The Ghost of Freedom A History of the Caucasus

by King, Charles

• ISBN13: 9780195392395
• ISBN10: 0195392396
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-11-11
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

The Caucasus mountains rise at the intersection of Europe, Russia, and theMiddle East. A land of astonishing natural beauty and a dizzying array ofancient cultures, the Caucasus for most of the twentieth century lay inside theSoviet Union, before movements of national liberation created newly independentcountries and sparked the devastating war in Chechnya. Combining riveting storytelling with insightful analysis, The Ghost ofFreedom is the first general history of the modern Caucasus, stretching from thebeginning of Russian imperial expansion up to the rise of new countries afterthe Soviet Union's collapse. In evocative and accessible prose, Charles Kingreveals how tsars, highlanders, revolutionaries, and adventurers havecontributed to the fascinating history of this borderland, providing anindispensable guide to the complicated histories, politics, and cultures of thisintriguing frontier. Based on new research in multiple languages, the book showshow the struggle for freedom in the mountains, hills, and plains of the Caucasushas been a perennial theme over the last two hundred years--a struggle which hasled to liberation as well as to new forms of captivity. The book sheds valuablelight on the origins of modern disputes, including the ongoing war in Chechnya,conflicts in Georgia and Azerbaijan, and debates over oil from the Caspian Seaand its impact on world markets. Ranging from the salons of Russian writers to the circus sideshows ofAmerica, from the offices of European diplomats to the villages of Muslimmountaineers, The Ghost of Freedom paints a rich portrait of one of the world'smost turbulent and least understood regions.

Author Biography

Charles King is Ion Ratiu Professor of Romanian Studies, Professor of International Affairs, and Professor of Government at Georgetown University. He is the author of The Black Sea: A History and The Moldovans, and his writing has appeared in The Times Literary Supplement and Foreign Affairs.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
On Words	p. xiii
Chronology	p. xvii
Maps	p. xix
Introduction: Nature's Bulwark	p. 3
Empires and Boundaries	p. 20
Imperial Dreams	p. 22
Kings and Khans	p. 32
Life on the Line	p. 39
"Ermolov Comes!"	p. 45
Captives	p. 53
Rule and Resistance	p. 64
The Murid Way	p. 67
Raiding and Retribution	p. 73
The Imam and the Viceroy	p. 77
"The Tribes that Remain"	p. 92
The Imaginary Caucasus	p. 99
Inventing the Highlander	p. 100
Prisoners, Superfluous Men, and Mopingers	p. 109
Convoy to Tiflis	p. 119
"There Is Something to Be Gained on the Heights"	p. 123
Eros and the Circassian	p. 133
Nations and Revolutions	p. 142
Bazaar and Boomtown	p. 145
The Uses of War	p. 153
Phantom Republics	p. 161
Exiles	p. 173
Cleansing	p. 182
Time of Troubles	p. 200
Brothers and Rivals	p. 201
Land and Struggle	p. 210
Whose Nations? Whose States?	p. 220
The Tragic North	p. 231
Conclusion: Continental Shift	p. 243
Epilogue: Friends, Foes, and Patrons	p. 251
Notes	p. 263
On Sources	p. 281
Index	p. 289
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