Russia's wars in the Caucasus occurred primarily in the 19th century but obviously there were varying levels of conflict depending on the year. The fact that Russia was engaged in conflicts with Napoleonic France in 1812, wars with the Persian and Ottoman Empires in 1826-1829, and the Crimean War of 1856-1859 means that there was not one, long, non-stop 100-year between Russians and peoples like Adygheans and Chechens. It seems that the main conflict with the Adygheans began when Shamil's Chechen gangs were defeated in 1859 and concluded with the defeat of the Adyghean tribe called Ubykhs in Krasnaya Polyana in 1864.

The idea of a “Circassian Genocide” seems to have originated during the late 1980s and 1990s when Russia was ruled by Gorbachev and Yeltsin. Russian liberals and local nationalists among nations ranging from Chechens to Estonians engaged in many types of rewriting of history, typically tales of “evil Russians/Russian government committing evils innocent [insert name of group]”. Many intellectuals and establishment elites in America and Britain regurgitated such material, and particularly with this “Circassian Genocide” theme, there was an intensification in the promotion of it in the western media during the lead-up to the Sochi Olympic games in 2014. This “Circassian Genocide” story has been promoted by various anti-Russia organizations such as Jamestown Foundation, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the Circassian Cultural Center in Georgia, etc. Virtually all Russian scholars (e.g. Zarema Kipkeyva, Andrei Epifantsev) refute the allegations of genocide, and western accounts of the conflict I’ve encountered do not even entertain the idea of genocide (e.g. Dana Sherry, "Social Alchemy on the Black Sea Coast").

There has been a Russian presence in the Caucasus and also land called “Circassia” for well over a thousand years. There was the Kievan Rus principality of Tmutarakan that was established in the 10th century that controlled the Cimmerian Bosporus, the passage from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov. Its site was the ancient Greek colony of Hermonassa, situated on the Taman peninsula, in the present-day Krasnodar Krai of Russia, roughly opposite Kerch.

The word “Circassian” is a misnomer that arbitrarily grouped together several different nationalities living in Russia today such as Abkhazians, Adygheans, Cherkessians, and Kabardians. These are all nationalities with distinct territories, histories, cultures, and languages. The word Adyghean is the appropriate word to use.

As Russia was uniting and consolidating itself in the 15th through 18th centuries, she faced invasions at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, the Crimean Khanate, and Adyghean bands. At the same time, Russia also experienced friendly relations with some tribes living in the Caucasus. Russia and Kabards formed an alliance in 1561, and the Kabard prince's daughter married Russian tsar Ivan IV. Russians between 1563-67 built numerous forts along the Terek river. The Kabardin nobility integrated into tsarist society and became a part of the aristocracy.

Adyghean bands regularly conducted raids, kidnappings, and plunder of Russian lands and Russia responded by establishing forts and defensive outposts on her southern frontier designed to prevent further incursions. In 1768, the Turks started a war against Russia, and Circassian bandits attacked Russian defensive forts, the sole purpose of these forts was to protect Russia's borders against attacks. Adygheans specialized in kidnapping innocent people and shipping them to the Ottoman Empire and its vassals to be slaves. The flow of slaves from the northern Black Sea coast constantly replenished the Turkish war machine and was one of the most important sources of creating material wealth in Adyghea itself. Adyghea was a loyal ally, a semi-vassal of the Ottoman Empire, and willingly and voluntarily supplied slaves. Just through the small port of Anapa, up to 10 thousand slaves were shipped annually. The Adyghean economy had nothing significant to provide to the world other than slave trafficking. And if you look at what Adygheans imported from their sale of slaves, the commodities corresponded to their warlike, aggressive way of life: gunpowder, gun barrels, iron, weapons locks, blades.

Up until 1820, Russian policy in the Caucasus was defensive. For 50 years prior, Russia stood on the right bank of the Kuban, did not encroach on Adyghea, and this only changed as a last resort only in response to highlanders' raids. In the Adyghean lands at that time, there was only the Mozdok fortress that was built at the request of the Kabardian prince. Russia regularly talked about peace with the highlanders, establishing trade with them, not seeking to enter into conflicts. There was a rule that all movements of Kuban troops could only be done with the personal permission of the tsar. The Adygheans saw that the ever-increasing number of poorly guarded Russian settlements provided opportunities to kidnap and plunder. The public consciousness among the Adygheans justified and extolled such raids and considered them natural and necessary.

