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RF. This decision was supported by the Adyg movements in Kabardin-Balkaria, Adygeya and Krasnodarski krai.
The decisions of the congress were disapproved in Karachai-Cherkessia itself. The leaders of public and public-political organizations of the KCR (movement "Rus", Batalpashinski divisionof the Kuban Cossacks forces, Osssetian organization "Alan", Karachai "Dzhamagat", Nogai "Birlyk" and others) in their declaration interpreted this decision of the congress as a destructive action, ignoring interests of the multi-national people of Karachai-Cherkessia, destabilizing the public-political situation in the KCR and in the North Caucasus as a whole.
Thus, the ethnic-political situation in the KCR keeps a conflict's potential. The KCR needs elaboration and realization of the complex problem of modernization. Only its success is able to liquidate popularity of centrifugal trends in the milieu of ethnic elites and public groups mobilized by them. A special attention should be paid to the support given to the institutions of the civil society aimed at the constructive legal dialogue with the organs of power.
"Fundamentalnye problemy prostranstvennogo razvitiya Yuga Rossii: mezhdistsiplinarny sintez ", R-na-Donu, 2010, p. 305-308.
V. Manatova,
candidate of philosophic sciences (Makhachkala) WILL THE ASERTION ABOUT EXISTENCE OF LOCAL CIVILIZATIONS IN THE NORTH CAUCASUS GO BEYOND THE TALKING STAGE?
The geopolitical unique situation of the Caucasus is quite evident. It is the region, where the religious barrier was displayed and
at the same time the centuries-old reciprocity of Christianity, primarily Orthodoxy, Islam and Buddhism was a long-term tradition; the dominant trade routes passed here. Therefore the Caucasus always turned out to be in the center of struggle among great powers of the ancient times, the Middle Age and the Modern Time, which aspired for realizing not only their military-strategic and economic interests but also urged towards dissemination of their civilization-cultural valuable systems.
The Soviet historians and ethnographers within the framework of formation analysis characterized the Caucasus as a complicatedly structured Caucasian historic-ethnographic province, rather logically separating the Trans-Caucasus and the North-Caucasian cultural region and Dagestan, which was close to it (primarily, in terms of formation models). Given separate questionable problems, the history of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia was quite adequately placed in the theory of social-economic formations adopted by the Soviet science. But it failed to work out the united approach to the typology and the level of development of mountaineers and nomads societies before joining Russia as applied to the peoples of the North Caucasus (including Dagestan), notes V. Chernous. The social relations of mountaineers were qualified as tribal, feudal-slavery, semi-feudal and semi-patriarchic, early-feudal and developed feudal, multi-structural etc.
For the 1970s, academician G. Melikishvivli tried to find out the exit from the existed situation, proposing conception of "mountaineers' feudalism", which was further developed and concretized in works of Georgian ethnographers: Z. Anchabadze, A. Robakidze, G. Togoshvili, R. Khoradze and others. A certain sketchiness and static character of the proposed model as well as the marked typological and staged peculiarities (in particular, the absence of feudal property for land),
which in essence led "mountaineers' feudalism" beyond the limits of the feudal formation, did not satisfy most experts in the Caucasus, although the theoretical research of Georgian scientists stimulated the study of the problem.
For the 1990s, the first steps were taken in order to apply the civilization approach to history of the Caucasus jointly with keeping traditions of systemic analysis characteristic for the research within the framework of formation methodology. R. Abdulatipov, T. Ktsoyeva and other ideologists of "the Caucasian Home" tried to substantiate the hypothesis of "the Caucasian civilization", "the united Caucasian super-ethnos", based on the common historic mentality. To justify lawfulness of elevating the cultural zone of the Caucasus to the rank of a self-dependent civilization some authors stress the following factors mentioned further.
The Caucasus is a mountainous country. The all peoples of the region possess the features connected with the long life in the mountainous natural environment: the peculiarities of economy and daily life, the coincided aspects of pre-Christian and pre-Muslim pagan beliefs, the common elements of myths, the specifics of morals and traditions. The mountaineers possess a peculiar mentality, emotional type, "the sun in blood".
