk about his exploits, but he loved his machine gun very much. And having met the enemy dozens of times, he always emerged victorious from the battle.
In the last battle alone, Khanpasha destroyed over 200 fascists. The hero was wounded twice, he was bleeding, his strength was being undermined, but he stood and defended his line. The hero died as a valiant knight of his native homeland. But his exploits are immortal. The government recognized the Hero’s military merits with the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of the Red Star.
On the occasion of the unprecedented heroism of Khampasha Nuradilov, the Appeal of the Political Directorate of the Don Front to the soldiers of the Soviet Army, issued on the eve of the Battle of Stalingrad (1943), became widely known.
“Look, fighter, at the heroic image of the hero, mountain eagle, machine gunner Khanpashi Nuradilov. Let the military exploits of the hero of the Caucasus, the son of the Chechen people, become for you and your comrades an example of valor in battle. Hold the rifle firmly in your hands, red warrior. Make sure that fame thundered about you along the entire front, as about the Komsomol guardsman Nuradilov. Fight the enemy so that legends and epics are written about your exploits, so that songs are sung about them. The Motherland hopes for you, believes in your strength, your fortitude and your courage. See, don't let us down! Be brave, like the immortal hero Khanpasha Nuradilov. Know no fear in battle, boldly conquer death, as the valiant son of the Chechen people conquered it.
The German killed the heroic machine gunner. Kill the German, soldier. Kill as quickly as possible, kill everyone, and you will win. Your homeland will glorify you. Your mother and wife will tell you through tears of joy: “Thank you. Victory is in your hands. Look, don’t miss it - kill the enemy...” (Appeal of the Political Directorate of the Don Front to the soldiers of the Soviet Army, issued on the eve of the Battle of Stalingrad (1943)
Brest Fortress (Belarus). Aindi Lalaev, Adam Malaev, Akhmed Khasiev, M. Isaev, Sh. Zakriev, A.-Kh. Elmurzaev, A. Saadaev and the rest of the four hundred immortal heroes of Checheno-Ingushetia.
A battalion of more than 400 Chechens and Ingush from Checheno-Ingushetia under the command of Lieutenant Aindi Lalaev defended the Brest Fortress to the last, covering the retreat of the Soviet army. 99% of them died and 149 of them were awarded the Hero of the Soviet Union, but this fact was hidden until 1997, which was announced to the whole world by Ivan Rybkin, the former secretary of the Russian Security Council. Ivan Petrovich Rybkin notes: Of the Chechens and Ingush, more than 400 people were among the defenders of the Brest Fortress, which was the first to take the blow, and for 28 days instead of the 12 hours allotted to the border guards, it withstood the blow of the fascists. (I.P. Rybkin. Towards security - through consent and trust. 1997. Moscow, Old Square. December 11, 1996). The dashing horsemen of the Chechen-Ingush cavalry regiment fought bravely. Eyewitnesses of the events of the heroic defense of the Brest Fortress still live in the republic today. Last year, two participants in the legendary defense of Brest traveled to the places of their military glory and participated in events dedicated to the 65th anniversary of the defense of the fortress. Today, 84-year-old Adam Malaev and 87-year-old remember the front-line events at home - age is taking its toll and is no longer conducive to such long journeys. They fought bravely against the Nazi aggressors. The brave Chechen defenders of the Brest Fortress died a heroic death on the battlefield. Among them are M. Isaev, Sh. Zakriev, A.-Kh. Elmurzaev, A. Saadaev, Lalaev and many others.
City on the Volga. Makhmud Amayev.
In a city on the Volga, 177 German soldiers and officers were killed by sniper Makhmud Amayev. Tula gunsmiths made a personalized sniper rifle for him, and the command of the unit gave him a dagger with the inscription: “The enemy cannot extinguish the sun, but we cannot be defeated.” (State Internet channel "Russia". In the memory of generations. 05/8/2007. www.strana.ru)
Murmansk and Karelia. Gaidabaev, Aidulaev, Daurov, Madagov, Okunchaev, Lalaev.
In the regions of Murmansk and Karelia, Gaidabaev, Aidulaev, Daurov, Madagov, Okunchaev, Lalaev fought bravely with the enemy.
Air battles. DI. Akaev, A.G. Akhmadov, A. Imadiev.
Among the heroes of the Soviet Union were Chechen pilots. On March 1, 1945, the commander of the attack air regiment, Konstantin Abukhov, repeated the heroic feat of the pilot Captain Nikolai Gastello. (//Russian newspaper. - Central issue No. 4062 of May 10, 2006 Timofey Borisov. Memory is more important than the parade.) Made 64 combat missions, destroyed 13 tanks, 27 vehicles, a tank and a large number of enemy personnel. On March 1, 1945, during an attack near the city of Lübben (Germany), he directed a burning Il-2 towards a concentration of enemy equipment. Hero of the Soviet Union 1945 posthumously.
Soviet pilots - Chechens Akaev, Akhmadov, Imadiev - showed high examples of heroism in battles with Hitler's aces. Major D. Akaev even rose to the rank of commander of an assault aviation regiment. The famous pilot, commander of the 35th Assault Aviation Regiment, Major D.I. Akaev, bravely fought with enemies on the Leningrad Front.
As Admiral V.F. Tributs, who commanded the Baltic Fleet during the war, notes in his book “The Baltics Are Advancing,” “The commander of the 35th Assault Aviation Regiment, Major D.I. Akaev, set an excellent example in fulfilling his duty. He was the first to deliver a sensitive blow to the enemy operating in these areas (Gostlitsy - Dyatlitsy - Zaostrovye).” Admiral Tributs writes that D.I. Akaev, together with the commander of the aviation division, Colonel Manzhoev, Chelnokov, Lieutenant Colonel Mironenko, and Captain Pysin, was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. However, he did not receive the reward he deserved. While performing a combat mission, Major D.I. Akaev died a hero’s death on February 26, 1944, three days after the deportation of his people. At the same time, they completely destroyed 11 enemy bombers and destroyed the airfield.
Battles at sea. P.S. Kuzmin
Residents of post-war Leningrad were well aware of the feat of Grozny resident P.S. Kuzmin, who commanded the Shch-408 submarine in the Baltic. In May 1943, after a fierce battle with an enemy destroyer, the crew of the submarine, led by its commander, died unconquered, repeating the legendary feat of the cruiser Varyag. (//Polit.ru. May 06, 2006. Valery Yaremenko. “They embodied the best features of the Chechen people...”)
Tank battles. Matash Mazaev
