Mikhail Myagkov describes historical traditions in the North Caucasus
A major forum dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Caucasus cavalry division formed on August 23, 1914, was organized in Makhachkala in late August. 90% of its attendees were Muslim volunteers from the North Caucasus and Trans-Caucasus, about 3,500 cavalrymen were awarded with Crosses of St. George and For Courage Medals of St. George.
Historians from Dagestan and Chechnya spoke at the forum, the Kavkazskiye Volki (Caucasian Wolves) motorbike show was organized, setting several world records in riding motorbikes, folk groups and athletes made performances. “It was all held at a very high level and covered by mass media, members of the government of the Dagestani republic were present. Proposals were voiced, including construction of a memorial for warriors, cavalrymen of the Caucasus division in Dagestan, maybe in Chechnya and other republics of the North Caucasus,” Mikhail Myagkov, a Doctor of Historical Sciences, the science director of the Russian Military Historical Society, told Vestnik Kavkaza.
In his words, the Savage Division “consisted of natives of many Caucasian peoples: Dagestanis, Chechens, Ingushetians, Karachayans. They were all consolidated with the willingness to join the Russian Army as volunteers to fight for united Russia, the tsar, to beat the enemy who had attacked their lands. There were different regiments: the Dagestani regiment, the Chechen regiment. But they all fought heroically. Before WWI, the Russian army had no natives of Muslim peoples of the North Caucasus and Central Asia. Formation of such a division was also a path of adaptation to common Russian origins of natives of different peoples of Russia. It was a very successful experience.”
According to Myagkov, “the Caucasian division fought on different fronts: against the Germans, against the Austrians in Galicia. It was united by the fact that soldiers – they were called cavalrymen of the Caucasian division – treated each other as brothers. They often saved each other in different combat situations. Nikolai II’s brother, Grand Duke Prince Mikhail, was the chief of the division. He was worshipped as the supreme ruler, equal to the tsar.”
Myagkov noted at the Makhachkala forum that “attention was quickly drawn to the fact that the fate of Russia and Dagestan, the North Caucasus peoples and Russia were interlaced very closely. The formation of the cavalry division itself happened just 40-50 years after the end of the Caucasian War… They managed to forget, moreover, the grievances, the blood spilt in the years of the Caucasian War became history. They crossed that line and united to fight against a common threat, they had a common goal, a common ambition.”
The historian believes that the division was unique experience that “should be preserved today, including in construction of the modern Russian armed forces, in educating young people. Because all the events, the Anniversary of the Caucasian Division Forum, are one way or another connected with making the young generation in the North Caucasus and Russia remember their ancestors, know that how they fought, what they did in the years of WWI.
Mikhail Myagkov describes historical traditions in the North CaucasusA major forum dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Caucasus cavalry division formed on August 23, 1914, was organized in Makhachkala in late August. 90% of its attendees were Muslim volunteers from the North Caucasus and Trans-Caucasus, about 3,500 cavalrymen were awarded with Crosses of St. George and For Courage Medals of St. George.Historians from Dagestan and Chechnya spoke at the forum, the Kavkazskiye Volki (Caucasian Wolves) motorbike show was organized, setting several world records in riding motorbikes, folk groups and athletes made performances. “It was all held at a very high level and covered by mass media, members of the government of the Dagestani republic were present. Proposals were voiced, including construction of a memorial for warriors, cavalrymen of the Caucasus division in Dagestan, maybe in Chechnya and other republics of the North Caucasus,” Mikhail Myagkov, a Doctor of Historical Sciences, the science director of the Russian Military Historical Society, told Vestnik Kavkaza.In his words, the Savage Division “consisted of natives of many Caucasian peoples: Dagestanis, Chechens, Ingushetians, Karachayans. They were all consolidated with the willingness to join the Russian Army as volunteers to fight for united Russia, the tsar, to beat the enemy who had attacked their lands. There were different regiments: the Dagestani regiment, the Chechen regiment. But they all fought heroically. Before WWI, the Russian army had no natives of Muslim peoples of the North Caucasus and Central Asia. Formation of such a division was also a path of adaptation to common Russian origins of natives of different peoples of Russia. It was a very successful experience.”According to Myagkov, “the Caucasian division fought on different fronts: against the Germans, against the Austrians in Galicia. It was united by the fact that soldiers – they were called cavalrymen of the Caucasian division – treated each other as brothers. They often saved each other in different combat situations. Nikolai II’s brother, Grand Duke Prince Mikhail, was the chief of the division. He was worshipped as the supreme ruler, equal to the tsar.”Myagkov noted at the Makhachkala forum that “attention was quickly drawn to the fact that the fate of Russia and Dagestan, the North Caucasus peoples and Russia were interlaced very closely. The formation of the cavalry division itself happened just 40-50 years after the end of the Caucasian War… They managed to forget, moreover, the grievances, the blood spilt in the years of the Caucasian War became history. They crossed that line and united to fight against a common threat, they had a common goal, a common ambition.”The historian believes that the division was unique experience that “should be preserved today, including in construction of the modern Russian armed forces, in educating young people. Because all the events, the Anniversary of the Caucasian Division Forum, are one way or another connected with making the young generation in the North Caucasus and Russia remember their ancestors, know that how they fought, what they did in the years of W