Russia’s war with Adygheans in the Caucasus intensified after Adyghea legally became a part of Russia as confirmed by the Treaty of Adrianople in 1829 in which the Ottoman Empire acknowledged the right of Russia on possession of the Caucasian territories and Russia acquired the entire coast of the Black Sea from the mouth of the Kuban River to the St. Nicholas pier. Other turning points were the defeat of the Crimean War in 1856 and the defeat Shamil’s rebellion in Chechnya and Dagestan in 1859, enabling Russia free of distractions to finally defeat the Adyghean bands.

The conflict with Adygea, however, was not one of only Russians facing Adygeans. There were in fact many Adygeans who served in the ranks of the Russian army, which serves to refute the allegation that Russia committed a genocide. There were no Jewish collaborators with Nazi Germany. Sultan Adil-Girei Magomet-Gireyevich in the 1850s was commander of the Caucasian Mountain Division. He was later commander of the Kuban Cossack Division. And Przekuy Mogukorov was in the Black Sea Cossack Army and was awarded orders for the Battle of Kalaus in 1821. The conflict in the Caucasus in the 19th century can more accurately be called a civil war that had Russians and their Adygean allies on one side and rebels on the other side.

Adygeyans were in constant hostility among themselves Adygeyan society was extremely divided. Many Adygeyan princes and nobles swore allegiance to Russia and entered Russian military service, sent their children to study in Petersburg, etc. Russia provided them all kinds of assistance. In 1796, during battles that occurred between the Bzhedugs and Shapsugs, at the personal request of the Bzhedug prince to Catherine the Great, Russian artillery and a Cossack detachment participated in the battle on the side of the Bzhedugs. In 1830, Russian troops helped Bzhedug prince Alkas, whose lands the Abadzakhs began to attack, drive them away. Some Adygeyan princes were opposed to Russia, while others among the Bzhedugs moved to a pro-Russia position. Russia would not have been able to acquire the Caucasus if various categories peoples living in the Caucasus did not serve in the Russian army.

Allegations of genocide committed against Adygheans are difficult to reconcile when terrifying Adyghean raids against Russians are extensively documented and well-remembered. These are just a few of a large number of raids committed by Adygean gangs against Russians:

June 1828: A raid involving Circassian heavy cavalry took place at the rear of the Russians. More than 3,000 horsemen, representatives of the highlander aristocracy, appeared on the left bank of the Kuban near the village of Batalpashinskaya and crossing the river, directly penetrated the Kuban Fortification Line. The highlanders suddenly changed their rote and went to the unprotected village of Nezlobnoe. The cavalry burned buildings. After dismounting, they broke into houses and killed anyone they encountered. In front of children, the elderly were slaughtered, young men were kidnapped. In the village, therepair depot of the Belgorod Regiment consisted of 8 people. The soldiers resisted desperately, but were literally crushed by a mass of attackers. In the church, an old priest and deacon were killed, who rushed to save church belongings. The Cossacks who came to the village an hour later after the raid encountered a terrible vision of the consequences of the tragedy that had taken place. The streets were littered with chopped and charred corpses of old people, children, women. A little over a hundred survived from 640 inhabitants.

May 1823: The gang of Djembulat attacked the village of Kruglolessky. The peasants were partly to blame for the fate of the village. There was a portion of the Kabardian regiment led by Captain Tsyklaurov in it, but the men, jealous of possible contact of their wives with the soldiers, insisted on their departure. On May 13, Tsyklaurov left the village. Upon learning of the attack, he returned, but the Highlanders detained his squad. Having lost 25 soldiers, Tsyklaurov broke through and saved the village from total destruction. Djembulat retreated. General Stal's detachment was informed about the raid, and joined the Cossacks from his post and went to the place of return of the gang. At the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Urnizhesky crossed the Kuban at Prokop and moved to Laba to intercept the gang. The Stal detachment lagged behind at the crossing of Nevinnomyssky, and the Kuban regiment of Major Stepanovsky were met shot at. The rifles did not operate because of the rain, and up to 150 Circassians were killed in hand-to-hand combat... In Kruglolessky, 50 people died, 41 were injured, 345 were captured, 677 horses and 1067 heads of cattle were stolen, property was looted (even the graves in the cemetary were torn)

And the Russians were actually not as brutal towards Adygheans as Adygheans were towards Russians.

July 1823: Russian troops arranged reprisals for the Djembulat raid. Тroops went to Zelenchuk and took unaware 5 Nogai auls. In captivity were 3 princes with families and relatives. On July 2, the detachment, with a large number of captives and cattle, returned. About 1000 fugitive Kabardians came to the aid of the Nogais. The troops defeated them at the Ust-Tokhtamyshsky post. The result of the expedition, the highlanders lost many killed and wounded, 1467 were arrested, and about 5500 cattle and 2000 sheep were recovered. The men were sent to Georgievsk for government work, and the old men, women, and children were sent to villages. The detachment lost 1 soldier and 2 Cossacks killed.

