Marina Lagutina on Vesti.FM: "The peoples of the South Caucasus made a huge contribution to the military victories of Russia"

The representatives  of the South Caucasus’ peoples showed courage and selflessness many times, becoming the heroes of Russia’s and later the Soviet Union’s military campaigns, an expert of Vestnik Kavkaza, Marina Lagutina, said today during a live broadcast of the National Question program on Vesti.FM.

"The National Question is a weekly program on Vesti.FM, during which various aspects of the national relations, primarily in Russia, are discussed. Today’s program was dedicated to the role played by the representatives of the South Caucasus’ the peoples in the centuries-old history of Russia.

Marina Lagutina recalled that there were many heroes in the history of our country. The expert paid attention to the fates of the Georgian ‘Savior of the Motherland’, the Azerbaijani ‘Artillery God’ and the Armenian ‘Queen of Heaven’, who made an exceptional contribution to Russia's military victories.

According to her, Peter Ivanovich Bagration can be called the most famous Georgian in Russian history. "First, we can say, that Bagration became one of the initiators of the guerrilla movement, he gained this idea during the Russo-Swedish war of 1808-1809, seeing the successful actions of the Finnish partisans. After that he transferred this experience to the Russian land during the Patriotic War of 1812. The second, Pyotr Ivanovich was a real musketeer, which reflected perfectly his fighter’s character. He served in the Caucasian musketeer regiment for five years and rose to the captain there, " the expert said.

Marina Lagutina stressed that exactly Bagration played a decisive role in the battle of Borodino. "He commanded the left flank, which took the main blow of the Napoleonic army. Bagration was so fearless, that he personally led a counterattack of the Russian units, in which up to 20,000 people participated, but unfortunately,  he received a fatal wound during this operation. He received the nickname ‘Savior of the Motherland’ for his feats,’’ she clarified.

No less significant place in the military history of Russia belongs to the Azerbaijani, General Ali Aga Shikhlinsky, a participant of the Russian-Japanese war of 1904-1905, the WW I, as well as the wars in the Caucasus and China. "Shikhlinsky showed amazing courage in the defense of Port Arthur, where he was appointed a commander of the battery. Despite a serious wound of the leg, he continued to command. And the first assault of Port Arthur, undertaken by the Japanese, ended in complete failure due to the precise night shooting of the Russian artillery,’’ the expert explained.

"And then Ali Aga came up with and applied in practice his famous ‘Shikhlinsky triangle’, the original designation reception, and later this method was included in the military textbooks not only in Russia, but also in Europe, and it was used by the European armies as well. No Russian or Soviet military historian could do without resorting to the most valuable information gathered in his military memoirs. General Shikhlinsky was nicknamed ‘the God of Artillery’  for the incredible talent in the field of military art,’’ she said.

The first Armenian pilot in the Soviet Union, Asya Vanyan, went to the front as a volunteer with the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. "Once, after shooting down the fascist plane, the engine of her fighter decayed. Not willing to jump with a parachute to avoid being captured, the pilot sent the plane into a cluster of the enemy equipment, destroying three aircraft, an ammunition depot, many soldiers and enemy officers, " the expert of Vestnik Kavkaza said.

Fortunatelly, the girl survived after the cash: she was thrown back to the positions of the Soviet troops. "The wounded Vanyan was sent to the hospital, and after a while the girl recovered, returned to the army and reached Germany. The real name of the pilot is Tagui, which means ‘queen’ in Armenian. Therefore, she deserved the nickname ‘Queen of Heaven’,’’ the analyst said.

‘’There were the representatives of the Transcaucasus in every military campaign of Russia. They played a very important role in our victories,’’ Marina Lagutina concluded.