Imam Shamil and Abkhazians. Imam Shamil
Caucasian war
Moral lessons of the Caucasian war
They say that once the king asked Shamil: "If you knew that my country is so huge and strong, would you fight against it for 25 years?" Shamil answered him with the same question: "And if you knew that you were at war with such a small people, with such a small country, would you have been fighting for 25 years?"
In 1997, the peoples celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of Imam Shamil of Dagestan and Chechnya. And it's hard to imagine historical figure, whose image would so often be overthrown and exalted, like the image of this great man and citizen. He did not leave anyone indifferent. Such is the energetic nature of Shamil's personality. But times are changing, from their height one can more clearly see what could not be seen before. You can not live only in the past and its evaluations. The heroism of Imam Shamil, his image are sacred to the highlanders, for he, being a representative of small peoples, demonstrated to the whole world tall example protection of national dignity. One thing is certain: he was not an enemy of Russia. He was only a patriot of Dagestan, Chechnya, the Caucasus as a whole, and later - a loyal subject and friend of Russia.
Many prominent military and political figures of Russia opposed the conquest of the Caucasus by force of arms. These were supporters of trade, economic and cultural influence in the Caucasus. Even the generals were not unanimous in assessing the policy of the tsarist autocracy in the Caucasus. Field Marshal Milyutin, in particular, said that it was necessary to completely change the way Russians act in the Caucasus: not to use violence, not to encroach on customs and lifestyle, but to convince the highlanders that Russia is powerful and great, that peace and good of the region are the only the goal of her aspirations. In one of his articles, he wrote about the dangers of using weapons, suggested building relationships on the basis of economic and cultural communication. At the same time, the cultural identity of the peoples of the Caucasus was especially emphasized. The well-known publicist Yasin-Ivanov, like many other educators, advocated the cultural and economic rapprochement of the highlanders with the Russians in the Caucasus. And there are many such examples. During the time of Shamil, the war against the highlanders was estimated by many in Russia as a harmful and heavy burden for the Russian people.
Perhaps the tragedy of Imam Shamil, the reason for the inadequacy of his image in history, is that he was a representative of small peoples? Or is it that he was destined by fate to fight precisely with Russia, and not with Turkey or with someone else? In this case, his name in today's Russia, in our common Fatherland, of course, would have sounded differently. In any case, this is one of the reasons conflicting assessments his fight.
Those who are dismissive of Shamil's personality, his image and struggle, apparently, are not always guided by the truth. Here is a well-known saying: "If we ourselves are slaves, there can be no heroes for us." I think this is the nature of such falsifications. There are people who want to present the case in such a way that Imam Shamil is the personification of a wild, fanatical and bloodthirsty people who thirsted for the blood of Russian soldiers. Many people spoke about this, starting with those who were in a constant chauvinistic frenzy of hatred for other peoples during the time of imperial Russia, and ending with Soviet haters of peoples like Beria and Bagirov. I'm not talking about modern unfortunate scientists and writers like Vinogradov and Pikul, who tendentiously, and sometimes insultingly, characterized the highlanders, Imam Shamil. Such assessments, unfortunately, are still in use today. Thus, superficially one-sided ideas about the Caucasian war are reanimated. It is impossible not to see the unequivocal idealization of the image of the highlanders, Imam Shamil and some people from the Caucasus - journalists, writers, pseudo-scientists. The premise is this: Imam Shamil is a national hero, and heroes, as you know, have no shortcomings.
Ramazan Abdulatipov "Sign of Fate"
Imam Shamil was a man. And that's it.
For progressive thinkers, military and public figures of Russia and many other countries, Imam Shamil, the liberation struggle of the mountaineers of the Caucasus unequivocally and clearly revealed the original beauty and richness of the culture of the peoples of the Caucasus. A. Pushkin, Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov, Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy, Alexander Bestuzhev Marlinsky and many other great sons of Russia who were in the Caucasian War expressed their admiration for Imam Shamil and the highlanders of the Caucasus. They called the Caucasus, which is at war with Russia, a country of love, in contrast to those "patriots" who even today represent the Caucasus as a "country of hatred" and thereby push the sons of different nationalities of Russia into the abyss of new wars. Only people who personified the spiritual greatness of Russia, its high morality could admire the enemy with whom they had to fight in such a way. moral lesson The Caucasian war should be one - we fought to live in peace and brotherhood. This is the highest truth.
They tell. Being a prisoner of the king, Shamil behaved with dignity. showing him royal palace, they asked: “Have you seen such beauty and such a high ceiling in the mountains?” To this Shamil replied: “Over my mountains, the ceiling is even higher and more beautiful - my native sky.”
I will not quote the words of well-known figures from many countries who admired Shamil. Let me just once again turn to the memoirs of Countess Chichagova: “The acquaintance with this sympathetic and wonderful person left the most pleasant impression on me forever. The life of this hero, who so bravely and steadfastly withstood the twenty-five-year war with powerful Russia, is full of amazing episodes of desperate courage, ordeals and deprivation. Gifted with a brilliant mind, he ruled his people not only with the merciless severity that he considered necessary, but had a strong moral influence on them, serving as an example of impeccable honesty and strict morality. His subjects feared him, feared his wrath, but believed in his unbending willpower, marveled at his courage, his vast mind. In newspaper articles about Dagestan, Shamil was recognized as a genius of the Muslim world, they called him a good-natured, fair, generous man in alms, selfless to the point of ignorance of the account of money, alien to cunning!
This is a Russian woman assessing a man who fought against Russian troops. Next to such assessments, all kinds of fabrications and insults against Imam Shamil look pitiful and unconvincing. And in our time of ecological and moral catastrophes, it is extremely important to preserve the glacial purity and the source of national dignity. This applies to Dagestan, and to Chechnya, to the entire Caucasus and Russia. And the best stimulus can be the image of a person like Shamil, who has become a part of not only Caucasian, but also Russian history. The moral lesson of the Caucasian war is that. not to use the war to humiliate and insult the person and the people.
As a courageous and wise man, Imam Shamil realized the fatality of the further continuation of the war for his people, he was able to last step decide to end it. Imam Shamil was not a nationalist or a separatist in the modern sense of these words. He defended his people, an independent state, the honor and dignity of the peoples of the Caucasus, fought against the insulting excesses of the tsarist military administration. Then Dagestan formally, and in fact, was not yet part of Russia.
Ramazan Abdulatipov "Sign of Fate"
Today's Russia, unfortunately, does not know the Caucasus enough, it does not know Imam Shamil well.
Conflicts arise from ignorance, from rejection of each other. Imam Shamil is not just a warrior, but a major statesman and thinker of his time. For highlanders, Dagestanis, Imam Shamil is Alexander Nevsky, Sergius of Radonezh, Minin, Pozharsky, Kutuzov and Peter the Great. At the same time, we, the Dagestanis, at least those whom I know, treat the great people of Russia with the greatest respect, we know and honor them. Accordingly, the Dagestanis have the right to expect the same attitude towards their freedom-loving ancestors. It is necessary to balance everything, it is unsuitable to overthrow the true heroes and praise the false heroes. This is how one should learn to look at the leaders of other peoples and states. Insulting comparisons and attacks by unworthy and ignorant people on Imam Shamil are perceived extremely negatively in the Caucasus, and especially in Dagestan. By rejecting Shamil, we thereby increase the negative potential of those who want enmity between the fraternal peoples of Russia.
Nikolai Biron, the drafter of the project on "calming down the Dagestan tribes," wrote: "It must be admitted that Shamil is the greatest genius that the Caucasus has ever produced." And this genius was not only and not so much in his military successes, which allowed him for a quarter of a century, with limited resources, to resist one of the most powerful armies in the world, but in his broadest reform activity, affecting all aspects of Dagestan society. The era of Shamil is a bright page in the state building of Dagestan, a qualitatively new level of civilizational development in the Caucasus. Shamil, with his struggle, with his life, did not push Dagestan away from Russia, but brought it closer to her.
