Let Our Fame Be Great

by Oliver Bullough

  The best book on the arrival of Naqshbandi Islam in the Caucasus is Anna Zelkina’s In Quest for God and Freedom (London, 2000). Slightly older, but almost equally interesting, is Mystics and Commissars: Sufism in the Soviet Union by Alexandre Bennigsen and S. Enders Wimbush (Berkeley, Calif. Press, 1985).

  Also useful was Islam in Post-Soviet Russia, edited by Hilary Pilkington (London, 2003).

  Timur Mutsurayev albums are hard to find these days, although his return to Chechnya may change that. The song ‘Sheikh Mansur’ is on his album 12 tysyach Modzhakhedov(12,000 Mujahedin).

  Chapter 20

  The events surrounding Imam Shamil’s raid on Georgia and the princesses’ captivity are most notably told in Lesley Blanch’s Sabres of Paradise (my edition was published in New York in 1995), in which she gives the impression she would like nothing more than to be swept off by a wild horseman herself.

  Other useful sources were Anne Drancey’s Captive des Tchetchenes (Paris, 2006); E. A. Verderevsky’s Captivity of Two Russian Princesses in the Caucasus(London, 1857, although I have a reprint by Kessinger Publishing); and the anonymous Prussian officer’s A Visit to Schamyl (London, 1857). Shamil’s former scribe Muhammad Tahir al-Qarakhi wrote his own account, called ‘The Shining of Dagestani Swords in Certain Campaigns of Shamil’, which is included in Russian – Muslim Confrontation in the Caucasus (edited by Thomas Sanders, Ernest Tucker and Gary Hamburg, London, 2004).

  Other useful snippets on Shamil came from A Campaign with the Turks in Asia by Charles Duncan (London, 1855); and from J. Milton Mackie’s Life of Schamyl(Boston, 1856, although I have a University of Michigan reprint).

  Chapter 21

  Runovsky’s biography comes from his Dnevnik Runovskogo (Runovsky’s Diary) in the twelfth tome of the Akty Kavkazskoi Arkheograficheskoi komissii(Acts of the Caucasus Archeographical Commission); and from his Zapiski o Shamilya(Notes about Shamil ) (St Petersburg, 1860), as do many of the details about the sad end of Jamal-Edin. The story about the end of Shamil’s resistance at Gunib comes from Abdurakhman’s Kratkoe Islozhenie podrobnogo opisaniya del imam Shamilya(A Brief Exposition of a Minute Account of the Affairs of Imam Shamil ), which was reprinted in Arabic and Russian in Moscow in 2002.

  The details about eating horses come from the Dagestani magazine Akhulgo, and the song is well-known to folklorists, featuring for example in I. F. Varayev’s Pesni Kazakov Kubani(Songs of the Kuban Cossacks) (Krasnodar, 1966), as well as in Shapi Ganiyev’s history Imam Shamil (2001).

  Baron August von Haxthausen’s The Tribes of the Caucasus(London, 1855) amusingly shows how Shamil was all things to all men.

  Chapter 22

  Details on Shamil come from Runovsky’s two books; from Maria Chichagova’s Shamil na Kavkaze i v Rossii(Shamil in the Caucasus and in Russia) (St Petersburg, 1889) and from Abdurakhman.

  Chapter 23

  Continuing instability in the Caucasus after Shamil’s surrender can be seen in the second chapter of Vacation Tourists and Notes of Travel in 1861, edited by Francis Galton (London, 1862), as well as in Arthur Thurlowe Cunynghame’s Travels in the Eastern Caucasus, on the Caspian and Black Seas, Especially in Daghestan and on the Frontiers of Persia and Turkey during the Summer of 1871 (London, 1872).

  Kundukhov’s autobiography can be found in The Caucasian Quarterly, between April and September 1938. Annoyingly, however, this publication then apparently disappeared, and from Chapter 6 onwards the autobiography is only available in French in the sister journal Le Caucase.

  Biographies of the Sufi leaders who left the Caucasus can be found in The Naqshbandi Sufi Way: History and Guidebook of the Saints of the Golden Chain by Muhammad Hisham Kabbani (Chicago, 1995). These are also available on www.naqshbandi.org.

