Recently, the Nogais have been remembered mainly in connection with the land issue in Dagestan. What kind of people they are and what is happening with the ethnic group now, the deputy director of the Astrakhan branch of the RANEPA, Ph.D. Eldar Idrisov.
Origin of the Nogais
The formation of the Nogai as an ethnic group took place in the space of the Eurasian steppes from the Irtysh to the Danube. Among their ancestors are medieval nomadic Turkic and Mongol-speaking tribes who came during the Batu invasion.
Opinions about the original place of residence among researchers differ. Some consider the ulus of temnik Nogai in the region of the Dnieper and Dniester rivers at the end of the 13th century to be the "homeland" of the Nogais. Others are the Embo-Ural interfluve, in which in 1391 Beklyaribek Edige (beklyaribek - an administrative position in the Golden Horde, in its functionality similar to the modern prime minister - ed.) founded the Mangyt yurt. The epic "Edige" is dedicated to the deeds of the beklyaribek, the founder of the dynasty of rulers of the Nogai Horde.
History of the Nogais
Unscientific ideas and folk mythology are often superimposed on stories about the origin of an ethnos, which often interpret past events from a position that is beneficial in a particular period of time. It is customary to emphasize the antiquity of the people and argue about their past unshakable power. The history of the Nogais in this respect is rich in speculation. It so happened that after the collapse of the Nogai Horde, nomadic groups became part of the Kazakhs, Middle Volga Tatars, Bashkirs, Turkmens and Karakalpaks. Thus, the cultural heritage of the medieval Nogai "dispersed" among all these peoples. It is not surprising that now each of them seeks to give his own interpretation of history, including it in his ethnopolitical construction.
This is how the concept of the "divided people" of the Nogais and Kazakhs appeared, and the view of scientists from Tatarstan on the Nogais as part of the Tatar nation. To this we must add the modern division into ethnoterritorial groups of Nogais: representatives of the people live in several historical and cultural zones in the North Caucasus and in the Lower Volga region.
The Nogai Horde, which finally took shape as an independent nomadic state at the beginning of the 15th century, became the last large independent association of nomads on the territory of Russia and lasted until the beginning of the 17th century. The development of the state was determined by the laws of self-organization of large nomadic associations: a winged management structure was formed, the past Golden Horde heritage in the form of "Yasa" and the norms of the Islamic religion were used.
In 1489, diplomatic relations were established with the Moscow principality, extensive dynastic and socio-economic ties were developed with the Turkic states of the Black Sea, the Volga region and Central Asia.
In the middle of the 16th century, an internal cataclysm occurred in the Nogai Horde, which coincided with the broad advance of the Muscovite state in the territory North Caucasus and the Volga-Urals. In the conditions of internecine strife, in connection with the assassination of biy Yusuf, the system of traditional nomadism collapsed, and the plague spread in the steppe. The primary disintegration of the Nogai Horde began, which continued until the beginning of the 17th century. The disparate uluses that had left the power of the supreme biy were no longer able to resist the movement of the Kalmyks from Northern China in the direction of the Lower Volga region.
The process of entry of Nogai nomadic groups into the composition of the Russian Empire. Caught at the junction of the geopolitical interests of Russia and Turkey, the Nogais fell not only under political, but also under military influence from both sides. And in 1783, in the battle near Kermenchuk, the troops under the command of Alexander Suvorov dealt a tangible blow to the Black Sea Nogais.
In Soviet times, during the period of the "indigenization" policy, the Nogais were unable to form an ethnoterritorial entity.
In 1957, by decree of the Supreme Council of the RSFSR, the territory of their traditional residence in the North Caucasus was divided between three subjects: the Stavropol Territory, the Dagestan ASSR and the Chechen-Ingush ASSR.
In the early 1990s, the Nogai public movement "Birlik" tried to challenge this decision, but to no avail.
Consolidation Attempt
In Russia, the Nogais, in addition to their main place of residence - Dagestan - live in the Stavropol Territory, Karachay-Cherkessia, Chechnya. Since the 1990s a fairly significant number of representatives of the people migrate to the north, to the cities of the Ural Federal District.
The first attempts to create a common Nogai ethnocultural movement were made back in pre-revolutionary times. At the end of the 19th century, a whole galaxy of figures of Nogai culture appeared in Astrakhan. One of the most notable was Abdrakhman Umerov, a student of the Tatar scholar Shagabutdin Marjani, a collector of Nogai folklore and a prominent religious figure. Umerov accepted and adapted the ideas of his teacher about nation-building for the Nogai ethnos. The main work of Abzhrakhman Umerov is "History of the Astrakhan Nogais", the scientist devoted almost his entire life to writing it. Alas, the manuscript was lost in Soviet times.
Umerov's followers and associates are Abdul-Khamid Dzhanibekov, Basyr Abdullin, Bulat Saliev, Najip Gasri (Mavlemberdiev) and others. Some of them continued their activities in the North Caucasus after the revolution. So, Abdul-Khamid Dzhanibekov became one of the developers of the norms of the modern literary Nogai language, participated in the translation of the alphabet from Arabic to Latin and from Latin to Cyrillic.
Perestroika and self-consciousness of the people
During the period of perestroika, there was a surge of Nogai self-consciousness in the territory of the Astrakhan region. Historically, several groups of Nogais have developed here - yurts, karagashis, kundrovtsy And Utars. In Soviet times, they were all classified as ... Tatars, and in general the idea of including the Astrakhan Nogais in the Tatar ethnos prevailed. However, in the 1970s, Leonid Arslanov, Viktor Viktorin and other scientists conducted linguistic and ethnographic studies that proved the preservation of the Nogai features of the language and culture among the above groups.
Democratization of society and a joint attempt to solve ecological problems, which arose in connection with the work near the settlements of the Nogai-Karagash subdivisions of Astrakhan Gazprom, gave rise to an independent ethno-cultural movement of the Astrakhan Nogais. The Karagash and Kundrovites were especially actively involved in this process, preserving the Nogai self-consciousness to the greatest extent.
As a result, from the All-Union census of 1989 to the last All-Russian census of 2010, the number of Nogais in the Astrakhan region doubled - up to 8 thousand people.
The number of Nogais
In total, according to official data from the 2010 census, 106,000 Nogais live in Russia. Nogai groups live in Romania, where they ended up as a result of a large migration at the end of the 15th century, the formation of the Belogorod horde and subsequent migration. Another large group lives in Turkey. Its formation took place during the period of "Muhajirism" - resettlement during the Caucasian War.
In Kazakhstan, in the border regions with Russia, in the Atyrau and Ural regions, as well as in the Saratov and Volgograd regions of Russia, there lives a large group of "Nugai-Cossacks", formed during the period of Nogai migration in the late 18th - early 19th centuries. Now they are considered a separate clan within the Kazakhs, but they remember their Nogai roots.
An integral part of the Crimean Tatars is the sub-ethnic branch "Nogai", which was formed from immigrants from the Nogai Horde. In the process of ethnocultural development, as well as as a result of the deportation of the middle of the 20th century, internal integration processes intensified, as a result of which the Nogais, along with the Tats and Yaylybolins, practically merged with the local Turks as part of the Kryml community.
Today in the world, approximately 300,000 people are carriers of the Nogai ethnic identity.
new time
Since the late 1980s, Russia has developed the practice of holding interregional events. The central all-Nogai event was the celebration in 1990 of the 600th anniversary of the Edige epic in the district center of the Nogai district of the Republic of Dagestan with. Terekli-Mekteb. The first large scientific conference "Historical and geographical aspects of the development of the Nogai Horde" was also held there.
Since 1991, Dzhanibekov readings have been held in the Astrakhan region, dedicated to the activities of the Nogai educator, ethnographer-folklorist Abdul-Khamid Sharshenbievich Dzhanibekov. And in 2018, in Astrakhan, a monument will be unveiled to him near the house where he was born.
In 2004, the First International Nogai El Festival was held in Makhachkala, bringing together Nogais from all over the world. In 2006, the International Conference "Modern Situation and Prospects for the Development of the Nogai People in the 21st Century" was held in St. Petersburg. Since 2014, the International Scientific and Practical Conference "Nogais: 21st century. From the origins to the future. History. Culture. Language" has been held every two years.
In 2013, the Federal National Cultural Autonomy of the Nogais of the Russian Federation "Nogai El" ("Nogai people") was registered. Its founders were the regional branches of Dagestan, the Stavropol Territory and Karachay-Cherkessia. On the one hand, the form of national-cultural autonomy is well suited for coordinating the all-Nogai ethno-cultural movement, on the other hand, the Nogai El leadership has not yet formed a development program that would take into account the ethnic and cultural interests of all Nogai territorial groups.
Word of Youth
Several independent Nogai ethno-cultural organizations operate in the regions. Youth organizations stand apart: student associations - the "Union of Nogai Youth" in Moscow and Urengoy, and in Astrakhan - the Youth Center of Nogai Culture "Edige".
Freestyle wrestling competitions "Steppe Bogatyrs" became an interesting youth interregional project. The venue of the tournament changes every year. Starting in Dagestan, since 2007 it has been held in all subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District and the Southern Federal District, where the Nogais live. In 2018, the competition will be held for the second time in the Chechen Republic.
Save problem mother tongue relevant for the Nogais. It is especially acute in Dagestan. The Nogai intelligentsia sees a future in new methods and technologies, the development of a system additional education. The "online" language teaching school "Ethnoschool" has proven itself well.
Territorial features
Today, each of the regions of Nogai residence has its own "specialization". In Dagestan, in the Nogai district, the Nogai State Folklore and Ethnographic Ensemble "Ailanai", the Nogai State Orchestra of Folk Instruments and the Nogai State Drama Theater operate.
In the Karachay-Cherkess Republic in 2007, the municipal formation "Nogai district" appeared. But in general, Karachay-Cherkessia is the center of Nogai research activities. It is here that the Nogai branch of the Institute for Humanitarian Studies of the KChR operates. .
The Astrakhan region is a recognized center of enlightenment and successful youth projects.
Due to regional socio-political processes, Nogai ethnicity is often politicized, and from time to time there is even talk of territorial autonomy.
In Russia and in the world
The Nogais are actively in contact with each other not only within Russia, but also with foreign diasporas. In addition to Turkey and Romania, representatives of this people today live very compactly in Germany, the Netherlands and Norway. Ethnic groups that have developed on the basis of the Kypchak in Hungary are increasingly gravitating towards the Nogais.