Shamil, creating the state of the highlanders - imamate, in his struggle was guided by the Koran and the hadiths of the prophet, which he applied taking into account the national characteristics of Dagestan, taking into account the historical tasks facing his people, his homeland, and not out of a sense of fanaticism. In his struggle, he solved to a greater extent the most important socio-political tasks. The struggle against the Russian autocracy only hindered him in this.
It can be noted with regret that the fierce war imposed on the highlanders of the Caucasus did not make it possible to fully implement the ideas of state building, which were developed and implemented by Imam Shamil in the most difficult years. He wanted to create a single Dagestan state. If Russia would regulate its relations in a democratic way, then it would receive a fairly friendly state as a citizen. I think that there has not yet been a state in the East where feudal power would have been virtually abolished. Yes, it was hardly possible then in Dagestan. But real processes led to this, although the historical conditions had not yet taken shape. And Shamil was at the head of these processes.
They tell. When Shamil met the Russian emperor, he said to him: "How could you fight against such a huge country for 25 years?" To this Shamil replied: "I always slept on a downy bed, ate only honey and butter, and every month I took a new end of the blanket." To the emperor, surprised that a wild mountaineer could afford such a thing during the war, Shamil explained: “I always went to bed dead tired, therefore, although I slept on the ground, putting a stone under my head, it seemed to me that I was lying on a downy bed. I, only very hungry, when any food seemed like honey to me. Only when I was bored, I went to my wife’s room, and she seemed to me a bride. Only very tired and exhausted did I sit on a horse. And any horse was soft for me, like a seat covered with a blanket ".
The Imam was simultaneously a political, military and spiritual leader. He mercilessly broke many of the patriarchal-feudal traditions of arranging the life of the Dagestan society, tried to revive the most valuable, traditional attributes of mountain democracy and rights on the basis of Sharia. He built his legislation on the principle of absolute freedom and equality of people, equality of all before the law and Allah. He not only created the Imamat state in Dagestan and in Chechnya, but also strove for the state unification of all the peoples of the Caucasus. At the same time, by uniting many peoples and tribes in his state, Shamil managed to establish normal relations between them. Imam Shamil severely suppressed cases of interethnic strife and conflicts. He liked to say that there are different languages in the Caucasus, but no different peoples: we are all highlanders, daughters and sons of these peaks, he said.
Ramazan Abdulatipov "Sign of Fate"
The tsarist autocracy imposed its own rules of interaction between cultures, languages and traditions of the peoples of the Caucasus, opposing them on national and religious grounds. Cossacks were used for military and political purposes. Basically, these were runaway peasants in the past, who absorbed the spirit of freedom and militancy of the Caucasus. Historically, the Cossacks gradually entered the life of the highlanders, a certain system of their relationships in economic and cultural life was established. But at the same time, the tsarist autocracy, with the intensification of its policy in the Caucasus, began to constantly pit the Cossacks and mountaineers, giving the former initially unusual police and punitive functions.
I emphasize that the core of the Cossacks was formed in the south of Russia even before the arrival of the tsarist military-political regime here. Cossacks and highlanders found acceptable forms of interaction and management. After the abolition of the post of military governor in the Caucasus, new military-administrative management traditions gradually began to be created. In St. Petersburg, a decree was issued on the establishment of the administration of the Kuban and Terek regions and the Black Sea district. This decree of March 21, 1888 was aimed at strengthening the military-administrative management of the region, and main task there was a "restoration of the fighting spirit and military habits of the Cossacks." On the eve of the 21st century in Russia, again, someone wants to do this. And how not to say here: people, beware of stepping on the tragic path that has already been passed once.
The Cossacks were really engaged in farming, they brought a lot of new things to the life of the Caucasus, they began to establish cooperation with the local population. But this was not beneficial for the military administration in the Caucasus, and the authorities began to gradually abolish the elements of civilian self-government that had arisen there. They must be restored today, and not revive "fighting spirit and military habits." At that time, the management of the highlanders was transferred to the subordination of the military ministry and a military Cossack administration was established, headed by chief chieftains and heads of regions. Accordingly, different conditions for the life of the Cossacks and mountaineers, Christians and Muslims in the Caucasus. All management was transferred to the hands of the Cossack atamans, who were granted broad privileges. Privileges are often offensive, including for the Cossacks themselves, contradicting the essence of the creative, cultural traditions of the Cossacks, containing dangerous conflict potential. Nevertheless, one must understand that these were the methods of another era, another state. Now the Cossacks need to regain their identity and full protection, wherever they live. Cossacks and highlanders have long fraternized, and there is no need to push them together again. Tragedies in Chechnya equally excite mountaineers and Cossacks. And after that it is clear that the Cossacks and mountaineers are looking for a chance of self-preservation, protection. But the best protection is to live united with each other in understanding and cooperation.
Shamil lived in wartime conditions and was forced to form a very rigid power structure, but at the same time he retained the structure of civil society. Executive and judiciary, Administrative division and management were quite efficient. Naibov, judges (qadis) and other persons were appointed by the imam, guided solely by their moral, business qualities. He strongly encouraged the development of industry and trade, built an efficient centralized financial and tax system. Congresses of alims - scientists and religious authorities - were systematically gathered, at which the most important military and state issues were resolved. The council (divan-khana) under Shamil met daily, except for Friday. The meeting of the Council was very democratic. He approved decrees (nizams), provisions regulating all aspects of the life of the imamate. Imamat has become unique public education in the Caucasus and in the East as a whole. There were even ministries for science, Christian affairs and religious tolerance. Religion and politics, sharia and law were closely intertwined here. And we must not forget that all this was done in an environment of constant warfare.
Ramazan Abdulatipov "Sign of Fate"
The first function of the state was to manage the community of peoples, based on the principles of freedom, equality and justice. The pressing issues of the life of society were resolved in jamaats in a democratic way. To resolve the most difficult issues, a congress of representatives of all the peoples of the imamate was convened. But strict unity of command was maintained under the leadership of the imam.
Imam Shamil ensured his "brilliant era" (N. Dobrolyubov) of military victories with a well-organized army, which consisted of infantry, cavalry and artillery. Artillery was mainly collected from trophies, and then, with the help of Russian defectors, their own production of cannons was established. The army in its best years reached up to 50 thousand people and, of course, a heavy burden fell on the shoulders of the already poor mountaineers. The army had insignia and a whole system of awards. He who showed cowardice was sewn special sign sleeves or back. And they removed it only after showing courage. Imam Shamil carried out all military operations on the basis of careful preparation and intelligence data.
In many parts of the Caucasus there were naibs of Shamil. When appointing a naib, Shamil instructed: order and legality begin with oneself and one's loved ones, and then they must be demanded from other people. Nothing corrupts people so much as uncontrolled and irresponsible power. Shamil selected his naibs on the principle of honesty and incorruptibility, although it was not easy to find such people. "A person cannot rule other people if he does not surpass them in courage, knowledge and morality," Shamil liked to repeat. These were his demands on himself and others.
The main points of human life and almost all legal relations in the state of Shamil were built on the basis of Sharia norms. It should be noted that Sharia law constitutes the constitutional and legal basis of some modern states, but they are highly adapted to modern times. Therefore, apparently, they do not interfere with their civilized, cultural and scientific and technological development. Moreover, through organic unity, the spiritual and moral life of a number of such communities is an order of magnitude higher than in many other states. Today, of course, being in the same legal space with the Russian Federation, it is impossible to unambiguously be guided by Sharia norms, but local rule-making is possible. To a greater extent, they should be moral standards, not law. Shamil was not at all dogmatic about the norms of Sharia, but applied them, taking into account the broad base of customary law of the highlanders, the tasks of that period of Dagestan society.
