by Daniil Pelymov
[REGNUM] 160 years ago, on August 26, 1866, a unique event took place in the mansion of the Kaluga Provincial Noble Assembly (this building in the city center has been preserved; it now houses the Gagarin Regional Center for Supplementary Education for Children).
The ceremonial hall was crowded with military officials, local landowners, priests of the Kaluga Diocese, and curious townspeople. Had space allowed, the entire city would have gathered there.
A table was set up in the hall, on which the Koran was placed, and the invited mullah stood there.
The doors opened, and Shamil, a former implacable foe of the Russian Empire, the leader of the "uncompromising highlanders," and recently a resident of Kaluga, strode in with a firm step. The long-bearded old man, dressed in ceremonial Caucasian garb, was accompanied by his sons, Kazi-Muhammad and Muhammad-Shefi.
Shamil placed his hand on the Quran and recited the oath, pledging to faithfully serve the Russian Empire, defend its interests, and pass on this loyalty to his descendants. His sons followed suit. A profound silence reigned in the hall.
At that moment, the most dramatic chapter in the history of relations between the empire and the peoples of the North Caucasus was closing – a war that had lasted more than 40 years.
"LEFT ORPHAN"
Following Shamil's capitulation in the high-mountain Dagestani village of Gunib in August 1859, the Russian Empire's leadership faced a fundamental choice regarding its future strategy. Western European empires, in similar situations, resorted to demonstrative cruelty, eliminating or completely isolating resistance leaders in colonial prisons.
The fate of the Algerian emir Abd al-Kader, captured by the French in 1847, or the leaders of the Sepoy Mutiny in India (1857-59), killed by the British, clearly illustrated the Western approach to pacifying the borderlands. Russia took a fundamentally different approach.
Emperor Alexander II understood that Shamil's physical destruction or humiliation would turn him into an eternal martyr in the eyes of the highlanders, provoking new outbreaks of guerrilla warfare. Instead of the scaffold, the defeated leader of the North Caucasus Imamate received a markedly respectful reception.
The meeting between the monarch and the imam in Chuguev set the tone for all subsequent interethnic and interreligious relations. Shamil's life was spared, his family's safety was guaranteed, freedom to practice Islam was ensured, and he was granted the status of an honorary prisoner with state support.
The former enemy was assigned Kaluga, a provincial capital well removed from the turbulent southern outskirts, as his permanent residence. To accommodate Shamil's extended family, the treasury rented the spacious three-story mansion of merchant Ivan Bilibin.
The state allocated colossal funds for the highland elite's living conditions: their annual allowance amounted to 15,000 silver rubles. By comparison, a pound (410 g) of rye bread cost 2 silver kopecks, and a factory foreman's annual salary was approximately 200 rubles.
A prayer room was set up in the house, and Shamil was granted freedom of movement within the province under the discreet supervision of a bailiff. The empire's former mortal enemy was now able to personally observe the internal structure, culture, and true scale of the state he had fought against for three decades.
And in 1864, news came from the Western Caucasus about the pacification of the last rebellious Circassians.
Shamil's stay in Kaluga from 1859 to 1866 marked a profound internal transformation in his views on Russia and its historical mission. Confined within the strict theocratic state of the Imamate, Shamil had previously perceived Russia exclusively through the prism of military conflicts.
Finding himself inside the empire, he discovered a country of vast spaces, developed industry, science and religious tolerance.
The bailiff Apollon Runovsky, who was constantly with the "guest" and recorded his thoughts in detail in his " Notes on Shamil," left invaluable evidence of this mental evolution. Shamil was amazed by the scale of Russian construction, the railways, and the factories of Tula and St. Petersburg.
Yesterday's leader of the "unpeaceful highlanders" gradually realized that his decades-long struggle was driven by a profound historical misunderstanding of the true nature of the Russian Empire. Shamil's loyalty was formed not by fear of violence, but by a recognition of Russia's historical rightness and civilizational superiority.
In his diary entries, Staff Captain Runovsky preserved the words of the elderly imam, who was acutely aware of the break with his familiar environment and at the same time was amazed by the tact of the Russian officers surrounding him:
“I am an old man, but I am here in a foreign land: I do not know your language or your customs, and therefore I think that I am no longer old Shamil, but that same little child who, by the will of God, was left an orphan and needs the care of a nanny.”