There were also many tank heroes from among the soldiers of Checheno-Ingushetia: M.A. Mazaev, Kh.D. Aliroev, A. Mankiev, M. Malsagov, A. Malsagov and others. Thus, the Pravda newspaper dated July 1, 1941 reported on the feat of border guard tankman Captain Matash Mazaev, committed together with his unit on the western border at Sadovaya Vishnya, near the city of Przemysl. This was the first news received by Checheno-Ingushetia about the military affairs of their fellow countrymen at the front. The article said: "... the battalion of M. Mazaev as part of the regiment came out to meet the enemy, who was trying to press our units to the Western Bug, and suddenly struck the right flank of the Nazis. The Nazis directed fierce fire at him from a camouflaged gun. An enemy shell hit the head Nu, another - into the caterpillar of his tank, and the third disabled the machine gun. The turret gunner was killed, Mazaev himself was wounded in the leg and stomach. The mechanic, following the captain's order, went for reinforcements.
The Germans considered that the tank’s crew had been destroyed and began to drag their damaged gun with the help of a tractor. Mazaev threw grenades at them and opened fire with a pistol. The enraged fascists began to shoot at the tank from a close range with a cannon and a machine gun. The combat continued for more than an hour. Mazaev began to lose consciousness from loss of blood. But a Soviet tank rushed to the rescue at full speed. The Nazis retreated."
After treatment, Matasha Mazaev returned to the front. In the battles near Stalingrad, he commanded a separate cavalry unit, which was part of the infantry school. In one of the battles, M. Mazaev died a heroic death.
Crossing of the Dnieper. X. Magomed-Mirzaev and Dachiev X. Ch.
Sergeant Magomed Mirzoev, who worked as the director of the Alkhakzurov school before being drafted into the Red Army, showed himself to be a fearless warrior on the battlefields. In September 1943, he was among the first to cross the right bank of the Dnieper, cleared the bank of enemy soldiers with machine gun fire, and thereby ensured the successful crossing of the river by units of his regiment. This was his last fight. Wounded three times, bleeding, he continued to hit the enemy with a machine gun. 144 fascists were destroyed by Kh. Magomed Mirzoev in his last battle, in which, without letting go of his weapon, he died a heroic death. For courage and heroism, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of January 15, 1944, he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
For the courage and heroism shown during the crossing of the Dnieper, the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to Kh. Ch. Dachiev, who now lives in Gudermes.
Guerrilla resistance. 3. A. Akhmatkhanov.
In the partisan detachment named after. Suvorov since November 1941. bravely fought against the Nazi aggressors 3. A. Akhmatkhanov. In November 1943 in one of the battles in the Pskov region he died a heroic death.
Junior lieutenant Salman Midaev escaped from fascist captivity at the beginning of 1942 and fearlessly fought in a partisan detachment in Belarus under the nickname “Kazbek”. On May 1, 1944, S. A. Midaev died and was buried in the village cemetery in Yasenoviki.
Interesting facts about the heroism of the Chechens were presented by the famous journalist, a worthy son of Russia - Vladimir Solovyov. They are set out in his truly landmark article, entitled: “The Vainakhs in the Great Patriotic War.” The fair narrative of the respected Vladimir Solovyov begins with the words:
“It’s hard to imagine a more unimaginable lie that surrounds the participation of the Chechens and Ingush in the Great Patriotic War. Here there is universal cooperation with the Nazis, uprisings in the rear of the Red Army and a white horse presented personally to the Fuhrer. Nonsense...”
Solovyov reveals little-known facts to us.
In December 1942, volunteer soldiers of the 299th Guards Mortar Regiment, formed in Perm, picked up a goner boy near the Black Sea village of Anchor Slit. Dirty, hungry, he was on the verge of dystrophy and bribed the mortar men with his sad olive eyes and his shyness. Unadapted, the soldiers decided, he would not survive without help. This is how the Chechen Zelimkhan Maksutov became the son of the regiment. The boy soon showed a talent for composing short poems in prose, and he also amazed everyone with his fearlessness. Those. complete absence of fear of any danger. Death did not frighten him; it seemed that he was frightened by death. In November 1943, near Kharkov, he shot two fascists who had captured the wounded platoon commander, Lieutenant E. Rusakov. On the same day, the regiment commander presented him with the medal “For Courage” in front of the formation. In 1944, the regiment fought in Poland, when, after the deportation of the Chechens and Ingush, an order was issued to demobilize representatives of these peoples from the army. Nobody wanted to part with Zelik, as his fellow soldiers called him, and the command issued the boy a document addressed to Alexander Alladinov, a Kazakh, born in 1929. The regimental special officer was not particularly nomadic - everyone wants to live, but no one is safe from a “stray” bullet on the front line...
At the end of May 1945, the regiment, together with parts of its corps, left liberated Czechoslovakia, passing through the eastern part of Austria and stopping at the Hungarian city of Sopron. Here it was necessary to transfer older soldiers and sergeants to the reserve - a good quarter of the regiment.
In front of the formation of the unit, the banner of the Ternopil Guards, the orders of Suvorov, Kutuzov, Alexander Nevsky, Bohdan Khmelnitsky and the Red Star of the regiment was carried out. The photograph literally captured the battle flag, the standard bearer and two assistants, riddled with shrapnel and bullets. One of the assistants is Zelimkhan Maksutov. Veteran volunteers Dyuzhenkov, Gavrilov, Hoffman, Polyakov, Terentyev and many others marched solemnly in front of the banner for the last time. Each chest is decorated with military orders and medals. To whom did they say goodbye with their eyes - to the battle banner or to their favorite Aladdin? Who knows... But we can understand what was going on in the boy’s soul. He had already lost his family once, and now he was parting with his second forever. During the regiment's farewell parade, he died of a broken heart."
There are still a huge number of examples of the heroism of the Chechen-Ingush people. Historically, the Chechen people are deliberately slandered by precisely that part of “society” that behaved passively during a nationwide threat, especially during times of massive ordeals. These outcasts and their descendants are working their magic today, inventing new approaches to denigrating heroes. The cowardly are always uncomfortable in front of the brave. Why are they doing that? In all likelihood, in order not to be grateful to this selfless people, their worthy representatives.
Fortunately, in our world there are many decent individuals of the peoples of the world. After all, only the worthy recognize the truth. It was these worthy ones who always illuminated the eternal exploits of the Chechen people. After all, like the Chechens, they know the value of such acts.