Dobrolyubov and other Russian revolutionary democrats advocated benevolent, good neighborly relations with all the peoples of the Caucasus. Dobrolyubov emphasized that all those who do not know how to separate the Russian government from the Russian people do not understand anything. He sharply criticized everyone who called the highlanders predators, fanatics, unbridled fanatics. He said: "The emergence of the movement is not an expression of enmity between Muslims and Christians, but the actions of individual usurpers." Dobrolyubov's article "On the Significance of Our Latest Feats in the Caucasus" convincingly proved that the movement of the highlanders arose primarily in the local socio-economic and political grounds, emphasized that it was not the Russian people, but the autocracy, who carried out violence in the Caucasus. Dobrolyubov spoke of the need for a humane and fair management of the affairs of other peoples. He expressed fraternal support to non-Russian peoples who did not want to break with Russia, valued friendship, spoke of the need to unite in one single state Russians and non-Russians, close in spirit, perceived real patriotism as a manifestation of love for humanity, which excludes hostility towards individual nationalities. Chernyshevsky also expressed sympathy for the highlanders, but condemned the cruelties that Shamil allowed in Dagestan and Chechnya.
Ramazan Abdulatipov "Sign of Fate"
It is known that Russian feudal lords spent more than 150 years introducing serfdom in Russia. The freedom-loving spirit of the Russian people is great. And that is why there is such sympathy of the Russians for the struggle of the highlanders. Free Uzden peasants were forced to protest strongly when officials of the tsarist military administration began to treat them like serfs in Russia. Entire jamaats expressed their dissatisfaction, and local feudal lords interpreted this as a speech against the Russians and, together with the tsarist military administration, brutally pacified the highlanders. All this provoked the highlanders to provide decent, organized resistance to local feudal lords and the military.
For a free highlander, the call for a gazavat was clearer than the repressive directives of Yermolov.
Honor and dignity even the simplest peasant put in the mountains above his life. Perfectly feeling the mood of the people, Gazi-Magomed and Shamil had to first of all fight against their khans and feudal lords, reconsider the khan's orders, when a subordinate took off his hat to his superiors. In the mountains "perfect equality has been established" (R. Fadeev). Akhmedkhan Mekhtulinsky, the Erpelin ruler Ullubiy, the beks of the Kazikumukh Khanate, Shamkhal of Tarkovsky and many other feudal lords fled from Shamil. They managed to return to their possessions only together with the royal troops. Returning, they resumed exactions, bribes, kidnapping of girls, bullying, etc. War always corrupts part of the people.
It was to this part that Shamil was cruel. But he was cruel to idlers, bandits, traitors and cowards. Georgians say that Shamil once said to a traitor: "Do you know what awaits you?" “No,” he replied. "From me - death, from Allah - hell, from Muslims - contempt."
With all the shortcomings, cruelties, it is important to understand the most significant: in the state of Imam Shamil, the highlander was proclaimed a free man. Many feudal taxes and duties were abolished here, which was attractive to the people. Shamil abolished slavery. Social policy and freedom of the individual in Shamil's imamate were an order of magnitude more progressive than it was in Russia and a number of feudal possessions in the Caucasus. Many researchers write about the plight of the highlanders in Shamil's imamate. They seem to forget that there was a fierce war going on. Many mountain families were on the verge of starvation. Yes, and Shamil himself did not prosper, did not build palaces. He said that he was forced to stop the war because the highlanders began to eat grass. For 25 years of struggle, Shamil took many steps to adequately end the unequal and bloody battle. He completed it, in fact, sacrificing many of his principles in the name of saving his people. These are the historical realities.
A special place in the disclosure of the psychology of this war, the nature of the highlanders belongs to Leo Tolstoy. He is for voluntary, good neighborly relations and friendship between the Russian and Caucasian peoples. “I don’t know,” Tolstoy wrote, “whether the Caucasus is a country of inspiration, but it is undoubtedly a country of love.” In his diary of 1854, Leo Tolstoy left the following entry: "I begin to love the Caucasus, albeit posthumously, but with a strong love." Tolstoy showed the complex relationship between Shamil and Hadji Murad, between Shamil and Nicholas I. The simple soldier Prokopenko says: “The mountaineers are the most heroic people. then his truth is here, not ours. Cossacks, wrote Tolstoy, are fighting, but at the same time they respect the highlanders and want to establish good neighborly relations with them.
That is another lesson of this war. And these lessons are needed for peace and goodness. In today's and eternally united Fatherland, in which Dagestan occupies and must occupy a worthy place.
Ramazan Abdulatipov "Sign of Fate"
The war went on according to its own laws, but life did not stop either. Peaceful Russians were not met as enemies. They say that when the time came for the soldiers to leave the village after the winter quarters, the highlanders saw them off for more than five miles, brought bread, honey, milk, and parted with the Russians with true regret. So there was not only enmity, there was also mutual understanding in those cases when Russian soldiers behaved respectfully towards the locals.
In 1857, Shamil wrote to the French ambassador in Istanbul: " Scientists and dignitaries asked me to petition the Powers to put an end to these atrocities unparalleled in history in the name of humanity ... we are at the end of our strength ... we do not have weapons, nor everything necessary to continue the war". Only the greatest talent and statesmanship of Imam Shamil allowed him to provide worthy resistance for many years. He mainly relied on the support of the peoples of Dagestan and Chechnya. Shamil sought to consolidate the Caucasus, to remind his neighbors and brothers of the common fate, customs and traditions, of the dignity of sons The commander-in-chief, General Neidgardt, reported to the Minister of War in St. Petersburg that "the whole of Dagestan takes an active part in Shamil's successes." The feudal lords tried to help their new masters and created detachments of "peaceful" highlanders to fight Shamil. But often militiamen from these detachments immediately went over to the side of the imam, Kabardians and Adyghes sympathized with him, although about 200 Kabardian feudal lords received awards "For distinction in military operations against Shamil."
Addressing the Circassians, the imam wrote in 1845: “Do not be afraid, do not lose heart, for you are still standing high. Do not bow to the wealth that the enemies own, and do not give faith to those apostates among you who prefer the infidels to their brothers the faithful out of fear, lest you suffer a miserable fate!" But the Caucasus was not united. Much has divided this region. And, accordingly, it prevented the tsarist administration from establishing a dialogue with petty rulers.
Often, the repressive methods of political regimes were simply called "pacification", and the highlanders - "a gang of robbers", "monsters", "a gang of unbridled barbarians." The reason for the war was seen in the "habit of the highlanders to live in war." They delivered inflammatory sermons like the "stubborn barbarism" of the Caucasians.
These stupidities are exploited to this day by those who are unable to understand that the culture of Russia, its great benevolence, are antipodes to the conquering ambitions of zealous politicians and generals.
We need peace to build a united Fatherland. And the main historical lesson of this entire war is only in the desire to do everything to strengthen the united Fatherland, and not in the desire to preserve the "raid production" that they carried out.
Ramazan Abdulatipov "Sign of Fate"
The highlanders for centuries created not at all "raid production", but the highest culture of metallurgy, handicrafts, grain production and the development of animal husbandry. To understand all this, one must read not only General Yermolov, but also Karamzin, Solovyov, Uslar, Krachkovsky and Vavilov, visit the mountains and walk along the paths there, communicate with people, look at their hard-working hands, unique farming terraces, orchards and orchards on the slopes of the mountains.