Arslanbek Sultanbekov, a musician from Karachay-Cherkessia, made a great contribution to the consolidation of the Nogais around the world. His composition "Dombra" gained international popularity, and the song "Nogai El" became the unofficial anthem of the Nogai people.
Under the ethnic name "Nogai" is known part of the population of the North Caucasus, Dagestan and the Astrakhan region, speaking one of the Turkic languages. The Nogai language belongs to the Kipchak group of Turkic languages, constituting the Kipchak-Nogai subgroup together with the Kazakh and Karakalpak languages.
The Nogai people, long before the emergence of the ethnonym "Nogai", historically consisted of various tribes and peoples. According to the studies of T.A. Trofimova, “the population of the steppe zone before the invasion of the Tatars consisted of various Turkic tribes - Oghuz, Pecheneg and Polovtsian, known from eastern sources under the name of Kipchaks, from western sources - Cumans.” According to A.I. Sikaliev, the Nogais included representatives of the Ugric and Pecheneg tribes, as well as the Khazars, Bulgars, and Kipchaks. At the same time, the process of folding the Nogais, like many other peoples, went through migration, settlement, and also the conquest of some ethnic groups by others.
Judging by the ethnonyms, the ethnic basis of the people was the ancient Turkic tribes that lived in the expanses of the Irtysh region, Northwestern Mongolia, Desht-i-Kipchak, Central Asia, and the North Caucasus. This is confirmed by the generic and tribal names that exist among the Nogais at the present time. Among the many clans and tribes around which others were consolidated, the most common were the Uighurs, Uysuns, Naimans, Kereyts, Kipchaks, Durmens, Katagans, Kungurats, Mangyts, Keneges, Kangly, Ases, Bulgars and others, whose history goes back to ancient times.
One of the most ancient are the Uysuns, dating back to the ancient Caucasoid Usuns, who in the 5th-4th centuries BC were part of the confederation of proto-Hunnic tribes. As a separate clan with its own sign - tamga, they were preserved by the Nogais and many Nogais bear the surname Usunovs.
The component that took part in the ethnogenesis of the Nogais is the ancient Kangly tribe, identified with the Kanguy tribe. The Kangly spoke Turkic. Their possessions covered a vast territory in Central Asia with a center in the lower and middle Syr Darya or in Khorezm. Subsequently, the Kangly, like the Usuns, were conquered by the Huns and together with them reached the eastern borders of Europe, and then took part in the formation of various peoples, including the Nogais, among whom they are now known as "Kangly".
The Kipchaks played a particularly important role in ethnogenesis. All the other tribes that were part of the Nogais consolidated around them. There is reason to believe that the Kipchaks were the "organizing political basis of the new community", in this case the Nogais, who have the surname Kupchakovs. In the 8th-9th centuries, the Kipchaks moved from the Irtysh to the west and occupied a vast territory, which became known as Desht-i-Kipchak.
The Mongol invasion influenced the settlement of the Kipchaks in the southern Russian steppes and in the North Caucasus. Many tribes migrated from the previously occupied territories, and “the steppes from the Urals to the Danube served for the roaming of the remnants of the Polovtsy and the Turkic tribes that preceded them, uniting with part of the Kipchaks under the common name Nogai. A prominent place in the composition of the Nogais was occupied by the Naimans. According to Rashid ad Din, they had their own state in the upper reaches of the Irtysh, next to the Kereyts and Kirghiz. From the 6th to the 11th centuries, the Naimans, together with the Uighurs, constituted the state of the Toguz-Oghuz. The strengthening of the Mongols, their attacks on neighboring states did not bypass the Naimans. As a result of many years of wars, their state weakened, and in 1218 it was finally defeated by the united forces of the Mongols. After that, the ethnic groups of the Naiman, involved in the orbit of the Mongol conquests, settled in different areas of the vast territory of the Golden Horde and took part in the formation of many peoples.
Already in the pre-Mongol era, the Kereyts numbered many tribes and created their own state, which also occupied part of modern Mongolia. At the time of his rise, Genghis Khan found an ally in the face of the Kereyt Vankhan. But later he attacked the Kereyt state and subjugated it to himself. The formation and disintegration of the Golden Horde contributed to the migration of the Kereyts, who became part of the Nogais.
A significant role in the ethnogenesis of the Nogais was played by the ancient Kongirats, which broke up into several clans. They lived in the area of modern Ulaanbaatar, became part of the Golden Horde, during its collapse they participated in the formation of the Kazakhs, Uzbeks, Karakalpaks, Nogais, left behind many toponyms
The Nogais included representatives of the population of the ancient Bulgarian state - Ases and Bulgars. The descendants of Ases are subdivided into “Shimishli-As”, “Dort-Ullu-As”, “Kara-As”, “Ak-As”, “Kults-As”, have generic tamgas and, unlike many exogamous surnames, are endogamous.
As you can see, a variety of tribes participated in the formation of the Nogais. Some of them are known even before our era, many had states. IN different eras they were part of the Hunnic Union, Turkic Khaganates, Bulgaro-Khazar associations.
Large migrations of various tribes caused political events associated with the formation and disintegration of the Golden Horde. On the ruins of the Golden Horde, along with the Uzbek, Astrakhan, Kazan, Siberian, Crimean khanates, the Nogai Horde arose, which included various tribes and clans that became its basis. Among these groups, in terms of numbers and influence, the Kipchaks probably occupied the first place.
The Kipchaks, as part of the Turkic-speaking tribes, fell under the rule of the Golden Horde khans already in the 13th century, as G.A. Fedorov-Tarasov: “The process of mixing the nomads of Desht-i-Kipchak and the formation of new nomadic formations, which began in the 13th century, was completed in the 15th century. And, indeed, in the XV century there are no Polovtsians - Kipchaks in the old sense. “Tatars” roam in a large horde, in the Astrakhan steppes the population is also called “Tatars”, in the eastern part of the Golden Horde, Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Mangyts - Nogais are known.
In the VIII - IX centuries. Pechenegs lived between the Volga and Yaik. In the ninth century Torks began to crowd them. At the end of the 9th century, under the blows of the Pecheneg tribal union, the Khazar Khaganate collapsed. However, the Pechenegs did not last long in the steppe regions of southern Russia. Under the onslaught of the Slavs, Torks and Polovtsy, the Pechenegs migrated to the lower reaches of the Danube. In the XII-XIII centuries, the remnants of the Pechenegs merged with the Polovtsy, and then with the Mongol-Tatars.
The first detailed information about the Polovtsy - Kipchaks of the North Caucasus was reported by Z.V. Anchabadze, having studied the Georgian chronicles of that time. As a result of the analysis of these chronicles, he came to the conclusion that in the second half of the 11th century, the Kipchaks already lived in the North Caucasus, and this changed his previous ethnic map. “Central Ciscaucasia,” notes Z.V. Anchabadze, - was not the only place of settlement of the Kipchaks in the territory of the North Caucasus in the 11th - 12th centuries. A certain part of them also lived in Primorsky Dagestan. The author of the Georgian anonymous history of the 12th century, who described in detail the reign of his contemporary David the Builder (1089-1125), calls this part of the Kipchaks "Derbent Kipchaks". Later, through the Daryal passage, part of the Polovtsians from the Central Ciscaucasia moved to Georgia. At the end of the first quarter of the XII century. The Georgian king had 40,000 Kipchak soldiers in military service, and 5,000 selected soldiers were the personal guards of David the Builder. The resettlement of the Kipchaks to Georgia continued into the 13th century.
The sources allow us to get some idea of the socio-economic structure of the Kipchaks of the southern Russian steppes and the North Caucasus at that time. Society was clearly divided into rich and poor. According to S.A. Pletneva, “the tribal system was dying out, in its bowels, covered with ancient customs, feudalism was born.”
The first to unite the Kipchak lands into one state was Khan Konchak. However, already under Yuri Konchakovich, this state again returned to an amorphous state, which facilitated its conquest by the Tatar-Mongols.
About the appearance of the Kipchaks, Z.V. Anchabadze writes: “There are no direct indications in this regard in the Georgian chronicles, but some indirect data allow us to assume that the Kipchaks (or a certain part of them) were distinguished by Caucasoid, and not Mongoloid features. The fact is that not a single Georgian author, including the historian David the Stroitel, who describes the Kipchaks in detail on the basis of personal acquaintance with them, says nothing about their Mongolism.”
As mentioned above, under Konchak's son Yuri, the Polovtsian state collapsed. Scattered ephemeral nomadic unions of the Polovtsy could not resist the Tatar-Mongol invasion in the 13th century. “The Mongols,” writes researcher G.A. Fedorov-Davydov, “turned out to be stronger than the Polovtsy in their discipline, unity of power, and the absence of discord among the nomadic aristocracy at the time of the conquest.”
The Tatar-Mongol invasion of the Caucasus and Rus' redrawn the old ethnic map. In 1220-1223, the army of Jebei and Subedei invaded Georgia and then ended up in the North Caucasus and Dagestan. The Russian chronicle reports: “And we hear that many countries are captivating yasas, monkeys, kasogs and godless Polovtsy, many ruins and others are driven out and tacos are killed by the wrath of God and his pure mother.” The first invasion of the Mongols into the North Caucasus ended with the defeat of the Alans and Polovtsy, but the Mongols did not establish their dominance over the region. The further conquest of the North Caucasus took place simultaneously with the conquest of the southern Russian lands.
The Mongol invasion of the North Caucasus led to the complete conquest of the Polovtsian lands. Just not most of Polovtsy with Khan Kotyan managed to escape to Hungary. The Hungarian Kipchaks disappeared without a trace in the country only during the Turkish rule (1541-1699).
During the period of Mongol domination, large associations of Polovtsy disappeared in the steppes. Starting from the second half of the 13th century, the Russian chronicle does not mention a single name of the Polovtsian khan. At the very beginning of the struggle of the Polovtsy against the Mongols in Desht-i-Kipchak, a mixture of tribal associations began. The winners went so far as to start calling the Polovtsy "Tatars". By this name, the Mongols meant not only the Kipchaks-Polovtsy, but also the Bulgars, Madzhars, Burtases and other large ethnic divisions who spoke Turkic languages.