  Chapter 24

  Stalin’s comments from his speech at the 10th Congress of the Russian Communist Party can be found in his Marxism and the National and Colonial Question (London, 1936). The kind of craven work Soviet historians produced under his rule can be seen in Borba gortsev za nezavisimost pod rukovodstvom Shamilya(The Highlanders’ Fight for Independence under the Leadership of Shamil) by S. K. Bushuev (Moscow, 1939), which opens and closes with quotes from Stalin. M. I. Quandour’s Muridizm (Nalchik, 1996) has a chapter called ‘The Treatment of Shamil and Muridism’ by Soviet historians which nicely details the steps communist writers took to show Shamil in a bad light.

  I first heard about the Chechens of Krasnaya Polyana from Michaela Pohl’s research.

  Chapter 25

  Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago has been published in abridged and full versions. The information here is from the full Russian-language edition. Sultan Yashurkayev’s diaries have been published in several European languages, but sadly not in English or Russian. He helpfully gave me a copy of the Russian manuscript, large chunks of which can also be found on the internet.

  Chapter 26

  The best books on the war are the general ones mentioned under Chapter 18, although a lot more work needs to be done.

  2004

  Chapter 27

  Timothy Phillips’s Beslan: The Tragedy of School No. 1 (London, 2007) tells the story of the siege.

  I have concentrated on the home-grown origin of Basayev’s tactics and Chechen extremism in general, because I think that is overwhelmingly the most important element. Others, however, prefer to stress the Arab and international links. For a completely different viewpoint to my own, you could try reading Chechen Jihad by Yossef Bodansky (New York, 2007), which appears to be exclusively based on the viewpoints of the security services. Even if you do not like the book, it is interesting to see how so much information can be married to so little insight.

  Chapter 28

  Transcripts of Kulayev’s trials are available on www.pravdabeslana.ru, which also includes huge volumes of material on the siege, compiled by locals angry about the government’s failure to investigate it fully. A lot of it looks like conspiracy theories, but some is disquieting. Marina Litvinovich deserves commendation for putting the site together.

  Chapter 29

  Some of the best work on Russian brutality was conducted by the legendary Anna Politkovskaya, whose book A Dirty War(London, 2001) is a terrifying picture of what happened. Elsewhere, Andrew Meier’s Chechnya: To the Heart of a Conflict (New York, 2005) is superb. Anne Nivat’s Chienne de guerre (New York, 2001) is a good account of the destruction of Chechen resistance.

  The documentary Babitsky’s War, directed by Paul Yule, chronicles Andrei Babitsky’s attempts to show what was happening in Grozny in 1999 – 2000 and is available on the internet. I strongly recommend watching it.

  Chapter 30

  Kudayev has won assistance from Reprieve, the British legal charity, which worked hard to win justice for the men being held at Guantanamo Bay. Reprieve provided me with copies of his papers, and I am very grateful to them, particularly to Saadiya Chaudary, who gave up a lot of her time to talk to me. The excellent book Bad Men(London, 2007) by Clive Stafford Smith, the director of Reprieve, does not deal with Kudayev, but shows the kind of problems he faced in legal limbo.

  Human Rights Watch made him one of the three primary subjects of its Stamp of Guantanamo report, which uncovered the abuse he received on his return to Russia.

  Kudayev’s mother allowed me to use his poems, and thanks to Maria Golovnina for her help in translating them.

  Chapters 31 and 32

  The figures on asylum applications are taken from the UNHCR’s Asylum Levels and Trends in Industrialised Countries reports, which can be found in the publications section of its website www.unhcr.org.

  Postscript

  Putin’s comments are available on www.kremlin.org, which is a surprisingly good website.

  Acknowledgements

  Thanks first of all to my family. To Jenny and Willy, for making me who I am. To Tom, for making me laugh and making me think. And to Rosie, for making everything perfect.

  Thanks to Helen Conford at Penguin, fo
r agreeing that this book might be a good idea and for being a thoughtful editor and a patient listener, and thanks too to Abbie for introducing me to her. Thanks to Mike Morrogh and David Gee for being bright lights in a dark place, and to Geoffrey Ellis for the encouragement and help.