Literature

1. //New news. 07/01/05. Forum “Russia at the turn of the century: hopes and realities.” President of the country Vladimir Putin.
2. State Internet channel "Russia". In the memory of generations. 05/08/2007. www.strana.ru
3. Museum for war veterans. 05/06/2005. Information server of the President and Government of the Chechen Republic
4. V. Solovyov. Vainakhs in the Great Patriotic War. www.vsoloviev.ru
5. Official No. 1-4"07 (47-50) Information and analytical publication of the Ural Academy of Public Administration and the Coordination Council on State and Municipal Service.
6. M. Geshaev. Famous Chechens.
7. //Russian newspaper. - Central issue No. 4062 dated May 10, 2006 Timofey Borisov. Memory is more important than parade.
8. Rybkin I.P. Consent in Chechnya – Consent in Russia. London.
9. //Moskovsky Komsomolets. www.mk.ru.
10. //Express K. No. 96 (16244) dated 06/01/2007 Vyacheslav SHEVCHENKO, Almaty. Who owns the victory?
11. I.P. Rybkin. Towards security - through agreement and trust. 1997 Moscow, Old Square. December 11, 1996
12. //Polit.ru. May 06, 2006. Valery Yaremenko. "They embodied the best features of the Chechen people..."

The First World War, which began in August 1914, was caused by the aggravation of contradictions between the great powers of Europe. On the one hand, Germany and Austria-Hungary (with the Ottoman Empire later joining), and on the other, England, France, Russia (joined by Italy in 1915) launched military actions that ultimately involved 38 states in the battle world, including the USA. It was a struggle for hegemony between the imperialist powers on the European continent and throughout the world.

In this war, the Russian Empire sought to establish its influence on the Balkan Peninsula, weaken the German and Austro-Hungarian empires and annex from Turkey the Black Sea straits of the Bosporus and Dardanelles, through which up to 90% of the country’s agricultural exports were carried out. The last task involved the deployment of extensive military operations of the Russian army against the Ottoman Empire, primarily in the Caucasus.

Thus, in addition to the main German Front for Russia, the Caucasian Front also arose. Turkish plans in the Caucasus were very ambitious and provided for the spread of direct Turkish influence not only over the entire Caucasus, but also into the regions of the Volga region and Crimea inhabited by Turkic-Muslim peoples. The German military leadership also planned the complete separation of the Caucasus from Russia, while it was planned to create several buffer Caucasian states with a Muslim and Christian population.

Despite the presence of quite noticeable anti-Russian sentiments not only among the Muslim clergy, but also part of the mountain intelligentsia, including in Chechnya, neither the Turks nor the Germans managed to shake the strength of the Russian rear in the Caucasus. However, the Caucasian Front was initially of secondary importance, and on the main one, the German Front, the Russian army suffered the heaviest losses.

Shortly before the First World War, a law on universal military conscription was introduced in Russia. However, this law did not apply to the Muslim population of the Caucasus. The tsarist authorities were afraid to force the highlanders into military service in order to avoid the emergence of new popular unrest. But, as in previous Russian wars of the 19th – early 20th centuries, a recruitment of volunteers was announced. Without much difficulty, 6 national regiments were formed in the North Caucasus, including the Chechen one. These regiments made up a separate Caucasian cavalry division, which soon received a colorful name in everyday life - “Wild Division”. This division was sent to the Austrian front, where it performed well in combat situations. The regiments of the "Wild Division" distinguished themselves during the famous offensive of the Russian army, known as the "Brusilovsky breakthrough". The riders of the “Wild Division”, being at the forefront of the breakthrough, crossed the Dniester River in horse formation, for which the division was awarded the St. George Banner. But the greatest glory for the highlanders was brought by the brilliant defeat of the Brunswick division of the German army. In total, during the First World War, at least 60 riders of the Chechen regiment were awarded the Cross of St. George, which was considered the highest military award in the Russian army.

Different social groups in Chechnya, as among all mountain peoples, had different attitudes towards the war. The peasantry as a whole considered this war completely alien to their interests. Bourgeois and officer circles supported the official slogans about the war to the bitter end. Pro-Turkish sentiments were characteristic only of part of the Chechen clergy.

Gradually, a difficult war caused a deterioration in relations between the highlanders and the Cossacks, which was based on the issue of land. In a number of mountain villages, popular unrest and cases of open disobedience to the authorities are emerging again.

After the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in February 1917 and the formation of the Russian Provisional Government, the situation in the North Caucasus, including Chechnya, became even more unstable. Hereditary Cossack M.A. Karaulov was appointed Commissioner of the Provisional Government in the Terek Region. But the transformations he began to carry out were mainly of a formal nature. The previous administrative division was retained, only the newly appointed district heads were now called commissioners.

M.A. Karaulov intended to carry out the settlement of national problems within the framework of the program of the Provisional Government, which was developed under the influence of the Cadet Party. On March 20, 1917, the Provisional Government issued a decree abolishing all religious and national restrictions. While maintaining the previous administrative-territorial division of the country, the Provisional Government intended to implement “cultural-national self-determination of peoples” in national districts through local government bodies. The provision of state autonomy was envisaged only for Poland and Finland, which enjoyed autonomy under the tsarist regime.

The revolutionary events of February 1917 in Russia intensified national movements in different regions of the country. Chechnya was no exception. In March, a Chechen congress took place in Grozny, attracting up to 10 thousand people. The main speaker at the congress was the famous public figure of Chechnya A.-M. Chermoev. Political and religious figures who were expelled from the Terek region for political reasons during tsarist times took an active part in the congress.

