By Vestnik Kavkaza
Moscow hosted a round table discussion “The Caucasus in the history of Russia: debatable problems.” It was organized by the History and Philology Department of the RAS and the Modern Russia History Museum.
The session was opened by the general director of the museum Sergey Arkhangelov who noted that the event is aimed at “drawing the attention of society to the problems of development of the North Caucasus which has its own traditions and problematic points.”
Scientists who study the Caucasus from academic institutes and universities of Russia took part in the discussion, as well as experts from major archives and museums. The moderator of the session was the deputy Secretary Academician of the History and Philology Department of the RAS, the head of the Nikolai Mikloukho-Macklay Ethnology and Anthropology Institute, the RAS academician Valery Tishkov.
“Of course, the problems of two recent centuries, the 19th and the 20th centuries, are in focus,” Valery Tishkov said. “It was the time of integration of this region into the Russian Empire. Then, it existed within the Soviet Union, and in the post-Soviet times when three independent states appeared in the South Caucasus. Unlike other regions of the country, for instance, the Volga regions, the Ural region, Siberia, the Far East, this region hasn’t been a part of the common country for so long, and this fact influences the situation.”
Such questions as the geopolitical importance of the Caucasus region, sources of ties between Russia and the Caucasus, the Caucasian War and its consequences, relocation of the Caucasus peoples, problems of the center and the Caucasus, the Caucasus as a contact ethnic cultural area were discussed. As a result of the round table a sourcebook should be published.