  This book has involved lots of travelling, and I am very grateful to the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for paying for so much of that. I recommend that anyone reading this who is keen to travel the world should look into asking WCMT for help (www.wcmt.org.uk). Thanks also to staff members at the British Library and at the National Archives in Kew.

  I have shamelessly exploited the hospitality of people I met while travelling. I have been bought drinks, snacks and meals, and have been taken to weddings, meetings, commemorations and parties despite my travel-stained appearance. Thanks to everyone who helped me, and thanks to those who shared their recollections with me too.

  In Moscow, thanks to German Tom for his hospitality, his good company, his inspiring photos and his financial assistance, without which I would have been ruined. In Grozny, thanks to Aslanbek, Arbi and Asya for many good times, and for all your help. In Almaty, thanks to Marusya for fun and a long walk. Thanks also to everyone in Krasnaya Polyana, and above all to Atlan. In Bishkek, thanks to Ivar and Elina for letting me come to your wedding; I wish you happiness together. In Turkey, thanks to Zeynel Besleney, for introducing me to the Circassians. Thanks to Emma for making me feel at home in Istanbul, and thanks also to Aytek in Kayseri, to Ergun, Okan and Setanay in Istanbul, and to Murat in Ankara. In Jordan, thanks to Zaina for introducing me to everyone I could have hoped to meet, and to Amjad Jaimoukha for his help. In Israel, thanks to Kujan for showing me around, and to everyone in Kfar-Kama. Thanks also to Mark Mackinnon in Jerusalem for teaching me how to play the guitar. In the Czech Republic, thanks to Andrei Babitsky for taking time off to help me out, and for allowing me to see his video. In Dagestan, thanks to Abu-Talib, for being brilliant. In Austria, thanks to Joachim for putting me up. In Belgrade, thanks to Ellie for being great.

  Some of my material dates back to the time I worked as a journalist in Moscow, when I was blessed with my colleagues.

  At Reuters, thanks to Maria Golovnina, Meg Clothier, Tom Miles, Tom Peter, Ron Popeski, Richard Balmforth, Olga Petrova, Kolya Pavlov, Dima Madorsky, Nino Ivanishvili, Sog Afdjei, Viktor Korotayev, Sergei Karpukhin, Eduard Korniyenko, Kazbek Basayev, Maka Antidze and Niko Mchledishvili. And, outside Reuters, thanks above all to Yana Dlugy and Simon Ostrovsky. I wish all competitors could be like them.

  This book is for Adlan Khasanov, who deserved to live for ever. Rest in Peace, my friend.

  Index

  Page numbers in italics refer to maps.

  Abadzekhs

  Abayeff family

  Abazi, Selim

  Abdulaziz, Sultan

  Abdulkhadzhiev, Aslambek

  Abdurakhman (son-in-law and chronicler of Imam Shamil)

  Abkhaz language

  Abkhazia

  Abkhazians

  abreks (outlaws)

  Abubakarov, Magomed

  Achkhoi-Martan

  Adapazari

  Adler

  Adygea

  Afghanistan

  Agumba, Jihan

  Aguzarov, Tamerlan (judge)

  Aideboloff family

  Akchakale

  Akhtougan

  Akhulgo

  Akmola

  al-Gilani, Suleiman

  al-Sadoun, Nasser

  Alazani river

  Aldridge, Ira

  Aldy

  Alexander I, Tsar

  Alexander II, Tsar

  Alexander III, Tsar

  Ali bin al-Hussein, Prince

  Alimkhadzhiyev, Sultan

  Alkhan Yurt

  Alkhankala

  Almaty

  Alps

  Altan, Afitap

  ‘aluminium wars’

  Aminat (wife of Imam Shamil)

  Amman

  Anapa

  Anatolia

  Andalal

  Annenkov, Ivan

  Appayev, Taubi

  Applebaum, Anne, Gulag

  Arab Legion

  Argonauts

  Argun

  Argun river

  Arkhipo-Osipovka

  Armenia

  Armenian genocide (1915)

  Ascherson, Neal, Black Sea

  Assyrians

  Astana

  asylum seekers, Chechen

  Ataturk, Mustafa Kemal

  Austria, Chechen population

  Austro-Hungarian Empire

  Avar language

  Avars

  Avturi

  Aytek (Circassian in Kayseri)

  Azerbaijan

  Azeris

  Azov Sea

  Babitsky, Andrei

  Baddeley, John F.

