| Titre | La France et le Caucase à l'époque de Chamil [à la lumière des dépêches des consuls français] | |
|---|---|---|
| Auteur | Michel Lesure | |
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Revue |
Cahiers du monde russe Titre à cette date : Cahiers du monde russe et soviétique |
| Numéro | volume 19, no 1-2, janvier-juin 1978 Le Caucase | |
| Rubrique / Thématique | Études |
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| Page | 5-65 | |
| Résumé anglais |
Michel Lesure, France and the Caucasus at the time of Shamil, in the light of the telegrams of French consuls.
From 1830 to 1860, ruthless battles opposed the Russian army to Caucasian tribes. These were inspired by a fierce will of independence and by religious fanaticism sustained by Muridism, preached by a Muslim mystical sect of which Shamil was the most illustrious chief. This obscure war, consisting of deathly ambushes, unpopular in Russia, was little known in the West because of military censorship. This explains the interest attached to reports, neglected till now by historians, those of the French consuls in Tiflis, Odessa, Trabzond and Erzerum. Their correspondence contains first hand information, confidences of Headquarters officers and appreciations — often pertinent — of the local administration. Whilst selecting out some of these dispatches for publication, the author studies here the personality of different consuls, the part played by them and their methods of information.
In France, the poorly informed public opinion was slow to be touched by the events in the Caucasus. But a vigorous propaganda originating in England, some resounding articles of the French press, the stories of travellers awoke first the curiosity and then the sympathy of the public towards the resistance of the mountaineers. On the eve of the War of Crimea, the French leaders deceived by too simple a vision of the situation in the Caucasus, launch the idea of a second front and an alliance with Shamil, raised to the rank of a legendary hero. Arms which he never received, are being sent to him; officers, diplomats, an unexperienced consul are sent in disorderly missions to try — in vain — to establish contacts with the chiefs of the mountaineers. These poorly prepared initiatives, based on misunderstanding of the real nature of the resistance and of the Turkish alliance, will result in further driving the Caucasus into itself. Source : Éditeur (via Persée) |
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| Article en ligne | http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/cmr_0008-0160_1978_num_19_1_1306 |