The Caucasian Cumans acted as a link between the population of the Golden Horde and the North Caucasus. This relationship did not stop even after the collapse of the Golden Horde. The Polovtsian traditions were further continued by the Nogai, who began to form as an independent people already in the depths of the Mongolian statehood during the period of Nogai's activity. Under him, his ulus lands also included the fertile regions of the Black Sea and Ciscaucasian steppes. In all likelihood, since that time the ethnonym "Nogai" began to spread among the Polovtsy, who roamed the North Caucasus.
The Nogai Horde was formed, as we have already noted, on the ruins of the Golden Horde simultaneously with the Tatar khanates - Kazan, Astrakhan, Crimean and Siberian. The center of the Horde was the city of Saraichik (Saraijuk), located in the lower reaches of the Yaik River.
Until the XIV century, the term "Nogais" was unknown. The term "Nogai" and "Nogai Horde" as a collective name for the entire Turkic-Mongolian population of the Mangyt yurt appeared, apparently, only in the 20s of the XIV century. In Western European literature, this term appeared in 1517 in the "Treatise on the Two Sarmatians" by Matvey Mekhovsky, and in Eastern literature - by the Turkish historian Janiabi (died in 1590), who called Edigei "the head of the Nogai generation." The Nogais themselves in their letters usually called themselves Mangits, and their state "Mangit Yurt". The name "Nogai" was obviously given to them by other peoples, or, perhaps, by those close to Khan Tokhtamysh, who gave this nickname to Edigey himself. Later, the name "nogay" was assigned to its ulus people.
The "Mangyt yurt" of Edigey, which separated from the Golden Horde in 1391, was already one of the significant patriarchal-feudal associations. Edigei's successor (died in 1420) in the Mangit yurt was his son Gaziy, who was declared biy according to his father's will. At the beginning of the 15th century, the Mangit ulus was located between the rivers Emba and Yaik, and then under Nuraddin (1426-1440s), its possessions expanded significantly due to the territory adjacent to the Volga.
The Nogai horde finally took shape as an independent state in the 40s of the 16th century. At that time, it occupied a relatively large area from the Volga to the Irtysh and from the shores of the Caspian and Aral Seas to the forest zone in the north. The horde was divided into a number of uluses, headed by murzas, often only nominally subordinate to the prince.
In the 16th century, the Nogai Horde bordered the Kazan Khanate in the northwest along the rivers Samara, Kenili and Kenilchik. Sometimes the borders of her possessions reached the city of Kazan. In the Kazan Khanate there were "mangit places", from which the Nogai feudal lords received "mangit income". Prince Ismail in 1556 reported that they "from Kazan received an annual hundred batman honey, and nine fur coats," that he "received a hundred rubles of money from Kazan." The possessions of the Nogais reached the Kama. The Bashkirs and Ostyaks, who lived near the Ufa River, also paid tribute to the Nogai feudal lords.
In the northeast, the Nogai Horde bordered on the Siberian Khanate, wandering "near Tyumen, against Ivak."
In the second half of the 16th century, the Nogais roamed along the lower reaches of the Syr Darya, off the coast Aral Sea, near the Karakum, Barsunkum and the northeastern shores of the Caspian Sea. "The power of the Nogai rulers extended to some Turkmen uluses." Prince Tin-Ahmet wrote to Ivan IV in 1564 that "the Turkmen will call the ulus, and they are my people." Later he reported: "The Turkmen ulus from my father and from my great-grandfather is my ulus."
The western border of the Nogai Horde until its collapse remained on the Volga from the mouth of the Samara River to Astrakhan. The Nogai Horde differed from other Tatar khanates not so much in the size of its territory as in the large number of ulus people: 300-350 thousand people and could field about 200 thousand military people.
In the 30s of the 17th century, Kalmyks appeared in the Volga region, who had previously roamed in Siberia on the Tobol and Ishim. The appearance of the Kalmyks in the midst of the Polish-Swedish intervention, the impotence of the Nogai ruler to resist the Kalmyks forced the Big Nogai to migrate to the other side of the Volga in 1606, where they fell under the influence of the Crimean Khan and turned from a "friend" of the Muscovite state into his "foe", which was the beginning of that great tragedy, the last act of which was the loss by the Nogais of their right to continue to exist as a state.
As early as 1608, a new direction of the Kalmyk offensive was outlined - to the southwest to the areas of the Nogai nomad camps. Initially limited to the basin of the Emba River, in 1613 the Kalmyks crossed the Yaik River for the first time and headed for the Volga. The need to advance in the direction of the Emba-Yaik-Volga was dictated to the Kalmyks by the fact that by that time they had been strongly pressed by the Mongol Khan Altan Khan. He forced the Kalmyks to pay heavy tribute not only to himself, but also to his ally, the Chinese emperor. In 1630, Urlyuk-taisha fought with Nogais and Russian archers “subject to the sovereign”, two days from Astrakhan. In 1633, the son of Urlyuk Daichin, taisha, came with a large army near Astrakhan and fought with the Russian troops.
Kalmyks were attracted by free nomads across the Volga, besides, they no longer found enough military booty on the left bank they had devastated, for many Nogai tribes, fleeing Kalmyk raids, went to the right bank. The Kalmyk taishas were extremely aggressive towards the Nogais. Sources testify that the Kalmyk taishas extended their dominance to all the “uluses of the Great Horde that they met along the way, namely, the generation ... China, Kipchak”, Mangit, Yedisan. Then the independence of the Nogai Horde “disappeared and the existence of supreme princes ceased to exist, and the aimaks left their murzas in control. Of the Nogai aimags, some remained for some time under the rule of the Kalmyk rulers, others found refuge in Dagestan with the Kumyk (owners); still others took refuge in Kabarda; the fourth - Budzhak, otherwise called Belgorod and Akkerman, subjected themselves to the domination of the Crimean khans and wandered in Bessarabia; others made up the hordes of Budzhatsky and Edisansky, ruled by one of the sultans of Girey. But when the Kalmyks began to "extend their nomad camp from the right bank of the Volga to the Kuban," then the Nogai's stay in this country became impossible and they "sought refuge in mountainous places on the left side of the Kuban."
Under pressure from the Kalmyk feudal lords in the winter of 1671, 15,000 Dzhetysan wagons, led by their murzas, left for Astrakhan. However, already on April 12 of the same year, Yamgurchey “came near Astrakhan with the mountain Chechens and Crimeans and attacked those Dzhetysan Tatars”, and then “took them away and took them with them to the mountains and under the Crimean authorities to the Kuban (transferred), and captured several and Astrakhan Yurt Tatars.
The Kalmyks did not leave alone the Nogais, who roamed "near Kabarda near the Terek River." In 1672, having gathered a large Kalmyk army, Ayuk Khan attacked the Small Nagays and forced them to return to Russian citizenship and imposed tribute "from each family a year on kumach." At the end of the 17th century, many Nogai tribes of the Great Horde, not wanting to obey the Kalmyk taisha, left the Volga for the Kuban. In 1696, "Big Nogai, led by the chief murzas Dzhakshat Murza and Agash Murza, left the Volga for the Kuban, taking with them some of the Dzhetysan and Dzhemoyluks ...".
The political events of the 17th century led to the fact that a significant part of the Nogai was forced to leave the original territory of their nomads - the steppes of the Volga and Ciscaucasia and move to the mountains.
Being constantly under the threat of the Crimean khans on the one hand, and the onslaught of the Kalmyk feudal lords, on the other, the Nogais constantly roamed from the Volga to the Kuban, from the Kuban to the Dnieper and Bessarabia and back. It is difficult to follow all these movements. In the first half of the 18th century, the Dzhetysans and Dzhemboilukovtsy made several migrations from the Volga to the Kuban and back. In 1715, the Kuban Bakta Giray Sultan with his army came to the Volga near Astrakhan and "took all the Dzhetysans and Dzhemboiluks to the Kuban." Literally two years later, in 1717, the Dzhetysan and Dzhemboyluk Nogais were again brought to the Volga.
In 1723, during the civil strife among the Kalmyks, the Nogais left the Volga and moved to the Kuban, from where in 1728 the Dzhetysan Nogais were transferred "through the Crimea for Perekop, so that the Kalmyks would not take them to themselves or they would not go to them themselves."
In 1738, another 700 Nogai wagons left the Kalmyk guardianship for the Kuban, but they were forced to return to their original places. As a result of all the migrations, the North Caucasian Nogais at the end XVIII century were divided into three large groups: the Caspian (the so-called Karanogay), who roamed mainly in the Kizlyar steppes, the Beshtaugor, who, according to S. Bronevsky, “partly roam, partly live in houses near the Beshtov mountains along the Tansyk, Dzhegate, Barsukly, Maly and Bolshoi Yankulakg, Kalauze and Karamyk" and Kuban, who roamed from Kabarda to the Kerch Strait.
In addition, about 2,000 Nogai wagons lived on the Kumyk plane, who were “subject to the Aksaevsky princes”, at least 5,000 wagons were “living among the Circassians”. If we include the Nogai nomadic on Milk Waters and in Bessarabia, then the total number of Nogais will be more than 30,000 wagons.
The Crimean khans have long sought to expand their possessions in the direction of the North Caucasus. They managed to subdue the Nogai, who roamed between the Sea of Azov and the Kuban.
A special position in the Crimean Khanate was occupied by the Nogais, who roamed north of Perekop in a vast territory from the Danube to the Kuban. Being nomadic pastoralists and inhabiting the border regions, the Nogais repeatedly changed their allegiance until, finally, they became part of the Crimean Khanate.
As already noted, at the beginning of the 18th century, such political formations as the Yedisan horde, the Budzhak horde, the Dzhemboylukov horde and the Kuban horde continued to exist, which were under the rule of the Crimean Khan. Each of these hordes retained independent control and, in turn, was divided into small aul communities.
The territory of the Nogai hordes can be determined purely tentatively by the relative age of habitation on it of the bulk of the population subject to one or another seraskir, murza, based on the direction and place of nomadism according to the seasons. In the middle of the 18th century, the Nogais occupied the following territory: the Budzhak Nogais were located in the "Budzhak steppe" between the Danube and Dniester rivers, the Black Sea and Moldova; Edisan Nogais - from the Dniester River to the Dnieper, along the Bug and the borders of Poland; Dzhemboylukovtsy - on the flat part of the land between the rivers Dnieper, Don and the borders of Russia to Azov; Kuban Nogais - between the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov and the rivers Kuban, Eyu and the Bosporus Strait.
After the conquest of the Crimea by Russia and the settlement of the Cossacks along the Don and the Black Sea coast, the Small Nogai were forced to migrate west of the Don and occupy the Ciscaucasian steppes.
Thus, as a result of the mixing of various tribes and peoples and migrations, two groups of Nogais are formed: the Karanogais, who live today in the territory of Dagestan and Chechnya, and the Aknogais (Kuban Nogais), settled in the territory of Karachay-Cherkessia and the Stavropol Territory.
1. Anchabadze Z.V. Kipchaks of the North Caucasus according to the Georgian Chronicle. XI - XIV centuries. // On the origin of the Balkars and Karachais. - Nalchik, 1960.
2. Kereitov R.Kh. Nogais. Features of ethnic history and everyday culture. - Stavropol, 2009.
3. Kochekaev B. Socio-economic and political development of the Nogai society. - Alma-Ata, 1973.
4. Pletneva S.A. Polovtsian land. - M., 1975.
5. Sikaliev A.I.M. Ancient Turkic written monuments and Nogais. - SE. - 1970.- No. 4.
6. Trofimova T.A. Ethnogenesis of the Volga Tatars in the light of anthropological data. - M. - L., 1949.
7. Fedorov-Davydov G.A. Nomads of Eastern Europe under the rule of the Golden Horde khans. M., 1966.
The Nogais are scattered across different parts countries and in each federal subject represent a minority. Holding on to small, distant enclaves, the Nogais ceased to form a single ethno-cultural array. And since each enclave over the past two hundred years had its own history, mental differences between the Nogais became noticeable.
Fate decreed that the Astrakhan Nogais were recorded and almost became Tatars, the Kuban Nogais living in the mountains absorbed the mountain culture, while the Dagestan Nogais, on the contrary, retained their originality to a greater extent. Most of the Chechen Nogais were forced to leave their homeland due to two devastating wars, and the Stavropol Nogais found themselves in a region that did not provide them with either territorial or cultural autonomy, or even the opportunity to study their native language in schools. Of course, there are also unifying factors: Nogai identity, language, past - but is this enough to maintain unity? What turned out to be stronger: the history that divided the Nogais, or human efforts in the fight against injustice? Are the Nogais a living people, or are they fragments of an already dead people, dissolving in other cultures?
There are many scattered and divided peoples in the world: history favors some peoples, while others, on the contrary, grinds. The history of the Nogais over the past two centuries is the history of the almost complete destruction of the people.
In the second half of the 18th century, most of the Nogais lived in the Crimean Khanate, which included, in addition to the peninsula itself, also the territories of modern southern Ukraine, part of the Rostov region, Krasnodar and Stavropol territories. The Nogais were the main ethnic group of the country, led a nomadic lifestyle and formed the basis of the Crimean cavalry. Another, much smaller part of the Nogais lived in the Russian Empire on the territory of the modern Astrakhan region and Dagestan.
The tragedy that happened affected only the Crimean Nogais and did not affect the rest. It all started with the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, as a result of which the Crimean Khanate ceased to be a vassal of the Ottoman Empire and became a vassal of Russia. Although the latter won, the Nogais retained vast steppe nomadic territories, which means that Russia received a disloyal, freedom-loving and warlike population on its southern borders. Something had to be done about this, and the empire decided to settle a less problematic population on the new lands - Christians, mainly Cossacks, and, accordingly, expel the Nogais. They were offered to move across the Ural River (modern western Kazakhstan), but the Nogais refused and decided to fight - this led to disastrous consequences.
There were several reasons for the huge losses of the Nogais. Firstly, they were inferior to the Russians militarily - bows and sabers against cannons and rifles. Secondly, the Nogais had nowhere to retreat, which means they faced a simple choice: victory or death. Thirdly, they were deceived by Suvorov. He offered peace and arranged a feast at which the Nogais got drunk, and he himself ordered that the hooves of the horses be wrapped in felt, and at night his soldiers silently attacked the Nogais. Some believe that the expression came from here: a bullet is a fool, a bayonet is a good fellow. Fourthly, the Nogais rarely surrendered, therefore, when surrounded by Russians or Kalmyks, they themselves killed their women and children, and then entered into the last battle. In total, as a result of the war, post-war unrest and uprising, 300 thousand Nogais died, and the population of the steppe was halved. The survivors were not allowed to stay on their land. Therefore, the last day of the uprising (October 1, 1783) is considered the day of the genocide of the Nogai people, and Suvorov is a national enemy. The survivors were divided: some went to the Ottoman Empire (modern Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey), others - across the Kuban River, along which the Russian border then passed, others took Russian citizenship and began to roam within the modern Stavropol Territory. But the suffering of the Nogais did not end there.
The territory of Stavropol is predominantly fertile black soil, and the Russian authorities did not want nomadic cattle breeding to be carried out on these lands. Therefore, they were given to the Cossacks, and most of the Nogais were resettled to the territory of southern Ukraine, but soon they were forbidden to roam there. This time, they did not expel them, but simply transferred them to a settled way of life. Before the Crimean War of 1853-1856 (that is, for about 50 years), the Nogais lived more or less calmly on these lands, there was even the city of Nogaisk (modern Primorsk near Berdyansk). But after the war, the Nogais were accused of aiding the enemy and eventually expelled to the Ottoman Empire. The reasons for the eviction of the Nogais are unclear. Some kind of collaborationism on their part did take place, but, firstly, then many were dissatisfied with the war - for example, Russian peasants massively raised uprisings against the intensified oppression. Secondly, the Nogai fought with dignity on the side of Russia, because the violation of the oath in their military culture was considered inappropriate. Perhaps the empire that lost the war decided to assert itself at the expense of the Nogais. Be that as it may, southern Ukraine was completely cleared of the indigenous population.
Trans-Kuban Nogais were less fortunate. After the liquidation of the Crimean Khanate and before the Adrianople Peace Treaty of 1829, Zakubanye (the southern part of the modern Krasnodar Territory) was formally part of the Ottoman Empire, but in fact it was independent: the Turks controlled only the fortresses of the Black Sea coast (Anapa, Sudzhuk-Kale, Poti and others). Most of the Trans-Kuban region (from the coast to the Laba River) was inhabited by Circassian tribes, and the Nogais lived between the Kuban and Laba rivers. It was the last fragment of the Crimean Khanate, outliving the Khanate itself by almost half a century. Also, part of the Nogais who survived the Russian defeat settled in the Circassian lands: Nogai auls were located along the entire left bank of the Kuban and near Anapa - to protect the fortress. Thus, the life of the Nogais became closely connected with the life of the Circassians: their auls were located next to each other, both peoples equally suffered from Cossack raids and carried out raids on Cossack lands together. The result of the Russian-Turkish war of 1828-1829 was that the Trans-Kuban region went to Russia, only the locals did not consider themselves subjects of the Ottoman Empire, did not pay tribute to it, and were very surprised that their territories were transferred to another state. The congress of the Circassian tribes decided not to accept Russian citizenship. Thus began (continued) the war in the Western Caucasus. Since Circassia was not an integral state, but a union of tribes and therefore did not have a single army, but many different armies and detachments, the war in the Western Caucasus became partisan. Russia, in turn, carried out punitive expeditions to the territory of the enemy: they destroyed auls, burned crops and took away livestock. No one then separated the Circassian villages from the Nogai: both of them were called predators and mercilessly destroyed - the Nogais shared the suffering of the Circassians. Due to mass resistance and partisan tactics, this war dragged on for decades (until 1864) and became a disaster for the Circassians, Abazins and Nogays. According to the Russian historian Potto, 400,000 highlanders died in the war, and another 500,000 were expelled to the Ottoman Empire (of which 50,000 were Nogais). For the Circassians, the date of the end of the Caucasian War (May 21, 1864) is the day of the genocide. The survivors were not allowed to stay on their land, but were offered a choice - to move to the plains of the Kuban or sail to the Ottoman Empire. Most chose the latter, but not all of them made it to the Turkish coast: the ships were small and loaded to the brim, so they sank in the event of the slightest storm. As a result, the Western Caucasus was practically cleared of the indigenous population: the Circassians survived only in a few villages near Sochi and in the Republic of Adygea, and the Nogais - in the Nogai region of Karachay-Cherkessia.
This whole long story is given for a reason. Both peoples - Nogai and Circassian - experienced a national tragedy. Both peoples have a specific date of remembrance (October 1 and May 21). Yes, historically the Nogai tragedy dragged on for a longer time, and October 1, 1783 does not formally include the subsequent events of the Crimean and Caucasian wars. But it's formal. In fact, both peoples have dates on which it is imperative to remember the past. They do, but they do it in different ways. On May 21, Circassians with national flags in national clothes take to the streets and hold mourning events and processions. You should not think that this day is politicized, it’s just that for the Circassians in their recent history, the tragedy has become the most significant, turning point, and a real national day is possible only on the basis of a significant event. The Circassians use the day of the tragedy not just for the memory of the past, but for the consolidation of society - therefore, mourning processions are held all over the world, and the disparate Circassian society gains unity.
On October 1, the Nogais do not arrange any events - usually the victims of the tragedy are commemorated at home. Someone will make a post on the Internet, someone will gather in a small campaign, someone will go to the mosque (there they read prayers and can distribute alms), but this does not happen in order to go outside in national clothes with national flags . Of course, the question is not about going out into the street and shouting about something, but about the fact that a disparate people does not have national day- the very one that would unite all Nogais.
I asked the Nogais why there is no such day, and if they want it to appear.
"What for? Judge for yourself. Unity occurs, for example, at conferences, round tables, when some international festivals take place. Why do we need to go outside? There are so many peoples and if everyone sticks himself out like that, it will not lead to good, ”says Roza, a history teacher from Astrakhan.
“In Astrakhan, they don’t pay much attention to this, but they know that this date exists, they can read prayers. It’s not customary for the Nogais to take dirty linen out of the hut,” says Linara.
“On October 1st, young people look at something on the Internet, discuss it, but I myself do nothing,” says singer Magorbi Seitov from Karachay-Cherkessia.
It may seem that the Nogais generally eschew mass events, but this is not so. For example, on May 9, Nogais go out into the streets and celebrate the holiday together with the whole country. There is no need to talk about fear of the authorities either - in the republics of the Caucasus, no one prevents the Circassians from organizing funeral processions. Although people still have some fear. “It turns out to be nationalistic: a great commander - and all of a sudden he did such things,” says Magomed Naimanov from Cherkessk.
