Dali Kandelaki
Habilit. Dr. of History
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.
Associate Professor.
Head of the Department of Russian History
Dali Kandelaki
Habilit. Dr. of History
Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University.
Associate Professor.
Head of the Department of Russian History
Ekaterina Lachinova's Forbidden Book:
Stories of the Caucasian War of the 19th Century
Abstract
The novel pamphlet “Escapades in the Caucasus” was published in Russia at the beginning of 1844. The author, Ekaterina Lachinova, was the wife of Nikolai Lachinov, the general of the Caucasus Separate Corps. The author chose the pseudonym E. Khamar-Dabanov (inspired by the Khamar-Daban mountains in Siberia). The work revealed the behind-the-scenes stories of the Caucasian War in the late 30s and early 40s of the 19th century to the general public. Immediately after publication, almost the entire edition of the book was destroyed. Emperor Nicholai I remarked about the book: “We know nothing about the Caucasus, and this lady opens our eyes”. The military minister, A. Chernishev, despite his objective evaluation, expressed his anger: "This book is all the more harmful because every line in it is true!" What provoked such government outrage? The novel exposed the incompetence of the imperial administration, the arbitrariness and corruption of officials, and the mediocrity of generals and officers. The Author revealed the unvarnished truth about the Caucasian War, details of which were meticulously hidden by Russian high officials. The book portrayed the unembellished reality, raising unanswered questions within Russian society: What was the Russian army truly fighting for? What motivated them in their conflict with the Caucasians? Why did the war drag on endlessly if the Russians claimed repeated victories and even subjugated some Caucasian peoples? How were the ranks of the mountaineers replenished despite heavy casualties in every skirmish? The book illuminated these mysteries, highlighting the lack of unity in government actions in the Caucasus. Each chief pursued his own policy and conducted his own war. The military leadership found this truth undesirable as they recognized themselves in the characters of the work. The events and personalities depicted in the Novel-Pamphlet were based on real-life examples. Lachinova did not always change the names of the individuals involved. She condemned the senselessness of the war in her novel. The book was published in Leipzig in 1846, in German under the title – "Muscovites and Circassians". Making information about this unjust and aggressive war accessible to European readers. In Russian, the book saw its second publication during the Soviet era in 1986 and is now considered a bibliographic rarity.
Keywords: Ekaterina Lachinova, E. Khamar-Dabanov, Georgia, Caucasian War, XIX century.