25 Facts About Uzun-Hajji

Uzun-Hajji of Salta was a North Caucasian religious, military, and political leader who was Emir of the North Caucasian Emirate during the Russian Civil War.

Uzun-Hajji fought both the Bolsheviks and the White movement during the Civil War, seeking to establish an independent theocracy in the North Caucasus.

Uzun-Hajji died shortly after, and the Soviet government took control of the region in the aftermath.

Uzun-Hajji spent a year under house arrest before being moved to Temir-Khan-Shura, and then to Astrakhan.

Uzun-Hajji returned to the Russian Empire soon after, alongside Chechen pilgrims, and settled in Chechnya.

Uzun-Hajji was one of the organisers of the Dagestan National Committee, and he organised a referendum on the adoption of sharia in Dagestan; the referendum resulted in a majority of all villages voting in favour.

Uzun-Hajji was a member of the parliament of the Union of Highlanders.

Politically, Uzun-Hajji was a leader of the Dagestan National Committee, which was one of the two political blocs in Dagestan during the Russian Revolution.

Uzun-Hajji was active during the leadup to the Andi Congress, a congress of the Union of Highlanders which Najmuddin had forced members to agree to in order to have himself appointed as imam.

Uzun-Hajji gathered 5,000 Chechens and Dagestani highlanders to attend the congress, as they were among the most likely backers of the imamate's restoration.

At Tsudakhar, Uzun-Hajji's detachment was blocked from entering the village by local sheikh and military commander Ali-Hajji of Akusha.

Ali-Hajji sent a delegation to Uzun-Hajji's detachment attempting to convince him against entering the village on four occasions, with Uzun-Hajji refusing each time and threatening to fight Ali-Hajji's forces if he was forbidden from entering.

Clashes between the Red Army and forces loyal to Najmuddin and Uzun-Hajji continued until August 1918, when Lazar Bicherakhov and his forces left the Battle of Baku and launched a campaign in Dagestan.

At the council, Uzun-Hajji was declared Imam of Dagestan and Chechnya, replacing Najmuddin.

Now officially titled emir, Uzun-Hajji quickly began establishing a formal state from rebel-controlled territories.

Uzun-Hajji had poor relations with fellow insurgent Ali Mitayev, a Chechen sheikh who did not recognise his authority as emir.

Mitayev later attempted to make amends with Uzun-Hajji by delivering weapons captured from White forces to Vedeno, but the gift was not accepted.

Uzun-Hajji was in contact with the Security Council of the Northern Caucasus and Dagestan, a group run by Ali-Hajji that was fighting the Whites.

Uzun-Hajji further allowed the Red Army soldiers to return to combat under his command, organising a detachment comprising the soldiers.

In return, Uzun-Hajji ordered his soldiers to block the Georgian Military Road, blocking the would-be primary route for White Russian forces into Georgia.

Uzun-Hajji sent a letter to the Bolsheviks demanding that they hand the city over to the emirate, but it was refused.

At the time the demands were sent, Uzun-Hajji was already seriously ill with typhus, and he died shortly afterwards.

Uzun-Hajji was buried in the hamlet of Shamil-Khutor, near Vedeno, in the same graveyard where the family of Imam Shamil had been buried.

Uzun-Hajji refused, citing his health, and his son Said Shamil went in his stead to become monarch.

Uzun-Hajji was briefly succeeded by Dervish-Muhammad-Hajji as emir for a few days before the emirate ceased to exist.