Some Nogais did not think about the importance of the national day. Others believe that it is needed, but there are no initiatives aimed at its implementation among the Nogais.
“For the Circassians, this has developed within the framework of the movement, but we have no movement,” says Eldar Idrisov, leader of the Astrakhan Nogai society Birlik.
“A day of mourning will not be a unifying factor for the Nogais, because we do not have such a unifying force - the Circassians have three republics and the first persons of the republics participate in congresses,” says writer Murat Avezov.
You can hide behind the fact that the Nogais do not like to remember the bad; or fear that the people's right to historical memory may not please someone; or talk about the inappropriateness of street events. But the whole point is the lack of a unifying force - initiative ordinary people and the will of political leaders.
The introduction of the national day was discussed in the 90s - then there was a whole galaxy of cult personalities led by Srazhdin Batyrov, an artist, choreographer who revived Nogai dances and created the Ailanai national ensemble, which became one of the mouthpieces of the Nogai revival. Narbike Mutallapova, former head of the department of culture of the Nogai district of Dagestan, says: “Srazhdin wanted to declare October 1 a day of Nogai mourning, but did not have time. And no more attempts were made: some died, others fell ill, others went into power. Now young people are doing events, but I don’t see fire to burn for the people. The next generation should give birth to such people, because we are getting old and many have already left. I really hope there will be a change."
For Circassians, the memory of tragic events is not limited to funeral processions. The Circassian society calls those events a genocide and seeks its recognition at the international level - this is how the Georgian Parliament in 2011 recognized the Caucasian War as an act of Circassian genocide.
According to ethnologist Akhmet Yarlykapov, the Nogais have no desire to recognize the genocide. Ahmet himself does not really agree with the term "genocide" in relation to those events, he thought about how it would be better to call it, and said: "Recognize it with anything." Also, according to him, it is important not only the recognition of the fact, but also a truthful description of the events. This is also the problem: the Nogai world is too small, it simply does not have so many historians to study this issue. Yes, and the Nogai mentality seems to be against this - unwillingness to remember the difficult past is not going anywhere. The world is not interested in Nogais.
The attitude towards the Suvorov events differs depending on the region where the Nogais live. So, among the Astrakhan Nogais, who were not affected by ethnic cleansing and deportation, the attitude towards Suvorov is relatively neutral. Some did not accuse him of anything, because it was a "sovereign's decision", and he was "a forced man" and simply "followed the order." Accordingly, “history” and “some circumstances” were to blame. In Astrakhan, I never heard the term “genocide” from anyone, and I got the feeling that the local Nogais preferred to forget the past of their people. The historian Viktorin generally stated that the Nogais themselves are to blame for everything: at first they accepted Russian citizenship, and then refused to move beyond the Urals; instead they attacked Suvorov and then got it from him. Nothing new: the Russians are of course noble, and the enemies are, of course, insidious. But the Russian historian Viktorin is one thing, and the Nogais themselves are another.
In Karachay-Cherkessia, on the contrary, I was surprised that people so easily use the term "genocide" - as if it were something generally accepted. This was done by administration workers, and villagers, and a waitress in a cafe, and creative people. So, at the very beginning of the meeting, the designer Asiyat Eslemesova spoke about the “unrecognized genocide”, and the grandmother, with whom we spent the night, reproached Suvorov: “And if they order to shoot at my own mother, will they too?”
“Genocide, I think, because of the wrong conduct of the war. This is no longer a war, this is the extermination of the population,” Magomed Naimanov believes.
The Nogai Davysy newspaper in Cherkessk said that no one forbids holding mass events, but they should be held if the genocide is recognized, and Russia does not recognize the genocide of the Nogais. Other peoples of the republic hold mass events, because the Circassian genocide is recognized at the regional level (the republics of Adygea, Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia), and the Karachai (deportation of 1943) - at the country level.
The Dagestan Nogais are rather in solidarity with the Kuban, although the Suvorov events did not touch them either. But, firstly, in Dagestan there are many descendants of the Kuban Nogais who fled there during the Caucasian War. Secondly, Dagestan is the center of modern Nogai culture and social life, and it simply cannot distance itself from Nogai history.
When asked what unites the Nogais besides the language, the answer was often “history”. Therefore, modern Nogais often refer to the Nogai Horde and their great rulers Edige and Nogai as symbols of pride and identity. They are like Lincoln to Americans or Garibaldi to Italians. True, the Nogai khans were too long ago. How are they related to modern history and culture is a big question. At the same time more new story, albeit tragic, is in no way aimed at consolidating Nogai society.
Despite the fact that the Nogai tragedy is connected with the Russian Empire, the Nogais do not hold a grudge against the Russians. Maybe this is a rare accident, but I have not met a single person who would even feel annoyance towards the Russians, not to mention hatred. Many were sincerely surprised at my question about negative feelings towards Russians and did not understand why they should be.
“We have no hatred for Russia. We have the same attitude to what is happening in the country, like the Tambov peasant,” says Isa Kapaev.
The attitude of the Nogais towards the Russians was not affected by the Soviet era, although then the Nogais got it pretty hard (however, like other peoples). The Nogais were not spared by Stalin's repressions, when the Nogai intelligentsia was deported and the flower of the nation was destroyed. Then, in 1957, the division of the Nogai steppe took place, as a result of which the people were torn into three parts - Dagestan, Stavropol Territory and Chechnya. As a result, the Nogais not only did not receive their own republic or autonomy, unlike most other peoples of the country, but everywhere they turned out to be a minority.
“In the entire history of Soviet power in Karachay-Cherkessia, only one historian Ramazan Kereitov received a postgraduate reservation, all the rest were applicants. After Soviet Union collapsed;
“In Soviet times, the Nogais were treated with disdain because people came from villages and knew Russian very poorly. Now everything is fine with the Russian language. Aggression in society occurred in the 90s, now it is less. Many interethnic marriages have appeared, already in several generations, so everyone is used to eating both kainars and Easter cakes,” says Linara from Astrakhan.
Events recent years also do not lead to embitterment of the Nogais, despite the increased Islamophobia in the country and the frequent attitude towards Asians as second-class people. Nogais note Russian chauvinism in Moscow or the Cossack regions of the country, but they treat it with restraint, like old people with troubled teenagers.
“At school, when some kind of conflict starts, Russian children call Nogai children Korsaks - this is an insulting nickname for the Kazakhs. And on the part of the Nogai children, some kind of confusion occurs, and they do not say any nickname of an offensive nature in relation to the Russians - it simply does not exist. Apparently, this has been going on since colonial times, and great-power chauvinism is still in the blood. Plus, now the TV amplifies everything, ”Amir from the Astrakhan region shares his observations.
Some Nogais noted the positive contribution of modern Russia to the development of the Nogai world. “Today's Russia is not to blame for what was done to the Nogais. Today's Russia has allowed us to get acquainted with all archival and museum materials - everything turned out to be available. Prior to that, people lived in darkness for many years. Some people trumpeted about it, some laid down their heads. And to this day there is a war, if not with Russia, then with its rulers. Personally, I have no resentment against Russians, there is bitterness, but there is no resentment - how many years ago it was, ”says Narbike.
“Those who remained in Russia retained their language, territory, the name “Nogai”. Those who left for Turkey are written as Turks. In Kazakhstan, there are no Nogais like Nogais, there they are Kazakhs. Only in Russia we have survived precisely as Nogais, and this must also be recognized,” Ismail Cherkesov believes.
Over the past two hundred years, the life of the Nogais has become closely connected with the life of the Russians. And it's not just about mixed marriages, economic interaction and neighborhood living. “Despite the fact that the Nogai statehood was broken precisely by Russia and the Nogais suffered a lot of evil from it, we remained patriots at all times. In fact, we are patriots, because before us so many generations of Nogais fought in Russian wars. Why were the Nogais attracted to Lithuania or Poland? Because we were the support of the throne, we constantly served the authorities. This is our way of life,” Ismail continues.
“The Russians and I fought at weddings, but we also acted together, defending our interests. I was a Soviet person, they didn’t call me Nogai, they called me Russian. Where are you going? I have no other homeland, they don’t choose her, mother or stepmother. There are simply more loved and less loved children,” says Murat Avezov.
History firmly tied the Nogais to Russia, so tightly that they began to feel like an integral part of it. Once upon a time, the Nogais were forced to accept Russian citizenship. Today they cannot imagine themselves outside the Russian identity. Therefore, they do not leave for Turkey or Kazakhstan. Therefore, they remain patriots of Russia, no matter how alien it may be to them. And in this, the descendants of Edige are surprisingly united. Do we observe that the Nogai world has ceased to separate “us” from “them” and has moved into a dying state? Or is it a way of survival for a small nation, when the remaining forces are directed to creation, and wasting time on negativity is an unaffordable luxury? Only time knows the truth.
Nogai writer Murat Avezov
In Karachay-Cherkessia, in the village of Erken-Khalk, there is the “Museum of the History and Culture of the Nogai People”. This is an old two-story building with four sections, each of which is dedicated to certain period the history of the Nogais, from the Middle Ages to the Soviet era. The head of the museum, Svetlana Ramazanova, gave us a personal tour and shared her interesting thoughts and feelings about the Nogai people.
“I don’t sleep well because my tongue is missing. After all, if there is no language, then there will be no culture, and if there is no culture, then the people will disappear. Any nation disappears - this is an inevitability, and nothing can be done about it: the big swallows the small.
Why are the Nogais dying out? A few reasons:
1) Interethnic marriages;
2) Nogais speak Russian (especially in the North) or their father's language, although they continue to consider themselves Nogais;
3) This is a natural process of development of society, it is inevitable;
4) What kind of development can there be when you are small and stew in your own juice.
I agree with two of Svetlana's theses, and I will try to refute two. Although even these refutations are unlikely to change the general conclusion.
Svetlana Ramazanova in the museum
Rebuttal #1.
The danger of interethnic marriages is more related to Astrakhan, the North and large cities, in general, to places where Nogais do not live compactly. Due to a more secular and urbanized lifestyle, marriages between Russians and Nogais are more common there. Children in these marriages usually choose their own religion, unless, of course, there was a clear agreement between the parents, and the choice more often falls on Christianity, the religion of the majority. The Nogai language in a big city is also forgotten faster than in the Caucasus. As a result, children in such families are more influenced by Russian culture and lose touch with the Nogai world.
If children from Russian-Nogai marriages grow up in a Nogai village, then everything is not so simple. “Our people live in harmony, there are no conflicts, even on a personal basis, because everyone got married. There are two students in my class, a boy and a girl, their fathers are Russians, and their mothers are Nogays. The girl considers herself Russian, but at Nogai holidays she reads poems in Nogai best of all, she has a very good pronunciation. And the boy does not show himself in any way at these holidays, he is probably more Russian. And so, the mentality is normal, like everyone else,” says Gulnisa, a teacher in the village of Janai, Astrakhan region.
In the Caucasus, everything is different. Aminat Kurmanseitova says: “Still, here the East, in the East, nationality is determined by the father. Maternal nationality can only be if the mother divorced her husband and lived with her child at home. In this case, she can not only change her nationality, but also change her last name. In the East, even a non-Muslim has a paternal lineage. Therefore, 99% of the population born from a Circassian is recorded as a Circassian, from a Karachai - a Karachai, from a Nogai - a Nogai, from a Russian - a Russian. If a Nogay marries a Russian, she has a Russian child, if a Circassian, a Circassian child. Talk about the fact that the mother will give her last name and rewrite it to her nationality is not considered at all. This is not even discussed, and the surname is always paternal.”
This rule is observed among all Eastern peoples, with rare exceptions. Therefore, in the same Astrakhan region, if the father is Nogai and the mother is Kazakh, then the child will be Nogai, and vice versa. The loss of national identity in such marriages is not terrible, unlike marriages with Russians.
“The Circassians say that we are beautiful because we have mixed with them. There is some truth in this: the Nogais have Circassian clans, and the Circassians have Nogai. My great-grandmothers are Karachays, and this is not bad, it improves the blood. The Chechens and Karachais have a surge: they accepted everyone into their ranks and greatly renewed their blood in the 19th century. Among the Karachays, 70-80% of the population are newcomers: Abaza, Georgians, Nogais, Circassians. Therefore, they have a strong potential, many cultural figures, educators, writers. But we do not mix en masse: 10-15% of families is acceptable, even necessary, and therefore we have a good development. There is nothing wrong with that, mixing is the way to go. Blood must always be renewed, otherwise degradation will occur,” says Kerim from Cherkessk.
Interethnic marriages in themselves do not threaten the Nogais, but become a problem for the diaspora. It turns out that to get rid of the problem, you just need to stop the mass migration. Stop! Migration! Hmm... is Svetlana really wrong in her thesis?
Consent #1.
The disappearance of small languages is indeed an inevitability that unites all the Nogais of the country. It's just that in the cities this process is going faster, in the villages it is slower, but in the end everyone will come to a common denominator. It's like with the Internet: yesterday it was only in the city, but today it is everywhere. Much has been said about the reasons for the disappearance of the language. The measures taken to preserve it will be described in a separate story. The philosophical question that I asked the Nogais sounded like this: “If the language disappears, then what will happen to the people: will it remain or will it also disappear?”
The opinions of the people were divided, and divided approximately equally.
Colombians are one people. They are Hispanic, but if you look inside ethnically, then most of them are local Indians, some are descendants of the Spaniards. There are also many Arabs - merchants in the ports were Arabs. And so they all together they became the Colombian people. This is clearly expressed in Marquez, he showed a new community, a new state. Such a situation, apparently, will be with us. Although, because of religion, it will be harder to become a single people,” says writer Isa Kapaev.
Magomed Naimanov has a different opinion: “The Nogai people as a people will be preserved. In statistics. He won't know his own language. Without a language, a people can easily be a people. For example, Belarus, where 95% do not know the Belarusian language, nevertheless, the Belarusian people exist.” Moreover, Belarus is not alone in this: the Irish did not become British either, although they speak English without exception.
At first glance, the strong evidence of resistance to assimilation is that children who do not know Nogai still consider themselves Nogai. But everything is not so simple. “If a person does not know his own language, does not speak his native language, then this is already an inferior Nogai, it is difficult to call him a 100% Nogai,” Ismail Cherkesov is convinced.
It seems to me that Ismail hit the nail on the head. What makes the Nogais more Nogais: self-name or the opportunity to read the Edige epic in their native language?
“We don’t speak our native language well, but when you read poems in Nogai, listen to old songs, hear wishes, it’s just melancholy! But we don't live by it. A lot of information is coming, but my own is somewhere deep inside. Children have even less of this - that's why the nations are leaving, ”Svetlana Ramazanova notes.
Rebuttal #2.
Many Nogais take a philosophical look at the loss of language and assimilation taking place before their eyes, because they are confident in the inevitability of the disappearance of the ethnic group. Their confidence is based on the theory of ethnogenesis and passionarity of Lev Gumilyov - during the expedition I heard this surname so many times that I got the impression that it had become a mantra for the Nogais. According to Gumilyov, each ethnic group goes through a life cycle from birth to death, and today the Nogais are just at the stage of dying. One can write a lot about the fact that this theory, despite its simplicity and seemingly logical nature, did not find support either among domestic or foreign scientists, causes a lot of controversy and is far-fetched in many moments, but a person is arranged in such a way that he must do what -to believe. Svetlana Ramazanova did not say anything new about Gumilyov, she was just another (5 or 6 in a row) interlocutor in a short period of time, talking about the inevitability of the disappearance of the Nogais.
I allow myself to disagree with both Gumilyov and the Nogais. After all, the “natural process of the development of society” is equally suitable both for explaining any regularities and for justifying mistakes and inaction. There are peoples older than the Nogais, who in currently are going through a developmental stage. For example, the Mongols, who in 1990 got rid of ideology and set a course for building democratic institutions of society and developing modern Buddhist culture. Of course, one can object that Mongolia is a separate state, and the Nogais are part of a large country, but this only confirms the role of the historical path and the unity of the people in the development of society and refutes the abstract stage of the dying of the ethnos.
One of the guarantees of the preservation of culture is the presence of autonomy, which contributes to the consolidation of society. This does not guarantee the development of the ethnos (the same Finno-Ugric peoples of Russia, having their own republics, are rapidly assimilated and choose Russian identity), but it gives a chance for development. Whether people will use it or not is another question. There are still signs of life in Nogai society: in addition to their own culture, which manifests itself even among young people (all these dances, weddings, tamgas) and historical memory, there are many initiative people among the Nogais who are trying to do something for the people. But only under the conditions of autonomy can an initiative bear fruit, otherwise it will not be heard or crushed.
Consent #2.
The Nogai are small and scattered, and their society is heavily influenced by four more powerful cultures, each of which weakens the Nogai world.
Russian. The Nogais consider themselves part of Russia, live in a Russian-speaking environment and are strongly influenced by Russian culture. Despite the gradual loss of their native language, the Nogais do not believe that they are threatened with assimilation in Russia, on the contrary, Nogai appearance and religion are barriers to it, and most Nogais live in conditions of a certain cultural autonomy. The threat from the Russian world is more pronounced in the Stavropol Territory and in the North - the loss of the native language and the loss of culture are stronger there. In addition, Russian chauvinism is growing in some regions: in the same Stavropol region, the Nogais are considered a diaspora, not an indigenous people, and are perceived unfriendly, which in principle is typical for the Cossack regions of the country in relation to the Muslim population (Nogais, Circassians, Meskhetian Turks).
“When they say that the Nogais will become Russian, I hardly believe it. Once I went to Orenburg to the archives. What are the turns of speech: “dear sir” and so on! How beautifully everything is written - I’m telling you, I was brought up in Russian culture and for myself I don’t consider this grief. I read - and directly a balm for the soul. My wife scolds me, says that I am turning into a scoop. I have several identities: local - karagash-nogai, Astrakhan Nogai; the other is an Astrakhan; the next identity is a Nogai, a representative of the Nogai people; and the next one is a Russian, there is this identity, I don’t throw it away,” says historian Ramil Ishmukhambetov.
Kazakh. The long-awaited independence from the Russian and Soviet empires led to the national rise of the Kazakhs and the development of their culture, but an independent cultural policy inevitably gives rise to disputes with neighboring peoples. The confrontation with the Nogais happened due to the proximity of languages, similar culture, the overwhelming numerical superiority of the Kazakhs and the fact that the Nogai Horde was almost completely located on the territory of modern Kazakhstan. Therefore, who should consider the nomadic poets of the 15th-16th centuries - Nogais or Kazakhs? (The poets themselves, in their works, turned to the Nogais, and not to the Kazakhs, but history knows examples when peoples changed their self-name). Are the Nogais a separate people or a sub-ethnos of the Kazakhs? (most Nogais consider themselves a separate, albeit kindred people - after all, there is a difference in language, in wedding and funeral rites). For the Kazakhs, victory in these disputes means receiving the Nogai inheritance. For the Nogais, they are an equal people, albeit a small one. It is important to note that disputes take place exclusively on the Internet, so for some it is almost a matter of life, for others it is an abstract, bloated thing that has nothing to do with reality.
“There is no disdainful attitude towards the Nogais on the part of the Kazakhs, although there are disputes on the Internet. I adore Kazakhstan, we are too close to them, but I would not want to become a part of the Kazakh nation. In 1992, we came to Kazakhstan for a symposium, and the singer Kumratova performed epic works that mention the Nogais. There were many scientists, various figures, and they say about Kumratova: “She is ours, she is a Kazakh.” Then they ask who we are. We answer that they are Nogais, and they say: “You are also Kazakhs, we are one tree.” I tell them: “Yes, but don’t forget that we are the roots and you are the branches and leaves,” Narbike recalls.
“Many young Nogais sing Kazakh songs. When the native changes into something related, but alien, I don’t like it,” says Murat Avezov.
“Some say that bringing Kazakh songs to Nogai weddings is wrong, but then give Nogai songs. Because Kazakh songs are suitable in terms of mentality and melody. We have few good composers, so we have to remake Kazakh and Kyrgyz songs. On the one hand, there are no songs because there are no performers. On the other hand, performers do not appear, because there is no broadcast system, rotation, and this rests on the fact that there is no autonomy,” Ismail Cherkesov believes.
