KARACHAY-MALKAR TURKS
Karachay-Cherkessia Republic
It is located in the Northern Caucasus in the middle regions of the Caucasus mountain
chain. On the south, Abaza and Georgia Republics, the countries beyond the Caucasus
surround it. These are called as "Taw artý-Beyond Mountains" by Karachay people
surround it. It is also surrounded by the Russian Federation on the west and north and
Kabardey-Balkar Republic on the East.
The surface area of the Karachay-Cherkessia Republic is 14.100 km2. The south of the
republic is covered thoroughly with the Great Caucasus mountain chain. The northern region
extends in the form of plateaus and vast plains. The Great Caucasus mountain chain and the
highest hill of Europe, the Elbruz Mountain (Mingi Taw) with the height of 5633 m.
constitutes the southeastern border with Kabardey-Balkar Republic. These mountains are
covered with glaciers in the heights above 3000 m.
The middle region of the Republic includes the skirts of the Great Caucasus mountain chain
and it is covered with vast plateaus. Biyche Sin plateau located on the north of the
Karachay city is the most important plateau in the region.
The plain lands located in the north are watered with the rivers of Hurzuk, Ullu Kam and
Uchkulan that spring from the Great Caucasus mountain chain and the Kuban River that is
formed from the combination of these rivers. These plains are also alimented by the rivers
of Duvut, Teberdi, Arhiz, Mara, Zelenchuk, Urup and Laba that spring from Karachay
Mountains running into the Kuban River.
The steppes are frequent in the north while there are forests of pine trees spruce trees
and fur trees on the south. The skirts of the Great Caucasus with the height below the
2500-m. are covered with grassland of alp type.
It is not possible to distinguish the Karachay and Malkar Turks from one another that
constitute the most important part of the Turkish element among the people who live in the
Northern Caucasus. Lots of historical, anthropological, archaeological and sociolinguistic
researches were carried out about the Turks from Karachay and Malkar that lived in the
region of Kuban River for centuries. As a result of these researches, it was found out
that Karachay and Malkar people were the descendants of the Turks that dominated this
region for long years.
Proto-Bulgarian Turks, Huns, Kipchak (Kuman) Turks were the ancestors of Karachay and
Malkar people.
Karachay and Malkar Turks that had lived under the domination of the Turkish states
founded in the region until 1800s had to get under the dominion of the Russians in
accordance with the Belgrade Agreement that was concluded as a result of the
Ottoman-Russian war between the years of 1806-1812. The rebellions against the Russians in
the years of 1822, 1835-1837, 1845-1846 and 1853-1855 were suppressed through bloody and
severe means.
Having dominated over all the Northern Caucasus, the Russians established a special
administrative system in the region in 1860. Through this system, they divided the people
of Karachay-Malkar into two parts, and they connected the Karacay people to the state of
Kuban and Malkar people to the state of Terek.
Karachay people rebelled against the Russians that continued their regime of oppression in
the years of 1873 and 1900. Upon these rebellions, the lands of Karachay people were
seized and some of them were permitted to immigrate to Turkey. Pursuant to the revolution
in 1905, Karacay people obtained some cultural rights and they rebelled together with the
other nations in the Caucasus when the Bolsheviks did not kept their worlds about their
independency after the revolution in 1917. Thus, they participated in the United Republics
of he Northern Caucasus.
Karachay people who resisted against the Bolsheviks willing to invade the Caucasus again
gave a great struggle between the years of 1920 and 1922. When the entire country was
invaded by the Russians in 1922, the Soviet government divided the people of
Karachay-Malkar into two sections. They gathered the Karachay people together with the
Circassians and the Malkar people together with Kabardey Circassians under the same
domination and thus, it divided their powers. Karachay people rebelled again as result of
the Russian efforts toward the obligatory collectivisation in Karachay Autonomous Region
in 1926 and the collective kolkhoz farms that were made in a forcible manner in 1932-1934.
As a consequence, this rebellion turned into a revolt, 40% of Karachay people were killed
and exiled to Siberia.
Karachay was invaded by Germans in the Second World War. When the Germans retreated,
Karachay was attacked again by the Red Army in the year of 1943. All the cities were
destroyed and all the people of Karachay were exiled to the Middle East and Siberia on the
date of the 2nd November 1943. Krushev government gave the permission for the Karachay
people to return to their homeland in the year of 1957.
The population of Karachay-Cherkessia Republic is 415.000. The distribution of the
population is as follows: Karachay people with the rate of 31%, Russians with the rate of
42%, Adige with the rate of 10%, Abazins with the rate of 7%, Nogay Turks with the rate of
3%, and the others with the rate of 7%. Turks generally live in the southern sections and
in the basin of Kuban. Furthermore, there are nearly 30-35 thousands of Karachay people in
the Middle East and nearly twenty thousands of Karachay people in Turkey.
