Russia’s Aggressive Policy in the North Caucasus during the 1740s and 1750s

Abstract

The treaty of peace concluded in Belgrade in 1739, which declared Kabardino-Balkaria a neutral barrier between Turkey and Russia, seriously complicated the foreign policy relations of the peoples of the North Caucasus. Turkey soon violated the terms of the truce and began active operations in the region, seeking to accelerate the conquest of the peoples of the North Caucasus. In the 1740s and 1750s, they launched devastating attacks on the Northwest Caucasus, thereby forcing the payment of tribute and recognition of the Adyghe's political vassalage. Accordingly, the Crimean khans began to take more active actions. The attacks of the Ottomans and the Crimean khans were accompanied by the violent spread of Islam among the mountain-dwellers. By increasing the tribute (which the Adyghe were forced to pay in captives and horses), they sought to establish their rule in other regions of the North Caucasus. According to C. Peyssonnel, the Crimean khans did everything possible to completely and utterly enslave this people.