The problem is that the Nogai world is too small to reproduce its own culture, while Kazakhstan offers modern songs and films, literature and science, lullabies and national clothes. If a Nogai does not want to completely Russify, but tries to preserve elements of the steppe mentality and nomadic culture, then he is simply forced to look towards Kazakhstan.
Tatar. The influence of the Tatars on the Nogais is felt only in the Astrakhan region, where the transitional Tatar-Nogai group (Yurts) lives and where the Nogais were previously recorded as Tatars. Tatars are the second ethnic group in Russia after the Russians and, like the Kazakhs, are experiencing a national and cultural upsurge. Tatar organizations are numerous, they have money for educational and cultural events. Therefore, it is not surprising that, seeing a powerful Tatar movement and a weak Nogai one, many choose a Tatar identity.
“Our old people sing Tatar songs. My own uncle calls himself a Tatar, knowing that he is not a Tatar. I love Tatar language, this is my second language after Nogai. I can sing something in Tatar, my grandmother is Tatar. But by definition, I'm a Nogay. The most dangerous thing for us Tatars and Kazakhs is precisely excessive rapprochement. If the feeling of “friend or foe” is lost, then we will disappear,” says historian Ramil Ishmukhambetov (pictured).
North Caucasian (mountain). Historically, the nomadic Nogai world and the mountain world belonged to different cultures, although they intersected. This was especially characteristic of the Western Caucasus: the Crimean Khanate and Circassia depended on each other. Therefore, the Circassian coat and hat are elements of clothing for both the Nogai and many mountain peoples. Therefore, in both cultures, there was the practice of atalism (when mountain children grew up in Nogai families, and vice versa) and kunachestvo (so close friendship between people that they actually became relatives). But after the Suvorov events and mass expulsion, the Nogais survived only in a few villages in the neighborhood of the mountain peoples, so the Nogai culture partially submitted to the mountain people and began to develop along with it. Living next to the highlanders gradually erased cultural differences, but at the same time contributed to resistance to Soviet culture: as a result, the Kuban Nogais retained horses and dog fights, like other peoples of Karachay-Cherkessia. However, identity, Nogai tea, women's national costume - all this is not left in the past; and the Nogai language has not gone away, despite the proximity to the larger and very similar Karachai language. Therefore, at present, the Kuban Nogais are both Nogais and mountaineers, no matter how strange it may sound.
Another thing is the Nogai steppe. She lived authentically for a long time and maintained a nomadic culture until the advent of Soviet power. The Communists first led the Nogais to a settled way of life, and then divided the steppe, giving two of its parts to Chechnya and Dagestan - so the local Nogais gradually came under the influence of mountain culture. Therefore, Sufism spread among them. Therefore, some make the Dagestan accent "le". Therefore, all Nogais dance lezginka.
At the same time, many Dagestan Nogais emphasize that they are not highlanders. At a meeting of the youth organization in Terekli-Mekteb, the following phrase was heard: "We imitate the mountaineers a little, but not the mountaineers." And Murat Avezov said this: “Look at me, what a Dagestani I am. They just took me and sent me to Dagestan - forcibly the groom, forcibly the bride.
Regarding Lezginka, opinion is divided: some treat it badly and even believe that it needs to be fought, while others consider it as part of modern Nogai culture. “Some say that this is not our dance and should not be danced. Well, then push it out with other dances, traditional Nogai. Now we have lezginka as a given. In many ways, this is even a Nogai dance, because some elements are purely Nogai. But the highlanders dance it with jumps, raising their hands - this is not ours, ”says Murza, a member of the Vozrozhdeniye youth organization.
“I lived in Moscow for 12 years, I didn’t have any friends: Russians, Armenians, Georgians. But for some reason there were no Dagestanis. Here is a paradox: and not because I have a bad attitude towards them, we just have a different mentality. And we get along with the Russians very easily, right on the fly.
Also, the Dagestan Nogais were influenced by Caucasian Sufism - a mixture of Islam and mountain customs. Sufism has become especially popular in Dagestan, Chechnya and Ingushetia, so "East Caucasian Islam" differs from the "ordinary" Islam characteristic of the Volga region and the Western Caucasus. Historically, the Nogais abandoned Sufism back in the 18th century, but in modern Dagestan, Sufism has become so widespread that if you are against Sufism, then you are almost a Wahhabi. As a result, some "ordinary" Nogai imams were forced to leave the republic, Sufi imams appeared in Nogai mosques, and Sufism began to gain popularity among the Dagestan Nogais. This led to contradictions between the believing Nogais. In general, Sufis are more conservative, and this is striking: in Astrakhan, Nogai women are dressed in European style, in Karachay-Cherkessia they wear headscarves (and by no means all of them), in Dagestan a woman without a headscarf is a rarity, moreover, many leave only the face and hands are exposed.
Is it necessary to counteract more powerful cultures, or is it already useless? Everyone decides for himself. Some Nogais say that the main thing is to be a Muslim, and nationality does not matter. Such a choice is reasonable in the conditions of close interaction of the Caucasian peoples. Others believe that Kazakhs and Nogais are one people. In the context of globalization, this is also a good formula for conservation. Still others leave for large cities and marry Russians, which means a break from the Nogai world, if not for those who left, then certainly for their children. But this is also an inevitability. modern society. However, there is a fourth option - Narbike voiced it best of all:
“Today, give me the opportunity to choose another nation, even the greatest, I would not be able to. For me, the Nogais are my great people. I always tell aspiring singers: forget the past, live in the present, make your own story. And you praise Edige, in the songs the words are pathetic. The Nogai was wordless, scattered, lived in the dark, under pressure. But if we survived then, we cannot disappear now. Although this struggle should be every day. Everyone should remember the components of the people: language, history, culture. If this disappears, then the people will also disappear.”
The fragmentation of the Nogais led to the fact that in Soviet times the connection between the regions was minimal, and communication with the foreign diaspora did not occur at all. For example, many in Astrakhan did not know at all that the Nogais lived somewhere else. In the late 80s, it became possible to create national organizations and free movement around the country - and Nogais from different regions began to gradually interact with each other.
First of all, cultural events and all-Nogai congresses on a variety of topics began to be held: for example, it turned out to be possible not only for the appearance of the Nogai ensemble "Ailanay" in Dagestan, but also for its tour of other regions of the country. Then they added educational and sports activities. Despite the limited access to the administrative resource, the interaction of the Nogais was possible thanks to the “initiative from below”. And although all these conferences and congresses meant little to the common man, the Nogai intelligentsia began to represent the interests of the whole people, and not its individual parts.
“When Nogais from other regions came to us for the first time, they went to the house of culture and were amazed that Nogais still live somewhere in Russia, they speak their language. They showed a performance, performed dances, told proverbs and sayings. As I remember now, they begin to tell the proverb, and our hall continues - it was so nice, ”Gulnisa, a teacher from the Astrakhan region, shares his memories.
“But all this is on a voluntary basis. That is, our guys add up, cooperate, collect money. Often we are sent on a bed, they hire some kind of car and we leave,” says Aminat Kurmanseitova.
However, regional borders were erased for ordinary people as well. There were several reasons. The first, oddly enough, was the difficult economic situation and the subsequent migration to the North: the communities that appeared included all Nogais, regardless of regional affiliation. Similarly, Astrakhan became a place of learning for Nogai youth from all over the country.
The second reason is the Chechen war, because of which 10 thousand Nogais left their native villages. “Many “Chechens” left for Astrakhan, found work, and are engaged in business. Nogais living among other nationalities are more tenacious. We are a mononation here, infantile, calm, only young people have been doing something lately. In Chechnya, life taught the Nogais how to survive. Entire families moved here because the village was bombed there - there was a tip that militants were hiding in it,” says Narbike from Dagestan.
And the third reason is the Internet, which not only strengthened communication, but united the Nogais. Its role is especially important for this people, because in Russia there is no TV channel in the Nogai language and no all-Nogai newspaper (although there are still two regional newspapers). Proof of the power of the Internet was the increased number of marriages between Nogais from different regions of the country, which used to happen extremely rarely.
For a long time, the connection of the Russian Nogais with the foreign diaspora was completely lost. The Nogays who ended up in Turkey, due to the proximity of languages and the policies of the authorities, gradually adopted a Turkish identity, and now they can be spoken of more as Turks of Nogai origin. However, between 100,000 and 300,000 people in Turkey and another 100,000 in Europe still consider themselves Nogais. Now they come to Russia for cultural events, “international” marriages have appeared, there was even a football between Nogais different countries. Once a Nogai arrived from Austria - he began to look for his family and ended up in the Astrakhan region. There was also such a case: a “Turkish” family found direct relatives in Dagestan, despite a 150-year gap in communication.
“Our goal is to awaken the population in Crimea, the yurt Nogais. And our task is to conduct educational work in Turkey so that they are recorded by the Nogais,” says Kerim from Cherkessk.
However, interstate interaction is complicated by the fact that there is no organization that would unite Nogais from all over the world and represent them in the international arena, such as the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people or the International Circassian Association.
Despite the international level, the Nogai movement often rests on human enthusiasm alone, and therefore suffers from a lack of money. “Now, if you register public organization, you need a specific postal address, premises, a lease agreement, video materials must be provided monthly. But we do not have the opportunity for this. We have nowhere to hide, so we are in an unofficial position,” says Magomed Naimanov from Cherkessk.
“There is no center in Astrakhan where one could take a national costume. Therefore, like some kind of international competition at school, everyone goes, looking for costumes, they don’t know where and from whom to find them, ”says Linara. “If some holidays pass, we add up. There is no fixed contribution, everything is as far as possible - this is how we hold concerts and all events.
Recently, young people have begun to show great initiative. “There is a revival, people are interested in books, music, poetry, before this was not at all. A month ago, KVN was held here for the first time in history, then it was held in Karachaevsk. If not for this, I would be depressed,” reports Murza from Terekli-Mekteb. In addition to cultural events, youth organizations contributed to the emergence of mobile applications for learning the Nogai language, translated some cartoons into Nogai, for example, The Lion King.
The Dagestan youth organization "Vozrozhdeniye" is developing sports among the Nogais, is trying to transfer dombra from traditional culture to modern, held a KVN, wants to launch its own newspaper. It is not known whether they will succeed, but the very fact that many young people in the village are not sitting still is surprising. There is no alcohol and discos in this environment; instead of it - sports, sushi bar, sony playstation. "I kick, you kick - we help each other." By the way, 16-year-old children with whom I managed to talk in a local cafe also said that alcohol is no longer fashionable (although they drank energy drinks instead). Of course, this way of life is not typical for all Nogais, but this is increasingly becoming the rule rather than the exception.
Currently, about 103 thousand representatives of the Nogai nationality live in Russia. This is an offshoot of the Turkic people, who historically lived in the Lower Volga region, in the North Caucasus, in the Crimea, the Northern Black Sea region. In total, according to rough estimates, there are about 110 thousand representatives of this people left in the world. In addition to Russia, diasporas have settled in Romania, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Turkey.
Nogai state
primordial public education representatives of the Nogai nationality was the Nogai Horde. This is the last of the nomadic powers, formed as a result of the collapse of the Golden Horde. It is believed that she had a significant impact on all modern Turkic peoples.
This state was actually formed in the 40s of the XV century in the interfluve of the Urals and the Volga. At the beginning of the 17th century, it collapsed under external pressure and due to internecine wars.
founder of the people
Historians associate the appearance of the Nogai people with the Golden Horde temnik Nogai. This was the ruler of the westernmost ulus, who from the 1270s actually refused to obey the khans of Saray. As a result, Serbia and the Second fell under him, as well as part of the northeastern and all southern Russian principalities. It is from his name that the Nogai people take their name. They consider the Golden Horde Beklyarbek their founder.
The city of Saraichik on the Ural River became the administrative center of the Nogai Horde. Now this place is a historical monument, and nearby is the village of the same name in the Atyrau region of Kazakhstan.
Crimean period
Under the influence of the Kalmyks, who moved from the east, in the 17th century the Nogais migrated to the border of the Crimean Khanate. In 1728 they settled in the northern Black Sea region, recognizing the jurisdiction of the Ottoman Empire over them.
They also had a great influence on the events that took place at that time on the territory of our country. Domestic military and historians learned the name of the Nogais in 1783, when they raised a major uprising in the Kuban. This was a response to the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Empire and the forced resettlement of the Nogais to the Urals by decision of the tsarist authorities.
The Nogais tried to take Yeysk, but the Russian guns proved to be a serious obstacle for them. On October 1, the united units of the Kuban Corps under the command of Suvorov crossed the Kuban River, attacking the rebel camp. In the decisive battle, the Russian army won a landslide victory. According to estimates of domestic archival sources, from 5 to 10 thousand Nogai warriors died as a result. Modern public Nogai organizations claim tens of thousands of dead, among whom were many women and children. Some of them claim that it was an act of genocide.
As a result of this uprising, she suffered significant losses. This affected the entire ethnic group, and after that their political independence was finally lost.
According to modern researchers, until the middle of the 19th century, about 700 thousand Nogais crossed into the territory of the Ottoman Empire.
As part of Russia
After a crushing defeat, representatives of the Nogai nationality ended up as part of the Russian Empire. At the same time, they were forced to leave their lands, as they were considered politically unreliable contingent. As a result, they scattered in the Trans-Kuban region, throughout the entire North Caucasus, up to the lower reaches of the Volga and the Caspian steppes. Such was the territory of the Nogais at that time.
Since 1793, the Nogai, who settled in the North Caucasus, became part of the bailiffs, small administrative-territorial units created to manage the Muslim peoples of the Caucasus. In fact, they existed only formally, since the real supervision of them was carried out by the military department.
In 1805, a special provision appeared for the management of the Nogais, which was developed by the Committee of Ministers of the Russian Empire. Since the 1820s, most of the Nogai hordes became part of the Stavropol province. Shortly before that, the entire Black Sea region became part of Russia. The remnants of the Nogai hordes switched to a settled way of life, settling in the Kuban and in the north of the Taurida province.
It is noteworthy that the Nogais participated in Patriotic war In 1812, as part of the Cossack cavalry, they reached Paris.
Crimean War
During the Crimean War of 1853-1856. the Nogais who lived in the Melitopol district helped the Russian troops. After the defeat of Russia, the representatives of this people were again accused of sympathy for Turkey. Their campaign to evict Russia has resumed. Part joined the Crimean Tatars, the bulk assimilated with the Turkish population. By 1862, almost all the Nogays who lived in the Melitopol district emigrated to Turkey.
The Nogais from the Kuban followed the same route after the Caucasian War.
social stratification
Until 1917, nomadic cattle breeding remained the main occupation of the Nogais. They raised sheep, horses, cattle, camels.
The Nogai steppe remained the main area of their nomadism. This is a plain in the eastern part of the North Caucasus between the Kuma and Terek rivers. This region is located on the territories of modern Dagestan, the Stavropol Territory and Chechnya.
From the 18th century, the Kuban Nogais began to lead, who took up agriculture. By the second half of the 19th century, the Nogais of the Achikulak police department were predominantly engaged in the cultivation of agricultural crops.
It is worth noting that agriculture, at the same time, was of an applied nature for the majority, mainly engaged in cattle breeding. At the same time, almost all the cattle belonged to the sultans and murzas. Making up only 4 percent of the total Nogai population, they owned 99% of camels, 70% of horses, and almost half of the cattle. As a result, many poor people were forced to go to work in nearby villages to harvest bread and grapes.
The Nogais were not called up for military service; in return, a special tax was levied on them. Over time, they began to move more and more away from their traditional breeding of camels and sheep, switching to agriculture and fishing.
Modern settlement
Today, the Nogais predominantly live on the territory of seven regions. Russian Federation. Most of them are in Dagestan - about forty and a half thousand. More than 22 thousand live in the Stavropol Territory, another fifteen and a half thousand in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria.
More than a thousand Nogais in Russia were also counted in Chechnya, the Astrakhan region, the Yamalo-Nenets and Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrugs.
In recent decades, fairly large communities have formed in Moscow and St. Petersburg, numbering up to several hundred people.
In the history of the Nogai there were many migrations. Traditionally, many representatives of this people today live in Turkey and Romania. There they mostly ended up in the 18th and XIX centuries. Many of them at that time adopted the ethnic identity of the Turkic population that surrounded them there. But at the same time, the majority retained the memory of their Nogai origin. At the same time, it is not possible to establish the exact number of Nogais living in Turkey today. Population censuses, which have been conducted since 1970, have ceased to collect information about the nationality of citizens.
In 2005, a decision was made to create a national Nogai region on the territory of Karachay-Cherkessia. By that time, a similar formation already existed in Dagestan.
Language
The Nogai language belongs to the Turkic group of the Altaic family. Due to their wide geographical distribution, four dialects were distinguished in it. In Chechnya and Dagestan, they speak the Karanogai dialect, in the Stavropol Territory - in the Kuma or directly Nogai, in the Astrakhan region - in Karagash, in Karachay-Cherkessia - in Kuban or Aknogai.
By classification and origin, Nogai is a steppe dialect, which belongs to the dialect of the Crimean Tatar language. Some experts also attribute the dialects of the Alabugat and Yurt Tatars to the Nogai dialects, although not everyone is of this opinion.
This people also has the Nogai language, created on the basis of the Karanogai dialect.
From the beginning of the 18th century until 1928, writing was based on the Arabic script. Then for ten years it was based on the Latin alphabet. Since 1938, the Cyrillic alphabet has been officially used.
culture
Speaking of traditional culture and the traditions of the Nogais, everyone immediately recalls the occupation of transhumance and nomadic animal husbandry. It is noteworthy that, in addition to camels and horses, historically the Nogais also bred geese. From them they received not only meat, but also feathers and down, which were extremely highly valued in the production of blankets, pillows, and feather beds.
The indigenous representatives of this people hunted mainly with the use of birds of prey (falcons, golden eagles, hawks) and dogs (borzois).
Crop growing, fishing and beekeeping developed as an auxiliary trade.
Religion
The traditional religion of the Nogais is Islam. They belong to one of the right-wing schools in Sunni Islam, the founder of which is the 8th-century theologian Abu Hanifa and his students.
This branch of Islam is distinguished by a clear hierarchy in the delivery of verdicts. If there is a need to choose from several existing prescriptions, the majority opinion or the most convincing argument takes precedence.
Most of today's Muslims are followers of this right-wing wing. The Hanafi madhhab had the status of an official religion in the Ottoman Empire and in the Mughal Empire.
Costume
From the photo of the Nogais, you can get an idea of their national costume. It is based on elements of clothing of ancient nomads. Its features evolved from the 7th century BC to the time of the Huns and Kypchaks.
Nogai ornamental art is well known. Classical patterns - the "tree of life", They go back to the patterns first discovered in the burial mounds of the Sarmatian, Saka, Golden Horde periods.
The Nogais remained steppe warriors for most of their history, so they rarely dismounted. Their features are reflected in their clothes. These are boots with high tops, wide-cut trousers, in which it was convenient to ride, hats must take into account the peculiarities of the season.
The traditional clothes of the Nogais also include a hood and beshmet (a caftan with a standing collar), as well as sheepskin coats and trousers.
The women's suit is similar in cut to the men's. It is based on a shirt dress, hats made of fabric or fur, fur coats, scarves, scarves, woolen shoes, different kinds jewelry and belts.
dwelling
It was in the customs of the Nogais to settle in yurts. Their adobe houses, as a rule, consisted of several rooms located in a row.
In particular, such dwellings have become widespread among their neighbors in the regions of the North Caucasus. Studies have confirmed that the Nogais independently created this type of housing.
Kitchen
The Nogai food system is built on the balance of meat and dairy products. They were applied in different forms processing, preparation methods. It was supplemented with products of hunting, farming, gathering and fishing.
The national character of the dishes originated in the bowels of various empires of Eurasia, and is due to the historically established cultural and economic structure, traditions, and way of life.
Boiled meat is common in their diet; talkan porridge was often prepared from roasted millet, ground into flour. It was consumed in food along with milk. Soup was cooked from ground corn and wheat, and porridge was prepared from cornmeal.
A significant place in the diet was occupied by all kinds of soups with different dressings - noodles, rice. Khinkali was considered a favorite dish of the Nogais. It was made from unleavened dough, cut into small squares and rhombuses, and boiled in meat broth. In the preparation of this dish, the advantage was given to lamb.
From the drinks they had five types of tea, koumiss was traditionally prepared from the milk of mares, which was famous for its healing properties. Vodka was prepared from mare's milk, another alcoholic drink was buza, which was brewed from millet flour.
