Propagandistic Inversion of Roles and Dehumanization (1800–1864)
In the 19th century, the occupation administration of the Russian Empire and its propaganda apparatus used inversion of roles and the broadcasting of a logic of superiority to legitimize military aggression. Historian Ya. Z. Akhmadov states that «The anti-colonial and anti-feudal uprisings of the population of Chechnya, referred to in official documents as 'mischief', 'robberies' and 'murders', were perceived by the Russian autocracy as a challenge and an insult... All of this provoked cruel punitive actions incommensurate with the apparent cause»[1]. The practical application of this mechanism is recorded in reports: in 1800, the commander-in-chief of the troops, General B. F. Knorring, justified expeditions against the Indigenous population as protection from their «predatory plunder, villainous brigandage»[1]. In parallel, official historiography constructed an image of backwardness: the researcher points out that pre-revolutionary military science was characterized by an «apologia for the tsarist policy of conquest», under which the defensive struggle of the local population was labeled «the actions of barbarians devoid of 'civilized' notions of independence and freedom»[2]. Literature was used to broadcast chauvinism to the masses. The imperial historian and participant in the events V. A. Potto records that the poet A. S. Pushkin proclaimed in verse: «Submit, Caucasus — Yermolov comes!»[3], while the poet V. A. Zhukovsky glorified the destruction of villages: «Toward the villages — the villages blaze»[4]. Relying on this foundation, General A. P. Yermolov justified repressions on the grounds that «the proconsul of the Caucasus cannot tame the cruelty of the local mores with mercy»[3].
Actors
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| G0009 | Russian Empire |
The occupation administration of the Russian Empire stripped the Indigenous population of the status of a legitimate adversary by applying an inversion of meanings: historian Ya. Z. Akhmadov states that lawful defense was labeled with criminal terms, and «The anti-colonial and anti-feudal uprisings of the population of Chechnya, referred to in official documents as 'mischief', 'robberies', and 'murders', were perceived by the Russian autocracy as a challenge and an insult»[1], which served as a formal pretext for punitive actions. |
Techniques Used
| ID | Name | Use | |
|---|---|---|---|
| T0005 | Aggressor Claiming Victim Status |
The occupation administration of the Russian Empire stripped the Indigenous population of the status of a legitimate adversary by applying an inversion of meanings: historian Ya. Z. Akhmadov states that lawful defense was labeled with criminal terms, and «The anti-colonial and anti-feudal uprisings of the population of Chechnya, referred to in official documents as 'mischief', 'robberies', and 'murders', were perceived by the Russian autocracy as a challenge and an insult»[1], which served as a formal pretext for punitive actions. |
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| T0003 | Cultivation of a Logic of Superiority |
The propaganda apparatus of the Russian Empire used poetry to broadcast the logic of domination into society: the imperial historian and participant in the events V. A. Potto records that the poet A. S. Pushkin proclaimed in verse the inevitability of subjugation: «Submit, Caucasus - Yermolov is coming!»[3], while the poet V. A. Zhukovsky extolled the destruction of infrastructure by military commanders: «Scarcely at the villages - the villages blaze»[4]. |
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| T0006 | Dehumanization |
The apparatus of the Russian Empire constructed an image of the Indigenous population as savages: historian Ya. Z. Akhmadov points out that pre-revolutionary historiography described the highlanders' struggle as «the actions of barbarians devoid of 'civilized' notions of independence and freedom»[2], while the imperial historian and participant in the events V. A. Potto cites the words of General A. P. Yermolov, who declared that «the cruelty of the local mores cannot be tamed by mercy»[3]. In his «Notes», General Yermolov characterized the Nokhchi as a born breed of brigands: «the Chechens, the most vicious of the brigands, attacking the line», their land a refuge where «the villains of all other peoples, abandoning their own land on account of some crimes, were received amicably», while Chechnya itself «may justly be called the nest of all brigands», «were less filled than others with brigands who had previously taken part in all the raids of the Chechens on the line. In them predators gathered and took cover…»[5]. |
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Instruments
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| S0008 | Government |
The apparatus of the Russian Empire constructed an image of the Indigenous population as savages: historian Ya. Z. Akhmadov points out that pre-revolutionary historiography described the highlanders' struggle as «the actions of barbarians devoid of 'civilized' notions of independence and freedom»[2], while the imperial historian and participant in the events V. A. Potto cites the words of General A. P. Yermolov, who declared that «the cruelty of the local mores cannot be tamed by mercy»[3]. In his «Notes», General Yermolov characterized the Nokhchi as a born breed of brigands: «the Chechens, the most vicious of the brigands, attacking the line», their land a refuge where «the villains of all other peoples, abandoning their own land on account of some crimes, were received amicably», while Chechnya itself «may justly be called the nest of all brigands», «were less filled than others with brigands who had previously taken part in all the raids of the Chechens on the line. In them predators gathered and took cover…»[5]. |
| S0012 | Occupation and Controlled Administrations |
The occupation administration of the Russian Empire stripped the Indigenous population of the status of a legitimate adversary by applying an inversion of meanings: historian Ya. Z. Akhmadov states that lawful defense was labeled with criminal terms, and «The anti-colonial and anti-feudal uprisings of the population of Chechnya, referred to in official documents as 'mischief', 'robberies', and 'murders', were perceived by the Russian autocracy as a challenge and an insult»[1], which served as a formal pretext for punitive actions. |
| S0021 | Propaganda |
The propaganda apparatus of the Russian Empire used poetry to broadcast the logic of domination into society: the imperial historian and participant in the events V. A. Potto records that the poet A. S. Pushkin proclaimed in verse the inevitability of subjugation: «Submit, Caucasus - Yermolov is coming!»[3], while the poet V. A. Zhukovsky extolled the destruction of infrastructure by military commanders: «Scarcely at the villages - the villages blaze»[4]. |