Caucasus Peoples Research Articles

Development trends and main aspects of language policy of Soviet state in the autonomous regions of the North Caucasus (1920-ies – early 1930-ies)

The relevance of the topic lies in the fact that Soviet state purposefully formed legal and socio-cultural norms of language policy, achieving mass literacy in regional languages and a qualitative increase in the status of these languages. The tasks of language policy in the autonomous regions of the North Caucasus are particularly difficult. The purpose of the work is to determine the development trends and the main aspects of language policy of Soviet state in the autonomies of the North Caucasus Region in the 1920-ies – early 1930-ies. The article is based on the methodology of constructivism, systematic and comparative analysis. The source base of the article includes unpublished documents of party and state authorities, the results of censuses, speeches of political figures, articles by publicists. The novelty of the article consists in a systematic study of such aspects as the formation of writing and literature in the languages of the North Caucasus peoples, the elimination of illiteracy in their native languages, the replacement of the Arabic alphabet with Latin, the translation of office texts from Russian into regional languages, the unification of the alphabets of the languages of the North Caucasus, quotas for speakers of regional languages in government bodies. The activity of organizations implementing the Latinized alphabet: the National Commission of the North Caucasus Regional Committee of the VKP(b), the National Council under the Regional Executive Committee of Councils, the Regional National Publishing House, etc. is evaluated. The results of the language reform in the North Caucasus were contradictory and not efficient. Resources for the introduction of regional languages as the main ones in the education system, propaganda, and official records are limited. The causes of this problem were: the low level of literacy of the population, the weakness of publishing houses, the lack of educated teachers and journalists with knowledge of regional languages.

Yaşar, Murat. The North Caucasus Borderland: Between Muscovy and the Ottoman Empire, 1555-1605. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2022. 272 Sayfa, ISBN: 9781474498692

Based on a comparative analysis of the Ottoman and Muscovite diplomatic correspondence, this book presents a historical account of the North Caucasus peoples from 1555 to 1605, when Russia expanded into the region. The North Caucasus becomes a contested borderland, with the Ottomans, Safavids, Crimean Khanate, and Muscovy competing for influence externally, and the Nogays, Cossacks, Dagestanis, and Circassians internally. This elaborate interplay of cooptation, persuasion, loyalty, and betrayal eventually led to the Ottomans and Dagestani allies expelling the Muscovites from the region.

The 10th-Century Arab Geographers Al-Istakhri and Ibn Hawqal on Qabq

For the first time in Russian historiography, this paper provides information on the 10th-century Qabq history through translation, commentary and comparative analysis of excerpts from the Arabic geographical work Kitab al-masalik wa-l-mamalik (The Book of Routes and Kingdoms) by al-Istakhri and from the account of the same title written by Ibn Hawqal, which concern the history of the Caucasus peoples. The data on polities, the Caspian Sea as well as on other localities of the Eastern Caucasus given by both authors significantly complement those supplied by preceding writers. The paper established that information on Qabq in the works by al-Istakhri and by Ibn Hawqal provided, respectively, in chapters Armenia, Arran and Azerbaijan and Khazar Sea coincides in general and varies only in some parts of the text. It is noteworthy that Ibn Hawqals text is much more detailed than that of al-Istakhri. Moreover, I used a critical approach to N.A. Karaulovs translation of excerpts from the above-mentioned works of al-Istakhri and Ibn Hawqal and established that his translation not only contains some stylistic flaws and interpretative errors, but also omits certain fragments from both Arabic texts. The results of this research will greatly enrich researchers understanding of the early medieval historical geography of Qabq. It can also be used to further the source studies for the writing of a medieval history of the Caucasus.