Its capital is Cherkesskiy. The other important cities are Uchkulan, Karachay-Shahar,
Teberdi and Zelenchuk. Karachay dialect that is considered as the typical Kipchak Turkish
in respect of its fundamental lines is included within the Turkish-north group. The rate
of literacy in the country is 99%.
Due to the geographical conditions of the country full of hills and plateaus, the basic
economic structure depends significantly on stockbreeding. Particularly, sheep, goats,
cattle, and horses are bred in this country. Due to the insufficient arable fields, the
agriculture is continued in the valleys and the plateaus in the south. The agricultural
products that are grown up are barley, maize, corn, potato, oats, rice and vegetables.
Kabardey-Balkar
Republic
It is an autonomous republic connected to the Russian Federation that is located in the
Northern Caucasus and in the northern skirts of the Caucasus mountain chain. It is
surrounded with the Russian Federation on the north, the North Osetya on the east, Georgia
on the south, and the Karachay-Cherkessia Republics on the west.
It is not possible to distinguish the Karachay and Malkar people from one another that
constitute the most important part of the Turkish element among the people who live in the
Northern Caucasus. The principal element of Karachay and Malkar people is composed of
Proto-Bulgarian Turks, Huns and Kipchak Turks.
In the course of the Great Migration of Turks starting from the Middle East, these Turks
had firstly come to the banks of Idyll, and then to the Northern Caucasus. These Turks had
founded great empires in this region for centuries. Some of them settled in this region
while the others advanced towards the internal parts of the Balkans and Europe. As a
result of the historical, anthropological, archaeological and sociolinguistic researches
carried out in the region, it was found out that the Bulgarian, Hun and Kipchak Turks that
had stayed in the region were the ancestors of the Caucasian Turks of today.
Having settled on the shores of the Kuban River in the Northern Caucasus, these Turks had
to retreat to the high peaks of the Great Caucasus mountain chain upon the attacks of
Cenghiz Khan's armies in 1223. These Turks who settled in this region formed the Karachay
and Malkar people. The researches carried out have shown that the Kipchak Turks
constituted the principal element of the Karachay and Malkar people.
In the beginnings, Malkar people lived together with Karachay people in Baksan and Cherek
regions in the east of Elbruz Mountain. Pursuant to the war made with Kabardey Circassians
in the region within the century XVI, most of the Malkar people immigrated to the west of
the Elbruz Mountain and the valley of Kuban River and they got separated from the main
community. Thus, the two communities that had lived together in the past were divided into
two sections. The Turks living on the east of the Elbruz Mountain were called as Balkar
Turks while the Turks that immigrated to the West were called as Karachay Turks on account
of the places.
The Balkar (Malkar) and Karachay Turks who lived with Karachay Turks in the neighbouring
regions were the victims of the policy of USSR towards the separation of these communities
from one another. The Russians forced these two Turkish tribes to get separated. Balkar
Turks were forced to establish a state with Kabardey people while the Karachay Turks were
forced to establish a state with the Circassians. As a result of these events, two
separate states were formed in the region, and the state established by the Balkar Turks
together with the Kabardey people has survived until nowadays as an autonomous region.
The surface area of Kabardey-Balkar Republic is 12.500 km2. It includes the middle region
of the Great Caucasus mountain chain within its southern frontiers. Therefore, its
southern regions present a hilly sight while plains are observed towards the northern
sections.
The Elbruz Mountain that is the highest hill of the Great Caucasus mountain chain
constitutes the borders with the Karachay-Circassian Republic. The Elbruz Mountain with
the height of 5.633 m. is the highest altitude. This mountain chain is covered with
glaciers above the height of 3.000 m. The lands descend towards the north and they turn
into the plateaus with the height of 1000-3000 m. in the middle region and into vast
savannas formed by the River Terek and its branches in the norther parts.
The most important river is the River Terek. The Terek River is watered with the glaciers
of the Great Caucasus mountain chain. The other streams that are watered from these
glaciers are Malka suw, Kondelen suw, Bahsan suv and Cherek dere.
The population of the Republic is 674.000 (1979). The Balkar Turks has a density over 88
thousands of people. The capital of the Republic is the city of Nalcik and the Turks live
about the regions of Cherek, Chegem, Baksan, Malka and Terek that mostly are hilly and
plain lands.
Balkar people that are divided into the branches of Bizingili, Holamli, Chegemli,
Bahsanli, etc. are Muslim people and connected to the Altay branch of the Turkic language
group. Balkar people who call themselves as Bucolic "Tawlu" (People of
Mountains) were subjected to the bloody exile of Stalin in the course of the Second World
War. They lost thousands of sacrifices in the exile years. Finally in 1950s, they were
forgiven and given the permission for the right to return to their countries.