NOGAIS AND THEIR SETTLEMENT IN MOLOCHNAIA RIVER REGION (1790-1860) (FROM NOMADY TO SETTLED LIFE)

Abstract

There is no consensus among today?s scholars regarding the name and the emergence of Nogais, a political community consisting of many clans and tribes emerged during the disintegration of the Golden Horde, and the ethnic origins of the clans and tribes that formed the Nogai Horde. At the beginning of this article, the different opinions of scholars were briefly presented and analyzed. Then, the dates until 1790, when the Nogais were began their settlement in the region of Molochnaia River, were outlined. Thirdly, the issue of settlements in the Malochnaia River region, which is the main subject of this article, was discussed in detail. The Tsarist administration, which made plans to deprive the enemies of this military power of the Nogais, the strongest warriors of the steppe and the striking force of the Ottoman-Crimean armies and at the same time to get rid of a very tough opponent for them, convinced the Nogais to come to an agreement when they were in desperate situation. The administration brought the Bucak and Yedisay Nogais and the Camboyluk Nogais between 1790 and 1806 and settled them in the region of Malochnaia River. The Nogais, who have freely moved as nomads for hundreds of years in Dasht-i-Kipchak, were wanted to become a land-bound life with a law enacted in 1802; villages were established for them, and all the units required for local governments, judicial, administrative and law enforcement services were established. For about thirty years, Russian Government struggled to settle these people, while the Nogais resisted and reacted. Almost all of them were settled in the 1830?s, and in 1832, the special administration system applied by Russia to this community was terminated and they were subjected to the general law that Russian citizens were subject to, and obligations such as tax and military service were imposed. The Nogais, on the other hand, met all implementations addressed to them with a distant and reactive approach and waited for an opportunity to get rid of this situation. When the Crimean Tatars were given permission to emigrate to Turkey after the Crimean War of 1853-1856, in order to benefit from this right, the Nogais sold their possessions and set off towards a new and permanent life.