Отмена феодально-зависимых отношений на Восточном Кавказе

Importance. The study of the processes that took place on the Russian Empire outskirts, contributes to their further consideration and comparison with similar processes that took place in the center, as a Russian history comprehensive research is connected with the history of its different regions. Dependent estates types in the East Caucasus and their liberation from feudal dependence in the second half of the 19th century are considered. The importance of the research is determined by the importance of substantiating the peasant reform process, its connection with the various factors that pushed for the implementation of the reform in the territory. The purpose of the research is to identify the negative and positive aspects that influenced the fate of the East Caucasus peoples and the region development in connection with the reform. Materials and Methods. The object of the research is different types of dependent class in the East Caucasus. The methods of description, synthesis, objectivity principle, historical-comparative method, etc. are used when considering the topic of the research. Archival materials and published sources are involved. Results and Discussion. The categories of dependent people in Chechnya, Ingushetia and Daghestan are categorized, and their rights also described. It is noted that the work on the liberation of dependent estates in the Caucasus began in 1866, while the serfdom issue in the Terek region was completed by the end of 1867 and in the Daghestan region – in 1868. Conclusion. The peasant reform carried out by the Russian authorities in the East Caucasus was half-hearted and partial. Having granted freedom to some categories of dependent estates, which was positive in the reform, it did not solve the land issue. In addition, in the Daghestan region peasants dependent on beks received freedom only in 1913.

Военно-политическая и административно-хозяйственная деятельность генерала Г.А. Ема-нуеля на Кавказе (1826–1831)

The article handles the military-political and administrative-economic activity aspects of General G.A. Emanuel as commander of the troops on the Caucasian line, in the Black Sea and Astrakhan, head of the Caucasian region. His contribution to the settlement of interethnic relations in the Central Caucasus is indicated. G.A. Emanuel preferred to use diplomatic methods instead of mili-tary punitive methods, whereby several ethnic groups voluntarily became part of the Russian Em-pire. But, against the Circassians of the Western Caucasus on his instructions, military punitive expeditions were conducted. Activities of G.A. Emanuel had a significant impact on the situation of Central Caucasus peoples: he organized the bringing of some peoples into the citizenship of the Russian Empire and established their political and administrative integration into the Russian Empire. In the process of administrative practice, he organized and conducted the first military scientific expedition to Elbrus in 1829. It can be concluded that the actions of G.A. Emanuel were aimed at integrating the peoples of the Caucasus with the Russian Empire in more civilized ways than those who held this position before and after him.

Zakariya al-Qazwini’s Al-Aja’ib al-Makhluqat wa al-Gharaib al-Mawjudat and Athar al-Bilad wa Akhbar al-‘Ibad on the Eastern Caucasus: Source Studies

This paper provides new information on Dagestans history in the 6th13th centuries through translation, commentary and comparative analysis of excerpts from the Arabic geographical works Ajaib al-Makhluqat wa al-Gharaib al-Mawjudat (Marvels of Creatures and Strange Things Existing) and Athar al-Bilad wa Akhbar al-Ibad (Monuments of Places and History of Gods Bondsmen) by Zakariya al-Qazwini (d. 1283), which concern the history of the Caucasus peoples. The early Arabic accounts in question are not strictly geographical works supplied with astronomical, descriptive data, but a type of book which provides valuable information on historical geography as well as on religion, culture, ethnology, flora and fauna of the Muslim world. As for the reports on religious, cultural and economic life of the region, Qazwini often refers to al-Garnati and repeats data provided by geographers of the 9th13th centuries about the Caspian Sea, Derbent and the Caucasus in general, with the exception of the original information which is not found by other authors on such Dagestan polities as Tsakhur and Shinaz. Moreover, I used a critical approach to A.R.Shikhsaidovs translation of excerpts from the given works by Zakariya al-Qazwini, which not only contains stylistic and interpretational flaws, but also omits some fragments present in the original Arabic texts.

ALL-RUSSIAN CIVIL IDENTITY IN THE OFFICIAL DISCOURSE OF THE REPUBLICS OF NORTHERN CAUCASUS

The article considers the issue of formation of the all-Russian civil identity, actualized in the domestic political discourse. The paper reviews the phenomenon of identity as a dialogical and discursive phenomenon. In order to determine the main trends in the development of the North Caucasian republics, the author investigates regional practices of implementing the Strategy of State National Policy, internal political and inter-ethnic relations, migration processes. The study emphasizes the necessity of finding special formats of socio- political organization of the subjects of the Northern Caucasus region, expressing not only their local and ethno-cultural characteristics, but coping with the function of consolidation and co-optation of local communities in national socially and politically significant processes. As a result of the analysis of the problem of general civil identity generation the author concludes that these problems are primarily due to the contradictory dichotomy of identification processes that provoke competition and confrontation between ethnic and civil identities. In different objectively proposed circumstances the ambivalent manifestation of identity in the majority of Northern Caucasus peoples can act as a destructive, and a factor in the growth of All-Russian civil identity.