During the Great Patriotic War Shamil's name sounded patriotic. There was even tank column"Shamil". But the war ended, and already in 1947 a certain scholar Adzhimyan X. T. came up with an article "On the historical essence of Caucasian Muridism." AT again the old thesis of the colonialists was revived that it was not the tsarist autocracy, but the highlanders, with the help of Turkey and England, who inspired the war. A campaign was launched to prove that the Highlanders' movement was reactionary. Shamil and Dagestan are accused of weakening Russia by their resistance. The argument is quite funny and sad at the same time.
In support of such "ideas" in 1953 in Tbilisi, a special collection "Shamil - a protege of Sultan Turkey and the British colonialists" was compiled and published. That's it, definitely.
In books of this kind, ethnic strife is gradually fomented. Ancient peoples with great cultural and moral traditions, which created their statehood and developed forms of mountain democracy a millennium ago, are presented in such " research"as peoples who for centuries have been in a state of complete anarchy, liberty, as" human herd"which, during the civilized invasion of the troops of the tsarist autocracy, was placed under vigilant supervision" murid shepherds"with their supreme leader....
In the words of Montaigne: " Lies are the lot of slaves, and free people must speak the truth.". Lies usually flourish where there is soil for it, and this, as a rule, is an anti-people regime. And you are convinced: in the interests of Russians and Caucasians, it is necessary to speak and write more often the truth about Shamil and the Shamil era of the Caucasus. True, no matter how bitter it may be was, cannot offend the memory of the ancestors, even if they once fought against each other.They offend the memory of those who continue the war after peace.
The national liberation struggle of the highlanders under the leadership of Shamil requires a very careful analysis, taking into account all aspects of the most complex historical and political realities. This is important in order not to go to extremes again and again, which can continue to distort or mythologize the image of Shamil, the highlanders and all the most complex issues of the Caucasian war in their interweaving. In this regard, in our opinion, first of all, it is necessary to take into account:
socio-economic and socio-ethnic aspects of the historical life of the peoples of Dagestan up to the 19th century;
originality, arrangement and historical unity of peoples within Dagestan, traditions of their relationship with each other, orientations and ideals;
Ramazan Abdulatipov "Sign of Fate"
the natural process of inclusion of Dagestan, the entire Caucasus into Russian citizenship;
the colonial nature of the policy of the tsarist autocracy, the excesses of its military administration in the Caucasus as the main factor in the beginning of large-scale military bloodshed;
characterization of the liberation struggle of the highlanders and its ideology - muridism as a banner of resistance and defense of their fatherland;
Ramazan Abdulatipov "Sign of Fate"
Shamil - Imam of Chechnya and Dagestan.
Shamil was born on June 26th, in 1797. He was born in the village of Gimry.
As a child, Shamil got sick very often, but began to recover and even grow after his first name "Ali" was changed to "Shamil".
Shamil had such strength that none of his peers could beat him either in jumping, or in running, or in wrestling - Shamil always won up! There are legends that if Shamil saw a donkey loaded with firewood on the street, he simply jumped over it.
From the very young years Shamil's maternal uncle taught him to read the Koran. And when he reached the age of 10 years, the boy was sent to the madrasah for further education.
Shamil was very brave, courageous and resolute. Everyone knew about these qualities of his, since they manifested themselves in any of his actions. Once, when Shamil was finally tired of seeing his father drunk at home (and he liked to kiss the bottle), he directly told him that if he decides to drink wine at least once more, then his son will throw himself off the cliff into the river the same day. . The father knew the character of the boy very well, and therefore, he immediately quit drinking.
They say that there was such a case with him: at the time when he was studying in a madrasah in the village of Kudul, a man approached him. His name was Mazulav. He told Shamil: “I heard that you are the strongest wrestler among all the Koisubuli. I wish to check it out. Let's fight and see which of us is stronger!" To which Shamil replied: “Leave me alone, I have no desire to fight with you!” But Makhulav attributed what was said to Shamil's fright and began to tease him without stopping.
Friends told Shamil that he would not leave until he got what he wanted. Thinking, Shamil agreed.
Climbing onto the flat roof of the mosque, Makhulav and Shamil rushed at their friend and began to fight. Makhulav grabbed Shamil by the belt, after which he hit him in the chest with his head! But Shamil held Makhulav tightly by his shirt, not letting go, even though Makhulav's blow was so strong that Shamil's bones cracked after it.
Angry, Shamil threw the opponent to the floor, stepped on his stomach with his knee, after which he said: “If you are a man, get up!” Makhulav did not manage to get up until Shamil got off him. After this fight, Shamil was ill for a whole month - a blow to the chest affected.
Once, Shamil and his friend Gazimuhammad were talking about swimming. Gazimuhammad told Shamil that in their village no one had yet managed to swim across the place where two rivers merged - the whirlpool was so strong there. In that place, the waters were very seething, and there was a whirlpool.
Shamil said: "I can swim across to the other side." “Although you are a good swimmer, can you get out of the whirlpool?” Gazimuhammad asked him. And Shamil answered him: “All this is the will of Allah. I am destined to swim. No, I'll die"
Shamil. Gazimuhammad and the invited peers went to the river. There Shamil took off all his clothes and boldly rushed straight into the water! Right into the whirlpool.
For a long time Shamil struggled with streams of water, falling first into one, then into the other. For some time he broke out of the whirlpool and swam to the shore, but each time the strong current produced by the whirlpool pulled him back.
At some point, Shamil completely disappeared from sight.
“We have lost our friend,” Gazimuhammad said in confusion.
At that very moment, Shamil, being under water and almost losing his last hope, began to read the shahada. And then, he gathered all the last strength he had left into a fist and nevertheless swam to the shore! All the witnesses of his victory were delighted with this triumph of man's strength and his faith.
Shamil tried to please his mother. She was very pleased with him, she always asked Allah: "Raise my son, make him the person who occupies a high level" And already being in the status of an imam, Shamil often said: "Most likely, Allah accepted prayers from my mother"
When Shamil was still a mutaalim, he was in the mosque of another aul. It was in the month of Ramadan. In the hands of each of the Mutallims was oatmeal - three lumps each. They received it in the form of a saadaq.
At the same time, a beggar entered the same mosque and began to beg for food. However, no one wanted to give the beggar man the food that he had prepared for himself for an early breakfast before the day of fasting. And Shamil went up to the man and gave him oatmeal.
“May Allah raise your degree!” said the grateful beggar.
Already being an imam, Shamil often said that this beggar could be none other than the Prophet Khizri (peace be upon him!).
There is another case. Once, Shamil and his peers went to the village, which was far away in the mountains, to study at the madrasah located there. For the night they all stopped at the mosque. They did not have the conditions that modern people- hotels, etc.
Some time passed, and one of his friends noted that Shamil gets up and goes out somewhere two hours before the morning prayer. When he told the other guys about this, they decided to follow Shamil to find out where he was going and why he was doing it.
At first, they thought he got himself a girlfriend by falling in love with her.
When the time came, all the Mutaalim went to bed as if nothing had happened. But everyone only pretended to be asleep and did not sleep. Everyone was waiting for Shamil to get up again and go somewhere. And so it happened. Shamil stood up somewhere again.
As soon as Shamil got up and went somewhere, everyone immediately got up and went after him.
Shamil went to a dilapidated house and went into it. Not more than a few minutes later, he came out with several jugs, went to the spring. There he filled them and went back, brought them into the house. Half an hour passed. Shamil left the house and headed towards the mosque.
His comrades were full of suspicion and doubt. They thought that Shamil's beloved was in the house. Wanting to expose and shame their comrade, they entered the house, intending to find Shamil's beloved there. But they found an old woman there, who barely walked around the room. Their amazement knew no bounds!
As a result, the matter turned out like this: upon arriving in the village, Shamil first of all found out who needed help here. He was brought to the abandoned old woman. And, having found out that a lonely, abandoned old woman lives here, he undertook to help her - clean the room, and also bring water every night.
The old woman had no children, no relatives, no one else who could take care of her for a long time. And Shamil all this time made up for the care of her by her possible relatives, whom the old woman did not have.
The future imam, secretly from everyone, went to this old woman, looked after her, cleaned up, and then returned to the mosque, back. This is how Shamil was at a very young age, before becoming an imam.
Shamil was extremely witty and eloquent. As the reasonable and quick-witted Muhammad Kasyr (which means “short”) Endireevsky Muhammad Karakhsky told the following words about him: “The Russians, namely their bosses, want to show respect to Shamil. They want to exalt him, they do not want to make him despicable and humiliate. There is the following proof of this: There is a state of friendship between me and Prince Chavchavadze. And one day, after Shamil left for the Russian Tsar, I managed to visit my friend - the prince - and also meet a scientist there who had previously been close to the same Shamil, who replaced him. Chavchavadze seated me beside him and put his hand on my shoulder. Then he asked: “Will you ask about your friend Shamil?” I answered: "I did not know that you were with him, indeed." He said: "I was not with him, but rumors about him reached me." And the scientist said that Shamil in recent times, in a state of extreme old age, began to grow old and weaken in mind.
Chavchavadze said so: “In Russia today, it is widely believed that Shamil’s mind is perfect, and his courage is boundless. And it cannot be otherwise, because Shamil endured a twenty-five-year struggle with tsarism, and the Russian tsar could not stand it, after which he decided to go to the world!
Muhammad Kasyr, mentioned here, said that the same Chavchavadze spoke and told him about the conversation with Shamil and the bishop. But the bishop is one of the greatest monks. And Chavchavadze said: "The bishop is higher with us than even the king"
And it turned out that, in the course of the conversation, Shamil asked the bishop: “Is it not in the custom of Allah to replace the previous instructions from the prophets with the instructions of the prophet who came after? After all, certain tables were replaced by others. The prescription of the tablets was also replaced by the Torah from the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), and the same Torah was, in turn, replaced by the Gospel. Shamil continued: "And why can't you accept the replacement of the Gospel by the Koran?" And then he said: "We will leave this topic, but bring me the Gospel, which is written in Arabic." They brought him a copy. And when Shamil read the Gospel, he said: “The Gospel forbids pork, wine and adultery. At the same time, you do not act according to him!”
Chavchavadze said: “Should Shamil make this speech to such a respected person, and is there really nothing in the Koran that you do not perform?”
"Yes," the scientist admitted. - "There are things in the Qur'an that we do not do"
But I said: “We are doing the injunctions of the Koran. We pray, pay zakat, fast during the holy month of Ramadan, and refrain from wickedness and adultery. In the same case, what the drinker drinks, or the thief steals, this is only from their personal depravity.
Chavchavadze said. Putting his hand on my shoulder: "Muhammad, you accuse me of this."
The same message is presented in a different way. This was also written about in Russian newspapers that came to Temir-Khan-Shur. They said that the bishop eventually invited Shamil to visit his house, along with the Russian Tsar.
Shamil found the bishop a decrepit old man, asked him: “Don’t you have a wife?”
“No,” the bishop replied. Prophet Jesus did not marry, but I follow him.”
Shamil looked - the bishop's house was lined with gold, silver, lamps and vessels.
“Was the house of Jesus lined with gold and riches?” he asked the bishop.
"No," he replied.
“So why do you follow the prophet in celibacy alone, yet avoid following him in all matters of wealth?”
The bishop was embarrassed and fell silent.
Imam Shamil, the third imam of the Chechen and Dagestan lands, left this world on February 4, 1871.
The Caucasian peoples is Imam Shamil. The biography of this man allows us to conclude that his life was full of sharp turns and interesting events. For many years he led the uprising of the mountain peoples against Russian Empire, and is currently a symbol of freedom and rebellion in the Caucasus. The biography of Imam Shamil will be briefly outlined in this review.
Hero origin
Without a family history, the biography of Imam Shamil will not be fully understandable. Summary we will try to retell the history of the kind of this hero below.
Shamil came from a rather ancient and noble Avar or Kumyk noble family. The great-great-grandfather of the hero Kumyk-Amir-Khan enjoyed great authority and respect among his fellow tribesmen. Shamil's grandfather Ali and father Dengav-Magomed were uzdens, which is an analogue of the nobility in Russia, that is, they belonged to the upper class. In addition, Dengav-Magomed was a blacksmith, and this profession was considered very honorable among the highlanders.
Shamil's mother's name was Bahu-Mesedu. She was the daughter of the noble Avar Bek Pir-Budakh. That is, both paternal and maternal, he had noble ancestors. This is reported by the biography of such a famous person as Imam Shamil (biography). The nationality of the hero has not yet been fully clarified. It is only known for certain that he is a representative of the highlanders of Dagestan. It is precisely established that Avar blood flowed in his veins. But with some degree of probability, we can say that he was a Kumyk by his father.
Birth of Shamil
The biography of Imam Shamil, of course, begins with the date of his birth. This event happened in June 1797 in the villages of Gimry on the territory of Avaria. The locality is now located in western regions Republic of Dagestan.
Initially, the boy was named after his paternal grandfather, Ali. But soon he fell ill, and the baby, according to customs, in order to protect from evil spirits, changed his name to Shamil. It is a variant of the biblical name Samuel and translates as "heard by God." That was the name of his mother's brother.
Childhood and learning
As a child, Shamil was a rather thin and sickly boy. But in the end, he grew up to be a surprisingly healthy and strong young man.
Since childhood, the character of the future leader of the uprising began to emerge. He was an inquisitive, lively boy with a proud, adamant and power-hungry character. One of Shamil's features was unprecedented courage. He began to learn how to use weapons from early childhood.
Imam Shamil was very sensitive to religion. The biography of this person is inextricably linked with religiosity. Shamil's first teacher was his friend Adil-Muhammad. At the age of twelve, he began to study in Untsukul under the guidance of Jamaluddin Kazikumukhsky. Then he mastered grammar, rhetoric, logic, jurisprudence, Arabic, philosophy, which for the mountain tribes of the first half of XIX was considered very high level education.
Caucasian war
It is very closely connected with the life of our hero, and Shamil's biography mentions this more than once. A brief description of this military conflict between the mountain peoples and the Russian Empire is also in this review.
The military conflict between the highlanders of the Caucasus and the Russian Empire began in the time of Catherine II, when Russian-Turkish war(1787-1791). Then the highlanders, led by Sheikh Mansur, sought to stop the advance and strengthening of Russia in the Caucasus, using the help of their co-religionists from the Ottoman Empire. But the Turks lost in this war, and was taken prisoner. After that, tsarist Russia continued to increase its presence in the Caucasus, oppressing the local population.
In fact, the resistance of the mountain tribes did not stop even after the conclusion of peace between the Russians and the Turks, but the confrontation reached a special strength after the appointment of General Alexei Yermolov as commander in the Caucasus and the end of the Russian-Persian war of 1804-1813. Yermolov tried once and for all to solve the problem of the resistance of the local population by force, which led in 1817 to a full-scale war that lasted almost 50 years.
Despite the rather cruel fighting, Russian troops acted quite successfully, putting under their control more and more territories in the Caucasus and subjugating new tribes. But in 1827, the emperor recalled General Yermolov, suspecting that he had connections with the Decembrists, and General I. Paskevich was sent in his place.
Emergence of the Imamate
Meanwhile, in the fight against the offensive of the Russian Empire, the consolidation of the Caucasian peoples began. One of the currents of Sunni Islam is spreading in the region - muridism, the central idea of which was ghazawat against the infidels.