The specifics of economy, plant-growing, handicraft in the mountains and foot-hills had their impact on similar cloths, architectural forms and gastronomic habits. The common destiny, the opposition to the Iranian and Turkish expansion and the dramatic collisions of the Caucasian wars in the XIX century - all this unites the Caucasus.
The tribal and feudal relations are particularly close and rather firm. The life for many centuries far from big events of the world history, the complicated positive and negative relations with Russian
culture and the agrarian and pre-industrial situation for many centuries-all this is actually inherent in life of people in the whole Caucasus.
Many features of spiritual culture coincide. The epos "Narty" has much in common with works of Shota Rustaveli, the verses of Kaisyn Kuliyev resemble works of Rasul Gamzatov.
Even superficial consideration fixes the identical moments of national psychology: the freedom-loving spirit and hot-headed nature, recognition of authority of elders and scrupulous observation of etiquette norms.
The Caucasus is often used to be called "the second Eurasia", the region, where Asian and European cultures are mutually correlated.
But other points of view exist as well. Reflecting the views of the researchers, who study this problem, the works are being published, which orient to description of various models concerning use of civilization approach to the North Caucasus. A. Anikeev develops the conception of the North Caucasian civilization and is occupied with the problem of its typology. The North Caucasian civilization is understood as a "human communal life" at the level of daily life. This term is often used in historic texts as a one of synonyms of civilization. Further, the authors determine the North Caucasian civilization as a peculiar social form of arrangement of human life based on the common principles (law, duty, faith, money etc.).
Despite the growth of the number of works proposing various civilization models for analysis of social-cultural history of the Caucasus or the North Caucasus, this problem was only raised and needs further discussion.
The peoples of the North Caucasus to different degrees were involved in the periphery of the ancient-eastern and antique civilizations and later of Byzantine-Slavonic and the two-vector Islamic (Sunni and Shiite) civilizations. The origins of formation of the
majority of contemporary peoples of the Caucasus as a result of the synthesis of the Caucasian substrata with the migration flows go the Middle-Ages, according to the researchers.
The successors of the East-Christian (Byzantine) civilization remain Armenia and Georgia, while Azerbaijan is a part of Islamic civilization. The mountainous peoples of the Caucasus, being subject to influence of various civilizations, religions and cultures, by the XV-XVI centuries created the "Caucasian mountaineers' civilization" characterized by poly-ethnicity and religious syncretism; this civilization was marked by the correlation of mountains, foothills and plains, which determines mutual connection of terraced land cultivation, Alpine stock breeding and horsemanship, psychological features fixed by peculiar mountaineers' codes, dominance of non-state (but not pre-state) forms of self-organizations, V. Chernous made the supposition. The term "Caucasian mountaineers' civilization" seems to be more preferable than the "North Caucasian" term, since it covers some regions of the Trans Caucasus, is connected with some mountaineers' enclaves in other regions of the world and differs from them primarily in their moral-ethic codes(Adyg, Habze, Apsuara, Namus and others), according to other authors of this conception. Besides, the space of the North Caucasus (including the adjacent territory) was a contact zone of the Caucasian mountaineers' civilization with the world of nomads as well as with the Russian Orthodox civilization.
Having analyzed the specifics of the geographic environment, of the system of economic and political relations, of religious and spiritual values, E. Maiboroda asserts that neither the Caucasus as a whole, nor the North Caucasus ever represented a unique civilization, since the ethnoses of this region existed at different stages of historic development and often differed in the mode of life separated from each
other. And all the more, the sole Caucasian civilization did not and does not exist, being separated in the past by such mighty natural barrier as the Caucasian mountains, while at present - by the processes of disintegration and ethic rivalry.
There is also a point of view of the authors, who consider that several civilizations mutually correlate with each other. A. Bijev writes about existence of an original Adug pre-industrial civilization. A. Ahayev raised the issue of an original civilization in Dagestan. Having analyzed the traditional architecture, jamaat as a social institution, the influence of Arabic Muslim and of Russian culture, he came to the conclusion that Dagestan was an open and a conservative civilization. The culture of Dagestan was not dissolved subject to the strong impact of more developed civilizations. Having accepted Islamic dogmas, the Dagestanis remained faithful to mountaineers' adats. Muridism is another example of a symbiosis of Arabic Muslim dogmas and the mentality of Dagestanis.
Some attempts, which were made to create the united political system in the Caucasus, failed. The first experience of reforming the existed public order in the theocratic state was the attempt arranged by imam Shamil for the sake of uniting the peoples of Dagestan, Chechnya, Adug and Avar principalities for the period of the Caucasian war (1818-1864). The Kabardins remained loyal to Russia. The Ingushis actually did not take part in war, as well as the Balkars and Karachais. The internal contradictions among the peoples involved in Imamat (1834-1859), the refusal of Avar and Adyg princes to recognize some other's leadership led to disintegration of this state. After the Caucasian war the mountaineers' communities came back to the traditional life mode within the Russian empire.
The stage following afterwards may be connected with the process of installation of the Soviet power in the Caucasus and creation
of autonomies for the period of 1920s-1930s. In November 1920, the congress of peoples of Terek, held in Vladikavkaz, proclaimed establishment of the Mountaineers' Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic; In January 1921, the corresponding Decree of the High Central Executive Committee of the RSFSR was adopted. The autonomous entity included Balkaria, Ingushetia, Kabarda, Karachai, North Ossetia and Chechnya. The process of separation in this artificial trans-ethnic entity occurred very soon, and on 7 July of 1924 the Mountaineers' ASSR was dissolved by the Decree of the HCEC.
It becomes evident that the experts in the Caucasus following the theoreticians of civilization conception directly connect the local civilization with existence of the state system. Proceeding from the absence of such united system in the Caucasus, they come to the conclusion that the Caucasus was never an original civilization.
For the beginning of the 1990s, the ideas of the Caucasian centrism were quite popular. It was supposed that the Caucasian centrism might become the theoretical and practical key principle for the peoples of the Caucasus; and it was supposed that it would be the basis of both the inter-Caucasian relations and the relations according to the principle East-Caucasus-West.
On the eve of the XXI century the civilization research became one of the most influential and perspective directions of social sciences. Against the background of the world processes, the question of civilization belonging and the connected problems acquired a special actuality, particularly for the countries and peoples, which were not definitely integrated in some or other civilization unity. Being in the zone of eastern and western civilization contact, periodically they turned out to be included in the frameworks of rather sustainable and sometimes accidental cultural unions. The contemporary western
scientific literature is characterized by various points of view on civilization belonging of the Caucasus and its different parts.
Being guided by certain criteria it is possible to regard the Caucasus as a peculiar sub-civilization, a number of authors think. These criteria were formed for the period of the Middle-Ages or before this period. The civilization represents a unity, but it is not homogeneous; within its limits one may indicate separate unities (sub-civilizations), where there exist certain determined mutual relations. The sub-civilization is a sovereign entity within the civilization, and it has its own system of values, norms and traditions. Should the Caucasus be considered a sub-civilization, it would be necessary to clarify its relations with other sub-civilizations, with neighboring civilizations as well as with the civilization, where it is regarded to be the sub-civilization. K. Katsitadze, having concluded that the Caucasian sub-civilization is a marginal zone among the neighboring civilizations, eliminated the need to comprehend this sub-civilization within the limits of any civilization.
The scientific literature contains the notion of "boundary civilization"; the Iberian-American, the Balkan and the Northern-Eastern Eurasian civilizations are included in the group qualified by this title. The following indications of these civilizations are taken into account: heterogeneity, poly-culture, liability, openness, elasticity, ability to acquire rapidly "alien" experience. These civilizations usually are regarded to be the result of the centuries-old symbiosis and synthesis of different cultures. From this point of view, the Caucasian civilization (sub-civilization) may be regarded as a boundary civilization.
