Galashians (, ) were a historical Ingush ethnoterritorial society, which formed in the middle of the 18th century. The name derives from the village of Galashki, which is geographically located in the center of the society. The Galashians inhabited the middle and lower reaches of the Assa river and the Fortanga river basin.
History
Formation of the Society The Galashian society was formed in the second half of the 18th century by mountain Ingush that settled in lowlands between Assa and Fortanga rivers. The Orstkhoy and Ghalghai (Tsorin and Khamkhin) societies played the greatest role in the formation of the Galashian society. The settlements of the Galashians are first recorded on the map of 1768, where they are marked as Galachi at the confluence of the Assa river into the Sunzha river.
Caucasian War During the Caucasian War, the Galashians strongly resisted the Russian expansion in the region and were commonly referred as "un-ruly" or "half-conquered" by the Russian Empire, as they never fully submitted to Russian rule and continued carrying out raids against Russian military fortifications and settlements.;
The Galashians actively participated on the side of Imamate. In March 1840, the Galashian and Karabulak (Orstkhoy) societies participated in the uprising of Chechnya and with their deputies together with Chechens solemnly swore allegiance to Imam Shamil in the large center village of Lesser Chechnya, Urus-Martan, thus becoming part of the Imamate.
As the letter of Muhammad Amin Asiyalav dating back to October 1848 states, the Naib of the Vilayet of Kalay (Galashkinskoe Naibstvo) was Muhammad-Mirza Anzorov, a Kabardian naib who at that time also governed Minor Chechnya as a district of the Imamate:
The Galashians were conquered in the end of Caucasian War after numerous punitive expeditions.
Chronology of major events:
1830 — Punitive expedition of Abkhazov to mountainous Ingushetia,Иоганн Бларамберг. Топографическое, статистическое, этнографическое и военное описание Кавказа. (1830) during which the Galashian society was also affected. 1832 — Due to the collaboration of Ingush with Ghazi Muhammad and the murder of a bailiff, Rozen led a punitive expedition on Ingush and went through Dzheyrakh and Metskhal around Khamkhi and Tsori, during which the Galashian society was also affected. 1840 — the Karabulak (Orstkhoy) and Galashian societies joined the uprising of Chechnya and with their deputies together with Chechens solemnly swore allegiance to Imam Shamil in the large center village of Lesser Chechnya, Urus-Martan. Thus Galashkinskoe Naibstvo was established. January 1847 — Russian troops under the command of General Nesterov made a punitive expedition to Galashian Gorge. 1858 — The Galashians together with the Nazranians took part in one of the episodes of the Great Caucasian War — the Nazran uprising, which ended unsuccessfully and the leaders of the uprising were either executed or exiled. After the end of the war — Galashians, alongside Akkins, Tsorins and Ghalghaï were forcibly evicted/resettled to lowlands and their lands were given to Cossacks.
Modern History After the Russian Revolution of 1917, when the Cossack territories that divided the Ingush societies were largely abolished, the official significance of territorial societies declined. Following the formation of the Ingush Autonomous Oblast, this system completely disappeared. Nevertheless, for some time, the Ingush who inhabited the foothill lands and especially the , continued to be referred to as Galashians.
Demographics Year Population Source 1833 2000 Document 1858 4 000 "Voennyi entsiklopedicheskiy leksion"
See also Galashkinskoe Naibstvo Ingush societies Nazranians Khamkhins Fyappiy
Notes
References
Bibliography
English sources
Russian sources