One of Russia’s main aims in the war in Circassia until the Crimean War was the break up of the Circassian-Ottoman relations. However, all its efforts were in vain. Trade with the Ottoman Empire continued till the very end of the war. Russians also accepted the difficulty to break up the tight bonds between the Ottoman Empire and the Circassians despite the collaboration of the Ottoman officials. Butenev claimed:
However, together with this attitude of the Porte and its administrators in the Anatolian coast, it is necessary to admit that it is extremely difficult to stop the contacts between the inhabitants of Anatolia and the Circassians completely due to location of the territories as well as the usual habit in Turkey to have the slave trade with that area.128
Kasumovs stressed the colonial policies of the Russian Empire in its failure to conduct peaceful relations with the Circassians.129 The reaction of the Circassians to the Russian policy of the isolation of Circassia from the international environment was an important dimension of the Circassian struggle. Russian efforts to suppress the Circassians helped the unification of Circassians, which lacked before the Treaty of Edirne. By this measure, the process of nationalism and the internal war between princely families and peasants went along with the war with Russia.
For the Ottoman Empire, Circassia was considered a matter of importance, only when it had the potential to cause a problem with Russia. Throughout the period between the Treaty of Edirne and the Crimean War, no strategic calculation by the Ottomans can be visible. It proved itself; however, the trade with the Ottoman Empire was the backbone of the Circassian struggle. Besides, despite the Ottoman effort to preserve peace with Russia, the British and Polish activities regarding Circassia was mainly conducted through the Ottoman territories.
In the Near East an unusual calm continued until the 1848 revolutions. Then, with the Crimean War of 1853 not only the international environment but also the military, social and psychological circumstances of Circassia altered. It was actually the setting for which the Circassians waited for more than two decades. After the war this era would always be remembered as the ‘lost opportunity’. On the other hand, however, during the Crimean War the Ottoman Empire would pursue its more active policy regarding Circassia after the Treaty of Edirne, and try to carry out plans to strengthen the Caucasian barrier against Russia.
World History