According to the other point of view, the Caucasus represents a line of division among civilizations, the zone of their contacts. This version is described in the known work of S. Hungtinton, who
considers that Georgia, jointly with the whole Caucasus, represents the zone of contact and clash of civilizations. Christianity and Islam oppose each other over there, and one should take into account also political ambitions of the West. The consequence of this situation are the Caucasian conflicts, particularly the conflicts in Karabakh and Chechnya, since, according to S. Hungtinton, the most bloody conflicts in the world emerge exactly on the boundary territories of the civilizations.
Swedish researcher S. Korneli does not share the appraisal by S. Hungtionton of the Caucasian conflicts and regards that the Caucasian opinion of the theoreticians sharing the view on the clash of civilizations as nothing else as the stereotypes and the very simplified analysis of the conflicts. The determining factor in this region is the combination of nationalism and national interests but not the religious-civilization opposition.
The theory proposed by S. Hungtinton was questioned by many experts not only as far as the Caucasian problems are concerned, but it is difficult to disagree with the scientist, when he appraises the Caucasus as a zone of contact, the boundary among civilizations. For the whole period of its history the Caucasus actually represented a contact zone of western and eastern cultures and civilizations. As far as (marked Makfarlain) "the sad Caucasian scenario" allegedly drawn by the theory of S. Hungtinton is concerned, as S. Hungtinton noted himself, the meaning and authenticity of paradigm shall be appraised not by the meaning, whether it makes prediction on all what is going on in global politics, but by the answer to the question, whether it predicts more significant models than other paradigms.
"The peaceful Caucasus" and "the Eurasian corridor" are just the problems of global politics, and the significance of the theory on conflicts of civilizations is proved at least by the fact that it provoked
the search for alternative versions by politicians. The known initiatives of "the peaceful Caucasus" and "dialogue of cultures and civilizations" were the result of this research.
The other version regards the Caucasus as a united cultural space or cultural unity both from the historic and contemporary points of view. Actually, in this case the notion sub-civilization is replaced by the notion "united cultural space". For instance, American researcher R. Suni noted that "side by side with national cultures, regional cultures developed as well... Thus, it is possible to speak about the Central Asian, Caucasian, Baltic, Eastern-Slavonic cultural spaces. For the whole period of its history, the Caucasus repeatedly was a witness to migration and movement of peoples. During these migration processes, the peoples mixed, the ethnic borders disappeared, determining creation of the multi-national Caucasian culture. This culture is very diverse, and at the same time it differs essentially from other cultures".
Some researchers admit the version of probable existence of the Mediterranean civilization and discuss the Balkan-Caucasian type of this civilization unity. This point of view is based on the comparative analysis of psychological features, such as: the orientation to the event or relations; the relations between parents and children; the normative and actual distribution of gender roles.
Thus, all enumerated points of view give us information about great interest to the problems of the Caucasus, which exist in the scientific literature. Despite the lack of unity in the issues of civilization self-determination of the Caucasus, there exist some features, which are cited by all researchers of this problem. Summing up, it is possible to make the following conclusions. All researchers have agreed as follows:
- the Caucasus represents a united cultural space;
- the certain type of mentality is inherent to the ethnoses settled in the Caucasus;
- the existence of the common of traditions;
- the system of life reproduction;
- the normative-legal relations.
To the mind of the author, the Caucasus represents by itself a certain civilization system. Proceeding from this, it is evident that in the Caucasus there exist some local cultures, which are united in the common civilization system.
"Severny Kavkaz v sovremennoy geopolitike Rossii", Makhachkala,2010, s. 203-211.
Arif Yunus,
the director of the department of conflict studies of the Institute of Peace and Democracy (Baku)
AZERBAIJAN HAS BECOME A FACTOR IN ISLAMIC
GLOBAL WAR AGAINST THE WEST
(the interview to IA REGNUM)
IA REGNUM: You are the author of some books about Islam in Azerbaijan, about influence of various radical Islamic groups on the processes going on in Azerbaijan. What is the present scale of growth of Islamic impact on the opposition in Azerbaijan and what trends of its development are expected in the future?
A.Y. In time of my preparation of the first book many people expressed their skeptical attitude to its contents, since it was difficult to believe that political Islam sometimes would become a factor subject to fixed attention to the significant game in the political life in Azerbaijan. It was difficult to believe my prognoses. But the following was evident
