NORTH OF THE CAUCASUS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 2 September 1942, Page 2

NORTH OF THE CAUCASUS

SOVIET’S SMALL REPUBLICS BETWEEN BLACK SEA AND CASPIAN To the south of the narrowest part of the strip of land between the Don and the Lower Volga begins what the Russians call the “North Caucasian Area.” That is the district where the eye can travel for miles over the wide expanse of the steppes, without a hill, a ridge or as much as a tree interrupting the monotony, says a writer in the Melbourne “Age.” But as this mighty “land-bridge” between the Caspian and the Black Sea narrows down toward the south, the steppe gives way to hills, then mountains, until finally the majestic range of mighty Caucasus appears high above everything else. _ The other side of the mountain wall —Transcaucasia—is a different world; but the northern fringe of the Caucasus, sometimes called Ciscaucasia, is quite different from Russia. Under the constitution of the U.S.S.R., the small republics and autonomous territories forming a continuous bridge between the two land-locked seas are members of the Russian Federation of Soviet, Socialist Republics. While autonomous to a certain extent, they do not enjoy as farreaching self-government as their sister republics across the Caucasus. Yet there is nothing Russian about these miniature States; they are inhabited by a variety of tribes and races, essentially mountain folk somewhat backward compared with the westernised Russians, but good-na-tured and freedom loving.

Approaching the Caucasus from the direction of Rostov, the road traverses the plain of the Kuban River. This area was a separate province under the Czars, and forms to-day an important part of the North Caucasian district, an administrative unit ot Russia proper. This'is the home of the Circassians, famous for thenbeauty in two continents. When the power of the Sultans of Turkey was at its height their dominion extended over these parts, and the beautiful Circassian women were to be seen in the palaces of Turkish noblemen, and even in the Sultan’s harem; while the six-footer Circassian men were his favourite guardsmen. Russia did not recover the Kuban country until 1864. and even then the Circassians were hostile to the Czar and emigrated to Turkey in their thousands. Contemporary estimates place the numbers of the migrants at 400,000. Up to this day the remaining inhabitants are Mahometans.

Beside the Circassians, many thousands of Cossacks and, strangely enough, German colonists live in this territory, although since the invasion of Russia most Germans have probably been evacuated further east. The favourite occupation of all inhabitants has always been horse and cattle breeding. The greatest number of the remaining Circassians live in a small ar*ea, known as the Autonomous Territory of Adygei. From here onwards the scenery gradually changes; while Adygei is still mainly plain land, the next autonomous area, the Sherkess National Region, includes the western end of the Caucasus proper, and is almost entirely covered by the forerunners of the mighty peaks.

MOUNTAIN RESORTS The Rostov-Baku railway line runs parallel with the mountain range here, and only branch lines wind their way up the valleys. One of! these, a truly scenic line, leads into! the region of the Caucasian moun- j tain resorts and mineral springs. Best known of these is the spa city of Pyatigorsk, favourite health resort of the Russian aristocracy before the Revolution and popular convalescing centre of Soviet workers since. It is situated among beautiful \ surroundings, in the centre of a basin formed by five mountain heights. On clear days the permanently snowcapped peak of Elbruz, the 18,500foot giant, can be seen from here, and this highest peak of Europe dominates the landscape. The city itself is very attractively laid out. Amid parks, gardens and walking paths, its hotels and sanatoriums appear, clean and white, like quiet resting places to the sick and tired. Close by is sulphuric Tambukan Lake, the waters and even the mud of which are said to be radio-active, and are used internally as well as for baths and mud ; packs. Around Pyatigorsk dozens of j other mineral waters have been j known for centuries. Each of these; springs is now set in modern, well-1 kept surroundings of separate re- t

sorts, each of which is famous for th* specialised healing effects of its waf* ers. Thus all those suffering from heart ailments frequent the springs of Kislovodsk, at the terminus of the branch line. Kislovodsk is the nearest civilised spot to Elbruz, and for that reason most mountaineering expeditions which aim at climbing the “White Mountain” set out from here. Most of these mountain roads and passes lead over barren, rocky country, but there are a few gorges which are more beautiful than anything similar in the European Alps. One of them is the Darial Pass. For > stretch of eight miles the road and the crystal-clear Terek River wind their way together through the rocks, with sheer stone walls almost closing in above them and excluding the sun save for a few minutes at noon each day. There is no space left on either side of the road, which itself is of the narrowest, single-track variety almost throughout. Other gorges, to the east and west of Darial, are said to be even more beautiful, although very few foreign tourists have had an opportunity to enjoy their splendour. They are reserved for the Soviet mountaineers and for the inhabitants of these outlying districts. MIXTURE OF RACES The plains and valleys of Northeri. Caucasia harbour a variety of races and creeds just as diversified as their neighbour the modern Babel of Transcaucasia. Most of these tribes and small nations are offshoots of the Turkish family of nations, although the admixture of Russian, Ukrainian, Armenian, Georgian, Greek and Persian blood throughout the centuries has transformed them into a conglomeration as different from the Turks as from the others. The Soviet authorities set out to educate these people, but even today most of the older generation are illiterate. Some of the mountain tongues, spoken by not more than a few thousand tribesmen, did not even have a written alphabet until a few years ago, when Russian philologists “created” a written language for them. Now the youngsters learn both Russian and the local language of their particular district at school, and the adults are educated at night. After leaving the fringe of the North Caucasian administrative area the railway enters the Chechen territory and touches the famous Grozny naphtha wells. This area, the northernmost of the Caspian oil fields, supplies the most volatile petroleum obtained anywhere in the world, and is therefore highly prized for certain specialised uses. The oil is conveyed by rail to the Caspian seaport of Makhach Kala, capital of the Republic of Daghestan, whence it is shipped in tankers to Astrakhan, at the mouth of the Volga. Daghestan has leapt ahead in the cultural and economic spheres, and is to-day a well-organised and comparatively prosperous country. Most of the land is either arable, chestnutcoloured soil or rich steppe country, suitable for grazing. The inhabitants breed horses and cattle, and grow large quantities of wheat, rye, maize and cotton. The climate is a good one, and there are abundant resources for many industries. Daghestan is regarded by many as the land of the future.

From Makhach Kala southward the railway and the road hug the coast of the Caspian as far as Baku, the rich prize of Azerbaijan. Unfortunately, this stretch is the most vulnerable of the whole Caucasian arjea. The mountains gently slope towards the inland sea, and there is a narrow cbastal plain between the shore and the first foothills. The “Derbent Gate,” named after Daghestan’s second largest city, lying half-way between Makhach Kala and Baku, is the key to the oil fields of Transcaucasia, and has presumably been strongly fortified to compensate for Nature’s shortcomings in defensive preparations.