The Tughuzhuqo Qizbech movement was a major Circassian resistance effort during the Russo-Circassian War, led by the nobleman Qizbech Tughuzhuqo. Refusing Russian allegiance, he waged relentless guerilla warfare for 30 years until his eventual death in battle, becoming a symbol of Circassian defiance against the Russian conquest. His actions played a key role in further prolonging the Circassian resistance against Russian invasion.
In 1770, the free farmers of Abzakh Circassians revolted against the aristocratic class. Captured princes were killed. Those who escaped took refuge in other Circassian tribes. All privileges held by the princes, who were aristocratic and noble class, were abolished by free farmers. While many contemporary French nobles took refuge in Russia during the similar revolution in France, some of the Circassian nobles took the same path and refuge in Russia.
In July 14, 1791 the Natukhaj commoners peacefully took power from the aristocrats, declaring a republic. A similar attempt among the Shapsugs led to a civil war which the commons won in 1803. Famous Circassian writer and historian Amjad Jaimoukha says that from 1770 to 1790 there was a class war among the Abadzeks that resulted in the extermination of the princes and the banishment of most of the nobility. The three west-central "democratic" tribes, Natukhaj, Shapsugs and Abedzeks, who formed the majority of the Circassians, managed their affairs through assemblies with only informal powers. Sefer Bey Zanuqo, the three Naibs of Shamil and the British adventurers all tried to organize the Circassians â with limited success.
The Bzhedug tribe helped the exiled princes which further escalated conflicts. The newly established revolutionary states of Abdzakh and Shapsug attacked the Bzhedug in order to kill their former nobility.
Even though Tughuzhuqo was a noble, he still supported the revolution.
Prior to the battle, the Sheretlukov princes were expelled by the Shapsug peasants due to their attempt to impose serfdom-like obligations. Seeking support, the princes aligned themselves with Bzhedug nobles and landlords, which led to the escalation of the conflict.
The battle took place on the Nedzhyd (Negid) glade, a dry ravine in the Bziyuk River Valley. Initially, the Shapsug peasants gained the upper hand. However, the course of the battle changed when Black Sea Cossacks forces, equipped with artillery, joined the nobles. Their intervention turned the tide, leading to the defeat of the peasant forces.
Despite their defeat, the peasant uprising influenced the political landscape of the region. The involvement of Black Sea Cossacks in an internal conflict among the Circassians contributed to rising tensions along the Kuban River, leading to further hostilities between the mountain tribes and the Cossacks.
After the battle
After the revolution, Qizbech does not appear in any sources between 1796 and 1810. According to Circassian oral traditions, during this period Qizbech met with Hasan Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Anapa, and went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He returned definitively in 1810 and began to appear again in written records. After this, he continued to fight for the Circassian army. The Circassians believed that Qizbech had met Khidr (Alebiy in Circassian).
He gained fame between 1810 and 1839, and almost all major Circassian raids on Russian fortifications during this period are associated with his name These songs were unusual because they were written while Qizbech was still alive and were known to him.
Qizbech started his struggle once the Russo-Circassian War reached western Circassia. Between the years 1810âÂÂ1840, he stormed the Russian garrisons and settlements with a volley of attacks. His main rival was the Cossack ataman Maxim Vlasov. He rose to fame by defeating Vlasov in 1820. During Vlasov's period, the violence against Circassian villages reached such proportions that Tsar Alexander I removed him from office in July 1826. In 1821, he defeated a Russian campaign on the lands of Shapsug. The Circassians believed that Qizbech had met Khidr (Alebiy in Circassian).
On 9 October 1823, Qizbech unsuccessfully tried ambushing Russian forces near the Alexandrovsky post. Two days later he launched a raid on Elizavetinskaya settlement, and his forces got into an engagement with the defending Cossacks. However, after receiving news of approaching Russian reinforcements, Qizbech hastily turned around, and headed back to Circassia. The Russians intercepted his forces twice, leading to heavy casualties on the Circassian side; however, Qizbech managed to get back to Circassia, heavily wounded and with 3 captives.
Sultan Khan-Giray had said the following about him:Qizbech was part of the team that designed the Shapsug flag. Russia constantly tried to persuade the upper-class Circassians including Qizbech himself to switch sides, offering them high privileges. Qizbech resisted and rejected these offers. He punished those who accepted such proposals.
In a letter dated November 8, 1824, Colonel Matveyev wrote to Major General Vlasov: Englishman Favell Lee Mortimer said these:
In 1830, Qizbech attacked Elizavinskaya settlement and destroyed it, and in 1834, heading a force of 700 cavaliers along with Hawduqo Mansur, he brutally defeated a 14 thousand soldier Russian troops in the Battle of Abinsk. Again, in the same year, he headed 1,200 cavaliers to victory over 6 thousand Russian soldiers. In the same year, with 1,200 cavaliers, Qizbech encountered a Cossack detachment of less than 300 men. Admiring the courage and determination of the Cossacks, Qizbech withdrew some of his own cavalry to equalize the numerical advantage. The sides fought with equal numbers, and Qizbech's side won the battle. During the wars, he went on a pilgrimage to Mecca and also visited Egypt. The Egyptian rulers wanted to recruit him into the Egyptian army, but Qizbech rejected the offer.
Russian military historian Vasily Potto, who served in the Russian army in the Caucasus, said these about Qizbech:
Over many years, he raided several hostile Russian garrisons; Maryanskaya, Georgie, Afepskaya, Apenskaya, and in 1837 while crossing through a field, he was identified by Cossack peasants, who out of their great fear, fled the place leaving behind them 200 sickles. In the same year of 1837, Qizbech stormed the coastal castle of Nikolayev and seized all its properties. At the beginning of June 1837, he attacked the guards of the Nikolaevsky fortress (now Shapsugskaya village) alone, captured a soldier, and seized 9 rifles.
In 1837, accompanied by 250 men, he attacked the right bank of the Kuban Russian fort and captured 200 prisoners. As a warrior, Tughuzhuqo enjoyed great respect among opponents. Tsarist generals entered into negotiations with him and repeatedly offered him to join the service of Russia, he rejected all offers. After the failure of his generals to convince him, Tsar Nicholas I tried to personally approach Qizbech to dissuade him from continuing his acts. Qizbech rejected offers of money and continued his raids on Russian garrisons.
Qizbech was against any kind of compromise with Russia. In 1838, he launched an attack against the Zhaney Circassians of the Karakuban region, who had sworn allegiance to Russia. In October 1838, he received seven serious wounds, and his sons were injured and eventually died from the injuries. According to James Bell, who was present there, Qizbech was not affected by this and saw it as fate. In 1840, Qizbech, heading a group of Circassian cavaliers, captured the garrisons of Waya, Tuapse and Shaps.
The song written for Qizbech by Kör Osman, who was a contemporary of Qizbech, goes like this:
Qizbech Tughuzhugo died of wounds received in action on February 28, 1840, during the Siege of Veliaminovsky. He had six different fatal wounds at the time. Some other sources claim he died in battle. According to other sources, he died on December 12, 1839 or March 12, 1840. Before his death, he made a speech: