Extermination of the Inhabitants of Kishkeroy-Yurt by Pullo's Detachment: 76 Killed, 40 Captured, Village Burned with Its Stores (December 1836)
In late December 1836, Colonel Pullo, in a covert winter raid, exterminated the Chechen village of Kishkeroy-Yurt (Keshkeroy) beyond the Gudermes river. Sanction had been given in advance: on 10 December 1836 Rozen reported to the Minister of War Chernyshev that he "had authorized Col. Pullo to act at once against the unsubmissive Chechen villages"[1]. The pretext for the punishment was declared to be hospitality: the village's inhabitants "had harbored the rebel Tashov-Hadji"[2]. Surrounded at dawn, the village was exterminated together with its people: those fleeing "were caught or exterminated", while "the inhabitants, having barricaded themselves in their houses with their families, were put to the bayonet"[2]; an attempt by Tashu-Hadji to come to the village's relief was repelled by artillery. Rozen himself summed up the outcome: "Upon the occupation of the village of Kishkeroy-Yurt, 76 bodies of the slain were found in it, and 40 souls of both sexes were taken captive; all the property of the inhabitants and the weapons taken from the slain fell to our troops"[2][3]. The village of 63 households, "with a considerable stock of grain and hay," was put to the torch in the middle of winter[2]. Dating: the dispatch is dated in the collection "9 January 1836," but the compilers placed it among documents from late 1836 to early 1837; the raid almost certainly took place on 27-31 December 1836, while the historian Sh. A. Gapurov dates it to December 1835[3].
Actors
| ID | Name | Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| G0009 | Russian Empire | 6 |
Instruments Applied
| ID | Name | Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| S0010 | Regular Army | 6 |
Procedures Carried Out
In late December 1836, Colonel Pullo carried out a punitive raid on the Chechen village of Kishkeroy-Yurt (Keshkeroy) beyond the Gudermes river, to punish its inhabitants for harboring Tashu-Hadji, the leader of the Chechen resistance. In April 1836, Nicholas I had demanded that action against Tashu-Hadji be undertaken "not otherwise than with complete confidence of success"[1], and on 10 December 1836 Rozen reported to the Minister of War Chernyshev that he "had authorized Col. Pullo to act at once against the unsubmissive Chechen villages"[1]. Over the four days of the raid, the village was exterminated together with 76 inhabitants and defenders, and 40 people were led away into captivity[2].
On 28 December 1836, during the sudden encirclement of Kishkeroy-Yurt, Pullo's troops killed inhabitants who tried to escape, as well as families in their houses: "those seeking salvation in flight were caught or exterminated", "the inhabitants, having barricaded themselves in their houses with their families, were put to the bayonet", and two were smoked out "by straw thrown into the chimneys"[2]. Upon the occupation of the village, 76 bodies of the slain were found[2]. Some of the inhabitants mounted an armed defense, and among the 76 killed are those who fell bearing arms; the technique is recorded on the basis of the killing of those fleeing and of families trapped in their houses.
On 29-31 December 1836, Pullo's detachment completely destroyed Kishkeroy-Yurt: "the village of Kishkeroy, consisting of 63 households, with a considerable stock of grain and hay, was put to the torch", and on withdrawing on 31 December Pullo "marched out of Kishkeroy-Yurt, having set fire to the houses that remained undestroyed"[2].
In the course of the extermination of Kishkeroy-Yurt, Pullo's detachment deliberately destroyed the winter stores: the village was burned "with a considerable stock of grain and hay," and the following day part of the detachment "was occupied with the destruction of the hay stored in the surrounding area"[2]. The destruction of grain and fodder stores in the depth of winter left the surviving inhabitants without means to survive it.
In the course of the extermination of Kishkeroy-Yurt on 28-31 December 1836, Pullo's detachment led away 40 inhabitants into captivity: "40 souls of both sexes were taken captive"[2].
In the course of the extermination of Kishkeroy-Yurt on 28-31 December 1836, Pullo's detachment appropriated the inhabitants' property, including weapons taken from the bodies of the slain: "all the property of the inhabitants and the weapons taken from the slain fell to our troops"[2].