At the congress, two political directions emerged, between which a fierce struggle for power in Chechnya subsequently unfolded. Prominent representatives of the clergy demanded the establishment of theocratic rule in Chechnya. But the sheikhs were unable to achieve their goal - the majority of seats in the Chechen Executive Committee elected at the congress were given to representatives of the secular intelligentsia. The chairman of the Chechen executive committee was a member of the Menshevik party, a lawyer by training, Akhmedkhan Mutushev (later he switched to the side of the Bolsheviks and became an active participant in the civil war in the Caucasus). The prominent businessman M.K. Abdulkadyrov became the deputy chairman, the first commissioner of the Grozny district was T. Eldarkhanov, the commissioner of the Vvedensky district was the hereditary officer A.V. Aduev.

Meanwhile, serious agrarian unrest continued to gain momentum in Chechnya. Cases of unauthorized seizure by peasants of not only state-owned lands, as well as lands belonging to the Cossacks, but also the possessions of large Chechen owners have become more frequent. Banditry became increasingly widespread, from which Chechen villages and Cossack villages suffered equally. Local authorities, torn apart by political differences, were virtually unable to do anything to counter the rampant crime.

In the economic, social and political life of the peoples of Chechnya. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the economic appearance changed, acquiring more and more commodity-money relations, which affected the social structure, way of life and way of life of the Chechens, Cossacks, etc. Capitalism inevitably leveled out the local features of the “ancient patriarchal isolation” in the mountainous regions of the North Caucasus, transforming them into a source of raw materials and a market for factory-produced goods.

Capitalism enters the path of state-monopoly development, monopolies are formed and state intervention in economic life expands. By the beginning of the 20th century. The world economy, permeated with means of communications, has fully developed, and the process of destroying national isolation has been completed.

The system of political, spiritual and national oppression of the tsarist autocracy gave particular acuteness to these contradictions between labor and capital, between the developing new production and social relations and the old obsolete feudal-serf remnants. In the conditions of the multinational North Caucasus region. The export of capital to the national outskirts, rich in raw materials and cheap labor, which Chechnya was, and the construction of industrial enterprises here were very profitable for the Russian bourgeoisie. Forms of capitalist organization began to be established in the Grozny oil-industrial region and in the sphere of bank credit, trade, transport, etc.

Chechnya at the beginning of the 20th century. remained an agricultural outskirts, where the overwhelming majority of the population were mountain peasants engaged in agricultural production. Slowly but steadily the situation began to change. With the construction of the railway through Chechnya, the oil industry receives modern development, overcoming economic, national, administrative and police barriers. In less than two decades, Grozny was transformed from a regular district center in the first decades of the 20th century. turns into a large industrial, commercial and proletarian center. Grozny oil is becoming an arena for capitalist competition.

The largest, most modern enterprises in Chechnya were oil production, oil refining and servicing.

In the context of the transition to industrial oil production, entrepreneurs in the Grozny oil-industrial region were faced with the question: in which areas to extract oil. The conclusion of lease agreements directly with village and stanitsa boards for oil-bearing land plots was beneficial for both parties, but was soon stopped by the tsarist authorities. In 1894, the government abolished the old tax-farm system of leasing oil-bearing land plots and introduced new “Rules on oil fields on the lands of the Kuban and Terek Cossack troops.”

However, the authorities retained the privileges of the Cossack troops and allowed the board of the Terek troops to rent out oil-bearing areas on Cossack territory, albeit for a limited period, for a rent and a share of the oil. The entrepreneurial activity of oil producers in Chechnya was complicated by the fact that tsarism here recognized two owners of the land - the state and the Terek Cossack army, whose interests did not always coincide. The army sought to obtain short-term benefits, and the government had to build its policy taking into account strategic objectives. The rental amounts paid by entrepreneurs for oil fields grew from year to year and reached enormous proportions in a short time. Thus, the income of the Terek Cossack army from oil, fishing and salt fields in 1902 amounted to 777 thousand rubles compared to 28 thousand rubles in 1892.

On October 6, 1893, from a depth of 62 fathoms, near Grozny on the Mamakaevskaya gully, the first gush of oil hit the site of the Akhverdov oil industry company. Increased demand for petroleum products from the growing factory industry and railway transport created favorable market conditions, which attracted new capital to Grozny. Wells are being replaced by oil wells, modern steam engines and pumps, drilling tools, etc. are being used.

Large deposits of high-quality oil, an abundance of cheap labor, and fabulous profits expected by oil companies caused a rapid application and exploration fever in Grozny at the beginning of the twentieth century. Firms and joint-stock companies for oil production appeared: “T-vo Akhverdov and Co. 0”, “T-vo Moskovskoye”, “T-vo Rusanovsky”, “Caspian-Black Sea Society”, “Maksimov-skoe Society” etc. There was a concentration of oil industry capital in the hands of several firms. Thus, “T-vo Akhverdov and Co. 0” at the beginning of the 20th century. owned the most productive land plots, produced up to 40-50% of the total oil production in the Grozny oil-industrial region. Another largest enterprise for the extraction and processing of Grozny oil was the Vladikavkaz Railway company.

Along with Russian capital, English, French, Belgian, and German are increasingly penetrating into the Grozny oil region. Akhverdov's company, founded by Russian capitalists, was taken over by the Belgians. The famous Rothschilds bought a number of already operating Grozny oil companies. And a group of English entrepreneurs formed the following companies: “Shpis”, “Kazbekovsky Syndicate”, etc. Foreign capital has been particularly active since the beginning of the 20th century. So, from 1898 to 1903. foreign capitalists invested about 16 million rubles in the Grozny oil industry, and by 1905 this figure increased to 40 million rubles. Of the 14 largest firms operating in the Grozny region in 1905, 10 were owned by foreigners: 5 British, 3 French, etc.

Since the beginning of the 20th century. The technical equipment of the Grozny oil industry is being intensified: metal oil storage facilities are being built, oil pipelines are being laid from fields to oil refineries, etc. Around Grozny at the beginning of the 20th century. 51 boreholes were in operation, 149 steam engines were in operation, 120 km of pipeline facilities, 57 iron tanks, pumping stations, overpasses, boiler houses, power plants, etc. were in operation. Oil and trade and transport companies put more than 3 thousand liquid tanks on the rails of the Vladikavkaz Railway wagons, purchased schooners, steamships, tank barges for transporting oil and petroleum products across seas and rivers, built warehouses and marinas, opened agencies in cities, etc.