The Institutional Aspect of the Incorporation of the Central Caucasus Peoples into Russia in 1793—1822

The article explores the institutional aspect of the incorporation of the peoples of the Central Caucasus into the political and legal space of the Russian Empire on the example of the activities of the Mozdok Upper Border Court (1793—1822). Among the main areas of such incorporation, the court considers the application of Russian normative acts in decision-making, the legitimization of concluded and the certification of concluded contracts and transactions, the recognition and consolidation of the social status of representatives of the local population, and the use of institutions of justice unusual to the traditional legal consciousness of the highlanders. Attention is drawn to the formation of socionormative pluralism in the region, when the norms of adat, Muslim and Russian law were applied in resolving disputes and conflicts.Issues related to difficulties of inter-language communication of the court with subordinate institutions are considered. Examples of the issuance of mortgage letters by the court are considered as a guarantee of the fulfillment of property obligations assumed by the participants in the proceedings. Information is given on the introduction of the institution of attorneys in the practice of the border court. It is concluded that all this was one of the mechanisms for subsequently forming the origins of Russian civic identity among representatives of the local population.

АРХЕТИП ОБРАЗА УРУЗМАГА В НАРТОВСКОМ ЭПОСЕ ОСЕТИН

В статье на материале нартовского эпоса осетин рассматривается образ Урузмага, выступающего во многих сюжетах главным героем. Образ Урузмага относится к старшему поколению нартовских героев. Актуальность данного исследования заключается в сакральности рассматриваемого образа, выступающего центральной фигурой нартовских сказаний осетин, выявление архетипа которого дает возможность представить целостную картину мифологической структуры эпоса. Научная новизна данной статьи состоит в том, что впервые предлагается изучение образа Урузмага в неразрывной связи с мифологической системой нартовского эпоса. Целью и задачей исследования является выявление архетипа образа Урузмага и определение его роли в эпических сказаниях. Исследование проводится в рамках типологического и сравнительно-исторического метода с элементами структурного анализа. Архетип образа Урузмага восходит к образу мифологического царя/вождя. Многие сюжеты с главным героем Урузмагом отражают инициационные мотивы, в которых он выступает в роли иницианта. Особое внимание уделяется семиотическому анализу так называемого брака первопредков через инцест. Результаты исследования показали, что архетип образа Урузмага наглядно демонстрирует трехчастную структуру модели мира и способствует раскрытию мифологической системы нартовского эпоса осетин. Автор приходит к выводу, что инициационные мифы, в которых инициантом выступает сам Урузмаг, демонстрируют о приобретении им статуса старшего/вождя/царя, он фактически является царем всего нартовского общества. Урузмаг всегда проявляет свои лучшие качества мудреца и воина, тем самым подтверждая свой статус лидера, а в некоторых сюжетах выступает и как культурный герой. Преодолевая, в отличие от остальных нартов, различные испытания, он каждый раз выходит победителем, в результате чего нарты вынуждены признать его главенствующую роль. Таким образом, образ нартовского Урузмага отражает архетип мифологического царя/вождя/старшего. Автор заключает, что изучение архетипа образа Урузмага требует дальнейшего, более углубленного и широкого исследования не только на основе нартовского эпоса осетин, но и на основе эпических сказаний кавказских народов о нартах, что позволит выявить как национальное своеобразие рассматриваемого образа, так и общие его типологические черты. The article considers the archetype of the image of Uruzmag in epic stories of Ossetians about Nart. The archetype of Uruzmags image, which belongs to the older generation of Narts heroes, goes back to the image of a mythological king/leader. The relevance of this study lies in the sacrality of the image under consideration, which acts as the central figure of the Nartic stories of Ossetians, the identification of the archetype of which gives an opportunity to present a holistic picture of the mythological structure of the epic. The scientific novelty of this article is that for the first time it is proposed to study the image of Uruzmag in an inextricable connection with the mythological system of the Nartic epic. The aim and purpose of the study is to identify the archetype of Uruzmags image and to determine its role in epic stories. The study is carried out within the framework of a typological and comparative-historical method with elements of structural analysis. The archetype of Uruzmags image goes back to that of a mythological king/leader. Many of the stories with the main character Uruzmag reflect the initiation motives in which he acts as the initiator. Special attention is paid to the semiotic analysis of the so-called marriage of the primaries through incest. The results of the study showed that the archetype of Uruzmags image clearly demonstrates the three-part structure of the world model and contributes to the discovery of the mythological system of the Nartic epic of Ossetians. The author concludes that the initiation myths, in which Uruzmag himself is the initiator, demonstrate that he has acquired the status of senior/chief/king, he is in fact the king of the whole Nartic society. Uruzmag always shows his best qualities as a wise man and warrior, thus confirming his status as a leader, and in some stories acts as a cultural hero. Overcoming, unlike the rest of the narts, various trials, he comes out the winner every time, as a result of which the narts are forced to recognize his dominant role. Thus, the image of Nartic Uruzmag reflects the archetype of the mythological king/leader/elder. The author concludes that the study of the archetype of Uruzmags image requires further, more in-depth and wide-ranging research not only on the basis of the Nartic epic of Ossetians, but also on the basis of epic stories of the Caucasus peoples about narts, which will allow to reveal both the national specificity of the image under consideration and its general typological features.

