“…Strengthen Supervision and Penalties for any Breach of Order” (Report of the Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich on the followers of Sheikh Kunta-Khadzhi, 1864)

Abstract. In the early 1860s the “zikrist movement” was gaining great popularity in the North Caucasus. Its ideological inspiration was a Chechen named Kunta-Khadzhi Kishiev. The article is a publication of the attitude of the Caucasian governor of the Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich to the Minister of War Dmitry Milyutin. The document dated to 1864 and was prepared in connection with the suppression of the activities of Kunta-Khadzhi is supporters in Chechnya. The author of the document dwelled on the emergence of the “zikrists” is supporters in the Caucasus and the spreading of this teaching round the region. There were the attempts to introduce a strict organization among his followers by Kunta-Khadzhi. In January 1864 the clashes between the “zikrists” and the Russian military followed the arrest and expulsion of Kunta-Khadzhi were described in details. An opinion on the need for a more energetic subjugation of Chechnya and its population was expressed in conclusion.

Keywords: North Caucasus, Chechnya, zikr, Kunta-Hajji, Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich.