ABSTRACT
In this chapter, some of the crucial circumstances underlying the problems of the contemporary Caucasus are analyzed. A main determinant of the situation of the Caucasian nations, their relations with each other and with their outer neighbours has been the legacy of Russian and later Soviet rule. For 170 years, the main determining factor on the Caucasus has been Russia, and the policies of its rulers. Some parts of the region have effectively been under Russian control for longer, Georgia since 1783; others for shorter periods, Chechnya and Dagestan only coherently since 1859. However, the 1828 treaty of Turkmanchai stands out as the date whereby Russia successfully asserted its control over the Transcaucasus. Thereafter, the pacification of the region still had to be achieved, but Turkey and Iran were no longer able to significantly influence events in the region. For this reason, the Russian conquest of the Caucasus and its consequences for the peoples of the region are considered here. Following this, the legacy of the crucially important Soviet period, lasting from 1921-91, is analyzed in terms of Leninist nationality policy and the national delimitation of the Caucasus. The main focus of attention is the devaluation of the concept of autonomy for national minorities of the former USSR, which is directly related to the dichotomy between the creation of regions and republics autonomous in name, and the totalitarian way in which the Union was ruled. Thirdly, the effect of Soviet rule and the subsequent collapse of the union on the individual and collective identities of the peoples of the region are seen as factors contributing to the general instability of the Caucasus. Finally, the structure of instability and the nature and roots of the Caucasian conflicts that exists in the region is discussed.