Karachai-Balkar Literature and Ethnic Identity Problems

In the modern period, the problem of bilingualism in the literary-artistic aspect is connected both with the study of the speech characteristics of characters in artistic works and with the analysis of the literature created by bilingual writers and perceived by bilingual societies. In the formation and development of the artistic literary school in the North Caucasus, the dissemination and study of Arabic and Russian languages was very important. The article traces the dynamics of the development of bilingualism in the artistic prose of the North Caucasus peoples (XIX - beginning of the XXI century). The novelty of the research is due to the cultural approach to the analysis of bilingualism as an important phenomenon that reflects mental, ethnocultural and universal spiritual values.

FEATURES OF PSYCHOLOGISM IN THE WORKS OF MUSSA BATCHAEV

The article examines the features of the psychological analysis in the works of M. Batchaev. The purpose of the article is to examine the main methods of psychologism in the creativity of Batchaev. The results of the study are connected with the study of the methods of psychological image in the works of Batchaev, with different visual and expressive possibilities. The study revealed the main means of psychologization in the story “When ancestors condemn”, where the narration is conducted in the first person. The advantages of the author's psychological narration are discussed by the example of the story "Two." The field of application of the results lies in the fact that these articles can be used to further study the methods of psychological analysis in the literatures of the North Caucasus peoples.

Subject and Thematic Field of Gastronomic Journalism: from Entertaining Content to the Issues of Russian National Policy

Bringing up to date the issue of mass media typology, the authors of the article research such line of modern journalism as gastronomic journalism. As far as this topic has not been studied well enough yet, journalistic periodicals (social and political, business, geographical, gastronomic magazines, tabloids for men and women), television programs (“Rare People” at the channel “My Planet”, “Russia, My Love!” at the channel ‘Russia-Culture”, the content of breakfast broadcasting of “the First Channel”) and the multimedia project of the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union “This is Caucasus” (section “A Good Taste”) are analyzed. The objective of the article is to determine the subject thematic range of gastronomic journalism, by studying the gastronomic content of mass media, and also to consider the functions of gastronomic journalism in the context of Media representations of peoples’ ethnic culture, namely of the indigenous minorities of Russia and of the North Caucasus peoples. In the course of the analysis, the features of the gastronomic topic in the representation context of the Russia peoples’ ethnic culture are revealed, the role of gastronomic journalism in terms of implementation of the strategy objectives of the Russian Federation State National Policy for the period up to 2025 as far as spreading knowledge about the peoples’ history and culture is concerned. To determine the effective resources of gastronomic journalism such methods and approaches as system, semiotic, cultural, typological and content analysis are used. A definition of gastronomic journalism, which determines the direction of studies of mass media and media in general, is given in this article. The authors come to the conclusion that not only recreational, advertising and informative but also cultural and educational functions of journalism are implemented through the gastronomic topic. Moreover, the importance of studying gastronomic journalism for education of journalism students and future caterers is considered in the article. A topical issue of gastronomic journalism development in Russian regions is emphasized.