One of the main preachers of the new doctrine was the theologian Gazi-Muhammad, who was from the same village as Shamil. At the end of 1828, at a meeting of the elders of the tribes of the Eastern Caucasus, Gazi-Muhammad was proclaimed imam. Thus, he became the de facto head of the newly formed state - the North Caucasian Imamat - and the leader of the uprising against the Russian Empire. Immediately after taking the title of Imam, Ghazi-Muhammad declared a holy war against Russia.
Now the Caucasian tribes were united into a single force, and their actions acquired a particular danger for the Russian troops, especially since Paskevich's military leadership gift was still inferior to Yermolov's talent. The war broke out with renewed vigor. From the very beginning, Shamil also took an active part in the conflict, becoming one of the leaders and assistants of Ghazi-Muhammad. They fought shoulder to shoulder in the battle for Gimry in 1832, for their native village. The rebels were besieged by the tsarist troops in the fortress, which fell on 18 October. During the attack, Imam Gazi-Mohammed was killed, and Shamil, despite being wounded, managed to break out of the encirclement, chopping up several Russian soldiers.
Gamzat-bek became the new imam. This choice was dictated by the fact that Shamil was seriously wounded at that time. But Gamzat-bek stayed as an imam for less than two years and died in a bloody struggle with one of the Avar tribes.
Imam election
Thus, Shamil became the main candidate for the role of the head of the North Caucasian state. He was elected at a meeting of elders at the end of 1834. And until the end of his life, he was referred to as Imam Shamil. A biography (short in our presentation, but very rich in fact) of his reign will be presented by us below.
It was the election of the imam that marked the beginning of the most important stage in the life of Shamil.
Fight with the Russian Empire
He put all his strength into making the fight against the Russian troops successful, Imam Shamil. His biography fully states that this goal has become almost the main one in his life.
In this struggle, Shamil showed considerable military and organizational talent, he knew how to instill confidence in the soldiers in victory, and did not make hasty decisions. The latter quality distinguished him from previous imams. It was these characteristics that allowed Shamil to successfully resist the Russians, who were numerically superior to his army.
Management of the imamate under Shamil
In addition, using Islam as an element of propaganda, Imam Shamil managed to unite the tribes of Chechnya and Dagestan. If, under his predecessors, the union of the tribes of the Caucasian peoples was rather loose, then with the coming to power of Shamil, he acquired all the features of statehood.
As a law, he introduced the Islamic Sharia instead of the ancient canons of the highlanders (adat).
The North Caucasian imamat was divided into districts, headed by naibs Imam Shamil. His biography is replete with similar examples of attempts to maximize the centralization of control. The judiciary in each district was in charge of the mufti, who appointed judges-kadi.
captivity
Imam Shamil ruled relatively successfully in the North Caucasus for twenty-five years. The biography, a brief excerpt from which will be placed below, indicates that 1859 was a turning point in his life.
After the end and conclusion, the actions of Russian troops in the Caucasus intensified. Against Shamil, the emperor threw experienced military leaders - generals Muravyov and Baryatinsky, who in April 1859 managed to capture the capital of the imamate. In June 1859, the last groups of rebels were suppressed or forced out of Chechnya.
National freedom movement broke out among the Adyghes, and also moved to Dagestan, where Shamil himself was. But already in August, his detachment was besieged by Russian troops. Since the forces were unequal, Shamil was forced to surrender, however, on very honorable terms.
In captivity
And what can tell us about the period when Imam Shamil was in captivity, a biography? short biography this person will not draw us a whole picture of his life, but will allow us to draw up at least an approximate psychological portrait of this person.
Already in September 1859, the imam first met with the Russian Emperor Alexander II. It happened in Chuguev. Soon Shamil was transferred to Moscow, where he met with the famous General Yermolov. In September, the imam was taken to the capital of the Russian Empire, where he was introduced to the empress. As you can see, the court treated the leader of the uprising very loyally.
Soon Shamil and his family were assigned a permanent place of residence - the city of Kaluga. In 1861 there was a second meeting with the emperor. This time, Shamil asked to be released to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, but was refused.
Five years later, Shamil and his family took an oath of allegiance to the Russian Empire, thus accepting Russian citizenship. Three years later, according to the decree of the emperor, Shamil received a title of nobility with the right to pass it on by inheritance. A year before, the imam was allowed to change his place of residence and move to more favorable climatic conditions in Kyiv.
It is impossible to describe in this short review everything that Imam Shamil experienced in captivity. The biography briefly says that this captivity was, however, quite comfortable and honorable, at least from the point of view of the Russians.
Death
Finally, all in the same 1869, Shamil managed to ask the emperor's permission for the Hajj to Mecca. The journey there took over a year.
After Shamil brought his plan to life, and it happened in 1871, he decided to visit the second holy city for Muslims - Medina. There he died at the age of seventy-four. The imam was buried not in his native Caucasian land, but in Medina.
Imam Shamil: biography, family
The family occupied a significant place in the life of this person, however, like any Caucasian highlander. Let's learn more about the relatives and friends of the great fighter for the independence of his people.
According to Muslim customs, Shamil had the right to have three legal wives. He took advantage of this right.
The eldest of Shamil's sons was called Jamaluddin (born in 1829). In 1839 he was given as a hostage. He studied in St. Petersburg on a par with the children of family nobles. Later, Shamil managed to exchange his son for another captive, but Jamaluddin died at the age of 29 from tuberculosis.
One of the main assistants of the father was the second son - Gazi-Mohammed. During the reign of Shamil, he became the naib of one of the districts. He died in 1902 in the Ottoman Empire.
The third son - Said - died in infancy.
The younger sons - Muammad-shefi and Muhammad-Kamil - died in 1906 and in 1951, respectively.
Characteristics of Imam Shamil
We traced life path which Imam Shamil passed (biography, photos are presented in the article). As you could see, the appearance of this man betrays a real highlander, a native of the Caucasus. It can be seen that this is a bold and determined personality, ready for the sake of highest goal put a lot on the line. His contemporaries testified to the firmness of Shamil's character more than once.
For the mountain peoples of the Caucasus, Shamil will always remain a symbol of the struggle for independence. At the same time, some methods of the famous Imam do not always correspond to modern concepts on the rules of war and humanity.
In memory of Imam of Dagestan and Chechnya Shamil...
February 4 marks 146 years since the Untsukul region, Dagestan, the entire Caucasus and the Muslim world lost their outstanding leader, sheikh, theologian, politician, role model and national hero, Imam Shamil. The fact that Shamil's personality was legendary, great, has been told by historians, politicians, theologians and simple people. Today, on the eve of this sad date, we want to recall some moments from the biography of Imam Shamil, as well as talk about examples of courage, heroism, and full dedication of the legendary personality of the 19th century, and interesting facts related to his personality during his lifetime and after his death.
Ali's birth story
Imam Shamil was born on a June day in 1797 in the family of a simple worker Dengava from the village of Gimry in the Untsukul region. Father Dengav Magomed and mother Bahu-Mesedu were incredibly happy about the appearance of their son, and named him Ali. However, from early childhood, the child began to get sick often, was weak, frail, and faded every day.
According to the stories, once the Gimry people saw a large eagle with snow-white wings over the house of Dengava. The eagle was circling over the house, circling, as if looking for something, and suddenly rushed to the ground and flew up into the sky again. Then everyone saw that the eagle's prey was a large snake. For many, this event has become a kind of sign, a symbol that family life will change in better side. Ali's parents decided to change the boy's name, as was customary in the mountains in cases of frequent illnesses of children. The boy was named Shamil.
Shamil...