  The Rugged Flanks of the Caucasus

  The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus

  Baisiev, Mukhadin

  Baisungur (lieutenant of Imam Shamil)

  Baksan valley

  Baku

  Balballi

  Balkarokoff family

  Balkars

  Cherek massacre

  culture and folklore

  deportation of

  discrimination against

  ethnicity

  excised from reference books

  exile in central Asia

  government and social organization

  homeland

  Islam

  language

  return to Caucasus

  uprisings against Soviet collectivization

  Westerners’ first encounters with

  Balkashino

  Bammate, Haidar

  Baranov, Alexander

  Barozzi (Ottoman medical inspector)

  Baryatinsky, Prince Alexander

  Basayev, Shamil

  Bashiev family

  Bashkirs

  Bedouins

  Belarus

  Belaya Rechka

  Belgatoi

  Belgium

  Bell, James

  Benoi/Benoy

  Beria, Lavrenty

  Berlin

  Berzegov, Murat

  Berzhe, Adolf

  Beslan school siege (2004)

  Kulayev’s trials

  Bestuzhev, Alexander (‘Alexander Marlinsky’)

  Ammalat Bek

  Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Mikhail

  Beybulat

  Bezengi

  Bibulatov, Khasan ‘Dedushka’

  Bichegov-Begoshvili family

  Bigaeva, Sveta

  bin Laden, Osama

  Birsanukayev, Lechi

  Bishkek

  Bisultanov, Apti

  Black Sea

  ferries

  Blumenbach, Johann Friedrich

  Bolsheviks

  Borrell, Josep

  Bran, Chen

  bride-stealing

  Britain

  and Circassian genocide

  claims to control in Caucasus

  Crimean War

  First World War

  and slave trade

  tourism in Caucasus

  Buddhism

  Budyonnovsk hospital siege (1995)

  buffalo, Caucasus

  Bulgaria

  Bursa

  Buturlin, Dmitry

  Buynaksk

  Byron, George, 6th Baron

  Canning, Stratford (later1st Viscount Stratford de Redcliffe)

  Cape Adler

  Carinthia

  Caspian Sea

  Catherine II, the Great, Empress of Russia

  Caucasus Cavalry Division

  Caucasus Imamate

  Caucasus Mountain Republic

  Caucasus mountains

  Cej, Musa

  censorship

  Chavchavadze, Prince David

  Chavchavadze, Princess Anna

  Chavchavadze, Princess Orbeliani

  Chechen diaspora

  in Austria

&n
bsp; in France

  in Jordan

  in Norway

  in Poland

  in Turkey

  Chechen flag

  Chechen language

  Chechen National Congress (1990)

  Chechen war (1994 – 6)

  ceasefire

  death toll

  destruction of Grozny

  outbreak

  savagery of

  use of torture

  Chechen war (1999 – )

  announcement of ending of

  ‘cleansing’ of Chechen villages

  death toll

  destruction of Grozny

  effects on other Caucasus peoples

  ‘filtration camps’

  human rights abuses

  media coverage

  outbreak

  psychological effects on children

  savagery of

  terrorist tactics

  use of torture

  see also Beslan school siege

  Checheno-Ingushetia

  Chechens

  blood feuds

  criminal gangs

  deportation of

  exile in Central Asia

  folklore and culture

  historic conflicts with Russians

  independence aims

  Islam

  Kavkaz (nationalist movement)

  lone wolf symbol

  migrants and asylum seekers

  murdered in Europe

  national reawakening

  polygamy

  refugees

  reputation for brutality

  return to Caucasus

  terrorism

  traditional government and social organization

  zikr (prayer ritual)

  Chechnya

  blackmarket

  inter-Chechen wars government

  Islamic law

  oil wells

  Ramzan Kadyrov government

  Russian forts