Russian geopolitics in the Caucasus in the second half of the 19th century and Georgia

Abstract

The Caucasus, as a region of significant geostrategic importance, has consistently attracted the attention of major powers seeking to exert influence in Eurasia. From the eighteenth century onward, alongside the Ottoman Empire and Iran, an increasingly powerful Russian state also became involved in the struggle for hegemony over the Caucasus. Russia skillfully exploited, on the one hand, the socio-economic and political challenges of the Caucasian peoples themselves, and, on the other hand, the favorable international circumstances. As a result, by annexing the Kingdom of Kartli-Kakheti in the early nineteenth century, it gained a decisive advantage in the contest for dominance in the Caucasus. Gradually, Russia expanded and consolidated its influence both in the Caucasus and along the Black Sea coast.
Although Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War (1853–1856) temporarily weakened its position in the Black Sea basin, by the 1870s it had restored its influence. Its victory in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 further strengthened Russia’s position not only in the Caucasus but also in the Balkans. According to the Treaty of Berlin, the regions of Batumi, Kars, and Ardahan were ceded to Russia. While Batumi was initially transferred to the Russian Empire under the status of a porto-franco (a free port) – a status unilaterally abolished by Russia in 1886 – the acquisition of one of the most important Black Sea ports provided the empire with vast opportunities to expand its influence in the Near East.
Alongside this territorial expansion, Russia pursued a systematic policy aimed at the comprehensive economic, political, and demographic integration of the Caucasus, in accordance with its colonial interests. The most severe consequence of this policy in the second half of the nineteenth century was the mass, forced displacement and exile – known as muhajirism – of the indigenous Caucasian peoples, including the Adyghe, Abkhazians, and and of the Muslim Georgians (Ajarians, Klarjs).