Feappi

The Feappii () were an Ingush subgroup (''society'') that mostly inhabited the mountainous Fappi region of Ingushetia in the Caucasus. Historically, they bordered on the west with Dzherakh, on the east with Khamkhins, on the north with Nazranians, and in the south with Gudomakarians. The center of the society was the fortified village (''aul'') of Erzi or Metskhal.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, part of the Feappii migrated to Tusheti, Georgia, due to a lack of land. The descendants of the migrants are known as Bats people. In the 17th and 18th centuries, another wave of migration occurred, to the region of Aukh (modern-day Dagestan).

In 1733, due to concerns about the expansion of the Ottoman Turks in the region, the Feappii, together with the Dzherakhs and Khamkhins, established ties with the Kingdom of Kartli. As the Russian Empire began expanding its territories in the Caucasus region in the 19th century, the Caucasian War broke out. During the war, the Feappii Society was devastated after a Russian punitive expedition in 1830.

After the end of the Caucasian War, the Feappii became part of various ''okrugs'' of the Terek ''Oblast'', which in turn was part of the Caucasus Viceroyalty. These included the Voeynno-Ossetian ''okrug'', Ingush ''okrug'', '' Vladikavkazsky Okrug'', '' Sunzhensky Otdel'', and the Nazran ''okrug''.

Etymology

Endonyms

The endonym of the Feappii in their native Ingush language is фаьппий (''Fäppij'' in old Ingush Latin writing system).

translated the ethnonym in Ingush language as "settlers marching in a discordant crowd". Similarly, Rusudan Kharadze and Aleksey Robakidze made a hypothesis that the ethnonym might be connected with the term "alien/new settler" (but not as ethnically different from the main mass of Ingush). According to linguist , the ethnonym has no etymological explanation. connected the name in the form of ''Veppiy'' with the Khazar king Uobos, mentioned in the '' Georgian Chronicles'', thus dating the name back to the 10th century AD.

Exonyms

Historically, the Feappii were known by the exonym of Georgian origin as '' Kists'' or ''Kistins,'' along with its variants such as ''Nearby Kists'' or ''Nearby Kistins''. These terms later appeared in Russian literature. Eventually, the meaning of this ethnonym expanded to cover all Nakh peoples, despite originally referring specifically to the Feappii. The Kist ethnonym was replaced by the term "Metskhalins" in the 19th century, and the Kistin society became known as the "Metskhalin society" respectively, after the chancellery of the society was transferred to Metskhal.

The Ossetians referred to the Feappii as ''Maqqal'' (), and the river , on which the society was situated, as ''Maqqaldon'' (), which lent its name to one of the Russian names for Armkhi, ''Makaldon'' (). The ethnonym ''Maqqal'' was infrequently used to denote Feappii on some maps. This ethnonym is linked to the Ingush and Ossetian word for Kite, ''Maqqal'' (/). According to Anatoly Genko, the Ossetians derived this name from the ''aul'' of Erzi and its inhabitants, the ''Erzians''.

History

Early history

One of the mountainous Ingush societies, the ''Fyappins'' inhabited the mountainous Fappi region of Ingushetia in the Caucasus. The Fyappins bordered Dzheyrakh to the west, the Khamkhins to the east, the Nazranians to the north, and the Gudomakarians to the south.

Historically, the ''Fyappins'' were known by the exonym of Georgian origin as '' Kists'' or ''Kistins'', along with other variants such as ''Nearby Kists'' or ''Nearby Kistins''. The region where they resided was referred to as "Kistetia", as well as "Kistia" or "Kistinia". The first recorded mention of Kists dates back to the 7th century, in the work ''Ashkharhatsuyts'', where it appeared in the form ''Kusts''. However, in that context, it was used to generally describe the Ingush people, not specifically the ''Fyappins''.

During the 16th to 17th centuries, a portion of the ''Fyappins'' migrated to Tusheti, Georgia, in search of land. Today, the descendants of these ''Fyappins'' are known as the Bats people. Another wave of migration of the ''Fyappins'' occurred in the 17th to 18th centuries to the region of Aukh (modern-day Dagestan). Today, the descendants of those migrants are known as the ''Vyappiy'' and refer to Tyarsh as their ancestral village, as evidenced by their family chronicle ('):

In 1733, fearing the expansion of the Ottoman Turks, the ''Fyappins,'' Dzherakhs and Khamkhins wrote a letter to Vakhtang VI, declaring their oath of allegiance to Kartli. The letter was signed by 16 representatives from leading surnames of the Fyappin'','' Dzherakh, and Khamkhin communities.

Contacts with Russia and incorporation into Russia

On January 8, 1811, foremen from 13 Fyappin villages swore allegiance to the Russian Empire. However, both the Ingush and Russian sides viewed such oaths more as treaty agreements than actual submission.

