Transcaucasia, Central Asia, and Yugoslavia

Transcaucasia Made up of countries of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

The area has long been used as a migration route, especially between Europe and Asia Migrants brought a great variety of cultures to the region Most people in the region are either Christian or Muslim Armenia and Georgia are among the oldest Christian states in the world Armenia was the 1 st nation to formally adopt Christianity (4 th century) Majority of people in Azerbaijan are Muslim

A History of Outside Control Over centuries, Transcaucasia was invaded by armies trying to protect their borders By the late 1800’s, Russia had taken control of the region The region maintained some independence after the Russian Revolution until the early 1920’s when the Red Army forcibly took control of the area Red Army = the name of the Soviet military

After Soviets took over, the region experienced many of the same problems as other parts of the Soviet Union Collective farming Famines Executions Gained independence in 1991 Leaders have struggled to rebuild economies

Economic Potential The climate and geography of the region make it ideal for agriculture Tea, fruit, wine Soviets transformed the region from agricultural to industrial Oil is the main industry

The Caspian Sea Issue Is the Caspian Sea an inland sea or a lake?

The Caspian Sea Issue The answer determines how resources are divided between Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Iran Sea = each country has legal rights to resources on its part of the sea bed Lake = resources must be shared equally among all bordering countries

The Caspian Sea Issue Azerbaijan has large oil reserves off its coast says the Caspian is an inland sea Russia has few offshore reserves and says the Caspian is a lake

South Ossetia Officially part of Georgia Pro-Russian separatists in the area have clashed with the Georgian government

South Ossetia Russia has supported the separatists and has annexed the area Separatist: a person who supports the separation of a particular group of people from a larger body on the basis of ethnicity, religion, or gender.

Nagorno-Karabakh

After Russian Revolution, the new Soviet rulers, as part of their divide-and-rule policy in the region, established the Nagorno-Karabakh Region, with an ethnic Armenian majority, within the Soviet Socialist Republic of Azerbaijan in the early 1920s.

Nagorno-Karabakh The region remains the subject of an unresolved dispute between Azerbaijan, in which it lies, and its ethnic Armenian majority, backed by neighboring Armenia.

The Armenian Genocide The First Genocide of the 20 th Century

The Kingdom of Armenia had periods of independence but for most of its history is was controlled by other empires By the 15 th century, Armenia was part of the Ottoman Empire Ottomans were Muslim; they allowed other religions but considered them “infidels” and made them pay high taxes and allowed them few rights

The Armenian Genocide The First Genocide of the 20 th Century Ottomans feared that Christian Armenians would be more loyal to Christian empires Example: Russia Late 1800’s- early 1900’s: Ottoman Empire was in decline 2 million Armenians lived in the Ottoman Empire 1.5 million were killed by early 1920’s

Armenian Genocide The Turkish government denies that genocide took place UN defines genocide as any of a number of acts “committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.” The Turks claim the Armenians were an enemy force and needed to be dealt with They refuse to call what happened genocide

Armenian Genocide It is illegal in Turkey to talk about what happened to the Armenians Most historians and most governments call what happened genocide Exceptions: Turkey, Azerbaijan The US avoids using the term genocide Why?

Caucasus Region

Caucasus: a region that includes the Caucasus Mountains, which stretch between the Black and Caspian seas North of the Caucasus = parts of Russia including Chechnya and North Ossetia South of the Caucasus = Transcaucasia

Caucasus Region - Chechnya

Caucasus Region After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the region of Chechnya claimed independence from Russia Russia first invaded Chechnya in 1994 and took control of most of the territory Chechen rebels continued to fight Russia and Chechnya signed a peace agreement in 1996

Caucasus Region After the first Chechen war, Muslim jihadist groups gained more power in the area In 1999, Russia invaded again after bombings in Moscow and other cities that leaders blamed on Chechen terrorists

Caucasus Region 2009: Russia officially ends military operations in Chechnya Chechen rebels continue to fight Russia and conduct terrorist attacks 2013: Boston Marathon bombers were ethnic Chechens

