Kipchak branch
Karachays
A Turk people of the upper Kuban valleys below Mount Elbrus, deported in 1943 and allowed to return in 1957.
Qaraçaylıla / Karaçaylar
The Karachays live in the mountain valleys of the upper Kuban and its tributaries, on the northern side of Mount Elbrus, in the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia. They are closely related to the Balkars of neighbouring Kabardino-Balkaria: Karachays and Balkars share one literary language, Karachay-Balkar, and much of their culture.
Karachay came under Russian rule in 1828. In 1926 a separate Karachay Autonomous Oblast was formed. On 2 November 1943 the Soviet authorities deported the entire Karachay people, accused of collaboration with Germany, to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and the autonomous oblast was abolished. Many deportees died in exile. In 1957 the Karachays were permitted to return and the Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast was restored.
Karachay culture includes the Nart heroic epic shared with other Caucasian peoples, felt-making with geometric designs, and the breeding of the hardy Karachay mountain horse.
- Language
- Karachay-Balkar, a Kipchak Turk language and the common literary language of the Karachays and Balkars, written in Cyrillic
- Branch
- Kipchak
- Homeland
- The upper Kuban basin and the northern slopes of Mount Elbrus in Karachay-Cherkessia (capital Cherkessk), North Caucasus (Russia)
- Also living in
- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Türkiye and wider diaspora
Key dates
1828
Karachay comes under the rule of the Russian Empire.
1926
A separate Karachay Autonomous Oblast is formed.
2 November 1943
Deportation of the entire Karachay people by the Soviet authorities to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan; the autonomous oblast is abolished.
1957
The Karachays are permitted to return and the Karachay-Cherkess Autonomous Oblast is restored.
Heritage
- The Nart heroic epic and a tradition of sung poetry
- Felt (kiyiz) decorated with geometric designs
- The Karachay horse, a mountain breed raised in the upper Kuban valleys
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Karachay”
- B. Boeck, “Karachai”, in J. R. Millar (ed.), Encyclopedia of Russian History (Macmillan Reference USA, 2004)
- J. O. Pohl, Ethnic Cleansing in the USSR, 1937–1949 (Greenwood Press, 1999)