Внутрисемейный этикет кумыков в XIX — начале XX веков

The article considers the family etiquette of Kumyks of 19 th - early 20 th centuries on the basis of existing scientific works devoted to the life of Caucasus peoples, and expedition material collected by the author of the article. Various aspects of intra-family etiquette relationships of Kumyks in the specified period are shown. Various etiquette situations, roles and statuses of each family member are recreated and analyzed in detail. The question is raised about the conditionality of the relations of supremacy and unquestioning subordination of one family member to another within the framework of etiquette and observance of mandatory norms of behaviour. The relevance of this study is due to the interest in the identity of family relations of different peoples against the background of globalization processes, often devaluing the role of the family. It is indicated that the culture of behaviour, in particular etiquette relations, are based on ethical norms that have been formed in society and in the family as part of it for centuries. This study examines the family relationships in Kumyks, which are regulated by certain etiquette rules. Particular attention is paid to family etiquette in various forms of the family - large (undivided) ( уллу агълю - in Kumyk language) and small (nuclear) ( бир уьй агълю - in Kumyk language) that existed in the study period in Kumyks.

РЕПРЕЗЕНТАЦИЯ ЭТНИЧНОСТЕЙ В РУССКОЯЗЫЧНЫХ СОЦИАЛЬНЫХ МЕДИА

The paper presents the results of a study based on the Big Data paradigm analysis. The study aims at defining the features of the ethnic discourse in the Russian-speaking social media and the place of the North Caucasus ethnicities in this discourse. The informational basis for the study is 2,659,849 social media publications containing ethnonyms. The author concludes that the ethnic discourse is full of problematic topics mainly discussed by male participants. The study shows that the ethnonyms related to the North Caucasus peoples are often used in the context of crime and terrorism.

Familial Mediterranean fever in Russia: Experience of the Federal Rheumatology Center

The paper gives the experience of the V.A. Nasonova Research Institute of Rheumatology in identifying and managing patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF). Objective: to describe the features of the disease in patients with FMF in Russia and to compare them with the data obtained in the study of Turkish and Armenian populations with a high incidence of this disease. Patients and methods. The investigation enrolled 23 patients with a documented diagnosis of FMF who met the Turkish pediatric criteria (F. Yalcinkaya et al.) and/or the criteria described by A. Livnech et al. and had two identical mutations (homozygosity) or two different mutations (compound heterozygosity) in the MEFV gene. Among the patients there were 9 men and 14 women. The age of the patients at the time of treatment was 4.5 to 36 years. Their age at onset of FMF was 2 months to 15 years (mean age, 3.2±2.3 years). Results. The examination established that 18 (78.3%) patients were Armenians, 3 were representatives of the North Caucasus peoples (a Darghin woman, an Avar man, and an Ingush/Kabardian man), a man from mixed (Greek/Georgian) marriage, and a Russian woman whose ancestors were Armenian and Jewish. The most common manifestation of FMF were recurrent episodes of fever (22; 95.7%); abdominal pain with fever ranked second (19; 82.6%), followed by chest pain (11; 47.8%), locomotor apparatus lesion (16; 69.6%), and skin lesions (7; 30.4%). The episodes were accompanied by increased levels of acutephase markers in 100% of the patients. There were a high proportion of patients, in whom FMF was concurrent with other rheumatic and autoinflammatory diseases (juvenile chronic arthritis, chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis, and acute rheumatic fever) (7; 30.4%). Twenty-two (95.6%) patients received colchicine; the tumor necrosis factor inhibitor etanercept was prescribed in 2 (8.7%) patients with comorbidity; there was a pronounced therapeutic effect. Conclusion. Although the majority of our patients were Armenians, the disease was also identified in those belonging to the peoples of the North Caucasus and Transcaucasia and in one Russian female patient. There has generally been a fairly typical picture of the disease. The considerable frequency of joint damage and the high proportion of patients with comorbid rheumatic diseases have engaged our attention. From a diagnostic point of view, of importance is the elevated level of acutephase markers during a disease attack, which in combination with the clinical and ethnic characteristics of patients allows the diagnosis of FMF to be suspected.