Central Asia Consists of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan

Central Asia The Silk Road – Trade route established from China to Europe, right through the heart of Central Asia

Central Asia Before the Russian Revolution, ethnic groups in the area lived in a particular region and could follow their own way of life

Central Asia When Soviets took control, they created the five “republics” based on ethnicity, but purposefully left large minorities in neighboring republics Soviet leaders tried to prevent opposition to their rule by using the ethnic tensions that existed among groups People in the region are unified by religion and language Islam is the main religion Most people speak a Turkish language and many speak Russian

Central Asia In the 19 th century, British and Russian troops struggled for control of the region This struggle was called the Great Game Russian Empire won control and governed the region until 1991

Central Asia Soviets used the area for nuclear testing Between 1949 and 1989, 470 nuclear devices were exploded in northeastern Kazakhstan Major oil deposits have been found in the region

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia ( ) was a nation of many ethnic groups distributed among 6 republics

“South Slavs” migrated to the Balkan Peninsula region from Poland and Russia in the 500’s Croats, Slovenes, Serbs (all South Slavs) formed their own kingdom

Yugoslavia In the 1300’s the Ottoman Empire tried to conquer the region Remember: Ottoman’s were Muslim This created tension between the Muslim and Christian groups

Yugoslavia In 1878, the region of Serbia broke free of the Ottoman Empire Goal: unite all South Slavs as one nation 1918: The Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed In 1929, it was renamed Yugoslavia Yugoslavia = “Land of the South Slavs”

Yugoslavia World War II – Germany & Italy invaded Yugoslavia Croats cooperated with Nazis, while other groups joined forces against the Nazis After WW2, Josip Tito, head of the Communist Party, became President of Yugoslavia Tito was instrumental in forming a Yugoslav identity by accepting cultural diversity Tito ruled under the direction of the USSR

Yugoslavia Tito died in 1980 and growing nationalism and ethnocentrism threatened to split the union Nationalism: pride and devotion to one’s nation and the people with whom they share land, culture, and history Ethnocentrism: belief of superiority is one's personal ethnic group

Yugoslavia 1946 – New constitution organized Yugoslavia into six new “republics” – Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia These republics were allowed to exercise control over their areas

Serbia Slobodan Milosevic, President of Serbia, took control of Yugoslavia after Tito’s death and proposed the idea of a “Greater Serbia” Serbia would expand its borders to include other territory with Serbian populations Croats and Bosnians didn’t like this idea

Serbia 1991 – Slovenia and Croatia both declare independence from Yugoslavia Serbian army invades the republics Slovenia achieves freedom quickly Major fighting in Croatia claimed 1000’s of lives The UN arranged a cease fire in 1992 Slovenia and Croatia remained free

Bosnia & Herzegovina March, 1992: Bosnia and Herzegovina declare independence Bosnia’s Muslims and Croats backed this Bosnia’s Serbs and Serbia used murder and violence to stop it; more than 200,000 people died and 2+million fled their homes Ethnic Cleansing: the policy of trying to eliminate an ethnic group through violence 1995: peace treaty signed and Bosnia & Herzegovina remained independent

War in Kosovo Serbs consider the province of Kosovo important to their ethnic identity As part of Yugoslavia, Kosovo was an autonomous province Inhabited mostly by ethnic Muslim Albanians Serbia, led by Milosevic, took control of Kosovo and used ethnic cleansing to remove the Albanians By 1999, 750,000 Albanians fled Kosovo

War in Kosovo The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) launched air attacks against Serbia NATO: alliance of countries from Europe and North America (including US) Serbs agreed to withdraw its troops from Kosovo 2008: Kosovo declared independence from Serbia Most countries recognize Kosovo’s independence China and Russia, allies of Serbia, do not

2000: Milosevic voted out of office and charged with Crimes Against Humanity He died in 2006 before being sentenced 2006: Montenegro and Serbia vote to become independent nations

The term Balkanization is used to describe the process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities The break up of Yugoslavia is an example of Balkanization