The Battle of Qbaada ended the Russo-Circassian War, enabling Russia to annex Circassia and initiating the Circassian genocide.
Key Facts
- Date
- 2 June 1864 (O.S. 21 May 1864)
- Conflict
- Russo-Circassian War (part of the Caucasian War)
- Population ethnically cleansed
- 95% to 97% of Circassian population
- Outcome
- Russian annexation of Circassia
- Long-term effect
- Creation of the Circassian diaspora
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Circassian people had been resisting Imperial Russian military expansion into the Caucasus for decades. By mid-1864, sustained Russian military campaigns had decimated Circassian resistance forces to the point where continued organized opposition was no longer possible.
On 2 June 1864, at the location known today as Krasnaya Polyana, Imperial Russian forces and the remnants of Circassian defenders clashed in what became the final military engagement of the Russo-Circassian War. The Circassians were unable to mount further resistance against the advancing Russian army.
Following the battle, the Russian Empire formally annexed Circassia. This was accompanied by the Circassian genocide, in which an estimated 95% to 97% of the native Circassian population was ethnically cleansed from their homeland, resulting in a large and enduring Circassian diaspora scattered across the Middle East and beyond.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent