Consequences of the Soviet Ethnic Federalism in the South Caucasus

Abstract

The roots of Islam in the beliefs and thoughts of the people of the Caucasus region go back to the seventh century and it has grown during many years in the course of various developments. The creation of the “Green Belt” by the USA during the Cold War also promoted Islamic tendencies in the peripheral regions of the Soviet Union. After the military attack of the Red Army on Afghanistan, Islamist movements had a better opportunity to enjoy the support of the United States of America against the Soviet Union. The resurgence of Islamic trends in the Middle East and West Asia affected the Caucasus region as well. The conditions created by the implementation of Gorbachev's reform policies were also very suitable for Islamism. While the ethnic policies of the Soviet Union and the “ethnic federalism” of the communist system were entering a new stage, Islamism was also strengthened by using the space created by the implementation of Glasnost. The effects of ethnic-racial policies of the Soviet Union on the political- military trends in the Caucasus, after the collapse, is the aim of this review.

The main question of this paper in this paper is: "What effect has the legacy of ethnic policies of the Soviet Union had on the political-military developments of the South Caucasus, considering the factor of “Islam”?" The hypothesis is that: "The legacy of ethnic federalism of the Soviet Union has had a direct and immediate impact on the political-military developments of the South Caucasus, and the Islamic factor is an intervening variable". The methodology of this study is qualitative with a descriptive-analytical approach, using resources accessible in the libraries and the Internet, which are prepared based on scientific researches.