Kars Germans
Kars Germans (Turkish: Kars Almanları; German: Kars-Deutsche; Russian: Карсские немцы) are families of German origin who were forcibly relocated from Wittenberg, Estonia, and the Volga in the 19th century by Russia, settling in the villages of multiple Turkish-majority provinces (then under Russian rule as the Kars Oblast). They still have a presence in Paşaçayırı (Petrovka), Kümbetli (Vladikars), Karacaören (Novo-Estonskoe or Estonika), and Boğatepe (Zavot) in Kars Province, and the villages of Alagöz and Sulakyurt (Nikolayevka Sarzep) in Ardahan Province.[1]
History
[edit]Background
[edit]From the 12th and 13th centuries onwards, Germans began to settle Estonia. They acquired large amounts of land in the country, engaging mainly in agriculture, animal husbandry, and trade. For several centuries, they formed the social, commercial, political, and cultural elites of the region and began to maintain their dominance. In this geography, government policies, education, and the economy were determined by German merchants.
The Great Northern War started in 1700, and within ten years, all of Estonia came under the rule of the Russian Tsardom. The country was divided between the Estonian Governorate and Livonia, but retained a degree of autonomy and was governed independently by local Baltic Germans through a regional feudal council (German: Landtag). Power in the region remained primarily in the hands of the Baltic Germans, but under Russian rule, a limited number of administrative posts were gradually taken over by Russians, who settled in Tallinn and other major towns. In order to reduce the educational, social, commercial, political, and cultural influence of the Germans in the region, and to change the administrative structure of the region, the Russians adopted a long-term policy of opposing German interests in the Baltics. Germans were encouraged to emigrate to change the demographics of the region.[2]
Migration to the Caucasus
[edit]In the war that broke out between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire in 1828–1829, the Ottomans lost the war and with the Treaty of Edirne, the Meskhetian region of the Southern Caucasus was left to the Russians as war compensation. During this period, the Russians settled some of the Germans in Estonia to the Caucasus. In the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878), after the Russians occupied the Kars and Ardahan regions of the Ottoman Empire, the policy of relocating Germans was continued. Germans in Estonia, Wittenberg, and from the Volga were settled in some villages of Kars and Ardahan. Thus, Russia sought to reduce the amount of Germans in the Baltics, and Turks in eastern Anatolia. This is further explicated with the census conducted by the Russians in 1886, where they refer to the Turkish-majority regions of Kars and Ardahan as the 'Estonian countryside'. 280 Estonians and 429 Germans from Wittenberg were recorded in the villages referred to as Vladikars (Kümbetli), Petrovka (Paşaçayırı), and Novo-Estonskoe (Karacaören).[3]
Life in the region
[edit]In the 1906 census, 550 Germans were recorded in Kars Oblast. It is known that German families operated dairy farms in the Alagöz and Sulakyurt villages of Ardahan until 1965. Estonian Germans living in the Kars and Ardahan region became Turkish citizens after the Battle of Kars on October 30, 1920, when Turkey recaptured Kars. Some served in public service. Germans who were Christians continued to practice their religion freely. They worked closely with the Terekemes in social and commercial areas. Many of these Germans married Turks. They made significant contributions to agriculture and animal husbandry, pioneering the establishment of dairy farms, known as zavot, in many villages. They have taught how to make kashar and gruyere cheese in many villages such as Karacaören, Boğatepe, Çakmak in Kars; Alagöz and Sulakyurt in Ardahan.[1][4] The German families of the region are referred to as Alamanlar by the locals. Most emigrated after 1965 when Germany began to recruit workers from Turkey. It is known that many Estonian family elders who could not get used to living in Germany returned to Turkey and settled across the country, especially in Bursa. The village of Novo-Estonskoe (New Estonia), which is part of the central district of the Kars province, is now called Karacaören, and Estonian-German families continue to live there.[5]
See also
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^ a b "Kaf Dağı'ndan Toroslar'a Osmanlı'dan Günümüze Türkiye'de Alman Göçmenler". D&R (in Türkçe). Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ^ "Deutsche Siedler im Kaukasus | GEORGIA INSIGHT Reisen". www.georgia-insight.eu (in German). Archived from the original on 18 September 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
- ^ "Карсский участок 1886". www.ethno-kavkaz.narod.ru. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ "DEUTSCHE IM KAUKASUS von Reitenbach Edgar". faltershop.at (in German). Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 13 December 2020.
- ^ ALTUNOK/DHA, Bedir. "Kars'ın son Estonyalısı". Hürriyet (in Türkçe). Archived from the original on 15 April 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)