The technical re-equipment of the Grozny fields from the end of the 19th century contributed to a sharp increase in oil production. Over 60 years, from 1833 to 1893, about 3.5 million poods of oil were extracted using the well method in Chechnya; after the start of drilling, 6 million poods of oil were produced in 1893 alone, and in 1904. - 40 million pounds of oil. The share of Grozny oil in total oil production in Russia increased from 5% in 1900 to 10% in 1905. Grozny overtook Baku in terms of oil production growth rates.

The oil refining industry also developed. In the second half of the 90s. 3 oil processing plants were built in Grozny, a 13-kilometer oil pipeline was connected to them from the fields, and the Grozny factory industrial district arose. The largest plants were: “T-va Akhverdov and K 0”, “Vladikavkaz Railway”. The plant of the latter company, created by the talented Russian engineer F.A. Inchikom, was also the most technically advanced - with a heat exchange system, which at that time did not exist even abroad. Along with oil refining enterprises in Grozny in the 90s. factories are emerging to service them: boiler plants of Etanov and Freu, foundry-mechanical plants of Faniev, Khokhlov, Eskingor, workshops of the Molot company, boiler-mechanical workshops of Stepanov, Chauf, Gazeev. Woodworking workshops "Rabotnik", " A carpenter". There were a steam flour mill, a brewery and mineral water factories. As a result, the Zavodskoy district appeared along the railway from Grozny station to Starye Promysli.

In the rural areas of Chechnya there were small handicraft and semi-handicraft enterprises for processing local raw materials and agricultural products, satisfying the needs of the local population: brick-tile, lime, sawmills, canneries, water mills, etc. There were up to several hundred such enterprises here, each Of these, up to a dozen workers worked, whose annual productivity reached only a few hundred rubles.

New branches of production and large enterprises created on the basis of the achievements of science and technology required new forms of capital organization. This form became corporatization. By the beginning of the 20th century. joint-stock companies emerged and took a dominant position in the Russian economy, mobilizing significant material resources. This form of capital organization made it possible to concentrate significant individual capital and available funds in one hand.

One of the first documented agreements of a monopolistic type was the syndicate of oil-producing firms in Grozny - “Akhverdov and Co.,” which arose in February 1902 in the conditions of the most severe global industrial crisis. Due to contradictions, the syndicate disbanded already in October 1903. Despite its short-term nature, this association marked the beginning of a “unified policy” of large Grozny firms.

The Grozny oil industry experienced a protracted depression in subsequent years; The importance of the growing role of oil in the world economy and the increasing pace of monopolization of the oil industry had a contradictory effect. Pan-European monopolistic organizations like EP (European Petroleum Union), which included the Grozny company “Akhverdov and Co.” represented by its owner Waterkeyn, the all-Russian cartel “Nobel Mazut”, which pursued a policy of competitive prices, and others are caught up in the competitive struggle. A large company in Grozny, the Spies Petroleum Company, became a purely English company in 1907. Among the large oil associations, the leading place belonged to the Nobels, which were firmly established on the Terek. The Rothschilds also achieved success; since 1907, the Grozny company Kazbekov Syndicate (German-English capital) and others have fallen into their hands.

The growing importance of oil was ensured by relatively stable oil production in the Grozny region: in 1904 - 40 million poods, in 1905 - 48 million poods, in 1907 - 39.4 million poods, etc. The demand for gasoline led to organize gasoline production in Grozny. By 1907, up to 2 million pounds of gasoline were produced here per year. The Vladikavkaz Railway was not only a lever for the industrial and agricultural development of the North Caucasus, but was itself a large industrial organization of a monopolistic type. It had repair shops, oil fields, power plants, elevators, oil storage facilities, and an oil refinery. Transportation by road grew from year to year: from 101.6 thousand poods in 1895 to 217.3 thousand poods (213.94%) in 1905. The income of railway bigwigs in 1907 reached 42.6 million. rubles, of which net profit amounted to 16.3 million rubles.

Associated with the development of capitalist industry formation of the working class in Grozny. The formation of the first generation of workers in the Grozny industrial region reveals the colonial nature of the exploitation of natural resources. The working class of Chechnya, which was formed in the Grozny region, primarily consisted of Russian workers, although the workforce was replenished by the impoverished (landless) mountain and Cossack peasants: Chechens, Ingush, Dagestanis, Terek and Sunzhensky Cossacks. They were mainly hired to perform physically difficult menial work.

In the oil industry of Grozny, starting from the drilling of the first well, a significant part of the workers were Chechens, who at one time built oil wells and scooped oil out of them using leather wineskins using gates. When the industrial development of oil began, Chechens and Cossacks from the Terek and Sunzha villages began working on drilling rigs and filled up the oil workforce. In Grozny by 1905 there were more than 11 thousand workers, of which up to 6 thousand were oil field workers, up to 3 thousand were railway workers; 650 - workers of oil refineries of the companies "Akhverdov and K 0", "Vladikavkaz Railway", "Kazbek Syndicate", "Success", etc., 1600 - workers of city enterprises, etc.

The interests of large industrialists in the oil industry of Grozny, as well as in Russia as a whole, were intertwined with the interests of the landowning class represented by the Terek Cossack army and the mountain elite. In a comparative analysis, Russia was classified as one of the most economically backward capitalist countries during the monopoly stage, in which the latest capitalist imperialism was entwined in a “dense network of pre-capitalist relations.”

Working conditions in capitalist enterprises were difficult. Low wages and long working hours (12-14 hours or more) were commonplace both in the Grozny industries and city enterprises. The 1897 law, which limited the working day to 11.5 hours, was not respected. Perhaps they didn’t even know about the existence of this law; in any case, the industrialists didn’t want to know. The “Internal Rules” developed in 1899 by the Akhverdov and Co. society stated that workers must report to work at 5 a.m. and leave at 6 p.m. “on the whistle.”

As a result of stubborn struggle, the proletariat of Grozny achieved the establishment of a minimum wage of 22-27 rubles. per month for skilled oil field workers and for day laborers - 80 kopecks per day. The real wages of workers were significantly lower than the established ones; they were reduced as a result of various fines and deductions. Thus, at the enterprises of the company “Akhverdov and K 0” fines were collected: for “breaking the silence” - 30 kopecks, for “disobedience” - 60 kopecks. etc. Renting housing took 20-30% of their salary; workers were forced to buy food and industrial goods on credit from landlords' shops at inflated prices.