During the Caucasian War, the ''Fyappins'' were targeted by Russian expansion efforts. In July 1830, two Russian columns led by Major General Abkhazov embarked on a punitive expedition to mountainous Ingushetia. The Russian forces traversed the Darial and Assa Gorges, encountering fierce resistance, particularly from the inhabitants of Eban. As a result of this expedition, the ''Fyappins'' were temporarily subdued by the Russian Empire, and their villages (''auls'') devastated. This marked the establishment of district courts and civil governance in mountainous Ingushetia. Following the general uprising of Chechnya in March 1840, during which Chechens aligned with the Caucasian Imamate, Pavel Grabbe reported that the Kists (i.e., ''Fyappins'') were either sympathetic to or aligned with the Caucasian Imamate.

Within the Russian Empire, the ''Fyappins'' were part of the Ossetian-Military ''Okrug'' (1857–1862), the Ingush ''okrug'' (1862–1871), the '' Vladikavkazsky okrug'' (1871–1888), the '' Sunzhensky otdel'' (1888–1909), and the Nazran ''okrug'' (1909–1920).

Modern

During the Russian Civil War, the self-proclaimed state of the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus emerged in the Caucasus region, with Vassan-Girey Dzhabagiev, a ''Fyappin'' representative, serving as its finance minister. He also led the Ingush National Council.

In 1944, the Ingush people (including ''Fyappins'') were deported to Central Asia. They were only allowed to return in 1957, after Nikita Khrushchev reversed many of Josif Stalin's policies, including the mentioned deportation. Fyappin writer and poet Issa Kodzoev was repressed by the Soviet regime for addressing Stalin’s crimes. In 1989, Kodzoev, along with other ''Fyappin'' representatives like Sulambek Mamilov, was part of the committee for the revival of Ingush autonomy within the Russian SFSR of the Soviet Union.

Today, Fyappin descendants live across Ingushetia.

Composition

''Fyappin'' society consisted of the following fortified villages (''auls''), tribal organizations (''teips''), and surnames (''nyaqhash''/''vyarash''):

Demographics

Notable people

* , an Ingush employee of the , secretary of the Security Council of the Republic of Ingushetia, and a hero of the Russian Federation.
* Akhmed Kotiev, an Ingush boxer and Minister of Physical Culture and Sports of the Republic of Ingushetia.
* Nazyr Mankiev, an Ingush wrestler and 2008 Olympic gold medalist.
* Timur Matiev, an Ingush historian (Doctor of Sciences), Head of the Department of History of the Ingush State University.
* , an Ingush historian and archivist.
* , an Ingush historian and writer.
* , the first Ingush people's poet, member of the Union of Soviet Writers, and chairman of the Union of Writers of Checheno-Ingushetia.
* Issa Kodzoev, an Ingush writer, poet, and teacher.
* Ruslan Mamilov, an Ingush artist, director, and sculptor.
* , an Ingush artist and singer.
* Amur Amerkhanov, an Ingush artist, director, and singer.
* Mikhail Gutseriev, a high-profile Ingush businessman.
* Mukharbek Didigov, an Ingush politician, statesman, and engineer.
* , an Ingush educator, social thinker, major political and public figure, agricultural economist, and sociologist.
* Yunus-bek Yevkurov, a politician, Deputy Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation, former Head of Ingushetia.
* Magamet Djabrailovich Yandiev, a politician, former Speaker of the People's Assembly of the Republic of Ingushetia, and Head of the Administration of Sunzhensky District.
* Daut Aubakirovich Yandiev, a politician and agronomist, former Vice Premier of Ingushetia, Minister of Agriculture and Food of Ingushetia, and Minister of Agriculture.
* Muslim Alikhanovich Yandiev, a politician, former Minister of External Relations, National Policy, Press, and Information of the Republic of Ingushetia, and Mayor of Karabulak.
* Magomet Isaevich Yandiev, a politician and economist, former Minister of Economic Development, and Moscow City Duma deputy.
* Abdulaziz Djabrailovich Yandiev, an economist, former Minister of Finance of Ingushetia, head of the Federal Treasury Department of the Ministry of Finance of Russia in Ingushetia, and Assistant-Advisor to the Head of Ingushetia.
* Musa Alkhastovich Yandiev, a jurist and writer, former member of the People’s Assembly of Ingushetia, and former Minister for Public Relations and Interethnic Relations of Ingushetia.
* , a military and political figure, active participant in the First World War and the Russian Civil War on the side of the Reds, and commander of the Ingush cavalry brigade.
* Mussa Timurkoevich Sautiev, a military and political figure, chairman of the Defense Council of the Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus and Commander of the Armed Forces of Red Ingushetia.
* Zarifa Sautieva, an Ingush activist.

Notes

References

Bibliography

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{{refend

Ingush societies
Ingush people