Who Are the Avars?
The Avars are the largest ethnic group of Dagestan, Russia's most ethnically diverse republic, numbering approximately 1 million people. They inhabit the central mountainous regions of Dagestan in the northeastern Caucasus, speaking a Northeast Caucasian language unrelated to any major language family. Famous as fierce warriors who resisted Russian conquest for decades under legendary leader Imam Shamil, the Avars today maintain a strong ethnic identity within Russia's complex multiethnic federation while practicing Sunni Islam and preserving ancient Caucasian traditions.
Mountains of Languages
Dagestan is called "the mountain of languages"—a region the size of Scotland containing over 30 distinct languages. The Avar language, with approximately 900,000 speakers, is the most widely used, serving also as a lingua franca among smaller neighboring peoples. Avar belongs to the Northeast Caucasian (Nakh-Dagestanian) family, featuring extraordinarily complex grammar including numerous noun classes, spatial cases, and consonant clusters that challenge non-native speakers.
Despite Soviet-era promotion of Russian and modern pressures, Avar remains vital. Children learn it at home, schools offer Avar-language instruction, and the language is used in local media and literature. However, the trend toward Russian, especially among urban youth, raises long-term concerns. The Avar written standard, based on Arabic script before 1928 and Cyrillic since 1938, has a small but active literary tradition.
Imam Shamil and Resistance
Avar identity is inseparable from the 19th-century resistance to Russian conquest, led by Imam Shamil (1797-1871), an Avar who united Dagestani and Chechen mountaineers in a 25-year holy war (ghazavat) against the Russian Empire. Shamil established an Islamic state (Imamate) in the mountains that defied massive Russian armies through guerrilla tactics, fortress defense, and the impassable terrain. His capture in 1859 ended organized resistance but created a lasting symbol of Caucasian valor.
Shamil remains a complex figure—hero to many Avars and Dagestanis, controversial to Russians who remember the brutal conflict. His image was suppressed in the Soviet period, rehabilitated in post-Soviet Dagestan, and continues to inspire both nationalist sentiment and Islamist movements. Every Avar knows his story, and monuments, museums, and place names commemorate his resistance.
Traditional Society
Traditional Avar society combined pastoral herding (sheep in summer highlands, lowland wintering) with terraced agriculture in fertile valleys. Villages (auls) perched on defensive locations featured distinctive stone architecture—tower houses, fortified walls, and communal structures. Each village functioned semi-autonomously, governed by assemblies of elders and customary law (adat) alongside Islamic sharia.
Social organization included complex blood-feud obligations, hospitality requirements, and community mutual aid. Gender roles were strictly defined: men handled external affairs, defense, and herding; women managed households, crafts, and agricultural labor. These patterns persisted through the Soviet period in modified form and continue to influence Avar society despite urbanization and modernization.
Islam and Identity
The Avars are Sunni Muslims of the Shafi'i school, converted through centuries of gradual Islamization beginning around the 7th century. Islam became central to identity especially during the anti-Russian resistance, when Sufi brotherhoods (particularly the Naqshbandi order) provided organizational structure and ideological motivation. Shamil's movement was explicitly Islamic, seeking to unite believers against infidel conquest.
Soviet atheism campaigns suppressed public Islam but could not eliminate private belief. Since 1991, religious revival has been dramatic: mosques have been built throughout Dagestan, Islamic education has expanded, and religious observance has increased markedly. However, this revival has also included radical elements—Dagestan has experienced Islamist insurgency and terrorism, with some young Avars drawn to extremist movements. The struggle between traditional Sufi Islam, Salafi reformism, and secular modernization shapes contemporary Avar society.
Contemporary Challenges
Modern Avars face multiple challenges. Dagestan remains one of Russia's poorest regions, with high unemployment driving labor migration to Russian cities. Political corruption and clan-based politics frustrate development. Ongoing low-level insurgency creates insecurity. Relations between Dagestan's many ethnic groups require constant management, and Avar predominance sometimes causes friction with smaller peoples.
Yet Avar culture thrives in many ways. Traditional music and dance remain popular, with the lezginka dance known across Russia. Avar wrestlers, boxers, and martial artists have achieved international success—combat sports channel warrior traditions into modern competition. Writers and poets explore Avar themes, and diaspora communities in Moscow and other cities maintain identity while adapting to urban Russian life. The Avar future lies in navigating between mountain traditions and modern realities, Islamic faith and secular citizenship, ethnic identity and Russian statehood.
References
- Gammer, M. (1994). Muslim Resistance to the Tsar: Shamil and the Conquest of Chechnia and Daghestan. Frank Cass.
- Ware, R.B. & Kisriev, E. (2010). Dagestan: Russian Hegemony and Islamic Resistance in the North Caucasus. M.E. Sharpe.
- Wixman, R. (1980). Language Aspects of Ethnic Patterns and Processes in the North Caucasus. University of Chicago.