Nagaybäk
Encyclopedia
Nağaybäk are an ethnoconfessional group in Russia
. They are Christian descendents of Volga Tatars
(distinct from Keräşens, another Christian Tatar group), and former cossacks of the Orenburg Host
. The majority of the Nağaybäks live in Nagaybaksky
and Chebarkulsky
Districts of Chelyabinsk Oblast
. They speak a sub-dialect of Tatar language
's Middle dialect. Russian and Tatar historians usually treat the Nağaybäks as an integral part of Volga Tatars; a minority considers Nağaybäks a separate ethnicity in their own right. During the 1989 and 2002 censuses, 11,200 and 9,600 people identified themselves as Nağaybäks.
. Other accounts claim that they are Kazan Tatars baptized after the fall of Kazan Khanate. The most plausible theory, according to the 1994 Russian encyclopedia, says that the ancestors of the Nağaybäks traditionally lived in central districts of the Khanate, east of Kazan
, and most likely descended from Nogay and Kipchak people. In the 18th century they also assimilated a small group of Christians from Iran
and Central Asia
.
The most popular theory in Tatarstan
is that they were Serving Tatars
from Kazan Khanate that were forcibly baptized by Ivan IV and relocated to the border between nomad Bashkirs
, that were already incorporated to Russia
and nomad Kazakhs
as border keepers. Yet another theory says that the Nağaybäks were tatarized Finno-Ugric peoples
that kept the Kazan Khanate's borders.
Demonym
Nağaybäk emerged in written sources only in the 19th century although a fringe theory
asserts its existence as far as the 17th century. The village of Nagaybak, which gave name to present-day Nagaybaksky District, is known since the 1730s.
, east of the Kama River
. Most likely, they settled around Ufa in the second half of the 17th century after the completion of the defensive Kama Abatis
Line (1652–1656). During the Tatar and Bashkir revolts of late 17th and early 18th century the Nağaybäks remained loyal to the Russian Empire. The government rewarded them with a wholesale transfer of the Nağaybäks into the Cossack estate, and assigned the Nağaybäks to the defense of Menzelinsk Fort
.
Another defensive fort was built in 1736 in the village of Nagaybak, 64 verst
s from Menzelinsk (present-day Bakalinsky District
). The new fortress became the hub of the "newly baptized", and by 1744 the nearby Nağaybäk population increased to 1359 people in eleven villages. Two more Nağaybäk villages were recorded in 1795. The original Nağaybäk race was gradually diluted with an inflow of other Christianized Tatars recruited into cossack service (Yasak Tatars and Tiptärs). The government mandated their relocation into predominantly Christian Nağaybäk lands to evade daily contact between Christian and Muslim Tatars, and the new settlers rapidly intermarried with the locals.
In 1773 Nagaybak Fort was caught in the way of Yemelyan Pugachev
's rebellion. Loyal cossacks and troops, headed by captain Rushinsky, fled to Menzelinsk; most of the remaining soldiers joined the rebellion and participated in the siege of Ufa. Pugachev installed a "newly baptized Persian" by the name of Tornov, as the ataman
of Nagaybak. In January 1774 a small government company pushed the rebels out of Nagaybak Fort, but Tornov returned in strength and regained control over the fort. Two weeks later a whole corps of government troops crushed the rebellion. The fort became a base for punitive expeditions against the remains of Pugachev's army.
Nağaybäk cavalry participated in the Napoleonic Wars
and in the subsequent occupation of Paris
. In 1842 the Nağaybäk cossacks relocated from their former host in Nagaybak Fort eastward, to the former Orenburg Governorate. Here, they founded a chain of villages named after the battles of Napoleonic Wars
, including present-day Parizh
, named after the Battle of Paris
, Fershampenuaz
(after the Battle of Fère-Champenoise), Kassel (after engagements near Kassel
in Hesse
), Trebiy (after the Battle of Trebbia) etc. Fershampenuaz remains the center of Nagaybaksky District
to date. Another group of the Nağaybäk settled in present-day Orenburg Oblast
. These Nağaybäks settled on traditionally Muslim territories, and by the beginning of the 20th century they converted back to Islam
and were reassimilated into Tatar etnhos.
Traditional Nağaybäk female clothing is similar to that of the Keräşen Tatars, but male clothing contains many elements of the Cossack uniform.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. They are Christian descendents of Volga Tatars
Volga Tatars
The Volga Tatars are the largest subgroup of the Tatars, native to the Volga region.They account for roughly six out of seven million Tatars worldwide....