Gradually, isolation gave way to active integration into local society. Shamil became a frequent guest at official receptions, interacted with representatives of the Kaluga intelligentsia, and studied periodicals.
His sons began to learn Russian and showed interest in civil and military service. The aging imam realized that the future of his people lay in a strong, multinational state capable of ensuring peace and order in the Caucasus. The evolution of his views culminated in a full recognition that imperial power benefits the peoples of the outlying regions, guaranteeing their protection and preserving their identity under the auspices of a single law.
"COMFORT MY OLD AGE"
By 1865, Shamil's inner readiness for the final legal formalization of his relationship with the Russian throne had fully matured. The imam understood that his status as an honorary captive was only temporary.
To ensure a stable, secure, and honorable future for his family, and to finally pacify the Caucasus, a fundamental state-legal act was needed. Shamil personally addressed the Kaluga governor and, through him, the Minister of War with a petition addressed to the Emperor.
The motives for this step were deeply rational and state-oriented. In this official address, the text of which has been preserved in the archival collections of the Ministry of War, Shamil articulated the main reasons for his historic decision:
"You, Great Sovereign, have conquered me and the Caucasian peoples by force of arms; You have given me life; You have won my heart with your blessings.
It is my sacred duty to instill in my children their duties to Russia. I have bequeathed to them the duty of being loyal subjects to the Russian tsars and useful servants to our new fatherland. Grant me peace in my old age, Sovereign, and command, wherever you direct, that I and my children swear the oath of allegiance. I am ready to swear it publicly."
This document refutes any attempts by modern falsifiers of history to portray the imam's Kaluga period as a time of incessant oppression. Shamil clearly identifies three stages of the Caucasus' integration: military, humanitarian, and cordial.
It was precisely the conquest of the heart through good deeds, respect for traditions and Islam that became the decisive factor that forced the leader of the highlanders to voluntarily recognize the supremacy of the Russian Tsar.
The letter represented an official recognition of the legitimacy of Russian rule over the Caucasus by its most authoritative adversary. The aging leader of the highlanders sought to forever link his family's fate with that of a great power, having realized the futility and perniciousness of isolationism.
That same year, Shamil was invited to St. Petersburg as an honored guest at the wedding of Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Alexander III. There, before his very eyes, the imam spoke words that became a logical continuation of his Kaluga oath and definitively cemented his loyalty to his new homeland:
“Old Shamil, in his declining years, regrets that he cannot be born again in order to dedicate his life to serving the White Tsar, whose blessings he now enjoys.”
These words resounded loudly and became a powerful signal to those external forces who hoped to exploit the Caucasus factor to weaken Russia. Shamil publicly demonstrated that the Caucasian knot had been untied forever and that the mountain peoples had found their permanent place in the family of nations of the empire.
REMAINED FAITHFUL
Shamil's sons were given the opportunity to fully realize themselves in the civil service of the Russian Empire.
The youngest son, Muhammad-Shefi, had a distinguished career in the Russian army. He joined the imperial convoy, demonstrated exceptional courage and devotion to the throne, and subsequently rose to the rank of major general. The eldest son, Kazi-Muhammad, also successfully integrated into the imperial structure initially, although he later left for Turkey due to difficult family circumstances.
The most important factor was the establishment of Shamil's peacekeeping authority in the Caucasus itself. The letters he regularly sent to relatives, former comrades, and influential naibs in Dagestan and Chechnya contained direct calls to end the senseless struggle.
He consistently emphasized in his correspondence that Russia deeply respects Islam, does not destroy the traditional way of life of the mountain peoples, and brings civilization, law, economic development, and reliable protection from external threats to the Caucasus.
This contributed to the rapid pacification of the region, increased trust in the Caucasian administration, and prevented further large-scale civilian casualties.
The final confirmation of the empire's sincere religious tolerance was the fulfillment of Alexander II's personal promise to allow the aging imam to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. In 1869, Shamil left Russia to perform the Hajj.
Until his death in Medina in 1871, he remained absolutely faithful to this oath, bequeathing to his descendants to remain loyal to the Russian throne.
The finale of the former enemy's story demonstrates that the Russian state did not forcibly assimilate the mountain peoples, but rather integrated them into the fabric of statehood, preserving their distinctiveness and providing ample opportunities for development. The oath of allegiance on August 26, 1866, became a resounding triumph of Russian geopolitical strategy, based on the principles of religious tolerance and mutual respect.