Since the boy began to be called Shamil, he began to grow stronger, and soon overtook his peers in growth, development and health. He was strong in studies, sports, wrestling, shooting, horse racing. Shamil was very fond of learning and made every effort to gain knowledge. Shamil's upbringing was in the spirit of mountain customs: the boy was instilled with respect for elders, diligence, courage, and restraint. From the age of 6, Shamil read the Koran. Then he studied other sciences. Once a school teacher even called Shamil's father to school and said that he had nothing more to teach his son. Shamil decided to go to neighboring villages in search of knowledge.
In search of knowledge
Shamil set off on his journey with his senior comrade Gazi-Muhammad. They were lucky to learn and communicate with the best representatives of the clergy of that time: Magomed Yaragsky, Jamaludin Kazikumukhsky, Said Arakansky, Gazi-Magomed Gimrinsky, Abdurakhman Sogratlinsky.
Shamil took up serious studies in Untsukul with his mentor Dzhemal Eddinn, who was famous for his scholarship. By the age of 12, he completed a course in grammar, logic, rhetoric, Arabic and began to attend courses in higher philosophy and jurisprudence. Receiving such an education helped Shamil to reveal his oratorical abilities, develop a broad intellect and great moral strength.
Returning after a long search for knowledge, Shamil and Ghazi-Muhammad no longer wanted to live as before. The fire of justice burned in them, which called for a change in the way of life of the highlanders, making it worthy. It should be noted that in everyday life Shamil was a very modest person, carefully fulfilling all his religious duties.
Assistant to Ghazi-Muhammad
In 1829, at the congress of representatives of the peoples of Dagestan, Gazi-Muhammad was assigned honorary title and mother. Shamil becomes his right hand in all matters. Caucasian war by that time it was already in full swing, so the comrades had to solve the issues of arranging villages in the breaks, between fierce battles.
Ghazi-Muhammad spent only two years at his post. In one of the battles, he, Shamil and several murids are surrounded in the Gimry tower. Nobody was going to give up, but there was no chance to leave alive. Gazi-Muhammad opened the gates of the tower, going out to his death from the bullets of the royal army with his head held high.
Shamil, having climbed to the top of the tower, jumped down from there. Since the tower was on a small hillock, he managed to jump over his enemies in this way, landing already behind them. The chase began. However, through tough resistance, he managed to fight off his pursuers.
Exhausted Shamil was lying in the clearing. He did not believe that his injuries would allow him to survive, he simply waited for the hour of death. And then he again saw in the sky the same eagle, which in childhood flew to their yard. It gave me hope and strength. He managed to get to the doctor Abdul-Aziz, who was a friend of his father. And having risen to his feet, after long months of treatment, he marries the daughter of Abdul-Aziz.
The difficult post of the imam
After the death of Ghazi-Muhammad, people wanted to see Shamil as the Imam and leader. However, Shamil refused such an honorary title, saying that he was not yet ready for this post. Gamzat-Bek was elected Imam, who, like Gazi-Muhammad, was destined for a very short term of rule. Two years later, Gamzat-Bek was treacherously killed in the mosque where he came to pray.
In 1834, in the village of Ashilta, by unanimous decision, Shamil was appointed imam. The imamat created by him was divided into several districts, which were called "naibstva". In each district, a naib was appointed, who strictly followed the execution of all the instructions of the imam.
Under Shamil, the Supreme Council, the treasury, a kind of army and military ranks were created. Shamil banned blood feuds and introduced laws and fines, which no one here could even think of before. Six years later, Shamil was recognized as an imam by the Chechen people.
Ahulgo
Akhulgo, which today has become a symbol of reconciliation, unity of peoples, common memory and sorrow, in those distant and difficult years became the capital of the imamate. Near its walls, one of the bloodiest battles of the Caucasian War took place, which claimed the lives of thousands of people. In 1836, the siege of Akhulgo by the tsarist army, under the command of General Grabbe, lasted several months. The mountaineers did not give up. Not only men died, but also women with children. In spite of complete blockade Nobody was willing to give up.
Grabbe invited Shamil to surrender along with his eight-year-old son Jamaluddin, thereby guaranteeing an end to the siege. Shamil refused. The assault resumed with renewed vigor. There are practically no men left who could hold back the attacks. Knowing that Jamaluddin would not be harmed, Shamil was forced to give his son as a hostage, saving the remaining villagers. He himself, with a small detachment, managed to break into neighboring Chechnya.
Meeting with Jamaluddin
Jamaluddin was taken to Russia and assigned to the imperial cadet corps for orphans. The imam had three more sons and two daughters, but for the next 15 years his soul ached for the child, who was now brought up by strangers. The case helped Shamil to see his child again. His detachment seized the estate of the Armenian prince Chavchavadze, capturing the princess and her sister. It was decided to exchange the princesses for Shamil's son. While an answer was expected from Tsar Nicholas I, they were settled in Shamil's house. Later, Countess Chavchavadze spoke of Shamil as an educated and charming person.
Jamal-Eddin Shamil - that was the name of Jamaluddin by the Russians, by this time he already had the rank of cornet, was pleased with his service and loved Russia. Before returning to his homeland, he was invited to the palace, where Nicholas the First asked him to tell his father that he wanted peace.
Unaccustomed to the mountain climate and mountain life, 26-year-old Jamaluddin fell ill with consumption and died before last day asking his father to reconcile with Russia.
Wives of Imam Shamil
In 1840 Shamil marries for the second time. His chosen one is the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Mozdok, Anna Ulukhanov, who was captured by the mountain detachment. However, having fallen in love with the imam with all her heart, she agreed to convert to Islam and become Shamil's wife. Until the end of his life, Shamil was in love with his Anna, who always remained a loving and devoted wife, took the Muslim name Shuainat and bore him five children. Some sources mention the names of the gimrink Hadisat, who was the first wife of Shamil. And Patimat, whom the Imam married after his divorce from Hadith. As other sources mention, it was Patimat who bore him three sons Jamaludin, Gazimagomed and Magomedshafi and two daughters Napisat and Patimat. And his beloved wife Shuaynat gave birth to her only daughter, Sapiyat, who died at the age of 17 in Arabia.
The names of other wives of the Imam are also mentioned. Javgarat, who died during the assault on Akhulgo with her son Said in her arms. Zaidat is the daughter of the Kazikumukh Sheikh Jamaludin, who gave birth to two daughters, Najabat, Bahu-Meseda, and a son, Magomedkamil. Mentioned in the sources is the name of the Kist woman Aminat, whom the Imam gave a divorce shortly before the end of the war, due to the absence of children.
Honorary Prisoner
After the accession to the throne of Emperor Alexander II, the Caucasian War began its final phase. Prince Baryatinsky, who was a childhood friend of the new tsar, bribed the most key figures in the Caucasus. This broke Shamil's imamat. Disunity and widespread betrayal of the imam flourished.
Shamil hoped to hold out on the top of Mount Gunib, fighting off the royal detachments. But the forces were not equal. In order to save those who remained, and accepting the proposal to conclude a truce, Shamil decides to surrender.
On August 25, 1859, the imam had a historic meeting with Prince Baryatinsky at the foot of Gunib. Baryatinsky met Shamil without hurting his dignity in any way, but on the contrary, showing all possible respect. And already in mid-September, Alexander II met with Shamil and even handed him a golden saber, thanking him for the step he had taken towards creating the world.
Peace with Russia
Shamil visited several Russian cities, never ceasing to be amazed at the beauty and grandeur of Russia. And he was especially amazed at how people met him. He believed that they were obliged to hate him, but he was met everywhere as a hero, calling him the Caucasian Napoleon.
They settled Shamil in Kaluga. He and his family were allocated a beautiful three-story house. Shamil often traveled, got acquainted with the life of people, visited hospitals where the wounded soldiers of the tsarist army lay, followed the theatrical life. In a word, it was not the life of a prisoner, it was the life of an honored guest.