The vast majority of casualties in the Caucasus wars in the 19th century were not killed by violence. A plague swept Kabarda from 1804-1826 and played a role in pacifying the region. But Russia did not impose a plague nor intend it to happen. There was also a strong famine in 1859 caused by locusts that destroyed crops. The deaths of thousands of Adygeyans due to illness, disease, privations is not proof that a genocide was unleashed against them by Russia with the intent of destroying the Adygeyan people. Russian troops and Russians in the area were in the same situation as Adygeyans. Only 10% of Russian troops killed in the war died as a result of combat, while the remainder were killed by disease, deprivation, and lack of medical care. In 1845, on the entire Black Sea line, 18 were killed and 2427 died from diseases.

The resettlement of Adygeyans to the Ottoman Empire was far from being genocidal. Russia never intended nor planned for Adygeyans to emigrate, but merely had the goal of relocating them along the Kuban river valley where they would contribute to the economy. The intention of it was not to destroy Adygeyans, but was to ensure their survival. On February 21, 1864, General Gaiman descended to Tuapse and was met by Shapsug elders, who declared their obedience and asked for permission to emigrate to the Ottoman Empire. On March 4, General Gaiman notified the Ubykh elders about an ultiamatum of either resettlement along the Kuban or emigration to Turkey, and the Ubykh elders asked for emigration to the Ottoman Empire.

There was also strong interest from the Ottoman Empire to resettle Adygeyans because it was weakened and ruined by non-stop war with neighboring countries as well as unrest in the Arab, Slavic, Armenian, and Greek provinces where independence movements were threatening to develop. The Ottoman Empire hoped to improve its internal security by bringing skilled Adygeyan warriors. The Adygeyan were Ottoman Empire vassals for a long time and the Sultan's harem consisted of Adygeyans, his slaves were Adygeyans, his ministers and generals were Adygeyans. Russia never planned nor intended to expel the Adygeyans, but only wanted to end a century-long war in the Caucasus and give them the means to for a peaceful settlement on the fertile lands of the Kuban River valley. The agitation of the Ottoman Empire and the Adygeyan nobility, Muslim leaders, and ridiculous rumors about universal baptism together with religious fanaticism and Turkish propaganda were the reasons why Adygeyans chose to emigrate to the Ottoman Empire rather than resettle in the Kuban river valley. The fact that Russia offered Adygeyans four times more land in the Kuban (and much more fertile) than what they had in the mountains, paid Turkish captains for numerous trips to Adygea and made sure that that the ships were not overloaded refutes the idea that there was an intent to harm or destroy Adygeyans.

The Adygeyans were given a very clear choice - emigrate to the Ottoman Empire where they were promised a sacred and good quality of life or the Kuban river valley where they were offered more land that they already had and which was also much more fertile. No one broke into their homes, they were given time, they were able to sell property, and were compensated monetarily. The war came to an end in 1864 with Adygeyans broken, defenseless, and no ability to defend themselves. They gathered in crowds on the Black Sea coast and this provided an excellent opportunity for anyone who wanted to destroy Adygeyans as a people. What did Alexander II do? He paid for their resettlement! 289 thousand rubles in benefits were paid to them. At that time, the maintenance of Alaska cost Russia 200 thousand rubles annually. Some Russian officials like Evdokimov applauded how Adygeyans were willing to emigrate, an attitude that falls far short of genocide, needless to say.

Some Adygheans were quite prominent in the affairs of the Ottoman Empire. Mehmed Reshid, born in Russia in 1873, was a prominent member of the Committee of Union and Progress and was responsible for the expulsion of Greeks when hwas governor of Karesi. When he was governor of Diyarbekir, he organized the extermination of 150,000+ Armenians and Assyrians.

Sources:

Russian:

Epifantsev, Andrei - Unknown Caucasian War. Was there a Circassian Genocide? / Неизвестная Кавказская война. Был ли геноцид адыгов?

Kipkeyva, Zarema - The North Caucasus in the Russian Empire : peoples, migrations, territories / Северный Кавказ в Российской империи: народы, миграции, территории

English:

Liubov Kurtynova-D'Herlugnan, The Tsar’s Abolitionists The Slave Trade in the Caucasus and Its Suppression

Sherry, Dana. "Social Alchemy on the Black Sea Coast, 1860–65." Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History, vol. 10 no. 1, 2009