Caucasian Refugees' Return Attempts

Abstract

Russia's raids on Ottoman lands in line with its imperialist policies made the living conditions of the people living there difficult, both in the Balkans and the Caucasus. Although there were occasional resistances, these people were unsuccessful and began to migrate to places they deemed safe. The Ottoman Empire tried to ensure that the immigrants who migrated to their current lands lived as safely as possible and implemented various policies for this purpose. The safe relocation and settlement of the immigrants was ensured, and their basic needs were met to prevent further victimization. However, despite all the practices and investments, some immigrants returned to their hometowns or attempted to return, sometimes because they were dissatisfied, sometimes because the conditions in their hometowns improved, and sometimes because the conditions they put forward against the Ottoman Empire were not accepted. In this article, where the process that led to the migration of the immigrants from their homeland to the Ottoman lands and the policies implemented by the Ottoman Empire towards these immigrants are given as a background while explaining the process of the immigrants' return, the issue of the immigrants' return is examined with examples presented by using archive documents, taking into account the reactions and decisions of the Ottoman Empire against this situation.