6 Ë Introduction
Fig. 1.3.The Russian Conquest of the Caucasus in the nineteenth century.
most celebrated heroes in the Northern Caucasus. Caucasians in general still enjoy the
reputation of erce warriors.
The Russian imperial conquest of the Caucasus was more than a mere domina-
tion. Together with Russia’s subjugation of Central Asia in the second half of the nine-
teenth century, it was signi cant for the development of Russia’s own identity in the
Eurasian continent as well. Russian images of the Caucasus ranged from the “primitive
and savage Other” (the antithesis to European civilization) to romantic idealizations
of old and noble cultures long lost to Russia itself.¹⁰The Caucasus thus contributed to
Russia’s unsettled identity between Occident and Orient. This uncertainty is re ected
in Russian literature, from Alexander Pushkin to Mikhail Lermontov and Lev Tolstoi,
the latter two of whom in fact took part in the Caucasian War.¹¹
10 In this sense, Russian Orientalism had something in common with German Orientalism. For the
latter, see Franziska Torma,Turkestan-Expeditionen. Zur Kulturgeschichte deutscher Forschungsreisen
nach Mittelasien (1890–1930)(Bielefeld: Transcript, 2011).
11 See Susan Layton,Russian Literature and Empire: Conquest of the Caucasus from Pushkin to Tolstoy
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).