Workers who came into contact with oil every day suffered from various diseases; after a few years of such work, they became disabled, aged prematurely and died. Even the field doctor noted “the unsightly environment of the field worker, sometimes difficult for the healthy, not only for the sick.” Only in March 1905, as the newspaper “Terskie Vedomosti” reported (April 6, 1905), “the opening of the Grozny city hospital” took place, officially a hospital, since it has only 10 beds on staff. This event in the life of the city should be considered almost an era, if we remember that not so long ago there was no medical institution in the city.”

Oil workers and their families lived in damp, cramped barracks, which even bourgeois newspapers called “pigsties.” The old worker Kh. Khramov writes in his memoirs that the barracks for workers “were very reminiscent of common prison cells. They were dark, with common bunks on which dirty rags lay strewn. 70-80 workers lived in such barracks. The overcrowding was incredible... Living conditions... were unsustainable...". Some enterprises had barracks, where a family of 4-6 people huddled in each room. Correspondence from the regional newspaper reported that “a commission to study the causes of strikes in the Grozny industrial region” revealed: “The barracks allocated for housing for industrial workers, in terms of cleanliness and general sanitary conditions in them, leave much to be desired, because the cubic air content in them It is far from meeting basic hygiene requirements that workers’ families do not have separate apartments, but two or more families live together.”

There was no drinking water on the territory of the Old Fisheries; water was brought in barrels from the polluted Sunzha, and even then not regularly. The 3rd congress of Terek oil industrialists, which discussed the issue of water supply in the fields in 1901, came to the conclusion that “the annual water consumption in the fields is 115,000 buckets, the consumption is not so large that it could incur significant capital costs.” construction" (we are talking about water supply). Entrepreneurs were only concerned about their benefits and income. The lack of normal working and living conditions led to a large number of accidents. The same congress stated that among the industrial population, “due to the nature of the work, there are a considerable number of seriously ill people,” of which 53% were patients with traumatic injuries. These increased from year to year.

At the beginning of the 20th century. Highlanders made up a significant part of the industrial proletariat, but more powerless than Russian workers. This was one of the manifestations of the policy of military-feudal imperialism associated with colonialism. Tsarism deliberately created artificial barriers between workers of different nationalities, trying to distract them from the struggle to improve their social status.

At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. capitalist relations also penetrate into agriculture in Chechnya. In lowland villages and Cossack villages, in individual farms of landowners and rich peasants, machines, crop rotation are used, hired labor is used, and as a result, marketable agricultural products are produced. If in 1900 181 thousand dessiatines were plowed for sowing grain in Chechnya. land, then in 1907 - 214 thousand, and by 1913 this figure increased to 311 thousand. Grain harvests also increased. If in 1900 1,358,607 quarters of grain were harvested, then in 1913 this figure reached 2,528,396. Throughout the half-century post-reform period, Russia continued to be one of the main suppliers of grain goods on the world market. Over the 3-4 post-reform decades, the export of Russian grain increased almost 3.5 times.

According to the first general census of 1897, more than 90% of the population of Chechnya was engaged in agriculture, and it is also noted that “the Chechen people mainly feed themselves on agriculture.” Agriculture in Chechnya, in connection with the general development of commodity-money relations in Russia, is gradually being drawn into the economic mechanism of the country. The most successful penetration and development of capitalist relations was at the beginning of the 20th century. It took place on the plain, which was facilitated by the presence of farms of relatively large landowners and kulaks. On these farms, although very slowly, improved plows and reaping machines were introduced, and hired labor was used. Prosperous farms were approaching farming, moving to a steam system, three-field and multi-field. A contemporary notes that “the soil in the mountains is cultivated exclusively with a plow, but on the plain, this primitive tool began to be replaced by an iron plow.”

The penetration of commodity-money relations stratified the mountain peasantry. More and more prosperous, rich peasant farms appeared, which concentrated land and livestock in their hands. Lowland Chechen villages of Shali, Urus-Martan, Stary-Yurt and others at the beginning of the 20th century. are becoming markets for agricultural products, especially corn. Thus, on the Vladikavkaz Railway alone, 2,002 thousand pounds of grain cargo was exported from Samashkinskaya, Grozny, and Gudermes stations in 1898, in 1908 - 4,232 thousand pounds, and in 1913 - 6,716 thousand pounds.

If in 1897 87,447 dessiatines were sown in Chechnya. grains and about 640 thousand poods of grain were harvested, then by 1904 the sown area increased more than 2 times and reached 179,069 dess. (204.8%), and the grain collection increased almost 3.5 times and exceeded 3 million poods . Due to the growth in the marketability of agriculture, the structure of sown areas changed, and agriculture adapted to the needs of the market. The crops and production of corn grew especially quickly - a commercial grain crop, which in the natural conditions of Chechnya produced large yields, 4-4.5 times higher than other grains. In Chechnya, corn accounted for 57% of the total grain harvest in 1876; by the beginning of the 20th century. its share was 78%. Large Chechen villages turned into centers for the production and marketing of corn. Plantings of such “market” crops as sunflower are also expanding.

The agricultural sector in the North Caucasus is also being drawn more and more actively into the development of capitalist relations. The acreage grew, so did the grain harvest, and its marketability increased. Chechen bread was sold both within the North Caucasus and Russia, and exported abroad - to Iran and Turkey. The following data also speaks about the growth from year to year in the export of grain outside of Chechnya: through railway stations on the territory of Chechnya and Ingushetia - Grozny, Gudermes, Samashki, Nazran - 4 million 232 thousand poods were exported along the Vladikavkaz railway in 1908 of bread. Almost all social strata of the population of Chechnya were drawn into commodity-money relations. Most peasant farms sold the products of their farms, not always out of surplus, but due to the need for money to pay taxes, purchase household and household items, etc.