(distinct from Keräşens, another Christian Tatar group), and former cossacks of the Orenburg Host
Orenburg Cossacks
The Orenburg Cossack Host , a part of the Cossack population in pre-revolutionary Russia, located in the Orenburg province ....
. The majority of the Nağaybäks live in Nagaybaksky
Nagaybaksky District
Nagaybaksky District is a district of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. Its administrative centre is the rural locality of Fershampenuaz. District's population:...
and Chebarkulsky
Chebarkulsky District
Chebarkulsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the 27 in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. Its administrative center is the town of Chebarkul . Population: 29,251 ;...
Districts of Chelyabinsk Oblast
Chelyabinsk Oblast
-External links:*...
. They speak a sub-dialect of Tatar language
Tatar language
The Tatar language , or more specifically Kazan Tatar, is a Turkic language spoken by the Tatars of historical Kazan Khanate, including modern Tatarstan and Bashkiria...
's Middle dialect. Russian and Tatar historians usually treat the Nağaybäks as an integral part of Volga Tatars; a minority considers Nağaybäks a separate ethnicity in their own right. During the 1989 and 2002 censuses, 11,200 and 9,600 people identified themselves as Nağaybäks.
Origin
The origins of the Nağaybäks are unclear. One theory places the Nağaybäks as an offshoot of the NogaisNogais
The Nogai people are a Turkic ethnic group in Southern Russia: northern Dagestan and Stavropol Krai, as well as in Karachay-Cherkessia and the Astrakhan Oblast; undefined number live in Chechnya...
. Other accounts claim that they are Kazan Tatars baptized after the fall of Kazan Khanate. The most plausible theory, according to the 1994 Russian encyclopedia, says that the ancestors of the Nağaybäks traditionally lived in central districts of the Khanate, east of Kazan
Kazan
Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...
, and most likely descended from Nogay and Kipchak people. In the 18th century they also assimilated a small group of Christians from Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Central Asia
Central Asia
Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
.
The most popular theory in Tatarstan
Tatarstan
The Republic of Tatarstan is a federal subject of Russia located in the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Kazan, which is one of Russia's largest and most prosperous cities. The republic borders with Kirov, Ulyanovsk, Samara, and Orenburg Oblasts, and with the Mari El, Udmurt,...
is that they were Serving Tatars
Serving Tatars
Serving Tatars were a class of ethnically Tatars state servants in Muscovy and Russia in 14th-18th centuries.Originally this class was formed Tatar nobles from Golden Horde and Tatar khanates that enjoyed membership of the Russian service class. Later, qara xalıq peasants of Kazan Khanate...
from Kazan Khanate that were forcibly baptized by Ivan IV and relocated to the border between nomad Bashkirs
Bashkirs
The Bashkirs are a Turkic people indigenous to Bashkortostan extending on both parts of the Ural mountains, on the place where Europe meets Asia. Groups of Bashkirs also live in the republic of Tatarstan, Perm Krai, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, Kurgan, Samara and Saratov Oblasts of...
, that were already incorporated to Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and nomad Kazakhs
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
as border keepers. Yet another theory says that the Nağaybäks were tatarized Finno-Ugric peoples
Finno-Ugric peoples
The Finno-Ugric peoples are any of several peoples of Europe who speak languages of the proposed Finno-Ugric language family, such as the Finns, Estonians, Mordvins, and Hungarians...
that kept the Kazan Khanate's borders.
Demonym
Demonym
A demonym , also referred to as a gentilic, is a name for a resident of a locality. A demonym is usually – though not always – derived from the name of the locality; thus, the demonym for the people of England is English, and the demonym for the people of Italy is Italian, yet, in english, the one...
Nağaybäk emerged in written sources only in the 19th century although a fringe theory
Fringe theory
A fringe theory is an idea or a collection of ideas that departs significantly from the prevailing or mainstream view in its particular field of study. Examples include ideas that purport to be scientific theories but have little or no scientific support, conspiracy theories, unproven esoteric...
asserts its existence as far as the 17th century. The village of Nagaybak, which gave name to present-day Nagaybaksky District, is known since the 1730s.
Historical record
Reliable historical evidence of Nağaybäk people start with a 1729 record detailing 25 villages of "newly baptized [Tatars]" (Russian: новокрещёны) in Ufa uezdUfa
-Demographics:Nationally, dominated by Russian , Bashkirs and Tatars . In addition, numerous are Ukrainians , Chuvash , Mari , Belarusians , Mordovians , Armenian , Germans , Jews , Azeris .-Government and administration:Local...
, east of the Kama River
Kama River
Kama is a major river in Russia, the longest left tributary of the Volga and the largest one in discharge; in fact, it is larger than the Volga before junction....
. Most likely, they settled around Ufa in the second half of the 17th century after the completion of the defensive Kama Abatis
Abatis
Abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a term in field fortification for an obstacle formed of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy. The trees are usually interlaced or tied with wire...
Line (1652–1656). During the Tatar and Bashkir revolts of late 17th and early 18th century the Nağaybäks remained loyal to the Russian Empire. The government rewarded them with a wholesale transfer of the Nağaybäks into the Cossack estate, and assigned the Nağaybäks to the defense of Menzelinsk Fort
Menzelinsk
Menzelinsk , also spelled Minzala or Minzele, is a town in the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, located on the Menzelya River , east of Kazan. Population: 15,800 . Russians account for 49.3% of the town's population, while Tatars comprise 46.8%.It was founded in 1584–1586 and was granted status of...
.
Another defensive fort was built in 1736 in the village of Nagaybak, 64 verst
Verst
A verst or werst is an obsolete Russian unit of length. It is defined as being 500 sazhen long, which makes a verst equal to 1.0668 kilometres ....
s from Menzelinsk (present-day Bakalinsky District
Bakalinsky District
Bakalinsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the fifty-four in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia. It is located in the western part of the republic and borders with Ilishevsky District in the northeast, Chekmagushevsky District in the east, Sharansky District in the...
). The new fortress became the hub of the "newly baptized", and by 1744 the nearby Nağaybäk population increased to 1359 people in eleven villages. Two more Nağaybäk villages were recorded in 1795. The original Nağaybäk race was gradually diluted with an inflow of other Christianized Tatars recruited into cossack service (Yasak Tatars and Tiptärs). The government mandated their relocation into predominantly Christian Nağaybäk lands to evade daily contact between Christian and Muslim Tatars, and the new settlers rapidly intermarried with the locals.
In 1773 Nagaybak Fort was caught in the way of Yemelyan Pugachev
Yemelyan Pugachev
Yemelyan Ivanovich Pugachov , was a pretender to the Russian throne who led a great Cossack insurrection during the reign of Catherine II...
's rebellion. Loyal cossacks and troops, headed by captain Rushinsky, fled to Menzelinsk; most of the remaining soldiers joined the rebellion and participated in the siege of Ufa. Pugachev installed a "newly baptized Persian" by the name of Tornov, as the ataman
Ataman
Ataman was a commander title of the Ukrainian People's Army, Cossack, and haidamak leaders, who were in essence the Cossacks...
of Nagaybak. In January 1774 a small government company pushed the rebels out of Nagaybak Fort, but Tornov returned in strength and regained control over the fort. Two weeks later a whole corps of government troops crushed the rebellion. The fort became a base for punitive expeditions against the remains of Pugachev's army.
Nağaybäk cavalry participated in the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and in the subsequent occupation of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. In 1842 the Nağaybäk cossacks relocated from their former host in Nagaybak Fort eastward, to the former Orenburg Governorate. Here, they founded a chain of villages named after the battles of Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, including present-day Parizh
Parizh
Parizh is a village in Nagaybaksky District of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the south border of the district. Population: 2,390 ....
, named after the Battle of Paris
Battle of Paris (1814)
The Battle of Paris was fought during the Napoleonic Wars in 1814. The French defeat led directly to the abdication of Napoleon I.-Background:...
, Fershampenuaz
Fershampenuaz
Fershampenuaz is a village and the administrative center of Nagaybaksky District of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Gumbeyka River . Population: Postal code: 457650.-History:...
(after the Battle of Fère-Champenoise), Kassel (after engagements near Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
in Hesse
Hesse
Hesse or Hessia is both a cultural region of Germany and the name of an individual German state.* The cultural region of Hesse includes both the State of Hesse and the area known as Rhenish Hesse in the neighbouring Rhineland-Palatinate state...
), Trebiy (after the Battle of Trebbia) etc. Fershampenuaz remains the center of Nagaybaksky District
Nagaybaksky District
Nagaybaksky District is a district of Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia. Its administrative centre is the rural locality of Fershampenuaz. District's population:...
to date. Another group of the Nağaybäk settled in present-day Orenburg Oblast
Orenburg Oblast
Orenburg Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Orenburg. From 1938 to 1957, it bore the name Chkalov Oblast in honor of Valery Chkalov...
. These Nağaybäks settled on traditionally Muslim territories, and by the beginning of the 20th century they converted back to Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and were reassimilated into Tatar etnhos.
Traditional Nağaybäk female clothing is similar to that of the Keräşen Tatars, but male clothing contains many elements of the Cossack uniform.