RELIGIOUS AND ETHNIC IDENTITY OF THE SOUTH-WEST AND SOUTH-EAST CAUCASUS’ MUSLIMS: THE SUBSTANCE AND RATIO SPECIFICS

The article considers the results of a social-psychological research on the ethnic and religious (Muslim) identity of the ethnic groups in the Northern Caucasus: Chechens, Ingushes, Karachays, Balkars and Adyghes. The article also describes the substance of ethnic and religious identity and its particular components. Proceeding from the empirical data, the conclusion is made about the diversity of correlations between ethnicities and religious identities of the North Caucasus peoples.

The March Events and Baku Commune of 1918

This article investigates the March Events of 1918: city-wide fighting for control of Baku that involved the Bolshevik party, the Red Guards, and various Armenian and Azerbaijani militias. Besides many of these combatants, thousands of innocent Azerbaijanis and others (Caucasus peoples and Persians) perished in the hostilities. Focusing on the Events as an exercise of power and violence, I argue that the establishment of the Baku Commune (like the later formation of the multi-national Soviet Union) was indivisible from these circumstances of national and sectarian war. Drawing from Azerbaijani sources long-suppressed by the Communist regime, I recount some of the key contexts, mechanics, and legacies of the Events. As an elucidation of the facts, this study sets out to help historians calibrate their interpretations, better weigh the nature of Soviet power, and refine what we usually term “Armenian” or “Azerbaijani” aggression. These peoples were not preternaturally disposed to violence. Suffering was not the exclusive province of either community. Rather, political strategies have drawn them into cycles of violence and bonds of recrimination that have recurred sporadically into the present day.

Editors’ Pick: A real Caucasian and the genetic investigation of Caucasus peoples