At the beginning of the 20th century. in lowland Chechnya, rural societies with a sufficient minimum of land allotment were no more than 20%. The size of arable plots in Chechen villages on the plain ranged from 2 to 2.5 dessiatines, and in the mountains from 0.5 to 1.5 dessiatines. for the audit soul. At the same time, in Cossack villages it reached from 20 to 30 dessiatinas. per farm. The process of stratification of the peasantry was intensifying, accompanied by the impoverishment of some and the enrichment of other peasants. The situation of nonresident Russian peasants was even more difficult. The mountain peasants who moved from the mountains at the end of the 19th century were in the same disenfranchised position. and not included in the community lists. This category of peasants was constantly replenished and received the name “t1ebakhkina nakh” - newcomers. At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. In Chechnya, farmsteads appeared among the Cossacks and mountain peasants. They used the hired labor of impoverished villagers and mountain community members, used more advanced tools and machinery, and produced marketable products for the market.

At the beginning of the 20th century. In Chechnya, the agrarian question was acute. The mountaineers did not have enough land; many of them built their farms on plots of allotment, purchased or rented plots. At the end of the 19th century. famous public figure G.N. Kazbek testified that the allotments of the Chechens of the Grozny district are not only the lowest in the Terek region, but “lower than the poorest peasants of European Russia, where the average minimum allotment per revision per capita is considered to be 4.12 dessiatines of comfortable land.” And at the same time, the Terek Cossacks and private owners had more than enough land. Despite the outward similarity of the main features of the socio-economic structure of landowners’ households in the center of Russia and on the outskirts, in the steppes and foothills of the North Caucasus, they were preserved either as a remnant of immature “mountain feudalism”, or as a consequence of their “planting” from above. In Chechnya, the “planting” of landowner farms mainly took place among the highlanders and Cossacks.

The local mountain and Cossack “nobility” in Chechnya carried out their own private farming on small areas. Most of the arable and hay land was rented out both for money and for working. The interweaving of capitalist and serfdom systems in the same economy is a characteristic feature of almost all estates of the mountain elite. Capitalism pulled them into the whirlpool of economic relations, encouraging them to adapt to the changing situation and develop the traits of entrepreneurship.

As a result of the development of capitalist forms of exploitation, the exploitation of the rural poor grew, and the process of stratification of the peasantry intensified, especially in the plains. The situation was even worse with regard to providing peasants with land in the mountainous zone. On average, there were 5.5 dessiatines per male head in the mountains. land, of which on average only 0.7 dessiatines. was arable. For a comfortable existence in the mountainous zone, where they were mainly engaged in cattle breeding, the norm of land per male soul was 50 dessiatines. This meant that about 90% of the population in mountainous Chechnya was “surplus.”

Regarding the Cossacks, official sources say that “the military population is generally provided for its agricultural needs.” And indeed, in the Kizlyar department there were 27.5 dessiatines per male head. land, and in Sunzhenskoye - 10.7. Written sources confirm that “in many places, the rules for land use established by stanitsa society were observed only by the poor part of the population, which the more prosperous class watches with vigilant jealousy. As for the wealthy Cossacks, they violate the established order of land use wherever they find it profitable for themselves, while remaining completely unpunished.”

The stratification of the Cossacks had its own specific characteristics. The growth of property inequality among the Cossacks was inhibited by the presence of the Cossack community and feudal land use according to the medieval principle of “Land for service”, and the preservation of significant Cossack privileges. The Cossack community was both a land and military unit, and was supposed to ensure the replenishment of the Cossack army. In the conditions of development of commodity-money relations at the end of the 19th century - the beginning. XX century There was a process of property stratification within the Cossack communities. Most ordinary Cossacks, when the time came to serve, could not provide themselves with riding horses or equipment, and this was done by the community. The Cossacks as a whole received large incomes from leasing stanitsa lands. Short-term capitalist cash rent became more and more widespread, but sharecropping also persisted. Cossack lands were leased to non-resident and mountain peasants at the beginning of the 20th century. The Cossacks near the Terek region also rented out pasture lands on a significant scale to Tauride migrants from the Crimea, who were engaged in fine-fleece sheep breeding.

Rental prices at the beginning of the 20th century. rose significantly if in the 60-70s. XIX century They were expressed in kopecks, but now they reached up to ten rubles per tithe. The payment for land inside Cossack villages for non-residents remained high, reaching up to 100 rubles per tithe. Lands outside the villages were usually auctioned off in large tracts, which could only be rented by rich people. This gave rise to subletting and other land speculation. A contemporary, speaking about the leasing of Cossack lands, noted that “intermediaries in the most unceremonious manner infiltrated into the leasing business... unmerciful, land spiders in the person of various kinds of rich people, moneylenders, shopkeepers and other varieties of the all-powerful village kulaks.” The increase in rental prices primarily affected the land-poor peasantry, especially the mountain poor, among whom there was an increasing number of those without shared plots and forced to resort to renting land or working as farm laborers. Thus, in 1903, in lowland Chechnya, the Cossacks alone leased 357,369 dessiatines. land and received 346,595 rubles of rent per year. These were mostly pasture lands. On the eve of the revolution, the peasants of mountainous Chechnya paid annually up to 444 thousand rubles in rent. The entire burden of the rental burden fell mainly on poor mountain peasant farms.

Luxurious steppe, foothill and mountain pastures, alpine pastures, and a temperate climate were favorable for the population to engage in all types of cattle breeding: cattle breeding, sheep breeding, horse breeding, goat breeding, etc. Cattle breeding for a significant part of the population of Chechnya was a vital and traditional activity. However, despite the increase in the total number of livestock, its marketability was low and rather uneven. This was explained by the low breed of livestock and the transhumance system in mountainous areas. Livestock, especially those belonging to small peasant farms, suffered more often from natural adversities: snowfall, ice, lack of feed, diseases, etc. The colonial policy of tsarism, which declared all lands state-owned and oppressed the mountain population in land use, including pasture, also had an impact.

The absolute number of livestock increased slightly by the beginning of the 20th century; with the growth of property inequality, inequality in livestock ownership increased, and the number of livestock-free farms grew. The lack of cattle among a significant part of the population worsened the economic situation of a significant part of the mountain peasantry. Given the existing shortage of land, livestock farming provided the poor peasants with basic food products, and wool, sheepskin, and leather were used to make cloth, cloaks, sheepskins and other handicrafts. The mountainous regions of the Terek region, including Chechnya, inhabited by aborigines, at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. are turning into a region supplying livestock, wool, leather and other livestock products, a raw material base and a sales market for Russian industrial products.