In 1861, Shamil turned to the emperor with a request for a trip to Muslim shrines in Mecca. Having invited Shamil and his eldest son Gazi-Magomed to Tsarskoye Selo, Alexander promised to let him go, but only later. So far, he considered it inexpedient, since not everything was calmed down in the mountains.
Shamil's son Magomed-Shapi entered the service of Alexander in the Caucasian squadron. The third wife of Shamil Zagidat gave the imam a son, Magomed-Kamil, already in Kaluga. Here, Shamil takes the oath of allegiance to the emperor.
The years took their toll, the Kaluga climate ceased to suit the imam, and a decision was made to move to Kyiv. Before leaving, Shamil went to the cemetery to say goodbye to the seventeen family graves that he left here.
Sitting on the banks of the Dnieper in Kyiv, Shamil understood that the time had come to set off on his last campaign. He again asked the emperor to go to Mecca, promising that his sons would stay. And so, permission was granted. February 16, 1869 Alexander II gives his consent. The most cherished dream of Imam Shamil came true.
Imam's death
Imam Shamil died on February 4, 1871, after completing his pilgrimage, in Medina. There he was buried in the Al-Bakiya cemetery, where many more venerable people of the Muslim world are buried.
In 2007, some Interesting Facts from the last moments of the Imam's life. On the 137th anniversary of the death of the imam, at the evening of memory, a letter from Abdurakhman At-Teletl, who witnessed the death of Shamil, was read. The letter states:
“... Great Ulama, Mudaris, imams, preachers, sheikhs came to Mecca to him [Shamil]. They came to him as pilgrims to see his face. The Emir of Mecca issued a decree to be honored. Once, when the imam was returning from the evening prayer, at the gate, called Babu-Ali, the prophet Khizri (peace be upon him) met him. Sometimes, so that people would not recognize him [the imam], when he went to prayer, he changed clothes. Muhammad-Amin from Gonod (the former naib of Shamil) knows about his meeting with the prophet Khizri (peace be upon him). When he saw the dome of the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) (meaning the mazar on the grave in the form of a dome), the imam prayed: “Almighty Allah, You kill me as a neighbor of this Prophet of Yours [Muhammad].” Many times the imam went to the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He addressed him: "Prophet of Allah, if You are pleased with me, make me see Your face." One fine day, when he was sitting like that near the grave of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) appeared to him. From there, the imam returned home trembling. After that, his body began to weaken. He died in love with Allah. At that time, a sheikh named Saygid Hussein lived in Medina. The Imam died with his head on his knees. Imam Shamil was a person who reached great levels in the knowledge of the Almighty. On the day he died, his miraculous work was manifested. At the moment when his body was lowered into the grave at the cemetery of Bakiya, he spoke: "You be a garden that protects me, does not let me get bored." Great Ulama and others came to the funeral of Imam Shamil famous people city of Medina. And janazah-namaz (funeral prayer) was performed in Ravza, in the mosque of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Many people mourned him. Women, children, having climbed on the roofs of the houses, saw off the imam, saying that the death of the emir of the people of the ghazawat was a big misfortune. Before taking the body to the cemetery, a lot of people gathered. There were many who were willing to take Shamil's body to the Bakiya cemetery, because they wanted to receive a reward from Allah from this. And I am Abdurahman from Teletl. 1871"
Historical findings
The story of Imam Shamil once again confirms that it is never too late to rethink your views and find mutual language even with the strongest opponent. Shamil, who fought with the tsarist army for many years, nevertheless chose the path of reconciliation and called on all descendants to live in peace with Russia. Memorial Complex Ahulgo was conceived precisely to perpetuate such reconciliation. Akhulgo is a symbol of common memory and sorrow, a common historical destiny and a common future.
P. S. We need history in order to draw conclusions and never repeat the mistakes of the past. To learn from the worthy, wise and best sons and daughters of the past. May there never be wars, bloodshed, strife and disagreements. May peaceful, simple, innocent people not suffer anywhere on earth, do not die. World peace. Amine!
The personality of Imam Shamil is shrouded in many myths and legends. Any mention of it on the Internet causes a storm of heated debate. For some, he is a Western agent, for others a ruthless tyrant, and someone considers him a traitor and a coward. The last accusation is perhaps the most common of which I have come across. In these accusations, one can also find such a statement that Shamil allegedly surrendered his last refuge, the village of Gunib, without a fight, and lived for the rest of his life on the tsar's pension.
In fact, everything was different.
In 1859, Shamil was surrounded in Gunib and taken into a triple ring by a 40,000-strong army. Shamil himself, at the same time, had about 400 people at his disposal, and most of them were residents of Gunib. Before the start of the fight Russian command offered Shamil to lay down his arms in exchange for personal safety. Shamil refused: "The saber is sharpened and the hand is ready!" This was his answer. Then the assault began. During a fierce battle, the tsarist troops occupied the village. Shamil, with the remnants of the murids, was locked in the mosque. And what happened next will be better told by an eyewitness of those events, an Avar scientist of the century before last, Khaidarbek Genichutlinsky:
As for Imam Shamil, he was then in the Gunib mosque. Having tightened the belt of death, he prepared there for martyrdom for the cause of God. A person dies, however, only with the permission of Allah!
At that very time, envoys of the Saldar suddenly arrived at Shamil with a proposal to make peace and a promise of mercy. The Imam wanted to refuse the offer, but the women and children asked. It was only for them that he relented.
Shamil thus accepted the offer of peace. The condition for the surrender of the imam was that the enemies would leave him and his family in the land of Islam (i.e., in Dagestan); Let us note that by that time a large number of noble, pious people, both men and women, had already died as martyrs for their faith on Gunib.
However, after Shamil, the ruler of the faithful, fell into the hands of the polytheists, their accursed Saldar committed a treacherous deception. Having changed the agreement, he sent Shamil along with his family to Petersburg.True, there are Russian sources that speak of the voluntary surrender of Shamil, but I would not be in a hurry to trust them. In Russia at that time, there was strict censorship, and, I think, the authorities would simply not have allowed the truth that they did not like to surface. There were precedents. For example, the work of another eyewitness to this war, Shamil's personal secretary, Muhammad Tahir, was seized by the authorities and severely curtailed. As a result, there is not a word about the Gunib events. Khaidarbek escaped censorship - his manuscript was first found only after the collapse of the empire.
The sources also say that after the capture of Shamil, rumors spread among the people that the 10,000-strong mountain army was going to attack the royal convoy and return Shamil. The question arises: why did the mountaineers return the imam if he betrayed them and voluntarily surrendered? In my opinion there is no logic here.
Even if we assume that Shamil nevertheless surrendered, another question arises: whom did he betray? Whom did he betray, if with him, at the most difficult moment, there was only a small handful of people? Where were those he betrayed? Where did all his numerous naibs, who until recently swore allegiance to him, go? Someone may object and say that his naib Baysangur was with him. However, this is the same myth as all other myths about him. There is no information about his presence on Gunib, neither in Russian nor in Muslim sources. On the contrary, Muhammad Takhir writes that Shamil released the last Chechen shortly before the Gunib events, due to the fact that he had many children. Of course, one can assume that it was the same Baysangur, but one thing is clear: he was not on Gunib.
I want to finish the article with an excerpt from the work of the same Khaidarbek:
As a result(meaning after the capture of Shamil) the sun of Islam was eclipsed in Dagestan, darkness enveloped the people. The Muslims were confused. They became like people who came into a state of intoxication at the sight of the fact that the day of the Last Judgment had come. The sabers of the fighters for the faith hid in their scabbards. The Sharia system began to fall apart. Warrior heroes fell into a state of depression for their faith. Munapiks and renegades raised their heads. They behaved as if they had mastered the universe. Amazing, amazing to see it all! Oh, believing brothers!