Referring to Europeans as Caucasians, as still regularly done in the medical and less frequently in the population genetic literature, most often is not justified according to modern scientific views. This term, first mentioned in 1785 by Christoph Meiners, was picked up by Johann Friedrich Blumenbach in his 1795 suggestion of dividing the human world population into 5 groups (Caucasians, Mongolians, Ethiopians, Americans, and Malays). Nevertheless, a Caucasian classification can still be formally correct if it refers to people who originate from the Caucasus region. One real Caucasian, the molecular anthropologist Dr. Ivan (Vano) Nasidze (Figure ​(Figure1),1), recently passed away, suddenly and unexpectedly. Although this was a huge shock for everybody who knew Vano, in particular his family and his close colleagues, the way he died seemed the preferred one for many of us similarly passionate scientists who seem unable to live without scientific work. If only, however, it would occur several decades later in life than for Vano who unfortunately did not reach his 48 birthday. He died instantly while working at his office computer at the Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig, Germany. Figure 1 Ivan (Vano) Nasidze, 1964 – 2012. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Ivan Nasidze was a real Caucasian; not only born and raised in Tblisi (Georgia), he dedicated almost all of his professional life to the genetic investigation of human population relationships and history in the Caucasus region. His latest (and now last) in a series of articles on this topic was published in September last year in the European Journal of Human Genetics[1]. Using complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes (whereas traditionally only the mtDNA control region - HV1 - is applied) Nasidze and his colleagues found astonishingly high genetic diversity with 144 different sequences and 97 haplogroups among 147 individuals tested. Strikingly, all of the Georgians, Armenians and Iranians (the latter used for comparison) had different mtDNA sequences, while for the Azeri and the Turks (the latter used for comparison) minor within-group haplotype sharing was observed. These data once again underline the extremely high genetic diversity of the Caucasus people as result of a very complex population history. Nasidze and his coauthors confirmed their previous findings that Indo-European-speaking Armenians and Turkic-speaking Azeri are more closely related genetically to Caucasian-speaking groups in the Caucasus than to other Indo-European-speaking and Turkic-speaking groups. The language shift in the Caucasus, which Nasidze’s previous work already had highlighted, was confirmed with this study. However, in contrast to his previous work using solely HV1, these whole mtDNA genome data now indicate some maternal genetic relationship between Turks and Azeri (both Turkic-speaking groups) suggesting that the language shift in the Azeri probably did involve some maternal gene flow from Turks. Hence, applying current next generation sequencing technology to anthropological questions, Nasidze with this work partly confirmed his earlier findings but also revealed new insights into the human genetic history of the Caucasus. Moreover, this study shows, as may be expected, that individuals with identical HV1 sequence are clearly differentiated based on their whole mtDNA genome data, which has significance for anthropological and also forensic studies. I will miss Vano as a friendly and cooperative colleague who was deeply committed to explore the genetic history of the Caucasus peoples with various molecular approaches (including Y-chromosomal and autosomal DNA variation). I sincerely hope that Dr. Ivan Nasidze will be remembered for his important contributions to the investigative genetics and the molecular anthropology of the Caucasus for a long time to come.

Territoriality and the onset of mass violence: the political extremism of Joseph Stalin

This study seeks to understand Stalin's murderous behavior by analyzing the nexus between his personal history and that of Georgia-Russia. It explores the intimate connection between territoriality, a major concern of international relations scholars, and Stalin's propensity for mass violence. The ephemeral gain provides this connection in the form of a social psychological basis for humiliation-shame, perceptions of injustice leading to anger, and the threat and consequent fear of reversion to a subordinate condition vis-à-vis the West. An ephemeral gain exists when a severe loss or the threat of its imminent occurrence (territory, population), typically perceived as a catastrophe, is preceded by a period of societal gain, which in turn was preceded by a period of subordination. Stalin's political biography demonstrates the ephemeral gain in two consecutive cycles. Further empirical support is found in the form of Stalin's open expressions of shame at the territorial losses to Japan stemming from the Russo–Japanese War, and open hostility including murderous behavior toward the Poles, another agent of defeat and territorial loss (in 1920). This interpretation is extended to Stalin's genocidal behavior toward four North Caucasus peoples—the Chechens, Ingush, Kalmyks, and Karachai—deported during World War II.

Anthropology and Genetics of the Caucasus Peoples and the Problem of the Origin of the Caucasoids

The electrophoretical polymorphisms of some blood proteins were studied in the Talysh population of Pirasora situated in South-East Azerbaidjan. We calculated the gene frequencies of these polymorphisms and determined the genetic distances between the Talyshes and some Iranian populations of North, Central and South Iran, Afghans, and three populations of Azerbaijan. The Talyshes are very close to Iranians of Shiraz, whereas they are distant from the Azerbaijanians. Anthropological investigations showed that the Caucasoids and Mongoloids lived in the Aragvi Basin since the Eneolithic period. This was stated by Alexeev (1974), who emphasized the mixture of the Caucasus populations from ancient times on. We calculated the genetic distances between the Caucasus populations and numerous populations of other geographic regions, considering 28 alleles of 12 loci of blood group, serum protein and red cell enzyme polymorphisms and constructed the dendrogram of these populations. The position of the Caucasus populations in the dendrogram corresponds on principle to the earlier anthropological observations. The clustering of the Caucasoid populations corresponds completely with anthropological and historical data, and supports our earlier hypothesis (Nazarova 1999) concerning the differentiation of Caucasoids, Northern Mongoloids and Amerinds from the populations, which inhabitated Asia in palaeolithic times.