In the conditions of growth of commodity-money relations, cattle breeding, along with agriculture, increasingly acquired a commodity character. The total number of livestock grew. If in 1891 there were 1,019,689 heads of livestock in Chechnya, then in 1901 this figure increased to 1,278,559, and in 1913 to 1,361,130. The bulk of the population of Chechnya on the plain was engaged in cattle breeding, keeping cattle in order to satisfy family needs in dairy products, meat, draft animals, the offspring were raised partly for sale. In the mountains they kept more small livestock: sheep and goats. As people went deeper into the mountains and land suitable for arable land became smaller, the number of livestock increased. At the same time, the number of both landless and livestock-free peasant farms has increased over the years. At the end of the 19th century. in Chechnya did not have cattle on their farms: Chechens - 3.3%, Terek Cossacks - 10.4% of farms. There were 45.7% of farms without small livestock in the flat regions of Chechnya, and 8.8% in the mountains.

The capitalist restructuring of agriculture and the rapid growth of sown areas in the North Caucasus led to the beginning of the 20th century. to a change in the structure of cattle breeding. Thus, in the areas near the river there is a rapid growth of fine-fleece sheep breeding. They migrated here at the beginning of the 20th century. with their herds of sheep, many “industrial” sheep farmers from Crimea, Kuban and Stavropol, where rental prices for pasture land have sharply increased due to the active development of capitalist agriculture.

The resettlement policy also worsened the situation and aggravated the agrarian question in Chechnya. When carrying out the resettlement of the land-poor Russian peasantry to the North Caucasus, the authorities did not take into account the fact of the lack of land and landlessness of the mountain peasantry. Often lands that had previously been used by the local population were allocated for settlers, and this gave rise to antagonism between the old residents and the settlers. “During the formation of resettlement areas in the Caucasus,” the governor of the Caucasus, Vorontsov-Dashkov, admitted in his report, “for the most part, the legal and economic relations to the lands of the neighboring indigenous population included in them were not at all clarified. And in some places the old-time Russian population. Meanwhile, in many cases, after settlement, land turns out to be necessary to support the economy of the previous users.”

By the end of 1906, up to 40 thousand desas were “identified” for resettlement. land in the Terek region, meanwhile there were still up to 1.5 million landless migrants. For three years, from 1903 to 1905, 3,702 immigrants were provided with residence in the Terek region, with 9,107 dessiatines allocated to them. land. The settlers themselves bought land through the Peasant Bank, and the peasants rented land. Some of the peasant migrants, having become completely bankrupt, were forced to return to their previous settlements. Through the Tikhoretsk station in 5 months, from February 1 to July 1, 1904, 792 migrants arrived in the Terek region, 179 people left back during the same period, which is 22.6% of those who arrived.

The situation of the peasant masses of Chechnya was worsened by numerous payments and duties. The highlanders paid the quitrent tax, zemstvo tax, land and military taxes, bore horse-drawn, road, apartment duties, etc. All kinds of fines were added to this. Indirect taxes on consumer goods were also high. Every year the amount of each type of tax increased, and new ones were introduced. In 1887, a “tax on Muslims in exchange for serving military service” was introduced, then a “fine for bringing traces of stolen livestock to the public allotment,” etc. For 1890-95. More than 400 thousand rubles were collected from the Chechens and Ingush for this “fine” alone. The press notes that “not a single issue of peasant life deserves such serious attention as the issue of taxes and duties. Taxation, disproportionate to the payment power of the population, leads it to impoverishment and slows down development. As a result of unbearable taxation, we received an impoverished tribe in the center of the Terek region, rich in nature.” As payments grew, arrears appeared and grew. If in 1900 the population of Chechnya had 45,140 rubles in arrears, then by 1904 this figure reached 94,853 rubles.

The dispossession of mountain peasants was one of the main reasons for the widespread spread of otkhodnichestvo. In the autumn, mountaineers went en masse to the provinces and regions of the Caucasus, as well as to the internal provinces of Russia to earn money. They returned home only at the end of spring next year. Among them were many completely bankrupt landless peasants who remained in the cities. The departure of Chechens to industrial cities to earn money also had its positive consequences. Finding themselves among the multinational Russian working class or rural seasonal workers, the mountaineers became acquainted with the life and way of life of other peoples, often joined them during certain protests, and learned the basics of the revolutionary struggle against the autocracy, which fostered class solidarity among them.

Anti-government protests . The development of oil production gave impetus to the emergence and development of the oil refining industry, municipal economy, etc. In Grozny, a cadre of permanent workers was formed, the source of replenishment of which were workers and ruined peasants who came from the central provinces of Russia, as well as landless mountain peasants and Cossacks. Accurate data on the number of Chechens and other highlanders among the Grozny workers at the beginning of the 20th century are not available. V There is no historical literature. However, Chechens and Dagestan otkhodniks worked at the Grozny fields from the beginning of their existence and did the most difficult menial work. They performed the same physically difficult unskilled work in factories and construction sites. Contemporaries noted that “Chechens, who receive 8-9 rubles a month for their grub, work almost all year round without any holidays or absenteeism.” And on the eve of the 1905 revolution, the authorities noted that in Grozny, “out of 6-7 thousand workers in the fishing area, about 1000 people are Chechens, Ingush and Dagestanis.”

In Grozny, as in other cities of the Terek region, the Russian population predominated. The population of Grozny grew quite quickly. If in 1893 there were 16,074 people living in Grozny, then in 1903 - 22,404 people, i.e. over 10 years the city's population grew by 6,330 people (40%). The urban population of the Terek region, including Grozny, grew both due to immigrants from the internal cities of Russia and rural areas, including the mountain population. Let us note that “the growth of the industrial population at the expense of the agricultural population is a phenomenon necessary in any capitalist society... The most obvious expression of the process under consideration is the growth of cities.”

The development of the Grozny oil-industrial region in the colonial outskirts of Russia - Chechnya - predetermined particularly severe forms of exploitation of workers' labor. The working hours were relatively long, wages were low, and working conditions were difficult, especially for working national minorities, in our case Chechens and other highlanders. The percentage of industrial injuries at Grozny enterprises, especially in oil production, was high. We must add difficult living conditions, lack of medical care, etc. Tsarism deliberately maintained artificial barriers between workers of different nationalities